Press release August 2009

Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton
18 October 2009 – 21 March 2010

The Bonnefantenmuseum is presenting the first comprehensive retrospective of Elizabeth Peyton's oeuvre on the European mainland, which comprises over 90 works (paintings, watercolours, drawings and lithos) from the past 18 years (1991-2009).

From her first portraits of 19th-century heroes to her more recent works, peopled with friends from the world of music, fashion and literature, Elizabeth Peyton has presented herself as a contemporary 'painter of modern life', in the words of Charles Baudelaire. Peyton's miniature portraits capture the spirit of the times in an artistic language that unmistakeably reflects late 20th-century urban sensitivity.

The exhibition starts with portraits of Napoleon Bonaparte, pop icons Sid Vicious and Kurt Cobain, and fashion designer Marc Jacobs, and shows a development towards an increasing eclecticism and anachronism in Peyton's choices of subject, ranging from her personal circle of friends to admired predecessors from the history of art, such as Georgia O'Keeffe and Frida Kahlo. Peyton's intimate portraits often appear unrealistic, compared to the public star status of many of her models. Peyton makes them small – both literally and figuratively – in order to visualise a more genuine beauty.

Elizabeth Peyton belongs to a select group of artists who developed a unique mix of realism and conceptualism in their work in the early 1990's, in which Peyton consciously reverted to narrative figurative techniques in contemporary painting. Her work pays tribute to the 19th-century French modernist painting of Gros up to Manet, and is directly reminiscent of the work of David Hockney, Alex Katz and Andy Warhol – particularly their celebrity portraits. Peyton's dedication to reviving a new sort of popular art that attempts to forge a link between art and life is authentic, and her work is pervaded with the times we live in. In her work, which is small in size but makes a large gesture, Peyton has breathed new life into the ancient genre of portrait painting.

In collaboration with the New Museum, New York, and Phaidon, a catalogue has been published: Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton, containing a broad selection of works, photos and source material by the artist. The catalogue is available from the museum shop.

Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton has been organised by the New Museum, New York. The general sponsor of the exhibition is Banana Republic. The main patron of the exhibition is the Turing Foundation. The Belgian radio broadcasting corporation Klara is the exhibition's media partner.

NOTE FOR THE PRESS: For more info, please contact the press department (Tues-Fri), Avenue Céramique 250, Postbus 1735, 6201 BS Maastricht. Tel. +31 43 329 01 10, fax +31 43 329 01 99, Guillemette Naessens / Roel Visser: pressoffice@bonnefanten.nl

