Neither Then nor Now: Queer Temporalities & Interwar Portraits of Expatriate Sapphists

This dissertation, Neither Then nor Now: Queer Temporalities & Interwar Portraits of Expatriate Sapphists, considers the subjective power of portraiture and rethinks its (auto)biographical nature, examining the temporally unique function and repercussions of American expatriate Sapphist portraiture as a site for displaying (gender)queer bodies and recording queer history. My project examines the ways in which Sapphist portraits of and by four expatriate American artists living and working in Paris—Romaine Brooks, Berenice Abbott, Djuna Barnes, and Eyre de Lanux—make their meaning in a unique way, one that is not temporally confined. By looking beyond the present to also assume a simultaneous past and future, my project provides an intervention for understanding queer portraits beyond the established rules of representation and reception. It is my belief that these artworks are disconnected from normative time, enabling the artists and sitters to claim self-determined visibility not otherwise fully accessible in their societal point of origin, always seeking without guarantee an environment in which to exist openly and authentically. I ultimately propose that Sapphist portraits, in disengaging with conventional notions of past, present, and future, (re)make their full meaning neither Then nor Now, but eternally.

Grantor dc:publisher

Temple University. Libraries

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Scott, Lily F.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Pauwels, Erin Kristl

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Alvarez, Mariola V.
• Patel, Alpesh Kantilal
• Smith, Jessica Todd

• Art history

Statement dc:rights

• IN COPYRIGHT- This Rights Statement can be used for an Item that is in copyright. Using this statement implies that the organization making this Item available has determined that the Item is in copyright and either is the rights-holder, has obtained permission from the rights-holder(s) to make their Work(s) available, or makes the Item available under an exception or limitation to copyright (including Fair Use) that entitles it to make the Item available.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Repository record dc:identifier.uri

https://scholarshare.temple.edu/handle/20.500.12613/11162

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarshare.temple.edu:20.500.12613/11162