| Description | Letter to Alexander Macdonald of Kepplestone from E. Armitage, 3, Hall Road, St. John's Wood, London, announcing that he has painted the self-portrait, he could finish it better but prefers to preserve freshness, he has omitted the sou'wester but painted himself in an old blue serge jacket, the grey-white background could be a large blank canvas or the mainsail of the yacht, his wife says it makes him look fat, it will dry slowly as it is painted with poppy oil, 16 September 1882 |