Painting a self-portrait is a self-conscious undertaking in which the artist always has the knowledge of a viewing in mind. Is it a true reflection of my real self? Will a finished product be met with approval, or will it elicit surprise and consternation? There is a lingering sense of self-scrutiny and vulnerability as the artist lays out his/her thoughts and feelings on the surface. Following the invention of photography in the mid-19th century, the depictions of self-image moved away from making things look lifelike towards exploring and interrogating the psyche in various forms and media. Today, in the age of social media and selfies, the self-portrait has never been more relevant.
Self Portrait 1886
John Singer Sargent (1856–1925)
Oil on canvas
H 34.5 x W 29.7 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Self Portrait 1637
George Jamesone (1589/1590–1644)
Oil on canvas
H 71 x W 54.9 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Self Portrait 1882
Joseph Farquharson (1846–1935)
Oil on canvas
H 34.5 x W 29.7 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Self Portrait 1992
Brian McLaughlin (b.1966)
Oil on board
H 32.8 x W 23.6 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Self Portrait 1883
Jules Breton (1827–1906)
Oil on canvas
H 30.5 x W 25.8 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
John Phillip (1817–1867)
Oil on canvas
H 70.8 x W 51.4 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Self Portrait 1882
Edward John Poynter (1836–1919)
Oil on canvas
H 34.5 x W 29.7 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Self Portrait 1882
George Reid (1841–1913)
Oil on canvas
H 34.5 x W 29.7 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Self Portrait 1952
James McBey (1883–1959)
Oil on canvas
H 72.4 x W 54.8 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
George Washington Wilson (1823–1893)
Oil on panel
H 42.9 x W 32.9 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Self Portrait 1883
John Everett Millais (1829–1896)
Oil on canvas
H 34.5 x W 29.7 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
James Giles (1801–1870)
Oil on board
H 47.1 x W 37.1 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Self Portrait 1967
Duncan Grant (1885–1978)
Oil on canvas
H 47.3 x W 36 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
![Cigarette Tits [Idealized Smokers Chest II]](https://d3d00swyhr67nd.cloudfront.net/w550/collection/TATE/TATE/TATE_TATE_T13928-001.jpg)
Cigarette Tits [Idealized Smokers Chest II] 1999
Sarah Lucas (b.1962)
Chair, balls, cigarettes and bra
H 80 x W 48 x D 52 cm
Tate
Self Portrait c.1915
Vanessa Bell (1879–1961)
Oil on canvas laid on panel
H 63.8 x W 45.9 cm
Yale Center for British Art
Leon Kossoff (1926–2019)
Oil on canvas
H 61 x W 46.4 cm
Ferens Art Gallery
J. Y. M. Seated 1976
Frank Helmuth Auerbach (1931–2024)
Oil on board
H 50.8 x W 45.8 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Self Portrait 1925
Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887–1976)
Oil on board
H 57.2 x W 47.2 cm
The Lowry Collection, Salford
Derelict Building 1941
Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887–1976)
Oil on canvas
H 43.3 x W 53.2 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Restraining Coat II (Female) 1995
Julie Roberts (b.1963)
Oil & acrylic on canvas
H 152.4 x W 152.4 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Man's Head (Self Portrait III) 1963 1963
Lucian Freud (1922–2011)
Oil on canvas
H 30.5 x W 25.1 cm
National Portrait Gallery, London
Ivy Leaves in a White Jug c.1920–1925
Gwen John (1876–1939)
Gouache on paper
H 16.3 x W 12.6 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
