I’ve never been to a true masquerade ball. The closest I came is a school fundraising auction I chaired with a Carnivale theme. I have a cute photo of myself and my friend/co-chair, artist Lee Essex Doyle (you can see her Venetian interiors here), but I can’t find it right now. She invited me to a Save Venice masquerade ball, but we skipped it. Oh well, there went my chance.
I started noticing a lot of photography featuring people with elaborate rubber animal masks, which I’ve been putting aside for a later post. As I collected those, all masked figures made their way into my folder. So I’ve pulled out a dozen masquerade-themed artworks, including, a simple linocut of a mask sold on Serena & Lily; a woman masked in sawdust (not quite masquerade-worthy, but you know how I love what I’ve come to call obscured portraits); mod photos that appeared in the New York Times in the 1960s and brought to light by Jonathan Adler; a fashion shot of Kate Moss.; and others.
Enjoy these 12 masquerade themed artworks; perhaps you’ll find inspiration for your own year-end celebration.
Gloves and Masks, 1965 • The New York Times
Sammy Harkin • Masquerade • Society 6
Heidi Kirkpatrick • Masquerade • Artsy
Jennifer Ament • Mask • Serena & Lily
Godfried Donkor • Jamestown Masquerade IX • Artsy
Courtneeeee • Masquerade • Society 6
Anton Corbijn • Kate Moss New York, 1993 • Artsy
Five Foot Three Photography • Masquerade • Society 6
Ann Devito • Masquerade • Saatchi Art
Antonio Jose Guzman • Nancy • Saatchi Art
Azarii Gorchakov • Mask Graza • Saatchi Art
Anna Ullman • Woman In Mask • Artfully Walls
Larry C. Morris • Leopard People, 1966 • New York Times Store
