William Strang Self-portrait (1859-1921)

William Strang was a talented painter as well as a masterly and prolific printmaker. His etchings include striking portraits of sitters such as Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling and Robert Louis Stevenson. Towards the end of his life Strang etched less and painted more. Inspired by Dutch artist Rembrandt, he produced a series of self-portraits in a variety of guises. This particular one shows the artist wearing a `fez?, a red felt hat that originates from Morocco, but was worn throughout the Ottoman Empire during the nineteenth century. Unfortunately, we do not know why he chose to paint himself in this particular way.