"What is a portrait? A likeness. A representation. A two-dimensional rendering of a three-dimensional object. A flat surface. A memorial. A piece of history. A copy? Something else?..."
In this new title from Eiderdown Books, the award-winning contemporary painter Susanne du Toit (b.1955) explores the portraits of a selection of women writers, with an introduction by Jeanette Winterson.
Documenting a two-year project to capture the likenesses of nineteen women writers, this beautifully illustrated book includes the artist's unseen preliminary sketches alongside her notes on the process of painting a portrait.
Sitters in the series are best-selling UK fiction authors, short story writers, poets, memoirists, journalists, novelists, and art historians, and include Dolly Alderton, Diana Evans, Clover Stroud, Irenosen Okojie, Rosie Boycott, Juliet Jacques, and Lara Feigel.
Contributions on the experience of becoming a sitter from the writers and an introductory essay on du Toit's practice from art historian Sacha Llewellyn.
Book details 120 page paperback with 56 illustrations (50 colour + 6 black and white) ISBN: 978-1-916515-00-0 Published by Eiderdown Books 27 April 2023
