LONDON.- Earlier this year, Tate and the National Portrait Gallery announced their joint acquisition of one of the earliest known works by William Dobson, widely considered to be the first great painter born in Britain. The self-portrait is now available for all to see for free at Tate Britain, where it has been reunited with Dobson’s portrait of his wife. This major new addition to the collection will be on display until late 2026, after which there are plans for a national tour before it returns to London to be shown at the National Portrait Gallery in 2028.

William Dobson’s painting of himself as a young man was made between 1635 and 1640 and is a groundbreaking example of English self-portraiture. An exceptionally rare work, it has an honesty and intimacy that defied the conventions of 17th century British art. Dobson used thickly applied paint to create an almost bohemian vision of the artist, with wild hair and a melancholy gaze, in stark opposition to the carefully posed elegance of his contemporaries.

Dobson’s Portrait of the Artist’s Wife c.1635-40, which joined Tate’s collection in 1992 depicts his second wife Judith and would have been conceived around the time of their marriage in December 1637. Painted on an identically sized canvas to his own portrait, the work is highly personal, with her direct gaze fixed on her husband as he paints her. The two were shown together for over 150 years at Howsham Hall in Yorkshire, until they were sold in 1948.

From today, the two paintings can be found next to each other in Tate Britain’s free collection displays. They hang in a room devoted to great works from the era of the English Civil War and Restoration, including paintings by Peter Lely and Godfrey Kneller. This dramatic period in history had a profound impact on British art, with some artists thriving amid the political turmoil while others fell in and out of favour. Dobson himself rose to the role of Charles I’s official painter and was hailed as “the most excellent painter that England hath yet bred”, but his career was cut tragically short when he died at the age of 35.

The joint acquisition of William Dobson’s Self-Portrait c.1635-40 was made possible thanks to exceptional support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, major support from Art Fund and the Deborah Loeb Brice Foundation, and additional support from the Portrait Fund, the Nicholas Themans Trust, Bjorn Saven CBE, David and Emma Verey Charitable Trust, John J. Studzinski CBE, The Leche Trust, The Murray Family, Tavolozza Foundation and other generous supporters.