Self Portrait oil on canvas by Olga Lehmann.

The feisty young artist boldly returning the viewer’s gaze is a young Olga Lehmann, probably at home in her Charlotte Street studio in Fitzrovia in the 1930s. The gallery has recently been able to purchase this arresting self portrait, happily just in time for inclusion in the exhibition of Olga’s work planned for the second half of our forthcoming season.

Although she spent her later years in North West Essex, Olga Lehmann’s background and upbringing were cosmopolitan. Born in Chile to an expatriate mining engineer and his wife, she was educated in Chile and came to the UK to study art at the Slade. During her productive life, she became best known for her work on murals and in portraiture.

The gallery will be offering an exciting glimpse into the creative world of this under-represented artist between July and October 2026, in the Gibson Room.