Skip to main content

Contemporary Portrait Paintings

CONTEMPORARY STYLE

Used to refer to a time rather than an aesthetic, Contemporary art generally describes pieces created after 1970 or being made by living artists anywhere in the world. This immediacy means it encompasses art responding to the present moment through diverse subjects, media and themes. Contemporary painting, sculpture, photography, performance, digital art, video and more frequently includes work that is attempting to reshape current ideas about what art can be, from Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s use of candy to memorialize a lover he lost to AIDS-related complications to Jenny Holzer’s ongoing “Truisms,” a Conceptual series that sees provocative messages printed on billboards, T-shirts, benches and other public places that exist outside of formal exhibitions and the conventional “white cube” of galleries.

Contemporary art has been pushing the boundaries of creative expression for years. Its disruption of the traditional concepts of art are often aiming to engage viewers in complex questions about identity, society and culture. In the latter part of the 20th century, contemporary movements included Land art, in which artists like Robert Smithson and Michael Heizer create large-scale, site-specific sculptures, installations and other works in soil and bodies of water; Sound art, with artists such as Christian Marclay and Susan Philipsz centering art on sonic experiences; and New Media art, in which mass media and digital culture inform the work of artists such as Nam June Paik and Rafaël Rozendaal.

The first decades of the 21st century have seen the growth of Contemporary African art, the revival of figurative painting, the emergence of street art and the rise of NFTs, unique digital artworks that are powered by blockchain technology.

Major Contemporary artists practicing now include Ai Weiwei, Cecily Brown, David Hockney, Yayoi Kusama, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami and Kara Walker.

Find a collection of Contemporary prints, photography, paintings, sculptures and other art on 1stDibs.

to
1
8
7
2
4
9
4
2
1
7
2
3
3
Overall Height
to
Overall Width
to
16
5
2
1
1
1
1
11
6
5
5
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
16
3
3
2
1
1
16
16
16
15
9
Style: Contemporary
Color:  Gold
The Shield - unique piece by Paula Craioveanu - Neo Mythology
Located in Forest Hills, NY
"The Shield". This painting was inspired by ancient masks and statues and it's part of my Neo-Mythology series. Painted with acrylic, (+gesso and gold l...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

David - contemporary portrait, mixed media painting, biblical figure, Italian
Located in London, GB
Marco’s background is in engineering and architecture, making him familiar with mathematical design and the awareness of geometry.
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Moses -contemporary geometric portrait, Biblical character, mixed media painting
Located in London, GB
Marco’s background is in engineering and architecture, making him familiar with mathematical design and the awareness of geometry.
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Mother and daughter by Lélia Pissarro - Oil painting
Located in London, GB
Mother and daughter by Lélia Pissarro (b. 1963) Oil and gold leaf on canvas 100 x 100 cm (39 ³/₈ x 39 ³/₈ inches) Signed lower right Lélia Pissarro. Executed in 2020 This work is ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Cleopatra, Mistress of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony by Lélia Pissarro
Located in London, GB
Cleopatra, Mistress of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony by Lélia Pissarro (b. 1963) Oil and gold leaf on canvas 100 x 100 cm (39 ³/₈ x 39 ³/₈ inches) Signed...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Apollo & Daphne - Greek Mythology: Gilding, Ink and Acrylic on Canvas
Located in London, GB
With a background in engineering and architecture, Marco Araldi is demonstrably comfortable with both mathematical design and geometry. Naturally drawn t...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Mixed Media on Woven Fabriano Portrait Painting "Lady in Blue"
Located in Cape Town, ZA
This unique artwork is created through interweaving strips of painted fabriano paper in order to create a complex composition with depth and texture. The artwork is framed and floate...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Solitude of Guadalupe
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Halo presents an amazing cast of historical black figures, most of whom were legendary and mythic characters in their time, but have been nearly lost to the vagaries and biases of hi...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Zumbi dos Palmares
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Halo presents an amazing cast of historical black figures, most of whom were legendary and mythic characters in their time, but have been nearly lost to the vagaries and biases of hi...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Balthazar
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Halo presents an amazing cast of historical black figures, most of whom were legendary and mythic characters in their time, but have been nearly lost to the vagaries and biases of hi...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Bit Franklin
Located in Brooklyn, NY
NOTE: This split portrait artwork is part of a limited collection of one of a kind pieces. Please inquire as to whether this specific piece is still available. If not, artist Andrew Cotton...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Elements Etrusco
Located in Miami, FL
A. Laurenti has been exhibiting since 1984 universal, visionary and contemporary paintings. His images bring back to us through his colors, landscapes and personalities that have exi...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Spring- 21st Century Contemporary
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
This painting is made by Pam Hawkes. On the painting you see the portrait of a woman This British artist is new to the Netherlands, her work is now a household name in the rest of ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Will Smith
Located in New York, NY
Homage to Will Smith. Acrylic and gold leaf on canvas. About the Artist: Jack Florczyk, known professionally as Jack Flo, is an American contemporary ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

