Marsden Hartley Possibly 1916 - 1932

This portrait of Marsden Hartley was shot by Alfred Stieglitz, but the date is unknown. It's a photograph, so the marks are made by light. It’s a portrait of an artist by an artist, a document of a moment but also, I think, of a relationship. I love the contrast between the soft focus of the background and the sharp, almost clinical, detail of Hartley's face. It's like Stieglitz is saying, "I see you, Marsden, in all your intensity," but also, "I see the world around you, the world that shapes you." Look at the way Hartley's coat blends into the background, while his face and eyes pop forward. It's a trick of light and shadow, of course, but it also feels like a metaphor for the artist's role in society, both embedded in it and standing apart from it. Think of someone like Alice Neel, who also captured the inner lives of her subjects with such intensity, and whose own life was so intertwined with the art world she depicted. Both Hartley and Neel create an ongoing conversation about what it means to see and be seen.