Portraits

Portraits

A portrait is an artwork or image, typically a painting, drawing, photograph, or engraving, that focuses on a person's face or head and shoulders.

Portraiture is an ancient art form dating back over 5,000 years to ancient Egypt. Before photography, people relied on paintings, sculptures, or drawings to capture someone's appearance.

However, portraits have always been more than just records. They were used to display the sitter's qualities like power, beauty, or wealth, often in a flattering way. Artists who didn't flatter, like William Hogarth, often had their work rejected. An exception was Francisco Goya, known for his seemingly honest portraits of the Spanish royal family.

50 results found for "Portraits"

video

Mickalene Thomas

American artist Mickalene Thomas set out to change the face of art history back in the early 2000s – and that’s exactly what she’s done. We take a look at Mickalene’s humble beginnings and her artistic legacy as the contemporary art powerhouse she is today.

Mickalene Thomas
video

Hiroshi Sugimoto

Hiroshi Sugimoto uses his 19th century box camera to photograph man-made projections of human existence.

Hiroshi Sugimoto
video

Cindy Sherman

Cindy Sherman is a hallmark of 20th-century art. Since the 1970s ​​she’s taken pictures of herself as different ‘types’ of people from American culture and beyond. In this Artist’s Artist, we look at how the representation of women in popular culture shaped her history-making career.

Cindy Sherman
article

Ai Weiwei – Everyone is a dragon

It's the year of the dragon. Dragons wield godlike power in myths and folklore, but Ai Weiwei insists that everyone is a dragon. Here's why.

Ai Weiwei – Everyone is a dragon
video

Marlene Dumas

The influential South African painter Marlene Dumas is famous for her portraits, but interestingly, she doesn’t see them as portraits at all.

Marlene Dumas
video

Zhang Xiaogang

After growing up during the Cultural Revolution in China, Zhang Xiaogang became internationally revered for his intimate portraits of Chinese history.

Zhang Xiaogang
video

JR

French artist JR takes public art to the next level. For nearly two decades, he’s made huge black-and-white photo installations in collaboration with local communities across the world. In this Artist’s Artist, we take a look at the backstory.

JR
essay

How CryptoPunks NFTs changed the face of digital art

Created in 2017 by Matt Hall and John Watkinson, CryptoPunks were one of the first NFTs minted on the Ethereum blockchain. CryptoPunks quickly penetrated the mainstream, captivating not only crypto enthusiasts but also artists, celebrities and the general public. Today the 24x24 avatars are a divisive status symbol living up to their Punk name.

How CryptoPunks NFTs changed the face of digital art
guide

How to collect art

So, you're an art lover. Either you buy art, or you'd like to – but where to channel this passion? You're in the right place. This guide covers everything you need to kickstart, develop and deepen a collection.

How to collect art
Artist

Jordan Casteel

Jordan Casteel (she/her) was born in 1989 in Denver, Colorado. She lives and works between Harlem, New York and Hudson Valley, New York.

Jordan Casteel
Artist

Gabriel Moses

Gabriel Moses (he/him) was born in London in 1998, where he continues to live and work. 

Gabriel Moses
Artist

Laura El

Laura El (she/her) was born in Vilnius, Lithuania and lived in Ireland through early adulthood. Now, she lives and works in New York City.

Laura El
Artist

NKSIN

NKSIN (he/him) was born in 1994 in Fukushima, Japan, where he continues to live and work.

NKSIN
Artist

Tahnee Lonsdale

Tahnee Lonsdale (she/her) was born 1982 in the United Kingdom and now lives and works in Los Angeles.

Tahnee Lonsdale
Artist

Katie Hector

Katie Hector (she/her) was born in 1992 in Lawrenceville, New Jersey and now lives near Los Angeles, California.

Katie Hector
Artist

Brian Calvin

Brian Calvin was born in 1969 in Visalia, California. He now lives and works in Ojai, California.

Brian Calvin
Artist

Deborah Brown

Deborah Brown (she/her) was born in Pasadena, California in 1955. She lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Deborah Brown
Artist

Bony Ramirez

Bony Ramirez (he/him) was born in 1996 in the Dominican Republic. At the age of 13, he moved with his family to New Jersey, United States, where he continues to live and work.

Bony Ramirez
Artist

Baldur Helgason

Baldur Helgason (he/him) was born in Iceland, 1984. He currently lives and works in Chicago in the United States.

Baldur Helgason
Artist

Jang Koal

Jang Koal (she/her) was born in 1989 in Ulsan, South Korea. She now lives and works in Seoul, South Korea.

Jang Koal
Artist

Bäst

Michael “Bäst” Polimeni (he/him) was born in Coney Island, New York in 1970. He lived in Brooklyn until his death in 2021, and spent many years working at nearby JFK Airport.

Bäst
Artist

Dada Khanyisa

Dada Khanyisa (they/them) was born in 1991 in Umzimkhulu, South Africa. They were raised in Johannesburg and currently work and live in Cape Town.

