Discovering Sven Berlin's first self portrait has survived has been an excellent start to 2021. It was painted in 1938, before he left for Cornwall, and was given first to Berlin's mother, Mary Louise, and then to his brother Jack. The painting, which gave Berlin the courage to follow his dream to devote his life to making art, has been passed on through the family to Jack's son, Richard, who in 2014 left it to his sister Vivien. We are thrilled that the painting, along with another from his time as an adagio dancer Chorus Girls has now been added to the Sven Berlin collection at Millersford Gallery, and it is hoped that we will be able to exhibit them both - in better times, of course.