Lorna Simpson

(American, born 1960)

Lorna Simpson is an American artist best known for her black-and-white photographs and works on paper—both of which explore the interplay between historical memory, culture, and identity. Often associated with postcolonial and feminist critique, Simpson’s work seeks to explicate the ways in which race and gender shape human interactions, specifically in the United States, through the medium of portraiture. “I do not feel as though issues of identity are exhaustible,” the artist has said. “I feel that my critique of identity, which in the past work may be the most obvious, becomes the foreground or recedes given the structures of the text or the type of narrative that I impose on the work.” In her most famous work Stereo Styles (1988), she explores the way in which identity is externally projected, displaying 10 images of an African American woman in different hairstyles alongside text that reads “Sweet,” “Ageless,” and “Magnetic.” Born in 1960 in Brooklyn, NY, Simpson studied photography at School of Visual Arts in New York and received an MFA from the University of California at San Diego, where she studied under Allan Kaprow and Eleanor Antin. In 1986, she received critical attention for her photographic series Twenty Questions (A Sampler), which evaluated the importance of image in contemporary society. In 2007, she was the subject of the retrospective titled “Lorna Simpson” at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, and she first exhibited paintings in 2015. Simpson lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She was married to fellow artist James Casebere from 2007 to 2018. Today, her works are held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and the Miami Art Museum, among others.

Lorna Simpson News

On View

A New Survey of Black Portraiture Rewrites the Art Historical Canon

by Jo Lawson-Tancred
A New Survey of Black Portraiture Rewrites the Art Historical Canon
Art Collectors

L.A. Collector Eileen Harris Norton on a Lifetime Spent Championing Artists of Color

by Lee Carter
L.A. Collector Eileen Harris Norton on a Lifetime Spent Championing Artists of Color
Museums & Institutions

What Goes on Behind the Scenes at a Guggenheim Show? These Eye-Opening Polaroids Photos Offer a Rare Peek

by Min Chen
What Goes on Behind the Scenes at a Guggenheim Show? These Eye-Opening Polaroids Photos Offer a Rare Peek

Lorna Simpson Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Lorna Simpson (245 results)
15 Mouths, 2002

Lorna Simpson

15 Mouths, 2002

Sale Date: April 20, 2021

Auction Closed

Counting, 1991

Lorna Simpson

Counting, 1991

Sale Date: April 20, 2021

Auction Closed

Ultra Terrestrial, 2017

Lorna Simpson

Ultra Terrestrial, 2017

Sale Date: March 18, 2021

Auction Closed

i. Actress 2D ii. Barbara 1M iii. Actress 1C , 2007

Lorna Simpson

i. Actress 2D ii. Barbara 1M iii. Actress 1C , 2007

Sale Date: March 18, 2021

Auction Closed

III (Three Wishbones in a Wood Box), 2004

Lorna Simpson

III (Three Wishbones in a Wood Box), 2004

Sale Date: February 18, 2021

Auction Closed

Cliff, 2016

Lorna Simpson

Cliff, 2016

Sale Date: February 6, 2021

Auction Closed

Nervous Conditions, 1992

Lorna Simpson

Nervous Conditions, 1992

Sale Date: February 6, 2021

Auction Closed

Set of 4 Leather Bags (Overnight Bag; Jumbo; , 1998

Lorna Simpson

Set of 4 Leather Bags (Overnight Bag; Jumbo; , 1998

Sale Date: November 19, 2020

Auction Closed

Personal Effects, 1991

Lorna Simpson

Personal Effects, 1991

Sale Date: November 19, 2020

Auction Closed

Practical Joke, 1992

Lorna Simpson

Practical Joke, 1992

Sale Date: October 21, 2020

Auction Closed

Portrait, 1988

Lorna Simpson

Portrait, 1988

Sale Date: October 21, 2020

Auction Closed

C-RATION, 1991

Lorna Simpson

C-RATION, 1991

Sale Date: July 16, 2020

Auction Closed

Double Portrait, 2013

Lorna Simpson

Double Portrait, 2013

Sale Date: July 24, 2020

Auction Closed

Gold Head Q, 2011

Lorna Simpson

Gold Head Q, 2011

Sale Date: July 2, 2020

Auction Closed

Gold Head W, 2011

Lorna Simpson

Gold Head W, 2011

Sale Date: July 2, 2020

Auction Closed

THE CAR, 1995

Lorna Simpson

THE CAR, 1995

Sale Date: May 14, 2020

Auction Closed

Cure/Heal (from the portfolio 10 Artists as..., 1992

Lorna Simpson

Cure/Heal (from the portfolio 10 Artists as..., 1992

Sale Date: May 21, 2020

Auction Closed

UNTITLED (UPPER-CASE AND LOWER-CASE WIGS), 1994

Lorna Simpson

UNTITLED (UPPER-CASE AND LOWER-CASE WIGS), 1994

Sale Date: April 3, 2020

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1995

Lorna Simpson

Untitled, 1995

Sale Date: February 26, 2020

Auction Closed

Untitled (Two Necklines), 1989

Lorna Simpson

Untitled (Two Necklines), 1989

Sale Date: October 5, 2019

Auction Closed

May June July August '57/'09, 2009

Lorna Simpson

May June July August '57/'09, 2009

Sale Date: October 5, 2019

Auction Closed

Riunite & Ice #15, 2014

Lorna Simpson

Riunite & Ice #15, 2014

Sale Date: September 27, 2019

Auction Closed

RIUNITE & ICE #26; RIUNITE & ICE #27 [TWO..., 2018

Lorna Simpson

RIUNITE & ICE #26; RIUNITE & ICE #27 [TWO..., 2018

Sale Date: September 26, 2019

Auction Closed

Untitled (From The Portfolio, In A Dream),..., 1991

Lorna Simpson

Untitled (From The Portfolio, In A Dream),..., 1991

Sale Date: September 15, 2019

Auction Closed

English (US)

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