Roger Fry

Roger Fry (1866-1934), Critic and painter.

This self-portrait was one of a number in which Fry presents himself gazing out through spectacles at the viewer. Painted in the last four years of Fry's life, it uses a subdued palette and a restrained naturalism. Having earlier been a leading champion of Matisse and Picasso, this puzzled some observers. Significantly, however, Kenneth Clark identified a 'naïve earnestness' in such works.