Mirror
- Artist: Sir Frank Bowling OBE RA
- Date: 1964–6
- Medium: Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions: support: 3100 x 2168 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is “Mirror” by Sir Frank Bowling OBE RA. Painted in 1964–66, it’s a playful meditation on the act of painting itself. Bowling mixes the sharp angles of Op‑Art with the bold washes of colour‑field work, creating a scene that feels both abstract and surprisingly literal. At the heart of the canvas is a spiral staircase from the Royal College of Art studios where he studied—Bowling is literally “swinging” from the top and the bottom of that staircase, rendered in two distinctly different styles. Between the two figures sits his then‑wife, writer Paddy Kitchen, a quiet anchor amid the movement.
The work is more than a domestic tableau; it’s a commentary on identity and artistic freedom. In 1966, feeling increasingly pigeonholed as a Black artist, Bowling left London for New York, seeking a broader canvas for his ideas. “Mirror” captures that tension—movement, reflection, and the push to go beyond labels. The piece was presented by Bowling himself and his four children, a personal gift that echoes the intimate, reflective nature of the work.
See it in person
Mirror is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, 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.
