Queen
Audrey Flack, a leading figure in Photorealism of the 1970s, is best known for her meticulously rendered still-life paintings based on color photographs taken by the artist herself. Flack used this photograph as a working study for her painting, Queen (1975-76), in which she faithfully reproduced its saturated colors, shiny surfaces, and glinting reflections. The photograph, with its paint-smudged surface and torn corner, stands as a curious relic of the artistic process.
Like a Baroque vanitas image, Queen is an allegorical meditation on the inexorable passage of time and the transience of youth and beauty. The large rose in full bloom that crowns the double portrait of the artist and her mother will soon wither, the succulent fruit will rot, and the conventional trappings of feminity (makeup pots and mirrors) are but vain attempts to ward off the inevitable effects of time.
Like a Baroque vanitas image, Queen is an allegorical meditation on the inexorable passage of time and the transience of youth and beauty. The large rose in full bloom that crowns the double portrait of the artist and her mother will soon wither, the succulent fruit will rot, and the conventional trappings of feminity (makeup pots and mirrors) are but vain attempts to ward off the inevitable effects of time.
Artwork Details
- Title: Queen
- Artist: Audrey Flack (American, New York 1931–2024 Southampton, New York)
- Date: 1975
- Medium: Chromogenic print
- Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: Gift of Michael G. Wilson, 1983
- Object Number: 1983.1203.28
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
More Artwork
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.