We Two Boys Together Clinging 1961
David Hockney (b.1937)
Oil on board
H 121.9 x W 152.4 cm
Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre
Pope I (Study after Pope Innocent X by Diego Velázquez) 1951
Francis Bacon (1909–1992)
Oil on canvas
H 197.8 x W 137.4 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Francis Bacon (1909–1992)
Oil on canvas
H 49.5 x W 39.4 cm
Yale Center for British Art
Francis Bacon (1909–1992), Study No. 6 (Head and Teeth) 1978
Clive Barker (b.1940)
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Self Portrait c.1896
Walter Richard Sickert (1860–1942)
Oil on canvas
H 45.7 x W 35.6 cm
Leeds Museums and Galleries
Portrait Head 1965
Angus Menmuir Neil (1924–1992)
Oil on board
H 51.2 x W 41 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Joan Eardley (1921–1963), Artist 1943
Joan Kathleen Harding Eardley (1921–1963)
Oil on plywood
H 53.4 x W 45.7 cm
National Galleries of Scotland
Setting Sun over Fields c.1955–1963
Joan Kathleen Harding Eardley (1921–1963)
Oil on canvas
H 46.5 x W 51.5 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Barbara Hepworth (1903–1975)
Bronze
H 6 x W 20 x D 11 cm
The Hepworth Wakefield
Robert Colquhoun (1914–1962), Artist, Self Portrait c.1940
Robert Colquhoun (1914–1962)
Oil on canvas
H 41 x W 33 cm
National Galleries of Scotland
Woman in Green 1949
Robert Colquhoun (1914–1962)
Oil on canvas
H 101.3 x W 51.4 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Mr Wyndham Lewis as 'Tyro' c.1920–1921
Wyndham Lewis (1882–1957)
Oil on canvas
H 75.9 x W 45.4 cm
Ferens Art Gallery
One of the Stations of the Dead 1933–1937
Wyndham Lewis (1882–1957)
Oil on canvas
H 127.6 x W 75.8 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Me VIII 2012
Lucy Skaer (b.1975)
Resin & celluloid
H 23.5 x W 15.5 x D 4 cm
Government Art Collection
John Henry Lorimer (1856–1936)
Oil on canvas
H 94.5 x W 56.5 cm
National Trust for Scotland, Kellie Castle & Garden
Self Portrait 1938
William Gear (1915–1997)
Brush & ink on paper
H 42.5 x W 26.7 cm
The Ingram Collection of Modern British and Contemporary Art
Winter Pastoral 1964
William Gear (1915–1997)
Oil on canvas
H 122.5 x W 81.5 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
Self Portrait with Artist's First Wife, Nancy 1923
James Cowie (1886–1956)
Oil on canvas
H 81.5 x W 81.5 cm
The Fleming Collection
Self Portrait 1964
Alberto Morrocco (1917–1998)
Oil on canvas
H 56 x W 51 cm
The Ruth Borchard Collection
Self Portrait Standing, Three Times, 17.3.1991 1991
Gerhard Richter (b.1932)
Painted photographs on paper
H 151.2 x W 112.8 cm
Tate
Self-Portrait, Three Times, 24.1.90 (Selbstbildnis, dreimal, 24.1.90) 1990
Gerhard Richter (b.1932)
Oil on photograph
H 50 x W 60 cm
Tate
Andy Warhol (1928–1987)
Acrylic & silkscreen ink on canvas
National Galleries of Scotland
The Simple Truth 1995
Tracey Emin (b.1963)
Wool, cotton & felt
H 216 x W 235 x D 2 cm
Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre
Marc Quinn (b.1964) 2006
Marc Quinn (b.1964)
Blood, liquid silicone, stainless steel, glass, perspex & refrigeration equipment
H 205 x W 65 x D 65 cm
National Portrait Gallery, London
Unfamiliar Reflection: Self Portrait by Ken Currie (b.1960) 2006
Ken Currie (b.1960)
Oil on canvas
H 198.5 x W 137.5 cm
National Galleries of Scotland
Explore artists in this Curation
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George Washington Wilson (1823–1893) -
Tracey Emin (b.1963) -
John Henry Lorimer (1856–1936) -
Gerhard Richter (b.1932) -
George Reid (1841–1913) -
William Gear (1915–1997) -
Lucian Freud (1922–2011) -
John Everett Millais (1829–1896) -
Joan Kathleen Harding Eardley (1921–1963) -
Brian McLaughlin (b.1966) - View all 43