Self-portrait in a cracked mirror

1985

Not on view

While working with the printer Aldo Crommelynck in Paris on an illustration for James Joyce’s Ulysses (1922), Hamilton found a small cracked mirror in the studio and made this self-portrait as part of an exploration of soft-ground etching. Peering above his reading glasses at his long, bearded face, he recorded the fractured image with an etching needle directly onto a metal plate covered with soft wax. The delicacy of the line and the presence of the artist’s fingerprints in the lower section indicate the receptiveness of the wax.

Artwork Details

Overview

Inscriptions and Markings

Provenance

References

Title: Self-portrait in a cracked mirror
Artist: Richard Hamilton (British, London 1922–2011 Oxfordshire)
Date: 1985
Medium: Etching and aquatint
Edition: 28/30 + 3 artist's proofs
Dimensions: 17 13/16 × 12 7/8 in. (45.2 × 32.7 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Purchase, Reba and Dave Williams Gift, 2000
Object Number: 2000.389
Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

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Lobby, Richard Hamilton British, Color collotype and screenprint — Lobby
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Self-Portrait, Richard Hamilton British, Color screenprint — Self-Portrait
Richard Hamilton
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Portrait of Dieter Roth, Richard Hamilton British, Inkjet print — Portrait of Dieter Roth
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Five Tyres Remoulded

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