08/10/2026
✨ Gillian Wearing now on display at the Holburne ✨
A striking work by Turner Prize-winning artist Gillian Wearing is now on display on our staircase.
In, Me as Artemisia Gentileschi (2023), Wearing transforms herself into Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the most celebrated female painters of the 17th century. The photograph forms part of Wearing’s ongoing Spiritual Family series in which she adopts the guise of artists she admires.
Taking inspiration from Gentileschi’s Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting (1638–39), the work explores ideas of identity, self-presentation and the roles we perform in everyday life.
Placed among the Holburne’s historic portraits, the work creates a fascinating dialogue between past and present.
“This work draws fascinating parallels with the historic portraits that surround it at the Museum, illuminating how all are performative and demonstrations of self-fashioning,” says Chris Stephens, Director of the Holburne.
👀 Look out for it on your next visit.
🖼️Me as Artemisia Gentileschi, 2023. Framed C-Type Print. © Gillian Wearing, courtesy Maureen Paley, London. Photo: Evan Bedford.