In the Bathroom
Located in Burlingame, CA
Portrait of a young woman in the bathroom, painted with oil and gold leaf on paper. The artwork is is 14 x 11 inches. And it is newly and professionally framed with all museum materi...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Barbara Gittings (Figuartive Painting of LGBTQ Icon in Gold Triptych Frame)
Located in Hudson, NY
Portrait painting of LGBTQ icon, Barbara Gittings Entitled: "Barbara Gittings (Mother)" Painted by Carl Grauer in 2019 Oil and gold leaf on board 20 x 32 inches, 20 x 16 inches when closed Can rest on a surface or can be hung with two d-rings that are installed on the back This painting was made by Poughkeepsie, NY based artist, Carl Grauer, in 2019. It is part of the artist's latest series, The Lavender Temple of Their Most Fabulous, painted in tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion. Here the artist depicts LGBTQ activist, Barbara Gittings, on a gold leaf triptych frame resembling a Catholic altarpiece. Gittings is further sanctified with a glowing gold leaf halo while holding a copy of "The Ladder". Scenes of homosexual rights protests are featured on the left and right side of the folding triptych. When closed, the painting measures 20 x 16 inches and depicts two female symbols on the front. The piece can be shown unfolded either resting on a surface or by hanging it with the two d-rings that are installed on the back. About Barbara Gittings: Barbara Gittings was a LGBTQ+ activist whose contributions had a significant impact on LGBTQ+ acceptance and rights in the United States. Born in Vienna, Austria in 1932 while her father served as a U.S. diplomat, she was the organizer of the New York chapter of the Daughter of Bilitis (DOB), the first US national lesbian organization and served as editor of the DOB magazine, The Ladder, from 1963-1966. In the 1960s, Gittings co-organized picket lines to raise awareness about the ban on employment of gay people by the U.S. government, the country’s largest employer at the time. She also was part of the movement to persuade the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which they stopped listing as a mental disorder in 1973. Her childhood experiences of finding very little literature or information about being gay inspired her to have a lifelong involvement with libraries, especially the American Library Association (ALA), to promote positive LGBTQ+ literature in libraries. She passed away in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania in 2007 and has awards from the ALA and Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) named after her. “Equal treatment — no more, no less — is what we want! And compassion— which many homosexuals gladly swallow because they think it represents an improvement in attitudes toward them — is not equal treatment.” – Barbara Gittings More about the series: In tribute to the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, Poughkeepsie based artist Carl Grauer debuts The Lavender Temple of Their Most Fabulous, a new series depicting notable figures of the LGBTQ+ movement. Portraits of gay rights advocates, such as Harvey Milk...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Related Items
French School Portrait PS243 La Contrebasse d'Ingres (Large)
Located in Zofingen, AG
PS 243 La Contrebasse d'Ingres Such as Odalisque from Ingres or the photography composition from Man Ray, the most important point is the round shape of the body. The pale body sha...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Ink, Oil, Acrylic

Contemplation in Blue and Green Nude Women Portrait Painting by Lada Kholosho
Located in Zofingen, AG
This original acrylic painting, rendered on a quality stretched canvas measuring 50 cm in width and 70 cm in height, compellingly explores the human form through a vibrant interplay ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Canvas

Series of Four Portraits from a New York City Gay Underground Club
By Damien Smith
Located in London, GB
A series of four paintings - acrylic on stretched canvas - unframed, by Canadian artist Damien Smith (born 1969). This unique series depicts four characters in a New York City erotic gay bar...
Category

1990s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Playing around- 21st Century Contemporary Portrait of a woman
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
Alejandro Casanova Playing around 100 x 100 cm oil on canvas The Spanish artist Alejandro Casanova lives and works in Tenerife, where he moved afte...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Reflection in Red Contemporary Women Portrait Original Painting by Lada Kholosho
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this artwork, the serenity of the figure is juxtaposed with the dynamic scarlet background, symbolizing comfort in passion and color. The painting portrays the female form in a m...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Canvas

French School - PS 233 La Fauve s'habille en Leopard Oil Post Impressionist
Located in Zofingen, AG
Ps 233 La Fauve S'habille en leopard. (Tawny wears leopard) Portrait of a naked woman who is carrying a leopard. Structural analysis: Closeup portrait of a naked woman. The backgro...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Ink, Oil, Acrylic

Indigo Solitude Nude Women Portrait Painting by Lada Kholosho
Located in Zofingen, AG
This original acrylic painting on canvas is an impressive work created by artist Lada Kholosho in 2024. It depicts a solitary figure wrapped in an embrace and rendered in a vivid pal...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

10-11-9 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Nude Painting, Oil on Canvas
Located in Barcelona, Catalonia
“I paint the human figure and explore further till I reach the Beauty of Being, the Soul.. the part of Human Being where everything is in total Serenity, Goodness and Harmony, where ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

