Self Portrait with Wood Carving

© the artist's estate. Image credit: Ruth Borchard Collection

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Kuhn, who was born in Poland and came to live in England in 1947, has always been an idiosyncratic original in the British art world. His self portrait is immediately recognisable for its Eastern European folkloric character. The elegant yet rough-hewn wooden figure on the table has a simple black dot for an eye. The painting’s palette, its abbreviated brushstrokes and its naïve style have something in common with the pictures of the great Polish artist Tadeusz Makowksi (1882–1932). Kuhn’s childhood was happy and unspectacular. But following the Russian invasion in 1940, tragedy struck. Kuhn’s father was incarcerated, he and his mother and sister were deported to Kazakhstan. His mother died in a labour camp, and the children were placed in an orphanage.

The Ruth Borchard Collection

Title

Self Portrait with Wood Carving

Date

1963

Medium

oil on board

Measurements

H 77.5 x W 66 cm

Accession number

PCF66

Acquisition method

acquired by Ruth Borchard as part of the original collection

Work type

Painting

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The Ruth Borchard Collection

Greater London England

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