Portrait Paintings
Mid-19th Century Portrait Paintings
Oil, Canvas
1930s Photorealist Portrait Paintings
Drypoint
21st Century and Contemporary Street Art Portrait Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Portrait Paintings
Wood, Oil
19th Century Portrait Paintings
Oil, Canvas
1870s Impressionist Portrait Paintings
Oil, Panel
1930s Expressionist Portrait Paintings
Paper, Oil
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Wood Panel, Oil
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Charcoal, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Charcoal, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Charcoal, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Charcoal, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Charcoal, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Charcoal, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Charcoal, Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Charcoal, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Charcoal, Acrylic
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Charcoal, Acrylic, Canvas
1990s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1980s Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1940s Art Deco Portrait Paintings
Oil
1960s Realist Portrait Paintings
Oil
1950s Impressionist Portrait Paintings
Oil
1930s Portrait Paintings
Oil
2010s Photorealist Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1920s Realist Portrait Paintings
Oil
1920s Realist Portrait Paintings
Oil
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
With closed eyes and a subtle tilt of her head, a woman confidently flaunts her shimmery eyeshadow, tonal highlights, and plump red lips. Against the beige backdrop, her dolled-up face and glowing skin create a captivating contrast. The playful touch of green tips on her curly hair adds a fun element to the sensual quality of the piece. The artwork comes with a Larson-Juhl matte natural frame measuring 2.25 inches deep and 0.25 inches thick.
About the Artist
Malia Pettit sees her artistic process as an act of “liberating the paint†and “allowing for the unexpected to occur.†Her portraits of women stem from a fascination with glossy magazines and their portrayal of models, actors and celebrities. Her work has been especially influenced by Chantal Joffe and John Singer Sargent. She currently resides in Louisiana after having lived in both California and England for several years. When she’s not painting, she is a full-time mom and enjoys exploring estate sales, antique stores and used bookstores.
Words that describe this painting: portrait, woman, face, hair, lips, people, pop, oil painting, beige
21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art Portrait Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
A red-haired woman in a black dress captivates with a sultry gaze, complemented by a black veiled headpiece that adds a layer of drama to her look. The title of the artwork not only references the accessory but also holds the essence of her spirit. The piece comes with a matte black wood frame measuring 1.5 inches deep and 0.75 inches thick.
About the Artist
Malia Pettit sees her artistic process as an act of “liberating the paint†and “allowing for the unexpected to occur.†Her portraits of women stem from a fascination with glossy magazines and their portrayal of models, actors and celebrities. Her work has been especially influenced by Chantal Joffe...
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
A woman wears a face of uncertainty, with slightly furrowed eyebrows and a contemplative gaze. Bold and powerful brushstrokes with vivid oil colors capture the intensity of her emotion. The portrait evokes a feeling of intrigue and second-guessing. The artwork comes with a Larson-Juhl...
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Oil
1960s Naturalistic Portrait Paintings
Acrylic
1970s Naturalistic Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Panel
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Oil, Oil Pastel, Paper
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Oil
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Oil
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Paper, Oil Pastel, Oil
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Paper, Oil, Oil Pastel
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Paper, Oil, Oil Pastel
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Portrait Paintings
Gouache, ABS
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
1940s Portrait Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Wood, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Wood, Oil
Early 1900s Realist Portrait Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Paper, Mixed Media
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Modern Portrait Paintings
Oil
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Paper, Mixed Media
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Acrylic, Wood
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Acrylic, Wood
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
Canvas, 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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In Christopher Spitzmiller’s New York Homes, His Love of Dogs Is on Full Display
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This Wiener Werkstätte Master Made Everything into Art
Koloman Moser smashed the conservative conventions of art and design in fin-de-siècle Vienna. On the 100th anniversary of his death, the Austrian designer is being celebrated for his radically modern creations.
A Rare Q&A with American Legend Alex Katz
On the eve of a new exhibition just north of New York City, the nonagenarian contemporary-art icon talked with ‘Introspective’ about his long and ongoing career, the development of his signature style and his rather malleable definition of realism.