The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 8, 2026

A vertically oriented etching in orange, brown, and gray features swirling, translucent washes. Center, a large, textured profile in gray and white faces left. Upper left, a winged figure in orange tones emerges from the clouds, while a stark white silhouette of a rider on a leaping beast moves right. Lower left, a white tree stands against a jagged, dark landscape. Fine, stippled lines and overlapping shapes create a dense, ethereal scene.

Portrait of the Artist

2016

Shahzia Sikander

(Pakistani American, b. 1969)
publisher

Pace Editions

America
etching
Sheet: 68.5 x 53 cm (26 15/16 x 20 7/8 in.)
Gift of the Artist 2023.209.4
© Shahzia Sikander
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Sikander has been incorporating self-portraits into her work since The Scroll (1989-90), her undergraduate thesis project at the National College of Arts in Lahore, Pakistan.

Description

Portrait of the Artist is a collaborative work that comprises four etchings by the visual artist Shahzia Sikander (Pakistani-American, b. 1969) and an accompanying text by the author Ayad Akhtar (Pakistani-American, b. 1970). Through their respective mediums, Sikander and Akhtar interpret the Mi’raj, an Islamic narrative about the Prophet Muhammad’s mystical night journey and ascent to heaven, in relation to the artistic pursuit.
  • 2016–23
    Shazia Sikander (the artist) [b. 1969], New York, NY, given to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    December 4, 2023–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Shahzia Sikander: Collective Behavior. Palazzo Soranzo Van Axel, Venezia, Italy (co-organizer) (April 20-October 20, 2024).
  • {{cite web|title=Portrait of the Artist|url=false|author=Shahzia Sikander, Pace Editions|year=2016|access-date=08 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2023.209.4