[Self-Portrait]

It can be said with some confidence that this very quick and lively sketch rendered on a rough piece of brown cardboard is a self-portrait. The head study is remarkably similar to a 'Self-Portrait', 1948, (oil on canvas) that came to the Academy in 2002 as part of the Benjamin D. Bernstein gift. Best described as a piece of ephemera, this small sketch indicates Bloch's wonderful facility for drawing and humor. In the context of the other finished paintings and watercolors, it adds a spontaneous side to the artist that could well be of interest to students and researchers. In the context of a retrospective of Bloch's work, or even a discussion of self-portraiture, this piece could well be exhibited in the future.