Self-Portrait

1825–28
Not on view
Chinnery painted more than a dozen self-portraits, the first of which he exhibited at the Royal Academy, London, in 1798; this is the most intimate and engaging of them all. An enigmatic figure, Chinnery was eccentric and volatile, with a tendency to hypochondria, a raconteur and wit with a gift for friendship. This likeness was painted in China and must date to the years 1825–28. Its first owner was the United States consul Benjamin Chew Wilcox, a businessman in the opium trade who commissioned a full-length portrait of himself from the artist (The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd.).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Self-Portrait
  • Artist: George Chinnery (British, London 1774–1852 Macau)
  • Date: 1825–28
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 8 5/8 x 7 1/4 in. (21.9 x 18.4 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1943
  • Object Number: 43.132.4
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

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