1st self-portrait.

  • Charnley, Bryan, 1949-1991
Date:
11-16 April 1991
Reference:
3049687i
Part of:
Bryan Charnley Self-portraits.
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view 1st self-portrait.

Contains: 2 images

Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

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Credit

1st self-portrait. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). Source: Wellcome Collection.

Online resources

  • Related materials at Wellcome Library See the related archive PP/BCH: View resource

About this work

Also known as

First self-portrait.

Description

Head and shoulder portrait of Bryan Charnley, wearing a blue shirt.

Publication/Creation

11-16 April 1991.

Physical description

1 painting : oil on canvas ; 50.9 x 50.8 cm

Biographical note

Charnley's diary entry reads: "Conventional portrait painted in two sittings. Is it a good likeness? ... I was sleeping a lot. 11th to 16th April 1991."
Bryan Charnley (1949-1991) was a British artist whose work illustrates his experiences of schizophrenia. In 1969 he enrolled on a BA in sculpture at the Central School of Art and Design, but left due to a breakdown. He started painting in 1978, and from the late 1980s he began to get recognition for his work, with Bethlem Royal Hospital purchasing four of his paintings. From 1987 to his death he kept a dream diary as a way of understanding his own mind. In March 1991 he decided to experiment with his medication and embarked on a series of self-portraits, a series which exposed his mental illness. The series was exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, London, in 1995. He took his own life in July 1991.

Reference

Bryan Charnley. 1991. 1st self-portrait. [Oil on canvas]. Wellcome Collection 3049687i

References note

Charnley, J. (2018). Bryan Charnley: art and adversity, page 174.

Exhibitions note

Exhibited in ‘Bryan Charnley self-portraits: face to face with schizophrenia’ at the National Portrait Gallery, London, 21 July – 3 December 1995.

Notes

Title provided by the Estate of Bryan Charnley.
Dated 11-16.4.91 on recto. Numbered 1 on verso.

Ownership note

Purchased by Wellcome Collection in 2018 from the Estate of Bryan Charnley.

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