Chris Ofili
- Artist: Chris Ofili
- Date: 1991
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 40 1/8 in. x 17 3/8 in. (1019 mm x 442 mm)
- Portrays: Chris Ofili
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is a long, vertical canvas that shows the artist staring into a mirror. The composition is cropped so we see only his head and the reflected face. His eye dominates the frame, drawing our attention to the intensity of his look. Oil on canvas, painted in 1991 when he was still at Chelsea School of Art, this portrait is more traditional than his later collage work. Ofili would become part of the Young British Artists group, winning the Turner Prize in 1998 as the first black artist to receive it. The painting marks the start of his exploration of self‑representation.
See it in person
Chris Ofili is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
