Yvonne and James II
Jordan Casteel has rooted her practice in community engagement, painting from her own photographs of people she encounters. Posing her subjects within their natural environments, her oversized portraits and cropped compositions chronicle personal observations of the human experience. Yvonne and James II is a testament to the evolving relationships of respect, dignity, and reciprocity that fuel Casteel’s work. This complex composition conveys different iterations of images of the same subject, the generational passing of time, and a personal story embedded in a scene. Seated in the midst of his kitchen, James props a frame that memorializes the union decades ago to his much loved and recently deceased wife Yvonne. Behind him, stuck on his refrigerator door, is an image James cut from a poster of an earlier portrait of him by Casteel. This is her third portrait of James, who was a street vendor in Harlem when she first met, photographed, and painted him in 2015.
Artwork Details
- Title: Yvonne and James II
- Artist: Jordan Casteel (American, born Denver 1989)
- Date: 2021
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 90 × 78 1/8 in. (228.6 × 198.4 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Purchase, Gina and Stuart Peterson Gift, 2021
- Object Number: 2021.131
- Rights and Reproduction: © Jordan Casteel
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Georgia O'Keeffe
1927
Yasuo Kuniyoshi
1924
Edward Hopper
1930
Charles Sheeler
1931
Norman Lewis
1978
Related Content
Publications
Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.
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.