Ford Madox Brown (1821-1893)
Lot 24

Ford Madox Brown (1821-1893)

Self Portrait, bust-length, in a brown coat

Closed15 December 2010

Price Realised

GBP 63,650

More Information

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Ford Madox Brown (1821-1893)
Self Portrait, bust-length, in a brown coat
inscribed by William Michael Rossetti 'By Ford Madox Brown/Himself/c.1845/Given by him to Lucy +/me c.1880' (on a label on the reverse)
oil on board
8 x 6 in. (20.3 x 15.2 cm.)

Given by the artist to Helen Bromley, his sister-in-law.
On her death in 1886 returned to the artist, who gave it to his elder daughter, Lucy, and her husband, William Michael Rossetti. Thence by descent in their family.

Specialist note

The portrait dates from about 1844, when the artist was in his early twenties. It was painted for his first wife, Elizabeth Bromley, whom he had married in 1841, and on her death in 1846 was given to Helen Bromley, the widow of Elizabeth's brother Augustus. When Helen died in 1886, it returned to the artist, who gave it to his elder daughter, Lucy, and her husband, William Michael Rossetti.

In her recent catalogue raisonné of Brown's work, Mary Bennett suggests a connection with the artist's likeness of himself in one of his most famous paintings, The Last of England (Bennett, vol. 1, p. 174).