Public Image/Private Self: Exploring Identity through Self-Portraiture

Long before the social media selfie, artists created self-portraits that converted the inner, private self into an outer, public persona. Robyn Asleson, Curator of Prints and Drawings at the National Portrait Gallery, highlights some of the ways in which artists have used self-portraits to construct versions of themselves that foreground particular aspects of identity, including life experience, artistic affiliation, nationality, and gender.

This program premiered on Sunday, June 13, 2021 via Zoom. Eye to I: Self-Portraits from the National Portrait Gallery on view at Albuquerque Museum, June 12–September 12, 2021.