'Self-Portrait as Carole Lombard' 

SOLD

2024

120cm x 150cm 

Oil on canvas 

Original Artwork 

'Adelaide'

Available 

2024

46cm x 61cm

Oil on board 

Original Artwork

'Ivy' 

Available 

2024 

35.5cm x 45.5cm 

Oil on panel

Original Artwork

'Delilah' 

SOLD

2024 

45cm x 60cm 

Oil on canvas 

Original Artwork 

'Vivian' 

Available 

2024 

95cm x 120cm

Oil on canvas

Original Artwork

'Vera'

SOLD 

2024 

35cm x 45.5cm

Oil on board

Original Artwork

 

To discuss shipping, purchasing or anything else, please contact me via email at ruby@rubyread.art

In Disguise - Oil self portraits by Ruby Read

“In Disguise” is a series of oil self portraits by Ruby Read, in which the artist adopts the visual identity of other women, both real and imagined. Posing “in disguise” as figures such as Hollywood actress Carole Lombard, as well as fictional personas with archetypal female names, Ruby explores how identity is performed, constructed, and perceived through the lens of portraiture.

Each painting begins with Ruby herself, translated into thick, expressive layers of oil on canvas. The disguises range from culturally recognisable to entirely invented, with vintage fashion, cinematic lighting and period aesthetics used as tools to construct new selves. In doing so, Ruby questions the authority of the portrait as a document of “truth”, instead offering a meditation on the many selves a single body can hold.

Executed in her signature impasto style, the oil paintings carry a physicality and emotional intensity that push beyond likeness. Ruby’s use of oil paint is deliberately sculptural; marks are layered, scraped back, and reapplied in a way that mirrors the shifting nature of identity itself. The result is a collection of self portraits that are as much about performance as they are about presence.

Questioning self

“In Disguise” sits at the intersection of self portraiture, character study and conceptual performance. By embodying other identities, Ruby challenges romanticised or singular notions of femininity. These works reflect not just who she is, but who she could be, and in doing so speak to a broader cultural fixation with appearance, nostalgia, and the masks we wear.

Though personal, the collection resonates widely. Viewers may recognise fragments of familiar icons or archetypes, but each painting ultimately resists clear definition. These are not portraits to explain or resolve, they are invitations to observe, to question, and to feel.

Collecting the series

Select paintings from the “In Disguise” collection are available to purchase. Each piece is an original oil painting, and part of a unique body of work exploring performance, persona, and the female gaze.

To view available works or enquire about pricing, please email ruby@rubyread.art

If you’re looking to buy original art that merges painterly skill with conceptual depth, Ruby Read’s “In Disguise” series offers a bold and thought provoking addition to any collection.