Dada Khanyisa
Artist

Dennis Osadebe

Dennis Osadebe (he/him) was born in Lagos, Nigeria in 1991, where he continues to live and work.

Dennis Osadebe
Artist

JR

JR (he/him) was born in 1983 in Paris, France. Paris is still his base, but he travels around the world collaborating with different communities and institutions to create his art.

JR
Artist

Rooo Lou

Rooo Lou was born in Osaka, Japan in 1988. He lives and works in Tokyo.

Rooo Lou
Artist

Marcela Flórido

Marcela Flórido (she/her) was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1988. She currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Marcela Flórido
Artist

Lin Yen-Liang

Lin Yen-Liang (he/him) is a Tawianiese artist born in 1987. Today, he lives and works in Taiwan.

Lin Yen-Liang
Artist

Antony Micallef

Antony Micallef (he/him) was born in 1975 in Swindon, England, and now lives and works in London.

Antony Micallef
Artist

Kudzanai-Violet Hwami

Kudzanai-Violet Hwami (she/her) was born in 1993 in Gutu, Zimbabwe, and now lives and works in London, UK.

Kudzanai-Violet Hwami
Artist

Tschabalala Self

Tschabalala Self (she/her) was born in 1990 and raised in Harlem, New York. She now lives and works in New Haven, Connecticut.

Tschabalala Self
Artist

Koichi Sato

Koichi Sato (he/him) was born in 1974 in Tokyo, Japan, and now lives and works in New York City, United States.

Koichi Sato
Artist

Julian Schnabel

Julian Schnabel (he/him) was born 1951 in Brooklyn, New York. He now lives and works between his New York City home Palazzo Chupi and Montauk, Long Island.

Julian Schnabel
Artist

Rafa Macarrón

Rafa Macarrón (he him) was born in 1981 in Madrid, Spain where he continues to live and work.

Rafa Macarrón
Artist

Ryol

Ryo Laksamana (he/him), aka Ryol, was born in 1993 in Banyuwangi, Indonesia, and is currently based in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Ryol
Artist

Amir H. Fallah

Amir H. Fallah (he/him) was born in 1979 in Tehran, Iran, and now lives and works in Los Angeles.

Amir H. Fallah
Artist

Kwesi Botchway

Kwesi Botchway (he/him) was born in 1994 in Accra, Ghana. He lives and works in Accra and Brussels, Belgium.

Kwesi Botchway
Artist

Aubrey Levinthal

Aubrey Levinthal was born in 1986 in Philadelphia, USA, where she continues to live and work.

Aubrey Levinthal
Artist

Shaina McCoy

Shaina McCoy (she/her) was born in 1993 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she continues to live and work.

Shaina McCoy
Artist

Hideaki Kawashima

Hideaki Kawashima (he/him) was born in 1969 in Aichi, Japan, and now lives and works in Tokyo.

Hideaki Kawashima
Artist

Mickalene Thomas

Mickalene Thomas (she/her) was born in 1971 in New Jersey, United States and is now based in Brooklyn.

Mickalene Thomas
Artist

Patrick Quarm

Patrick Quarm (he/him) was born in 1988 in Sekondi, Ghana, and now lives and works in Takoradi, Ghana.

Patrick Quarm
Artist

Shannon Bono

Shannon Bono was born in 1995 in the UK. She now lives and works in London as both a practicing artist and associate lecturer at UAL.

Shannon Bono
Artist

Kenturah Davis

Kenturah Davis was born in California in 1984. She now works between Los Angeles and Accra, Ghana.

Kenturah Davis
Artist

Gisela McDaniel

Gisela McDaniel (she/her) was born in 1995 in Bellevue, Nebraska, and is currently based in Detroit, Michigan.

Gisela McDaniel
Artist

Mike Lee

American visual artist Mike Lee was born in 1983 in Placentia, California, and now lives and works in New York.

Mike Lee
Artist

Adriana Oliver

Spanish artist Adriana Oliver, born 1990, currently lives and works a short distance from Barcelona.

Adriana Oliver
Artist

Alexis Ralaivao

Alexis Ralaivao was born in Rennes, France, in 1991, where he continues to live and work.

Alexis Ralaivao
Artist

Hassan Hajjaj

Hassan Hajjaj was born in 1961 in Larache, Morocco, and now lives and works in London, UK.

Hassan Hajjaj
Artist

Scott Kahn

American artist Scott Kahn was born in 1946 in Springfield, Massachusetts and now resides in upstate New York.

Scott Kahn
Artist

Isshaq Ismail

Isshaq Ismail was born in 1989 in Accra, Ghana. He uses his art as a tool to make polemic statements, working in a style he describes as infantile semi-abstraction.

Isshaq Ismail

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Parra's studio, with Parra at the centre, his back to the camera as he works on the large painting takes centre stage, showing a faceless blue woman in a striped dress, painted in red, purple, blue and teal. The studio is full of brightly coloured paints, with a large window on the right and a patterned rug across the floor under the painting.