Painted in 1937, when American artist Priscilla Warren Roberts was about 21 and beginning serious study in New York, this portrait reads as a clear statement of intent. She presents herself not as a polished society woman but as a working artist with her hair askew, no jewelry, and a practical collared-shirt standing in for a studio smock. It’s a vertical, close-up self-portrait showing the light-skinned young woman centered against a dark forest green background. Her dusty brown hair is pulled back but escapes in loose wisps, especially at the right edge, as if caught mid-motion. Large round amber glasses frame wide green-brown eyes that look directly at us, giving her an alert, almost startled focus. Light hits her forehead, nose, and long neck, leaving soft shadows around the eyes and jaw. Her mouth is parted and painted a brick red, as if she might of just inhaled to speak. She wears a dark navy shirt with bright cobalt stripes and pale piping around an open collar and the shoulders cropped close to the edges. Her tilted gaze and tight mouth suggest uncertainty as well as resolve, catching a moment of self-questioning. Roberts would later be praised for painstaking “magic-realist” still lifes that juxtapose everyday objects with near-photographic precision. In this self-portrait, that exacting attention is turned inward, tracing each flare of light on skin and glasses. In PAFA’s collection, the painting marks an early, uncompromising self-image of a woman determined to build a lifelong, quietly unconventional career in art.

“Self-Portrait” by Priscilla Warren Roberts (American) - Oil on canvas board / 1937 - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (Philadelphia) #WomenInArt #PriscillaWarrenRoberts #PriscillaRoberts #PAFA #SelfPortrait #artText #art #WomensArt #WomanArtist #WomenArtists #PennsylvaniaAcademyoftheFineArts