Wendy Wick Reaves, curator of prints and drawings, discusses two self-portraits by Isabel Bishop in the NPG's exhibition "Reflections/Refractions." Isabel Bishop chose her subject matter from the New York street life that flowed through Union Square, beneath her studio window. Although she moved to the Bronx after her marriage, Bishop continued to travel almost daily to her studio to observe and sketch laborers, shopgirls, children, and unemployed men. While Bishop's art focused on the urban street life, there were two moments-in her youth and old age-when self-portraiture played an important role. These two self-portraits by Isabel Bishop are on display at the National Portrait Gallery, in the exhibition "Reflections/Refractions: Self-Portraiture in the Twentieth Century" on the second floor. Wendy Wick Reaves, curator of prints and drawings, recently spoke about the pieces in a Face-to-Face portrait talk. Recorded at NPG, June 5, 2009. Image info: Ink wash on paper, c. 1984-85 / The Ruth Bowman and Harry Kahn Twentieth-Century American Self-Portrait Collection / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. AND:

Etching, 1929 (printed c. 1988-89) / The Ruth Bowman and Harry Kahn Twentieth-Century American Self-Portrait Collection / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution