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Portrait Paintings For Sale
Period: 1930s
Period: 1940s
"Milton Avery #6"
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Gershon Benjamin (1899-1985) An American Modernist of portraits, landscapes, still lives, and the urban scene, Gershon Benjamin sustained an active career for over seven decades. D...
Category

1930s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Pastel

Practicing the Speech, Liberty Magazine Cover
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Date: 1939 Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 33.00" x 27.00" Signature: Signed Lower Right Cover of Liberty Magazine, January 14, 1939
Category

1930s Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a Redhead in Profile
Located in Miami, FL
Beautifully rendered in Krolls signature academic style. Unframed - Signed lower right, unframed
Category

1930s Academic Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood

Tribesmen with Headdresses
Located in Miami, FL
Tempera mixed with gum arabic and alcohol on Renaissance Panel "Robert Riggs was awarded the Gold Medal for Excellence by the New York Art Directors Club for ten consecutive years and received many additional awards." He was elected to the Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame. His work is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Arts and the U.S. Library of Congress. Riggs's compositons are "monumental" Walt Reed Riggs was a Gay Artist...
Category

1940s American Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Tempera

Boy and Dog
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Medium: Oil Painting Signature: Signed Lower Left
Category

1930s Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Young girl Redhead Holding her father's hand Illustration
Located in Miami, FL
There is a reason why there are few contemporary painters who can paint a portrait this good. It's hard to do. It's easy to throw some paint or spray a mess of graffiti on canvas. ...
Category

1940s American Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Henri-Georges Bréard, Self-Portrait, Oil Painting
Located in Cheltenham, GB
This early to mid-20th-century self-portrait by Henri-Georges Bréard (1873-c.1939) depicts the artist deep in thought. He’s holding a pipe. Henri-Georges Bréard was an accomplished ...
Category

1930s Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Early 20th Century Young Girl With Pink Bow Portrait
Located in Soquel, CA
Beautiful portrait of a young girl by listed aritst artist Helen Mae Enoch Gleiforst (American,1903-1997). Signed "Gleiforst" lower left. Unframed. Image, 20"H x 16"W. Gleiforst wa...
Category

1930s American Impressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Board, Oil

Portrait of Lady Sewing in an Interior - Scottish 40s Pointilliste oil painting
Located in London, GB
This superb Scottish 1940's portrait oil painting is by noted artist Murray Urquhart. He has been described by one of his sons as obsessed with painting, to the exclusion of most oth...
Category

1940s Post-Impressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait de Femme ( Self Portrait ? )
Located in Miami, FL
This is a possible self portrait by the famed female surrealist artist. It is also strikingly similar in style with it's exaggerated eyes to her portrait of Jean Genet, ( Leonor F...
Category

1940s Surrealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Charles PICART LE DOUX, The Beautiful Girl, Oil on Canvas, 1939
Located in Saint Amans des cots, FR
Oil on canvas by Charles PICART LE DOUX (1881-1959), France, 1939. The Beautiful Girl. With frame: 85.5x72.5 cm - 33.7x28.5 inches ; without frame: 73x60cm - 28.75x23.6 inches. 20F f...
Category

1930s Post-Impressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Self Portrait
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Self Portrait, c. 1940s, oil on canvas, 14 ¼ x 12 1/4 inches, signed lower left, presented in a newer frame This work is part of our exhibition America Coast to Coast: Artists of th...
Category

1940s American Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a woman in hunting in front of a vineyard
Located in BELEYMAS, FR
Jean-Marcel POUSSARD (1891-1972) Portrait of a woman in hunting attire in front of a vine H. 80 cm; L. 53 cm Oil on canvas Signed and dated lower right - 1932 Painter of portraits a...
Category

1930s French School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Le Violoniste - Expressionist Oil, Portrait of a Violinist by Jean Albert Pougny
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Signed expressionist oil on canvas portrait circa 1942 by French painter Jean Albert Pougny. The work depicts a violinist in an interior. Signatur...
Category

1940s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Man with a beard
Located in Genève, GE
Work on wood Black and gold wooden frame 77.5 x 56.5 x 3.5 cm Illegible signature "Valley landscape at the foot of the mountains" On the back of the work
Category

1940s Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Art Deco Fashion Illustration Ink Drawing by G. Ferro
Located in Atlanta, GA
Original Art Deco fashion drawing, ink, and wash on Vellum paper by French artist G. Ferro. The artwork features a stylish male model with a typical Art Deco overcoat. The piece is s...
Category

1930s Art Deco Portrait Paintings

Materials

Paint, Paper, Ink, Watercolor

Post Office WPA Mural Study American Scene Social Realism Modern 20th Century
By Carlos Lopez
Located in New York, NY
Post Office WPA Mural Study American Scene Social Realism Modern 20th Century Carlos Lopez (1910-1953) "Bounty" WPA Mural Study for Michigan Post Office 19 ½ x 22 ½ inches Oil on B...
Category

1940s American Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Board, Oil

Oil on Canvas "L' Espagnole" by Dietz Edzard, 1935
Located in Berlin, DE
Dietz Edzard ( German/French 1893-1963 ). Oil on canvas, 1935. With the artist's signature stamp at lower left. Framed. Property of the Estate of Dr. Max Stern sold for the benefit o...
Category

1930s Post-Impressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Cubist Woman Study Black Pencil Drawing by Wouyart
Located in Atlanta, GA
This interesting seated woman pencil study is by French artist Wouyart (20th Century). This unique representation captures the model's expression through trace lines and shadows that...
Category

1930s Cubist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Paper, Pencil, Carbon Pencil

Virgin Mary tempera painting religious altarpiece
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Jordi Vila i Rufas (1924-2011) - Virgin Mary 1948 - Egg tempera Painted on gold metallic surface. Painting measurements 40x32 cm. Frame measurements 53x45 cm. Inactive xylophagous ga...
Category

1940s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Egg Tempera

Nude oil painting, large post-impressionist sitting nude by Pio Santini
Located in AIGNAN, FR
Large vintage nude portrait oil painting of a woman sitting. This is a gorgeous, colourful and exceptional nude oil painting by Pio Santini, signed in the lower right. A young woman...
Category

1940s Post-Impressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Spanish Beauty (Portrait of the Artist's Wife)
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Spanish Beauty (Portrait of the Artist's Wife) Oil on canvas, c. 1940's Signed upper right "A.G. Warshawsky" (see photo) According to the daughter-in-law of the artist, this painting...
Category

1940s Abstract Impressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

French Art Deco Woman Singing Gouache Painting
Located in Atlanta, GA
A lovely gouache on cardboard painting featuring an Art Deco singer with a typical stylish outfit. The composition is very vibrant, using the contrast of black and white elements ag...
Category

1930s Art Deco Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Board, Cardboard

Harlem Renaissance Signed Ellis Original Abstract Portrait Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist abstract painting. Oil on board, circa 1940. Signed. Image size 22L x 30H. Housed in a period modern frame.
Category

1940s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Vintage Signed Exhibited American Female Modernist Woman Sewing Framed Portrait
Located in Buffalo, NY
Nicely painted mid century modernist interior portrait oil painting by Sadie Skoletsky Rosenblum 1899-1987. Great color and composition. Framed.
Category

1940s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Antique American School Impressionist WPA Woman Ballerina Portrait Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Nicely painted early 1900's oil painting. by Richard Hook. Great color and composition. Nicely framed.
Category

1940s Impressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Portrait of John Gielgud
Located in East Grinstead, GB
Eric Kennington 1888-1960, was an English artist, sculptor and illustrator, and an official War Artist in both World Wars. This oil on canvas portrait of the actor Sir John Gielgud w...
Category

