Cormac McCarthy

Object Details

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National Portrait Gallery Collection

Date

2004

Object number

NPG.2008.23

Exhibition Label

Born Providence, Rhode Island

The early work of contemporary novelist Cormac McCarthy, including Suttree (1979) and Blood Meridian (1985), was often violent and macabre. After moving from Tennessee to Texas, he began to explore the classic western theme of the individual on the frontier; his Border Trilogy (1992-98) masterfully mixed the old and the new West. Now living near Santa Fe, McCarthy is writing what has been called post-apocalyptic fiction; The Road (2006) won the Pulitzer Prize for its depiction of life after a secular apocalypse.

McCarthy was the only writer in residence as a fellow at the Santa Fe Institute when British photorealist painter Andrew Tift met and photographed him there in 2003 for a series of portraits. McCarthy, who is known for being reclusive, has said that talking with the scientists at the research institute "helps him to think."

Provenance

(Andreeva Gallery, Santa Fe); purchased 2008 NPG

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Artist

Andrew Tift, born 1968

Sitter

Cormac McCarthy, born 20 Jul 1933

Topic

Cormac McCarthy: Male

Cormac McCarthy: Literature\Writer\Novelist

Cormac McCarthy: Literature\Writer\Screenwriter

Portrait

Medium

Acrylic on canvas

Dimensions

Stretcher: 50.5 x 30.5cm (19 7/8 x 12")

Frame: 53.7 x 33.7 x 5.1cm (21 1/8 x 13 1/4 x 2")

Data Source

National Portrait Gallery

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Copyright

© 2004 Andrew Tift

Type

Painting

Metadata Usage

Usage conditions apply

GUID

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4d4df70f1-a200-45e5-8479-28c04c392430

Record ID

npg_NPG.2008.23