Self-Portrait

(Ann) Mary Newton (1832-1866)

c.1862

Oil on canvas

24 in. x 20 1/2 in. (610 mm x 521 mm)

© National Portrait Gallery London, reproduced here by kind permission

Bequeathed by the sitter's husband, Sir Charles Thomas Newton, 1895

Primary Collection, NPG 977

This strikingly beautiful self-portrait, showing the artist not at an easel, but more subtly with a well-filled portfolio of work (see Perry 125-26), balances confidence and modesty perfectly. [Click on the image to enlarge it. Commentary continues below.]

But there is perhaps something a little challenging about her expression, and something very proprietorial about the way she clasps her portfolio. The different and rich tones of brown here, especially in her elegant dress with its ruffed collar and elaborately fashioned sleeves, throw her pale face into relief. She looks strong and well, though, with colour in her cheeks. It is so sad that she should have died soon after painting this. — Jacqueline Banerjee

Bibliography

Perry, Lara. History's Beauties: Women in the National Portrait Gallery, 1856-1900. Aldershot, Hants.: Ashgate, 2006.

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Created 7 January 2020