Prudence Whittlesey

Higher Pictures presents early oil paintings by Prudence Whittlesey, selections from series the artist made in the 1990s. This is the artist’s first exhibition at the gallery.

Prudence Whittlesey’s early oil painting series are painted from life at life-size or larger, an imposing scale chosen “to convey the impact upon myself of my perceptions of individuals that I sought to paint who felt overwhelmed and haunted by daily life.” These were not artists’ models; they had never sat for paintings before. Whittlesey’s method for each session was to begin with a conversation during which she would identify a physical position that embodied a prevalent emotional state for that day, a position the subject would be asked to hold for the next 4 to 5 hours and in subsequent sessions. Many watercolor paintings and charcoal drawings were produced for each project, as well as the large paintings, a selection of which are on view here.