Self Portrait

Artist John Brett (London, England, 1831 - 1902)

SitterSitter is John Brett (London, England, 1831 - 1902)

Date1883

Mediumoil on canvas

ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings

DimensionsOverall: Height: 34.5 cm, Width: 29.7 cm
Frame: Height: 113.5 cm, Width: 67.3 cm

AcquisitionAlexander Macdonald Bequest, 1901.

CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDAG002295

Keywords

About MeIn the summer of 1883 John Brett , his wife & children sailed round the British Isles in the schooner 'Viking'. Brett had bought the 210 ton vessel earlier in the year and this was his first voyage aboard her. They departed from Southampton in June and sailed west along the coast of Devon and Cornwall. By mid August they reached Skye. They rounded the northernmost tip of Scotland, turned south and put into Aberdeen in mid September, where Brett called on Alexander Macdonald.

Macdonald was amassing a collection of uniformly sized artists' portraits and self portraits and Brett's wife Mary recorded in the family diary on 14 October 1883: "he asked Daddie to add to the collection, so while we were waiting for a fair wind he painted it, & took it to Mr Macdonald when we went to dine with him on the 22nd. I thought it an excellent portrait it was painted very quickly being begun about eleven o'clock on Friday morning & finished by Saturday afternoon".
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This work was painted in less than a day when the artist stopped off during a round Britain sailing trip in his new schooner “Viking” to visit Alexander Macdonald in Aberdeen.