George Frederic Watts
- Artist: George Frederic Watts
- Date: circa 1879
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 26 1/8 in. x 20 7/8 in. (663 mm x 531 mm)
- Portrays: George Frederic Watts
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
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About this artwork
In front of you stands “George Frederic Watts”, a self‑portrait painted in oil on canvas around 1879. The artist is shown in profile, his painter’s smock draped over his shoulders as he holds a palette in one hand and gazes at the work before him—his own painting *Time, Death and Judgement* that hangs in Tate.
Watts used two mirrors to capture this side view, echoing the late self‑portraits of Titian, whose influence is evident in the soft modeling of his face and the calm composition. The palette he holds speaks directly to his role as a working artist. This unfinished version was part of his “Hall of Fame” series, over fifty portraits of prominent contemporaries that Watts donated to the National Portrait Gallery. It offers a rare glimpse into how he presented himself as both creator and subject during the height of Victorian portraiture.
See it in person
George Frederic Watts 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.