1930s Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

The Hunter, Mid-Century Photo Realist Drypoint Etching Portrait, Limited Edition
By Gilbert Schoenbrod
Located in Soquel, CA
An incredible photo-realist drypoint etching of a Native American man by Gilbert Adam Shoenbrod (American, 1903-1996), 1937. Titled "The Hunter", this hyper detailed portrait depicts...
Category

1930s Photorealist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Drypoint

Girl with Cat oil painting by Hans Burkhardt
Located in Hudson, NY
Girl with Cat (1935) Oil on canvas 38" x 26" 42 ½" x 30 ½" x 3 ½" framed Signed and dated "1935 H Burkhardt" lower right. Signed, dated and inscribed verso. About this artist: Hans ...
Category

1930s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Two Young Spanish Girls, Oil on paper
Located in Saint Amans des cots, FR
Oil on paper by Edouard Goerg (1893-1969), France, 1937-1938. Two young Spanish girls. Measurements : with frame: 61.3x51.8 cm - 24.1x20.4 inches, view: 39x28.6 cm - 15.4x11.25 inche...
Category

1930s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Paper, Oil

Young Girl with Horse Illustrations Original Oil on Linen by John Turner 1941
Located in Soquel, CA
Young Girl with Horse Illustrations Original Oil on Linen by John Turner Impressionist painting of a young horse enthusiast by John Turner (American, 19th,20th C). Exceptional detai...
Category

1940s Portrait Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

Portrait of the sculptor Henri-Paul Rey (1904-1981)
Located in PARIS, FR
Suzanne Rey de Jaegher Paris, 1907 - Juvisy-sur-Orge, 1994 Portrait of the sculptor Henri-Paul Rey (1904-1981) Painting, oil on hardboard panel Signed Painting: 90.5 x 108 cm Modern ...
Category

1940s Art Deco Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Mr. and Mrs. Charles and Allison Coolidge (Belmont)
Located in Boston, MA
Dated and titled on stretcher: "'37/ Mr + Mrs Chas. Coolidge/ Allison/ -Belmont". In 1929 Molly Luce and her husband, Alan Burroughs, moved from Garden Street on Beacon Hill in Bos...
Category

1930s American Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

A Young Girl Reading a Book, Pointillist Artist
Located in Stockholm, SE
"A Young Girl Reading a Book" is a captivating portrait by Swedish artist Gustaf Arnolds. Arnolds was a prolific painter whose roots began in Vingåker and later in Ronneby from his teenage years. His educational journey in art took him through prestigious institutions such as Althins målarskola and the Tallbergska grafikskolan in Stockholm, followed by a significant period at the Konstakademien, Stockholm, between 1904 and 1909. His talent and dedication were recognized early on, earning him a scholarship to Paris, a city that would deeply influence his artistic direction. This particular work, likely painted shortly after his return to Sweden, reveals a profound influence from his time in Paris. It portrays a young girl absorbed in reading a book, a simple yet profound subject that Arnolds imbues with a sense of tranquility and introspection. The background hints at a serene landscape, dotted with quaint houses, a nod to the everyday beauty surrounding us. What sets this piece apart is Arnolds’ technique, reminiscent of pointillism but distinguished by longer, more expressive brush strokes that add a vibrant texture and depth to the canvas. This method showcases Arnolds' unique adaptation of the techniques he encountered during his Parisian studies, particularly during his interactions with Nils Dardel...
Category

1930s Pointillist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

Early Modern American Portrait, Pennsylvania/Massachusetts, Frank Anderson Trapp
Located in Baltimore, MD
This is a very stylized and powerful portrait by the noted artist Frank Anderson Trapp. It is dated 1940, and is very much in the modern style of French painters Ferdinand Leger and...
Category

1940s American Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Neapolitan Sea Captain Portrait Seascape Oil Painting
Located in Douglas Manor, NY
3703 Oil on artist board Set in a vintage wood frame Image size 13x9.5"
Category

