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McGuiness painted this self portrait in 1959. Close perusal highlights an expression of pained enquiry on somewhat worn features, especially communicated through the eyes and mouth. Conveyed through dynamic black outlines is a strong sense of identity. His complexion is a subtle and fluid admixture of all the other colours in the picture, bringing them all together into a disquieting ‘map of the face’. McGuiness’s talent for drawing was recognised early and encouraged at school. He began to attend local art exhibitions, and was especially impressed by Turner and Daumier. He left the coal industry in 1947 to work on the railways, and the following year began painting. He worked as a miner until 1983 and at the same time portrayed the desolate comradeship of wiry, huddling miners caged in narrow seams in his work.