Idelle Weber

American, 1932-2020

Reflection

© Estate of Idelle Weber

Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

download

© Estate of Idelle Weber

Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

© Estate of Idelle Weber

Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

Reflection, 1962

Artwork Details

Materials

liquitex on Berges #62 linen

Measurements

support: 79 x 71 inches (200.66 x 180.34 cm)

Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum

Credit

Gift of Seymour H. Knox, Jr., 1963

Accession ID

K1963:2

In the early 1960s, Idelle Weber began to merge the influence of eighteenth-century shadow portraits with the Pop art vernacular. Her iconic, graphic tableaux explore themes of corporate culture, gender roles, mass media, and politics. Much of her work from this period was inspired by the frequent trips she made to the office with her husband, who was a corporate lawyer in Midtown Manhattan. She is perhaps best-known for her “Men in the Office” series, which depicts anonymous silhouettes of men in suits and subsequently inspired the opening credits of the acclaimed TV series Mad Men (2007–15). Weber’s economic and eloquent use of form and color imbues her subjects with an anonymous, universal character. Her female figures in particular almost always appear isolated. They exercise, sit on swings, or, as in the work presented here, float nude, hovering between the terrestrial and celestial worlds.

Label from Giant Steps: Artists and the 1960s, June 30–December 30, 2018