Portrait of the artist May Wilson (1905-1986). Silver print, the image measuring 324x228 mm; 12 3/4x9 inches, the sheet 355x279 mm; 14x11 inches, with DeSana's signature in pencil and the sitter's name in ink on verso. 1980.
Gifted by the Artist to Robert A. Stefanotti, his gallerist
This was the largest format in which DeSana printed, and these were very limited, the darkroom process being a painstaking one for him.
May Wilson was an artist in New York City's avant-garde scene from the 1960s until her death. Known as "Grandma Moses of the Underground," she left a conventional life as a suburban housewife to become a pioneer of the feminist and mail art movements. Wilson is known for her Surrealist junk assemblages and her "Ridiculous Portrait" photocollages.
