Sir Martin Archer Shee

Martin Archer Shee painted his own portrait around 1794, in the early period of his London career before he achieved his full commercial success and eventual presidency of the Royal Academy. The self-portrait is characteristic of ambitious young painters establishing their professional credentials: showing oneself as a competent, serious artist whose technical abilities justify the ambition to compete for the highest level of patronage. Shee's career trajectory — from Irish origins to President of the Royal Academy in 1830 — was one of the most successful social ascents in the history of British art, and this early self-portrait documents the confident young artist who would eventually achieve that eminence.

Shee presents himself with the confident directness expected of a self-portrait by a rising artist. The handling of light and the smooth finish of the flesh tones show his thorough academic training in the Reynolds tradition.