Self Portrait is one of John Wilson’s earliest and most compelling oil paintings. The closely cropped, monumental figure sits in a sparsely painted, nearly abstract interior and stares outward with a piercing, almost solemn intensity. Wilson defined his subject with an unusual volume and weight that presages the artist’s work in sculpture, for which he is best known. Though Wilson was only 21 years old in 1943, when he painted Self Portrait, and still a student at the SMFA, he was already making his mark in the art world.

Oil on canvas.

Museum purchase with funds donated by Patti and Jonathan Kraft.

2024.2191