Self Portrait; Peterborough Joans

Self-Portrait; Peterborough Joans 1954 pencil on paper by John Bratby (1928-1992).

Quarter-length self portrait of Bratby in middle age, unshaven, facing left, his head turned to regard the viewer. He wears spectacles and a loose shirt and tie, a cigarette between his lips. His hands are raised to grip a large pane of glass.

Bratby was a student of Carel Weight at the Royal College of Art from 1951 to 1954. He taught at Carlisle College of Art from 1955 to 1956 and at the Royal College of Art from 1957 to 1958. Bratby was a leading proponent of ‘Kitchen Sink’ art, characterised by scenes of ordinary people’s homes. David Sylvester first used the name ‘Kitchen Sink’ as the title for his article in the December 1954 issue of the journal Encounter. He used ‘Kitchen Sink’ to describe the work of artists Bratby, Derrick Greaves, Edward Middleditch and Jack Smith. Sylvester said their work “takes us back from the studio to the kitchen” and described their subjects as “an inventory which includes every kind of food and drink, every utensil and implement, the usual plain furniture and even the babies’ nappies on the line. Everything but the kitchen sink? The kitchen sink too.”