1940s Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

1935 English oil of a terrier dog portrait, Bonzo
Located in Woodbury, CT
W.Redworth, English portrait of a terrier dog, circa 1935 Wonderful oil on canvas portrait. A very English animal portrait and a very well painted painting, framed in an amazing a...
Category

1930s Victorian Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Robin Hood
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Date: 1934 Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 24.75" x 16" Signature: Initialed Lower Left Cover Illustration for American Boy Magazine, May 1934 Includes copy of magazine
Category

1930s Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of Fanny Icart- Original grand oil on canvas
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Louis Icart Portrait de Fanny Icart Excellent Condition Original oil painting on canvas Hand-signed in paint in the lower right by Icart 1935 31 1/2 X 39 inches Framed in an antique ...
Category

1930s Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Circus Acrobats - ( Friends with Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo )
Located in Miami, FL
As they take center stage, four acrobats are depicted, forming an architectural structure composed of contorted human bodies. The small gallery of onlookers displays a variety of ex...
Category

1930s American Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Itzhak Holtz (Judaica Master) Oil Painting Portrait John Sloan Ashcan Artist WPA
By Itshak Holtz
Located in Surfside, FL
Oil Painting Portrait of Ashcan Artist John Sloan. Signed I. Holtz. The youngest of four children, Holtz was born and spent his early childhood in Skierniewice, Poland, a small town near Warsaw. His father was a hat maker and a furrier. In 1935, prior to World War II, when Holtz was ten years old, his family moved to Jerusalem, Israel, where they settled in the Geula neighborhood near Meah Shearim. Itzhak Holtz's passion for art began early. When he was five years old, in Poland, his father first drew a picture of a horse and sled in the snow for him. The young Holtz looked at the drawing and studied it in wonderment. From that moment on, Holtz remembers, he constantly begged his father to draw for him. His enthusiasm for art grew and Holtz longed to study art. In 1945, he enrolled at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem, where he primarily studied lettering and poster work in a program geared toward commercial art Holtz became interested in painting, prompting him to move to New York City in 1950 to study at the Art Students League of New York under Robert Brackman and Harry Sternberg, and then at the National Academy of Design under Robert Philipp. Holtz has stated that his artwork, which primarily but not exclusively, depict scenes of Jewish spirituality and tradition, is driven by his Orthodox Jewish beliefs: "You have to live that religious life to fully capture it on canvas." He has been classified in the school of genre painting, often depicting street scenes of ordinary people in everyday Jewish life in the back alleys and markets of Jerusalem neighborhoods such as Me'ah Shearim and Geula; and in New York neighborhoods and hamlets such as Monsey, Boro Park and Williamsburg. Along with street scenes, his work includes portraits of scribes, tailors, cobblers and fishmongers, and images such as shtetls, lighthouses, and wedding scenes. He started out painting mostly portraits in order to support his family, before expanding to include street scenes. His beloved subject matter is painting scenes of Jewish life, his childhood memories when his mother took him along shopping for the Sabbath to the markets of Meah Shearim, has left a deep impression on him and influenced many of his works. Holtz has experimented in the abstract, but then reverted to representational and figurative art to which he devoted himself exclusively. His Israeli street scenes are said to combine “an affectionate recollection of the past with the brilliance of the color of modern Israel.” Holtz has stated that he struggled at first when he arrived to the USA because of financial reasons and because he only knew Polish, Yiddish and Hebrew, but then made good ties with his instructor who greatly influenced him Robert Philipp who helped him make friends and referred him to paint portraits. Examples of Holtz's work throughout the years include: Yerusalem Wedding (2010), depicting a Chuppa in Jerusalem on early evening, oil on canvas; The Funeral(1966), depicting five stoic Hasidim carrying a body on a bier over to a gravesite, with the people behind them crying, in charcoal on paper and oil on canvas; Rejoicing (1974), an image of religious men dancing, in felt pen and marker on paper; and the oil painting Shamash Learning in Shul (2003), a portrait of a pious Jew studying the Talmud inside a claustrophobic synagogue scene. Throughout the years Holtz has created hundreds of works in many art mediums, including, genre scenes, portraits, still lifes and landscape scenery, his works are sought after by art collectors worldwide, and he has been called the greatest living Jewish artist. It is said that no artist ever explored the Jewish subject like Holtz. Today some of his oil paintings have been commanding over $100,000. Holtz creates his scenes after researching locations, and often uses locals as models. He paints slowly and with great care, but with a swift Impressionistic style. The people in his portraits and scenes are generally more cheerful and optimistic than standard portraits of Hassidic individuals. He paints oils and watercolors, and also does felt pen, pastel, marker, ink and charcoal drawings, as well as woodcuts. His oil paintings typically have a brown hue, while his work with felt pen is often in sepia tones, and on some of his works he used very bright colors, with a strong emphasis on the interplay of light and shadow. He is heavily influenced by the ancient staircases and alleyways of Jerusalem, with its modest religious population, which has made a strong impression on him in his youth, the streets of Tzfat, and the works of Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer and Peter Bruegel, as well as Jewish artists Moritz Daniel Oppenheim...
Category

