Renwick Gallery, Washington D.C.

[Allan Rahbek]

Originally Posted by Mike McCarty

Allan,

First, this gentleman may have been one of those narrow headed fellows. A condition commonly attributed to men who invite cats to visit their laps.

I think that if I had been given the opportunity to critique the anatomy of Ingrid Bergman (back then not now) I would have soon become seduced by the enormity of her many intangible charms, and any minor physical defects would have soon been forgiven.

Mike,
this g-man must have had a lot of cats on his lap then.

I would also have accepted all of IB

[Sharon Knettell]

This is also one if my favorite paintings. The incredible luminosity, the exquisite brushwork and those luscious whites. The lighting and compositon are incredibly complex and intelligent.

I find that modern portrait painters are too used to the photographic image and cling much to tightly it. We are starting to read that any divergence from a photographic point of view is somehow incorrect. When you are painting from a live and non static model you can interpret more, elongate here, move a hand there; you are never faced with a finished statement as you are using a photograph as reference. There is always a surprise element and I think this very expressive portrait is a brilliant and perfect example of this.