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	Democrats are more beautiful (after Jonhatan Horowitz), 2001 Oil on board 25,4 x 20,3 cm Collection Laura and Satfford Broumand
	Jackie and John (Jackie fixing John’s hair) 1999 Oil on board 14 x 11 in 35.6 x 27.9 cm Collection Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey R. Winter © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Ben Drawing 2001 Oil on board 10.1/8 x 8.1/4 in 25.7 x 21 cm Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; A.W. Mellon Acquisition Endowment, 2001.45.1 © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Eugène Delacroix, 1842-2005 © Elizabeth Peyton.
	L.A. (E.P.) 2004 Oil on board 14 x 11.1/4 in 35.6 x 28.6 cm Private collection, promised gift to the Art Institute of Chicago © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Pete (Pete Doherty) 2005 Watercolor on paper 14 x 10 in 35.6 x 25.4 cm Private Collection © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Georgia O’Keeffe after Stieglitz 1918 2006 Oil on canvas 30.1/8 x 23.1/8 in 76.5 x 58.7 cm Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C. Partial and promised gift of David Teiger Courtesy neugerriemschneider, Berlin © Elizabeth Peyton.
	John Simon Beverley Ritchie (Sid) 1995 Oil on board 12 x 9 in 30.5 x 22.9 cm Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Contemporary Curator’s Fund
	Ludwig II of Bavaria 1994 Oil on board 17 x 12 in 43.2 x 30.5 cm Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Peter Norton
	Sidney 1995 Charcoal on paper 13 x 11 in 33 x 27.9 cm Private collection © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Sid and his Mum (John and Anne Beverley) 1995 Oil on board 17 x 12 in 43.2 x 30.5 cm Private collection Courtesy Gladstone Gallery, New York © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Prince Eagle (Fontainebleau) 1999 Oil on board 12 x 9 in 30.5 x 22.9 cm Private collection, New York Courtesy Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Dallas, TX (January 1978) 1994 Oil on canvas 20 x 16 in 50.8 x 40.6 cm Private collection Courtesy Sadie Coles HQ, London © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Berlin (Tony) 2000 Oil on canvas 40 x 30 in 101.6 x 76.2 cm Private Collection © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Yoko Still Life (After Don Brown) 2009 Oil on linen on board 12 1/4 x 10 1/4 x 3/4 in © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Jarvis and Liam Smoking 1997 Oil on canvas 12 x 9 in 30.5 x 22.9 cm Collection Tiqui Atencio © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Flower Liam 1996 Oil on board 17 x 14 in 43.2 x 35.6 cm Private collection Courtesy Zwirner & Wirth, New York © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Keith (From Gimme Shelter) 2004 Oil on board 10 x 12 in 25.4 x 20.5 cm Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, purchased with funds by the International Director’s Council and Executive Committee Members: Ruth Baum, Edythe Broad, Elaine Terner Cooper, Dimitris Daskalopoulos, Harry David, Gail May Engelberg, Shirley Fiterman, Nicki Harris, Dakis Joannou, Rachel Lehmann, Linda Macklowe, Peter Norton, Tonino Perna, Elizabeth Richebourg Rea, Mortimer D.A. Sackler, Simonetta Seragnoli, David Teiger, Ginny Williams, and Eliot K. Wolk, and Sustaining Members: Tiqui Atencio, Linda Fischbach, Beatrice Habermann, and Cargill and Donna MacMillan, 2005 2005.15 © Elizabeth Peyton.
	David Hockney, Powis Terrace Bedroom 1998 Oil on board 9.3/4 x 7 in 24.8 x 17.8 cm Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Princess Kurt 1995 Oil on linen 14 x 11.3/4 in 35.6 x 29.8 cm Collection Walker Art Center, Minneapolis T.B. Walker Acquisition Fund, 1995 © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Kurt 1995 Oil on board 10 x 8 in 25.4 x 20.3 cm Collection Glenn Fuhrman Courtesy the FLAG Art Foundation © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Zoe’s Kurt 1995 Oil on board 14 x 11 in 35.6 x 27.9 cm Collection Zoe Stillpass © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Alizarin Kurt 1995 Oil on canvas 24 x 20 in 61 x 50.8 cm Private collection © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Blue Kurt 1995 Oil on canvas 20 x 16 in 50.8 x 40.6 cm Private collection © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Maurizio Eating 1998 Oil on board 12 x 9 in 30.5 x 22.9 cm Collection Nancy Delman Portnoy © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Little Em (Eminem) 2002 Oil on board 12 x 9 in 30.5 x 22.9 cm The Stephanie and Peter Brant Foundation, Greenwich, Connecticut © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Silver Colin 1998 Oil on board 10.1/4 x 8.1/4 in 26 x 21 cm Private collection © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Jarvis on a Bed 1996 Oil on board 17 x 14 in 43.2 x 35.6 cm Collection Laura and Stafford Broumand © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Roseland 1997 Oil on board 12 x 9 in 30.5 x 22.9 cm Emanuel Hoffmann Foundation, permanent loan to the Öffentliche Kunstsammlung, Basel © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Palladium Martin 1999 Oil and palladium leaf on board 12 x 9 in 30.5 x 22.9 cm The Stephanie and Peter Brant Foundation, Greenwich, Connecticut © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Jarvis 1996 Oil on board 11 x 14 in 27.9 x 35.6 cm Hort Family Collection © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Rirkrit, age 3 (Argentina) 1993 Ink on paper 5.1/2 x 3.3/4 in 14 x 9.5 cm Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Savoy (Tony) 1999 Oil on board 14 x 16.1/2 in 35.6 x 41.9 cm Emanuel Hoffmann Foundation, permanent loan to the Öffentliche Kunstsammlung, Basel © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Marc 2004 Oil on board 10 x 8 in 25.4 x 20.3 cm Private collection © Elizabeth Peyton.
	Pati, 2007 Pastel pencil on paper 8.5/8 x 6 in 22.6 x 15.2 cm Private collection Courtesy Gavin Brown’s enterprise © Elizabeth Peyton.
	John Lydon 1994 Oil on canvas 12 x 9 in 30.5 x 22.9 cm Private collection
	Hotel, 1966 (John Lennon) 1996 Oil on board 17 x 14 in 43.2 x 35.6 cm Collection Carlo de' Stefani