Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 10

Artis Lane
"Female", Acrylic on Canvas

1988

About the Item

This acrylic on canvas from the seminal artist Artis Lane is one of the many model paintings from her long and illustrious career. The subject is a female nude in pose, holding a flower. Artis Lane, in her many nudes, chose to depict a diversity of bodies, of all shapes, colors, and sizes. This work was recently exhibited adjunct to the "Steps Towards Justice: Artis Lane's Portraits of Rosa Parks" exhibition at Collected Detroit in 2021. The matte of this work is 25.75 x 31. 75 inches while the image is 19 x 25.5 inches. Most recently in January 2021 Ms. Lanes' dynamic sculpture bust of Rosa Parks was chosen from the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC to reside in the President's Oval Office as a reminder to all who visit or see it via press photographs of her courageous demand for equal rights. It is a constant source of inspiration. All my life I have worked on three levels of consciousness: Portraits, Social Injustice & Metaphysics. In my work I strive to heal, uplift and inspire viewers and collectors to find perfection in their own being. - Artis Lane Artis Lane lived and worked in Los Angeles for over twenty years. She knew many celebrities, movie stars and individuals who moved in those circles. She was a sought after portrait painter. This particular painting of the famous movie star, Zsa Zsa Gabor, shows why. Artis has captured the personal essence of her subject, a warm, friendly woman, though famous, is not absorbed in her notoriety. This piece is signed by the artist on the lower right. Born Artis Marie Shreve in 1927, near an all-Black village in North Buxton, Ontario, Canada. After three years of art college in Toronto, Canada, Artis moved to Detroit where she met and married journalist and activist Bill Lane. In Detroit Artis Lane continued her training at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Cranbrook was designed by architect and faculty member, Eliel Saarinen who collaborated with Charles and Ray Eames on chair and furniture design. Numerous creative artists who are alumni of Cranbrook include: Harry Bertoia, Florence Knoll, Jack Lenor Larsen, Donald Lipski, Duane Hanson, Nick Cave, Hani Rashid, George Nelson, Urban Jupena (Nationally recognized fiber artist), Cory Puhlman (televised Pastry Chef extraordinaire), Thom O’Connor (Lithographs), Paul Evans (Brutalist-inspired sculpted metal furnishings), Eugene Caples (small bronze images/abstract), Morris Brose (Bronze Sculptures), Herb Babcock known for blown glass) and Larry Butcher (mixed media abstract artist.) While in the Motor City she painted and sculpted the portraits of many of the business and political leaders of the day; Governor George Romney, Ford family members and Coleman Young, the Mayor of Detroit. After her divorce, she was invited by Diahann Carroll to move from Detroit to come live in New York City where she met and married, Vince Cannon. They spent time in Texas, Ruidoso, New Mexico and traveled to Mexico City, Mexico to paint many of the prominent families in the region. Eventually she settled in Los Angeles and has recently relocated to Detroit. Her portrait and sculpture work has depicted dignitaries like Jaqueline Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Gordon Getty, President Reagan, President Obama, First Ladies, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama, Mrs. Walter Annenberg, Nancy Kissinger, including her most recent portrait commissioned by Academy Award winner, Jaime Fox. It’s an elegant painting of Oprah Winfrey, which was unveiled live on her show. Artis Lane has sculpted Don Cornelius, Quincy Jones, Lupita Nyong’o, Lena Horne, Stevie Wonder, and Magic Johnson, and many more. In the 1970’s, social issues became the next focus of her work, which included “Tear on the Face of America,” her civil rights statement, and “The Beginning,” a now famous painting depicting a young Rosa Parks seated in the fateful bus. Artis was honored by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC during the installation of her bronze sculpture of civil rights leader and longtime friend, Rosa Parks. In 1999, she was selected to execute and design the Congressional Medal of Honor awarded to Ms. Parks. “My Civil Rights images led me naturally to ideas about what and who we are outside of race. I went from there to the most important body of work, the metaphysical images of generic man and generic woman emerging out of the ignorance of material concepts and evolving into spiritual awareness.” Artis Lane. The bigger challenge was to create art that could symbolize and communicate certain spiritual truths that have guided Lane’s life and creative endeavors for most of her adult years and led to her Metaphysical work. She leaves the workings of the foundry: the gaiting material, ceramic shell mold, etc., (the “birthing” materials of the foundry), on the bronze to symbolize generic man emerging out of material thinking into spiritual consciousness. She then shows the work in pairs… the traditional black patina bronze, with the ceramic shell pieces as a metaphor for the moralistic/materialistic conversations that mankind has wrestled with throughout eternity. The new millennium brought new challenges and celebrations of her work. At the age of 80, Lane was commissioned to create a 12ft bronze of her “Emerging First Man.” The sculpture was created for an 1100 acre private estate community in Atlanta, GA. In 2007, she was honored by The California African American Museum with a retrospective of her life’s work which included almost 100 works of art. In 2009, First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled Lane’s bust of Abolitionist and Suffragette, Sojourner Truth, which was the first African American woman to be installed in the new Emancipation Hall and is now a part of the collection of the United States Capitol. Ms. Lane’s solo exhibit, “The Art of Artis Lane,” at the Forest Lawn Museum, Glendale, Ca in 2011, brought a thought provoking retrospective of her art to the public including the “Divine Metaphysics” series. Her bust of Arnett Hartsfield, Jr., Pioneering Firefighter & Activist, unveiled at The African American Firefighter Museum in Los Angeles in 2012. The California African American Museum in Los Angeles, mounted a retrospective exhibition entitled “A Woman’s Journey: The Life and Work of Artis Lane” in 2007/2008 and subsequently honored her with its Lifetime Achievement Award. Lane presented an official portrait of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, which was unveiled at City Hall by Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2014. All are merely a few recognitions of her achievements over the decades. Lane’s HistoryMakers interview was made a permanent part of the Library of Congress Collection in 2014. Her Artwork is displayed around the world. Artis has been a constant presence at the openings of her artistic colleagues in the region. As one of the honored “elders,” she provides encouragement and support for the younger African American artists who strive to use their own talents to express visions of social, ethical, and spiritual importance. She is, in short a force of nature whose life and work have graced both her native Canada and her adopted United States.
  • Creator:
    Artis Lane (1927, Canadian)
  • Creation Year:
    1988
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 49.5 in (125.73 cm)Width: 37.75 in (95.89 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Detroit, MI
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU128618850322

