Portrait of Sidney Janis with Mondrian
1967
This iconic environmental sculpture by George Segal presents a life-size white plaster figure of art dealer Sidney Janis standing before a small Mondrian painting mounted on a wooden easel. The work exemplifies Segal's signature technique of casting from live subjects and placing them in real-world contexts to blur the line between art and everyday experience. The inclusion of an actual Mondrian painting elevates the piece into a meditation on the relationship between dealer and artwork, patron and modernism. A cornerstone of postwar American art, this work is held in major museum collections and represents Segal at the height of his powers.
- Medium
- Plaster figure with oil painting on easel
- Spotted At
- Museum
Notes
The sculpture incorporates an actual Piet Mondrian painting on a wooden easel as part of the installation. The work depicts Sidney Janis, the prominent New York art dealer who represented Segal and many other major postwar artists. The figure is rendered in Segal's characteristic white plaster casting technique. This work is in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York.
Spotted works by George Segal
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