1940s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

French school circa 1930, Portrait of a young man with blue eyes, oil
Located in Paris, FR
French school circa 1930 Portrait of a young man with blue eyes Oil on cardboard panel 27 x 21.5 cm Bears a signature (illegible) upper right Framed : 34.5 x 29.5 cm
Category

1930s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of Ludmilla Barta
Located in Genève, GE
Work on canvas Golden wooden frame 59.5 x 51.5 x 5.5 cm
Category

1940s Modern Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Self Portrait - Mid 20th Century French Impressionist Oil on Panel Painting
Located in Sevenoaks, GB
A beautiful signed and dated 1943 French impressionist oil on panel self portrait by Charles Picart le Doux, who was friends with Picasso, Pissarro and many other Paris based artists...
Category

1940s Impressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Wood Panel, Oil

Antique French Impressionist Young Handsome Muscular Butcher Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique French town view with a young handsome butcher. Amazingly framed. Oil on canvas. Framed. Signed.
Category

1940s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

The Red-haired Woman
Located in Saint Amans des cots, FR
Oil on canvas by Louis BERTHOMME SAINT-ANDRE, France, 1940s. Young Red-haired Woman. with frame: 74x63 cm - 29.1x24.8 inches ; without frame: 61x50 cm - 24x19.7 inches. Format 12F. ...
Category

1940s Neo-Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Man with tie
Located in Genève, GE
Work on canvas Golden wooden frame 75 x 64 x 4.5 cm
Category

1940s Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

John JG Blundell, Study Of Man In Profile, Oil Painting
Located in Cheltenham, GB
This mid-20th-century oil painting by English artist John JG Blundell (1927-2016) depicts a middle-aged man in profile. Every now and then we discover a special piece by an unknown ...
Category

1940s Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Self Portrait
Located in East Grinstead, GB
Robert Buhler R.A. 1916-1989, was a English born Swiss painter where he spent most of his working life. Buhler also lived and painted in London, scenes of various landscapes, he als...
Category

1940s Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a Girl in Nature - Mid 20th Century Oil by Michael D'Aguilar
Located in Watford, Hertfordshire
Baron Michael D`Aguilar was born on May 15, 1922 in London to Spanish parents. He was brother of the artist Paul D`Aguilar. He spent much of his early life in Spain. He studied at...
Category

1940s Post-Impressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Handsome Tropical Exotic Male Dancer Square Jaw - Gay Interest
Located in Miami, FL
A dark and exotic looking male dancer with chiseled features wears a blue hat made of flowers and feathers is depicted in vibrant colors that evokes festiv...
Category

