Object Details
Artist
Alec Soth, born 1969
Sitter
Marilynne Robinson, born 1943
Exhibition Label
Born Sandpoint, Idaho
Acclaimed author Marilynne Robinson first appeared on the literary scene in 1980 with her novel Housekeeping. The book went on to win the prestigious PEN/Hemingway Award, and Robinson spent the following two decades teaching and writing nonfiction for publications such as Harper’s and the New York Times Book Review. Gilead (2004), which examines the role of faith in rural American life, garnered the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Robinson is regarded as one of the nation’s most important contemporary writers and distinguishes herself through her nuanced and thoughtful engagement with themes of family and Christianity. She has written about literature as a basis for empathy: “I think fiction may be, whatever else, an exercise in the capacity for imaginative love, or sympathy, or identification.” In 2012, Robinson was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama.
Nacida en Sandpoint, Idaho
La aclamada autora Marilynne Robinson irrumpió en la escena literaria en 1980 con su novela Vida hogareña, que ganó el prestigioso Premio PEN/ Hemingway. Durante las dos décadas siguientes fue profesora y escribió textos de no-ficción para publicaciones como Harper’s y New York Times Book Review. Gilead (2004), donde examina el papel de la fe en la vida rural de Estados Unidos, ganó el Premio del Círculo Nacional de Críticos Literarios y el Premio Pulitzer. Robinson está considerada una de las escritoras contemporáneas más importantes del país, y se ha distinguido por su acercamiento reflexivo y matizado a temas sobre la familia y el cristianismo. Ha escrito lo siguiente sobre la literatura como base para la empatía: “Creo que la ficción puede ser, entre todo lo demás, un ejercicio de amor, simpatía o identificación en el ámbito imaginativo”. En 2012 el presidente Barack Obama le otorgó la Medalla Nacional de las Humanidades.
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Date
2014 (printed 2015)
Object number
NPG.2015.88
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© Alec Soth
Type
Photograph
Medium
Inkjet print
Dimensions
Image: 40.7 × 50.8 cm (16 × 20")
Sheet: 50.8 × 60.9 cm (20 × 24")
Mat: 66 x 81.3 cm (26 x 32")
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location
Currently not on view
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Topic
Costume\Jewelry\Necklace
Exterior\Landscape
Marilynne Robinson: Female
Marilynne Robinson: Arts and Culture\Literature\Writer
Marilynne Robinson: Arts and Culture\Literature\Writer\Essayist
Marilynne Robinson: Awards & Honors
Marilynne Robinson: Literary awards\Pulitzer Prize
Marilynne Robinson: National Humanities Medal
Portrait
Link to Original Record
Record ID
npg_NPG.2015.88