Reclining Nude Female
- Limited Edition, Signed, Numbered and Certified: This print is part of a limited edition of 960 and arrives signed by the artist, individually numbered, and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity, everything a serious collector needs to confirm provenance and value.
- Intimate Display Size: With an image size of 16 x 23 inches, Reclining Nude Female is perfectly scaled for a reading nook, home library, study, or gallery wall, bringing warmth, intellect, and cultural resonance to any space where ideas are valued.
- A Portrait of the Reading Woman: Unlike traditional reclining nude studies, Armstrong places a book in his subject's hands, creating an image that speaks directly to readers, intellectuals, and anyone who believes that a woman lost in a book is a beautiful thing to witness.
- Signature Afrocentric Cubist Mastery: Bold continuous contour lines, deep terracotta and sienna tones, and a luminous textured background reflect Armstrong's signature blending of Realism, Cubism, and Afrocentric Iconography, a visual language rooted in the traditions of Aaron Douglas and Romare Bearden.
- A Gift That Speaks to Book Lovers and Art Lovers Alike: Whether given to a reader who appreciates art or a collector who loves books, Reclining Nude Female bridges both worlds with elegance, making it a thoughtful and distinctive gift for birthdays, holidays, or any occasion worth celebrating.
She reclines with a book in hand, unhurried and entirely at ease. Anthony Armstrong's Reclining Nude Female captures a woman in one of the most intimate and self-directed acts a person can engage in: the quiet pleasure of reading. There is no performance, no audience, and no obligations in this moment. There is only her, her thoughts, and the page.
Armstrong renders her in her signature style, with bold black contour lines flowing fluidly across a form that fills the composition with warmth and presence. Her body is painted in deep terracotta, sienna, amber, and rose tones, which seem to absorb and radiate light against the richly textured background behind her. The surface shifts and shimmers with layered pigment, creating the effect of an ancient, sun-warmed wall alive with color. Her gaze is alert, engaged, directed toward something on the page that holds her complete attention. One arm rests beneath her head. The other holds the book close.
It is a deceptively simple image with considerable depth. The reclining nude is among the oldest subjects in Western art, from Titian to Goya to Matisse. What Armstrong does differently is center a Black woman in that tradition on her own terms. She is not displayed for the viewer's pleasure or arranged for the male gaze. She is absorbed in her own world, intellectually present, self-possessed, and sovereign. The book in her hand transforms the composition from a study in form into a portrait of a thinking, feeling, reading woman.
For book lovers, the detail is immediately recognizable and deeply resonant. The small, carefully rendered volume she holds says something about who this woman is without a single word of explanation. She is curious. She is literate. She is someone who claims time for herself and fills it with ideas. That combination of intellect, beauty, and ease is a rare thing to find in figurative art, and Armstrong delivers it with economy and grace.
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This limited edition of 960 is produced as an offset lithograph on paper, with an image size of 16 x 23 inches. At that scale, it works beautifully in a reading nook, a home library, a study, or as part of a curated gallery wall. It is an ideal piece for book lovers who also love art, and for art lovers who see the act of reading as its own kind of beauty.
| Cert. Of Authenticity | Ships with a Certificate of Authenticity from the artist. |
| Edition | Limited Edition |
| Edition Size | 960 pieces |
| Framed | Unframed |
| Height | 16 inches |
| Length | 23 inches |
| Medium | Paper |
| Signed | Signed and Numbered by the Artist |
| SKU | armstrong-recliningnude |
Anthony Armstrong
Anthony Armstrong was born on October 22, 1953, and began his artistic journey at age seven when his stepfather gave him his first set of colored pencils. He served in the U.S. Navy before pursuing formal training, earning an Associate of Arts Degree in Print Management from the University of the District of Columbia and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Philadelphia University of the Arts. Armstrong passed away on February 4, 2020, leaving behind a body of work that continues to educate, inspire, and move all who encounter it. In Armstrong's own words: "In the tradition of artists such as Aaron Douglas, Romare Bearden, and Pablo Picasso, I continue to interpret Realism, Cubism, and Afrocentric Iconography. I strive to create images inspired by African American people whose real-life experiences are echoed in those images, which African American people can relate to directly, with or without formal art training."Limited edition artwork ships in 0 to 14 business days depending upon the artwork, artist and medium. All limited editions ship signed and numbered and with a certificate of authenticity from the artist. When a limited edition work of art is purchased a member of our team will contact you within 1 to 3 business days to provide you with a shipping timeline. Some limited editions are not eligible for expedited shipping. For additional information please visit our: Special Note About Limited Editions