1940s Portrait Paintings

Materials

Pastel, Paper

Antique American School Modernist Young Woman Framed Portrait Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist portrait oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed.
Category

1930s Impressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Mother and Daughter" Expressionist Portrait in Oil on Cardstock
Located in Soquel, CA
"Mother and Daughter" Expressionist Portrait in Oil on Cardstock Mid Century expressionist portrait by unknown artist Jane W. Grace (American, 20th C...
Category

1940s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

A Rural Scene Comes Alive of a Man and Draft Horses with Impressionist Strokes
Located in Charleston, US
Hellmuth Bachrach-Baree, a German artist, apprenticed with neo-impressionist painters. His early compositions depicted rural life, integrating people and animals into familiar landsc...
Category

1940s Impressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a Lady with Pendant - British Art Deco 30's portrait oil painting
Located in London, GB
This gorgeous Art Deco portrait oil painting is by British female artist Elsie March. Elsie was one of 9 siblings, eight of whom became artists. Although Elsie later went on to focus...
Category

1930s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of Bradnock Principal Worcester College in Car, Malvern, oil painting
Located in London, GB
This superb British portrait oil painting is by Scottish born artist John Rankine Barclay. It was painted circa 1940 when Barclay was already living in St Ives Cornwall. The sitter is Brian Bradnock, former principal of Worcester College...
Category

1940s Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Judaica Pastel Portrait Rabbi Painting WPA Era Artist, Social Realist
Located in Surfside, FL
Bernard Gussow 1881 -1957 Bernard Gussow was active/lived in New York, New Jersey / Russian Federation. Bernard Gussow is known for genre, landscape, figure, interior paintings. Ber...
Category

1940s American Realist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil Pastel

Portrait of Seated Young Woman - British 30's art Impressionist oil painting
Located in London, GB
This lovely portrait was painted by the noted British Impressionist portrait painter Walter Ernest Webster. It depicts a young woman and was painted circa 1930 in an impressionist pa...
Category

1930s Impressionist Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Shop Antique and Vintage Portrait Paintings

An elegant and sophisticated decorative touch in any living space, portrait paintings have remained popular throughout the years and are widely loved pieces of art for display in many homes today.

Portrait paintings are at least as old as ancient Egypt, where realistic, lifelike depictions of the recently deceased — commonly known as “mummy portraits” — were painted on wooden panels and affixed to mummies as part of the burial tradition.

For centuries, painters have used portraiture as a means of expressing a subject’s nobility, societal status and authority. Portraits were given as gifts in Renaissance Europe, and a portrait artist might have been commissioned to help mark a significant occasion such as a wedding or a promotion to high office. Prior to the advent of photography, which eventually replaced painted portraits as a quicker and more efficient way of capturing a person’s essence, the subject of a portrait had to sit for hours until the painter had finished. And during the 18th century in particular, if an artist commissioned for a portrait struggled with how to adequately memorialize and capture a subject’s likeness, sometimes a portrait painting wasn’t completed for up to a year.

Whether it’s part of the gallery-style approach to your living-room or dining-room walls or merely inspiration as you devise an eye-grabbing color scheme in your home, a portrait painting is a timeless decorative object for any interior. A landscape painting or sculpture might give you the kind of insight into a specific region of the world or a different culture that you can ascertain only through art. Similarly, when you take the time to learn about the subject of a portrait painting that you bring into your home — the sitter’s history, the relationship between the sitter and the artist should one exist, the story of how the portrait came to be — that work can become intensely personal in addition to its place as an object for an art-hungry corner of your apartment or house.

On 1stDibs, visit a vast collection of famous portrait paintings or works by emerging artists. Search by medium to find the right portrait paintings for your home in oil paint, synthetic resin paint and more. Find portrait paintings in a variety of styles, too, including contemporary, Impressionist and Pop art, or search by artist to find unique works created by painters such as Mark Beard, Steve Kaufman and Montse Valdés.

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