This post was originally published on artnews.com
One of two alternative covers of the Vogue December 2024 issue may look strikingly familiar to art world audiences, who may recognize it as the work of Canadian artist Anna Weyant.
There are two iterations—the other shot by American photographer Steven Meisel—capturing actor and model Kaia Gerber. Weyant, who became known for her intimate yet uncanny depictions of girl- and womanhood, has rose to art world stardom in the last few years.
The issue’s first United States guest editor, fashion mogul Marc Jacobs, commissioned the painting. “I love Anna’s women,” he explained in an interview with Vogue, “and I love the idea of Kaia seen by Anna—I wanted a young woman looking at a young woman.”
Gerber is the daughter of model Cindy Crawford and businessman Rande Gerber. In 2016 Kaia’s career skyrocketed in photos next to her mother on the covers of Vogue Paris, Vogue Netherlands, and Vogue India. She debuted onscreen later that same year and has since appeared in standout roles for such movies as Bottoms (2023) and Saturday Night (2024).
“I wanted her to look calm and wise and knowing,” Weyant told Vogue. “Kaia was almost like butter in front of the camera,” she continued. “It was just so smooth. And her energy was very soft. The experience was nothing like what I expected.”
On the cover, Gerber appears to glance off to the side framed in a stone windowsill lined with blooming roses. She is captured in Weyant’s signature style, which shows off the artist’s mastery of sfumato or fine shading between colors and tones. The twist, however, is an off-the-shoulder pale blue floral dress from Jacobs’s fall 2024 runway collection. There is both a fragility and a sexuality to the model, who appears doll-like, as if made of porcelain—characteristic of Weyant’s earlier works.
As Weyant painted the portrait, she was also preparing for the upcoming solo exhibition “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolves,” currently on view at Gagosian in London.
Since 2022, Weyant has been represented by Gagosian, when she became the youngest artist on the gallery giant’s roster at just 26. Her romantic relationship with the gallery’s founder, Larry Gagosian, was mildly scandalous, as it was marked by a 50-year age gap. Though the pair broke up earlier this year, they have maintained an ongoing professional relationship.
Since Weyant’s New York debut at 56 Henry just five years ago, she has made headlines with three international solo exhibitions at Gagosian and an auction record of $1.6 million for the sale of Falling Woman (2020) at Sotheby’s New York in 2022.
“It was really tough to get her likeness!” Weyant said of the finished canvas. “It’s not usually something I have to even consider when painting a figure. But it was a welcome challenge.”