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.

Artists featured in this Curation: John Singer Sargent (1856–1925), George Jamesone (1589/1590–1644), Joseph Farquharson (1846–1935), Brian McLaughlin (b.1966), Jules Breton (1827–1906), John Phillip (1817–1867), Edward John Poynter (1836–1919), George Reid (1841–1913), James McBey (1883–1959), George Washington Wilson (1823–1893), and 33 more See all

52 artworks

Storyline Album Showcase

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Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Self Portrait 1886
John Singer Sargent (1856–1925)
Oil on canvas
H 34.5 x W 29.7 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Image credit: 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

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Image credit: 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

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Self Portrait 1992
Brian McLaughlin (b.1966)
Oil on board
H 32.8 x W 23.6 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Image credit: 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

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Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Self Portrait
John Phillip (1817–1867)
Oil on canvas
H 70.8 x W 51.4 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Image credit: 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

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Image credit: 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

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Self Portrait 1952
James McBey (1883–1959)
Oil on canvas
H 72.4 x W 54.8 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Self Portrait
George Washington Wilson (1823–1893)
Oil on panel
H 42.9 x W 32.9 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Image credit: 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

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Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Self Portrait
James Giles (1801–1870)
Oil on board
H 47.1 x W 37.1 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Self Portrait 1967
Duncan Grant (1885–1978)
Oil on canvas
H 47.3 x W 36 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Cigarette Tits [Idealized Smokers Chest II] 1999
Sarah Lucas (b.1962)
Chair, balls, cigarettes & bra
H 80 x W 48 x D 52 cm
Tate

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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

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Self Portrait Looking Up 1982
Leon Kossoff (1926–2019)
Oil on canvas
H 61 x W 46.4 cm
Ferens Art Gallery

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J. Y. M. Seated 1976
Frank Helmuth Auerbach (b.1931)
Oil on board
H 50.8 x W 45.8 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Self Portrait 1925
Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887–1976)
Oil on board
H 57.2 x W 47.2 cm
The Lowry Collection, Salford

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Derelict Building 1941
Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887–1976)
Oil on canvas
H 43.3 x W 53.2 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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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

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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

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Image credit: Tate

Self-Portrait 1902
Gwen John (1876–1939)
Oil on canvas
H 44.8 x W 34.9 cm
Tate

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Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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

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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

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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

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Study of a Head, 1952 1952
Francis Bacon (1909–1992)
Oil on canvas
H 49.5 x W 39.4 cm
Yale Center for British Art

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Francis Bacon (1909–1992), Study No. 6 (Head and Teeth) 1978
Clive Barker (b.1940)
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Image credit: Bridgeman Images

Self Portrait c.1896
Walter Richard Sickert (1860–1942)
Oil on canvas
H 45.7 x W 35.6 cm
Leeds Museums and Galleries

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Self Portrait 1937
David Bomberg (1890–1957)
Oil on board
H 61 x W 50.8 cm
Pallant House Gallery

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Portrait Head 1965
Angus Menmuir Neil (1924–1992)
Oil on board
H 51.2 x W 41 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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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

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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

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Barbara Hepworth's Hand 1967
Barbara Hepworth (1903–1975)
Bronze
H 6 x W 20 x D 11 cm
The Hepworth Wakefield

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Torso 1932
Barbara Hepworth (1903–1975)
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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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

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Woman in Green 1949
Robert Colquhoun (1914–1962)
Oil on canvas
H 101.3 x W 51.4 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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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

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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

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Me VIII 2012
Lucy Skaer (b.1975)
Resin & celluloid
H 23.5 x W 15.5 x D 4 cm
Government Art Collection

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Image credit: National Trust for Scotland, Kellie Castle & Garden

Le peintre des fleurs
John Henry Lorimer (1856–1936)
Oil on canvas
H 94.5 x W 56.5 cm
National Trust for Scotland, Kellie Castle & Garden

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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

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Winter Pastoral 1964
William Gear (1915–1997)
Oil on canvas
H 122.5 x W 81.5 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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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

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Self Portrait 1964
Alberto Morrocco (1917–1998)
Oil on canvas
H 56 x W 51 cm
The Ruth Borchard Collection

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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

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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

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Self-Portrait with Skull 1978
Andy Warhol (1928–1987)
Acrylic & silkscreen ink on canvas
National Galleries of Scotland

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Felt Suit 1970
Joseph Beuys (1921–1986)
Felt
H 170 x W 60 cm
Tate

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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

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Amoeba 1963–1965 & cast 1984
Louise Bourgeois (1911–2010)
Bronze
H 91.6 x W 69.4 x D 30 cm
Tate

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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

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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

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