Seductive Portrait 

Patrick Nagel likely made this striking portrait sometime in the 1980s. Its clean lines and bold colors are typical of his distinctive style. Nagel's images were ubiquitous in that decade, appearing in magazines like *Playboy* and on album covers, and they came to define an era. The women he depicted—always elegant, aloof, and fashionable—reflected the prevailing social norms and aspirations of the time. The art world tended to dismiss Nagel’s work as mere commercial illustration; it wasn’t thought to possess the subversive qualities of more serious or challenging artworks. Yet his images were powerful precisely because they reflected a certain kind of aspirational identity that was being marketed to middle-class consumers. The art historian might look to sources in advertising, fashion photography, and graphic design to better understand the appeal and influence of Nagel's seductive portraits. The value and meaning of art are, after all, contingent on these social and institutional contexts.