Self-Portrait

Benjamin West, Self-Portrait, 1819, oil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Capitol, 1917.2.3
Benjamin West, Self-Portrait, 1819, oil on paperboard, 32 3825 58 in. (82.265.0 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Capitol, 1917.2.3
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Self-Portrait
Date
1819
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
32 3825 58 in. (82.265.0 cm.)
Credit Line
Transfer from the U.S. Capitol
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on paperboard
Classifications
Subjects
  • Dress — accessory — hat
  • Occupation — art — painter
  • Portrait male — West, Benjamin — self-portrait
  • Object — art tool
  • Portrait male — West, Benjamin — waist length
Object Number
1917.2.3

Artwork Description

Six months before he died, West looked unflinchingly into the mirror to paint his self-portrait. He holds a drawing pencil and wears a painter's robe and beaver hat, which identify him as a founder and president of the Royal Academy of Art. The light is strongest on his face and hands, but the rest of the picture falls into shadow, as if he foresaw his own end. West was official painter to the King of England and the first American artist to gain an international reputation. His example led generations of American artists to measure their art and professional identities by European standards.

Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006

Works by this artist (3 items)

Benjamin West, Mary Hopkinson, ca. 1764, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, George Buchanan Coale Collection, 1926.6.1
Mary Hopkinson
Artist
Dateca. 1764
oil on canvas
On view
Benjamin West, Self-Portrait, 1819, oil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Capitol, 1917.2.3
Self-Portrait
Date1819
oil on paperboard
Not on view
Benjamin West, Helen Brought to Paris, 1776, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1969.33
Helen Brought to Paris
Date1776
oil on canvas
Not on view

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George Catlin, Comanche Giving Arrows to the Medicine Rock, 1837-1839, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.472
Comanche Giving Arrows to the Medicine Rock
Date1837-1839
oil on canvas
Not on view
William Holbrook Beard, The Runaway Match, 1877, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1977.55
The Runaway Match
Date1877
oil on canvas
Not on view