Skip to main content
Untitled #148
Untitled #148
Untitled #148

Untitled #148

Maker Cowin, Eileen American, b. 1947
Date1988
MediumSilver dye bleach print
Dimensionsframe: 41 1/2 in x 31 1/2 in; paper: 40 in x 30 in
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number1994:57.1
About the ArtistWith a skillful use of gesture and pose, Eileen Cowin creates mysterious, theatrical scenarios for the camera. Blending the ecclesiastical allegory of the fifteenth century, the romantic vision of the nineteenth century, and the Surrealist trends of the twentieth, Cowin draws inspiration from European painting. Her work emulates poses seen in paintings by Jan Van Eyck, Ingres, and Goya while adopting the styles of film noir and television. Untitled (Magritte) reveals Cowin’s penchant for suspense and the recurring themes of privacy, victimization, and voyeurism.

Since 1970, Eileen Cowin’s photographs have been featured in over twenty-five one-person exhibitions in Europe, Japan, and the United States, including at the Cleveland Museum of Art; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and Museum of Contemporary Photography. Cowin studied with Aaron Siskind and Arthur Siegel at the Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, where she earned an MS degree in photography in 1970. Cowin was a professor of art at California State University, Fullerton.
Untitled #148
Cowin, Eileen
1988
Untitled #148
Cowin, Eileen
1988
Untitled #148
Cowin, Eileen
1988
Match
Cowin, Eileen
1993
Untitled (#137)
Cowin, Eileen
1987
Night Meal
Cowin, Eileen
1993
Untitled (Magritte)
Cowin, Eileen
1988
Untitled
Cowin, Eileen
1991
Blue Woman Blindfolded
Cowin, Eileen
1990