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Peggy Bacon, 1895-1987
Peggy Bacon began her career as a painter but found early success with her satirical prints and drawings of friends and associates. Her work for magazines such as the New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and Fortune expanded from illustration to satirical caricature after the publication of her 1934 book, Off with Their Heads. In this book of caricatures, she describes herself as follows: "Pin headed, parsimoniously covered with thin dark hair, on a short, dumpy body. Small features, prominent nose, chipmunk teeth and no chin, conveying the sharp weak look of a little rodent."
This pastel self-portrait demonstrates Bacon's unforgiving eye -- particularly through the cartoonish line of her head in profile. It also shows how biting Bacon's caricature could be, applying to not only other prominent art figures of the 1930s, but also herself.
Self-portrait, 1932 |