Self-Portrait

In May 1983, the legendary cosmetics company Charles of the Ritz teamed up with Christie’s for a benefit auction to raise money for the Save the Children Fund. In a leading-edge move for the era, The Signature Collection: Portraits by International Artists 1983, In the Medium of Make-up was hosted simultaneously in both New York and London via satellite, with works by sixty-six artists up for sale, including examples by David Hockney, Chuck Close, Alex Katz and Ellsworth Kelly. Each artist produced and donated their own self-portrait specifically for the auction, executed in Charles of the Ritz make-up products in lieu of traditional fine art media. Some participants seem to have chosen a more playful approach for their commission, allowing the uncommon medium to direct their creativity. In Hockney’s Self-Portrait, for instance, the viewer senses they are behind a mirror, watching as the artist applies his own lipstick in the reflective surface, yet simultaneously half-aware that the medium that paints his lips is the same that provides the existential contours of his face, neck and lapels. Other artists, such as Chuck Close, adhered to their characteristic subject matter, seemingly oblivious to the switch-up from ink to eyeliner. The resulting self-images from the various artists are distinct yet cohesive, and entirely personal—unique snapshots of a creative burst from each, frozen in time.