More From This Seller

View All
"Untitled #2", Acrylic and Graphite on Paper
By Artis Lane
Located in Detroit, MI
This acrylic and graphite on paper from the seminal artist Artis Lane is one of the many model paintings from her long and illustrious career. The su...
Category

Late 20th Century Nude Paintings

Materials

Paper, Acrylic, Graphite

"Goddess I", Acrylic and Graphite on Paper
By Artis Lane
Located in Detroit, MI
This acrylic and graphite on paper from the seminal artist Artis Lane is one of the many model paintings from her long and illustrious career. The subject i...
Category

Late 20th Century Nude Paintings

Materials

Paper, Acrylic, Graphite

"Dance", Acrylic and Graphite on Paper
By Artis Lane
Located in Detroit, MI
This acrylic and graphite on paper from the seminal artist Artis Lane is one of the many model paintings from her long and illustrious career. The su...
Category

Late 20th Century Nude Paintings

Materials

Paper, Acrylic, Graphite

"Goddess II", Acrylic and Graphite on Paper
By Artis Lane
Located in Detroit, MI
This acrylic and graphite on paper from the seminal artist Artis Lane is one of the many model paintings from her long and illustrious career. The su...
Category

Late 20th Century Nude Paintings

Materials

Paper, Acrylic, Graphite

"Desmond Tutu", Acrylic on Canvas, Historical Portrait
By Artis Lane
Located in Detroit, MI
This portrait of Desmond Tutu is from the seminal artist Artis Lane and is one of the many exquisite portraits done of historical figures and celebrities she has met and painted duri...
Category

Early 2000s Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

"Nude Male #2", Watercolor and Charcoal on Paper
By Artis Lane
Located in Detroit, MI
This watercolor and charcoal on paper from the seminal artist Artis Lane is one of the many model pictures from her long and illustrious career. The subject is a nude young man who i...
Category

Late 20th Century Nude Paintings

Materials

Paper, Charcoal, Watercolor

You May Also Like

Colloquio senza successo -- Salvador Aulestia (1915-1994) - acrylic on canvas
Located in Milano, MI
This is a masterwork by Salvador Aulestia (Barcelona 1915 - Milano 1994). There are very few paintings such this one as for rarity than for quality. Two women on the beach who, as...
Category

1980s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Canvas

Indigo Solitude Nude Women Portrait Painting by Lada Kholosho
Located in Zofingen, AG
This original acrylic painting on canvas is an impressive work created by artist Lada Kholosho in 2024. It depicts a solitary figure wrapped in an embrac...
Category

2010s Expressionist Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Contemplation in Blue and Green Nude Women Portrait Painting by Lada Kholosho
Located in Zofingen, AG
This original acrylic painting, rendered on a quality stretched canvas measuring 50 cm in width and 70 cm in height, compellingly explores the human form through a vibrant interplay ...
Category

2010s Expressionist Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Demit Omphroy - First Love, Painting 2022
Located in Greenwich, CT
Acrylic On Canvas 36" x 48" x 1 3/8" "How would you describe your work? I’d describe my work as playful, expressive, and simplistic, yet loaded with emotion. I try to evoke feeling...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Untitled Nude, Painting. Mounted on canvas
By Juan C. Estrada
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Estrada-Duran combines realism and surrealism in his work, the artists paintings are often monochromatic pencil drawings with overlays of gold paint that depict goddess-like women w...
Category

2010s Contemporary Nude Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Series of Four Portraits from a New York City Gay Underground Club
By Damien Smith
Located in London, GB
A series of four paintings - acrylic on stretched canvas - unframed, by Canadian artist Damien Smith (born 1969). This unique series depicts four characters in a New York City erotic gay bar...
Category

1990s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Recently Viewed

View All