Self portrait

item details

NameSelf portrait

ProductionDouglas MacDiarmid; 1949-50

Classificationoil paintings, self-portraits

Materialsoil paint, canvas

Materials Summaryoil on canvas

DimensionsImage: 634 (height), 375 (length)

Registration Number1985-0027-1

Credit linePurchased 1985 with New Zealand Lottery Board funds

Overview

Douglas MacDiarmid painted and drew himself a lot, over the course of his life. This self-portrait was painted in Wellington in around 1949, shortly before he moved to Paris – where he would be based for the rest of his life. It is the only self-portrait that MacDiarmid painted of himself as an artist, holding a brush.

The painting was owned by Wellington gallerist Helen Hitchings, who sold it to the National Art Gallery (now Te Papa) in 1985. Hitchings and MacDiarmid had a brief romantic relationship when they were both living in Wellington. MacDiarmid was bisexual and his biographer Anna Cahill suggests that he was unable to commit to a long-term relationship with Hitchings, partly because he was also in love with the composer Douglas Lilburn. Hitchings and MacDiarmid remained close friends for the rest of their lives.

For more information about MacDiarmid’s work and life see: Anna Cahill, Colours of a life. The life and times of Douglas MacDiarmid (Auckland, 2018)