Self-Portrait

Romaine Brooks, Self-Portrait, 1923, oil on canvas, 46 ¹⁄₄ x 26 ⁷⁄₈ in. (117.5 x 68.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1966.49.1

Artwork Details

Title: Self-Portrait
Artist: Romaine Brooks
Date: 1923
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 46 ¹⁄₄ x 26 ⁷⁄₈ in. (117.5 x 68.3 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of the artist
Mediums: oil
Mediums Description: oil on canvas
Classifications: Painting
Subjects: Occupation — art — printmaker
Portrait female — Brooks, Romaine — waist length
Portrait female — Brooks, Romaine — self-portrait
Dress — accessory — hat
Occupation — art — designer
Cityscape
Occupation — art — painter
Object Number: 1966.49.1
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1966.49.1

Artwork Description

With this self-portrait, Brooks envisioned her modernity as an artist and a person. The modulated shades of gray, stylized forms, and psychological gravity exemplify her deep commitment to aesthetic principles. The shaded, direct gaze conveys a commanding and confident presence, an attitude more typically associated with her male counterparts. The riding hat and coat and masculine tailoring recall conventions of aristocratic portraiture while also evoking a chic androgyny associated with the post--World War I "new woman." Brooks's fashion choices also enabled upper-class lesbians to identify and acknowledge one another.

The Art of Romaine Brooks, 2016