Priscilla Roberts (1916 - 2001)

Paper Dolls (Untitled), 3rd quarter 20th century, oil on Masonite, signed lower right, 24 x 23 1/4 inches, presented in its original frame

$4250

Priscilla Roberts was an American painter who rose to prominence in the 1940s. Paper Dolls is a prime example of Arch Realism, the name Roberts gave to her variation on the more commonly used term Magic Realism.  Roberts imbued her work with an uncanny feeling of both familiarity and estrangement. The present work is a strong example not only of Roberts' technical trompe-l’oeil prowess, but also her ability to create works with multi-layered dialogs between reality and unreality. Roberts declared that she was a “shameless and avowed symbolist,” resulting in paintings that often seem meta, as in the case of the present work in which the artist creates a still life that is very much based on an idealized reflection of life itself in the form of static paper dolls of two vivacious young girls. Roberts’ approach was meticulous and meditative, sometimes resulting in a single work taking over a year to complete. She once noted, "I do everything slowly... A teacher told me in school...that drawing is the finest spiritual exercise. And it is.”

A New Jersey native, Roberts studied at the Yale School of Art, Art Students League, and the National Academy of Design. Beginning in the 1940s, she exhibited at many prominent institutions, including the Carnegie Institute and National Academy of Design, winning prizes at each. She also exhibited at the Society of Independent Artists and the Corcoran Gallery. Commercially, she was presented by the Grand Central Art Gallery in New York. A highlight of her career came in 1957 when she became a National Academician, the only woman to achieve that honor during the 1950s. Roberts’ works are in the permanent collections of the Cincinnati Art Museum, Dallas Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Academy of Design, and Smithsonian American Art Museum, and many other significant museums. She is listed in Who Was Who in American Art and other standard references.