Self-Portrait by Margaret Sarah Carpenter (1793-1872), the whole portrait on the left and a closer view of the artist's face on the right. 1817. Watercolour on paper. H 395 x W 220 mm. Collection: British Museum, museum no. 1893,0426.3. Inscribed and dated, "Margaret Carpenter 1817" and donated by Miss Carpenter (one of the artist's daughters) in 1893. © The Trustees of the British Museum, and reproduced here under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
With her face turned at a very slight angle, the artist appraises herself, and presents herself to us in the bloom of young womanhood, looking very much of her times — that is, the era of Jane Austen, for this was the very year in which Jane Austen died, much too young by any standards. This was also the year in which the artist married the antiquary William Hookham Carpenter (1792–1866), who was to become Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the museum in 1845. There is an admirable mix of strength and softness in this face, nothing at all simpering or sentimental, yet nothing proudly assertive either. She would go on to become the mother of a typically large family, and a prolific and highly regarded painter as well. — Jacqueline Banerjee
Bibliography
Drawing: Self-Portrait. British Museum. Web. 21 October 2024.
Hajdamach, Jonathan. "Margaret Sarah Carpenter: a forgotten talent." Art UK. Web. 20 October 2024.
William Hookham Carpenter (1792-1896). Royal Academy. Web. 20 October 2024.
Created 19 October 2024