Bernice

1981

Not on view

Working in the South Bronx, in deliberate counterpoint to Manhattan’s more established art neighborhoods downtown, Ahearn often selected subjects from his neighborhood. In line with his participatory practice, the artist would collaborate with his subjects in choosing their dress and the poses in which they would be cast in plaster. Painted in robust acrylics, the colors of his "community portraits" capture the vibrancy of clothing and the diversity of skin tones of the multiethnic neighborhood in which he worked. Ahearn would often take Polaroids of his sitters as records of casting sessions, and consequently the reliefs are conditioned by the color range of the film.

Artwork Details

Title: Bernice
Artist: John Ahearn (American, born Binghamton, New York, 1951)
Date: 1981
Medium: Painted plaster
Dimensions: 28 3/8 × 25 × 5 1/2 in., 32.8 lb. (72.1 × 63.5 × 14 cm, 14.9 kg)
Classification: Sculpture
Credit Line: Gift of Barbara and Eugene Schwartz, 1988
Object Number: 1988.417.4
Rights and Reproduction: © John Ahearn
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

By John Ahearn

In the same medium

From the same time and place

Clown, John Ahearn American, Acrylic on plaster reinforced with jute — Clown
John Ahearn
1999

Gray and Brass, John Sloan American, Oil on canvas, American — Gray and Brass
John Sloan
1907

Damascus Room, Wood (poplar) with gesso relief, gold and tin leaf, glazes and paint; wood (cypress, poplar, and mulberry), mother-of-pearl, marble and other stones, stucco with glass, plaster ceramic tiles, iron, brass — Damascus Room
dated 1119 AH/1707 CE

Salina, John Ahearn American, Painted cast plaster — Salina
John Ahearn
1982

Necklace, Meta Overbeck American, Gold, emeralds, Montana sapphires, topazes, enamel, American — Necklace
Meta Overbeck
Louis C. Tiffany
Manufacturer Tiffany & Co.
ca. 1914–15

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 contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.