The Secret Keeper 40" x 30" oil gold metal leaf on canvas Figurative Feminine
Located in Houston, TX
FREE SHIPPING AT CHECKOUT The Secret Keeper 40" x 30" oil gold metal leaf on canvas is a new painting by artist Honora Jacob. Also included in the images are two other paintings that were recently completed. Here is an article that goes into detail about her new series of paintings. How they’re dressed...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Entanglement in Red and Blue- 21st Century Contemporary Portrait of a woman
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
Alejandro Casanova Entanglement in Red and Blue 130 x 89 cm oil on canvas The Spanish artist Alejandro Casanova lives and works in Tenerife, where ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

17thC Spanish Colonial School Frame with orig. Painting St. Joseph Jesus Child
Located in Meinisberg, CH
17th Century Spanish Colonial School (Likely to be School of Cuzco in Peru) - St. Joseph with the Christ Child carrying a basket, housed in its original carved, hardwood frame. • Painted in oil on canvas (laid on to fiberboard), ca.58 x 48 cm • Original frame, ca. 64 x 54 cm • Visible image ca. 52.5 x 42.5 cm Centuries ago this religious painting, depicting St. Joseph with his flowering staff and the Christ Child carrying a basket, was originally displayed in a church or chapel in 17th Century colonial...
Category

17th Century Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Narcissus, Pose 18, French Abstract Expressionist Portrait. Acrylic on Canvas.
Located in Cotignac, FR
A French late 20th Century Abstract Expressionist portrait of Narcissus on canvas by Joel Crance. The painting is signed bottom left and signed, titled and with a dedication to the b...
Category

Late 20th Century Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Previously Available Items
Two Sisters, mixed media assemblage, little girls portrait, gold, pink, crown
Located in Jersey City, NJ
"Two Sisters" (2023) by Danielle Scott Mixed media collage and found object assemblage with resin on wood panel. The artist collages found objects and print material into an image,...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Pieta - contemporary mixed media painting biblical portrait geometric golden
Located in London, GB
Marco’s background is in engineering and architecture, making him familiar with mathematical design and the awareness of geometry.
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Rebecca Cox Jackson
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Halo presents an amazing cast of historical black figures, most of whom were legendary and mythic characters in their time, but have been nearly lost to the vagaries and biases of hi...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Moses Williams
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Halo presents an amazing cast of historical black figures, most of whom were legendary and mythic characters in their time, but have been nearly lost to the vagaries and biases of hi...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

The Di-Gold Experience n.227
Located in Miami, FL
gold leaf and oil on aluminum Dibond.
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Mars - antique mythology contemporary portrait mixed media painting on board
Located in London, GB
Marco’s background is in engineering and architecture, making him familiar with mathematical design and the awareness of geometry. When he decided to create art, he was naturally dra...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Portrait of a robot C-3PO - contemporary sci-fi Star Wars mixed media painting
Located in London, GB
Marco’s background is in engineering and architecture, making him familiar with mathematical design and the awareness of geometry. When he decided to create art, he was naturally dra...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

“Conversation” Original Oil Painting by Irma Kusiani (aka Ilona Kustan), Framed
Located in Encino, CA
"Conversation" is an original oil on canvas by Irma Kusiani (aka Ilona Kustan). Impressively vivid detail projects from the painting, immediately drawing ...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

"Surprise" Mixed media Painting 10" x 10" inch by Hend EL Falafly
Located in Culver City, CA
"Surprise" Mixed media Painting 10" x 10" inch by Hend EL Falafly * Due to the Ministry of Culture policy + COVID situation, handling time (paperwork) may take up to 1-3 month. "E...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold

Hercules - geometrical deconstruction of a Roman statue of young Hercules
Located in London, GB
Geometrical deconstruction of a Roman statue of young Hercules, mixed media on board.
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Bella, Seamstress of the Harlequins, Contemporary Figurative Oil Painting
Located in Brecon, Powys
Without their unique & colourful costumes some of the Comedie del Arte characters wouldn't be readily identifiable. Certain information could be derived from their clothing; audien...
Category

2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf, Silver

"Thinker I" Mixed media Painting 39" x 28" inch by Hend EL Falafly
Located in Culver City, CA
"Thinker I" Mixed media Painting 39" x 28" inch by Hend EL Falafly * Due to the Ministry of Culture policy + COVID situation, handling time (paperwork) may take up to 1-3 month. "...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold

Contemporary portrait paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Contemporary portrait paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add portrait paintings created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, orange, purple, pink and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Nemo Jantzen, America Martin, Jack Graves III, and Timothy Archer. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Fabric and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Contemporary portrait paintings, so small editions measuring 2 inches across are also available. Prices for portrait paintings made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $88 and tops out at $430,743, while the average work sells for $4,000.

Recently Viewed

View All