"Self-Portrait" (1852), by Margaret Sarah Carpenter (1793-1872)

Self-Portrait (1852), by Margaret Sarah Carpenter

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Self-Portrait.

Margaret Sarah Carpenter (1793-1872)

1852

Oil on canvas

H 91.9 x W 74 cm

Tate, accession no. T15068

Image credit: Tate. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]

Presented by Tate Members 2018

Looking every bit as "genial and aimiable" as Ellen Clayton describes her (388), Margaret Carpenter has her pet parrot perched on one arm, head turned trustingly towards her. [Commentary continues belwo.]

Downloaded via Art UK with thanks, under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (CC BY-NC-ND). [Click on the image to enlarge it.]

There is nothing showy here, unless it be the splash of colour in the parrot's tail, and the fine patterning of the lace around the artist's bonnet, on the trimmings of her dress, and on the handkerchief on her lap. The flowers tied with a grey bow on her bonnet seem to be snowdrops, and the whole feel of the portrait is one of placid, fulfilled but still productive later life. Carol Jacobi writes, "A late work, this was her last self-portrait and the only one to have been painted in oil; it may have been made for the artist’s family, but declares Carpenter’s achievements in its confident scale and handling." — Jacqueline Banerjee

Bibliography

Clayton, Ellen Creathorne. English Female Artists. London: Tinsley Brothers, 1876. HathiTrust, from a copy in the Getty Research Institute. Web. 19 October 2024.

Jacobi, Carol. "Collection Text." Self-portrait 1852, Margaret Sarah Carpenter (née Geddes). Tate. Web. 19 October 2024.

Self-Portrait. Art UK. Web. 20 October 2024.

Created 19 October 2024