George Segal

Portrait of Sidney Janis with Mondrian Painting

1967

Plaster figure with Mondrian's "Composition," 1933, on an easel

On view MoMA, Floor 4, 412 The David Geffen Wing

In 1961 Segal began using a recently released Johnson & Johnson product—gauze bandages pre-treated with dry plaster—to make full-body plaster casts of family and friends. He combined these unpainted, life-size figures with found objects from everyday life. This portrait pays homage to the legendary art dealer Sidney Janis, who staged an early exhibition of Pop art. He’s shown with one hand perched atop Dutch artist Piet Mondrian’s 1933 painting Composition with Red and Blue, which Janis purchased before its completion. His gesture suggests both a collector’s pride and a salesman’s display of his product.

Gallery label from

2025

Medium Plaster figure with Mondrian's "Composition," 1933, on an easel
Dimensions figure 66" (167.6 cm) high; easel 67" (170 cm) high; overall, 69 7/8 x 56 1/4 x 27 1/4" (177.3 x 142.8 x 69.1 cm)
Credit The Sidney and Harriet Janis Collection
Object number 653.1967.a-b
Department Painting & Sculpture

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