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Study for Ivelaw III
Study for Ivelaw III
© 2020 Kehinde Wiley. Photo by Peter Paul Geoffrion.

Study for Ivelaw III

Artist (Born in Los Angeles, California, 1977)
Date2006
MediumGraphite and oil on paper
DimensionsFrame: 36 x 30 x 1 5/8 inches (91.4 x 76.2 x 4.1 cm)
Image - oval shaped (sight): 27 1/2 x 21 1/2 inches (69.9 x 54.6 cm)
ClassificationsDrawing
Credit LineGift of Blake Byrne, A.B.’57, in honor of Raymond D. Nasher
Object number2017.4.36
Collections
  • ART OF THE UNITED STATES
  • MODERN & CONTEMPORARY
  • WORKS ON PAPER
Label TextKehinde Wiley positions himself as a descendent in a long line of portraitists, including Thomas Gainsborough (1727 – 1788), Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780 – 1867), and Barkley L. Hendricks (on view nearby). He incorporates a range of art historical and current urban references, such as poses or clothing, that simultaneously place his painting within the traditional canon and a new contemporary context. In his portraits of everyday young African American men, such as Ivelaw III (study), the artist presents heroic and powerful subjects historically excluded in art. Placing his sitters in strong yet often sensual poses, Wiley also challenges notions of masculinity, sexuality, and black identity.