Eileen Agar
- Artist: Eileen Agar
- Date: 1927
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 30 1/8 in. x 25 1/4 in. (765 mm x 641 mm)
- Portrays: Eileen Agar
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
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About this artwork
In this painting we see Eileen Agar standing in a relaxed three‑quarter pose. She uses a bold black line to carve her features, giving the image a sculptural feel. Her green hat or garment projects into the shadows around her face and appears again in the muted tones that frame the background. The auburn hair is thickly applied in impasto, adding texture that suggests movement.
Agar painted this on coarse canvas with a loose, post‑Impressionist style that matches the confidence she felt at the start of her career. She was not only a painter but also a sculptor, and she later joined the Surrealist circle in the 1930s. In 1936 she became the only British woman artist to be included in London’s International Surrealist Exhibition.
This self‑portrait was made in 1927 and shows her youthful ambition, captured with straightforward brushwork and a clear outline that draws you into her gaze.
See it in person
Eileen Agar 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.
