Contemporary Portrait Photography
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.
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Size: Large
Style: Contemporary
Malasso by John Kenny. Portrait, Unmounted C-type Print, 2009
Located in Coltishall, GB
I came across the intense stare of this Pokot lady at a Friday market on a mountain summit in northern Kenya; it was the same market where I photographed a Samburu goat herder wrappe...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
James Sparshatt La Dama Del Callejón Large Print on Brushed Aluminium, 2001
Located in Coltishall, GB
Every Sunday afro-Cubans gather in the Callejon de Hammel to play the drums and sing the harsh vocals of rumba.
The Spirit of the Revolution series documents the generation of Cuban...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Metal
La Dama De La Plaza by James Sparshatt. 36" x 36" photo on Brushed Aluminium
Located in Coltishall, GB
A lady of pure joy… dancing in the Plaza de la Revolucion on May 1st.
The Spirit of the Revolution series documents the generation of Cubans that saw the dramatic changes of 1959 as...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Metal
El Campesino by James Sparshatt. 36" x 36" photograph on Brushed Aluminiu
Located in Coltishall, GB
The Viñales valley in western Cuba is a place of stunning beauty where perhaps the finest tobacco leaves in the world are grown. The tobacco farmers live hard but proud lives.
The S...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Metal
El Sentinel by James Sparshatt. 36" x 36" Photograph on Brushed Aluminium
Located in Coltishall, GB
A man of gentlemany demeanour, content with his cigar. A sentinel watching the world pass amidst the endless sugar cane country of central Cuba.
The Spirit of the Revolution serie...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Metal
Puro… Alegría by James Sparshatt. 36" x 36" Photograph on Brushed Aluminium
Located in Coltishall, GB
Puro is Cuban slang for a cigar… alegria is Spanish for happiness… for Graciela both always seemed essential to her being.
The Spirit of the Revolution series documents the generati...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Metal
El Barbudo by James Sparshatt. 36 x 36" Photographic Print on Brushed Aluminium
Located in Coltishall, GB
The bearded one… in Old Havana.
The Spirit of the Revolution series documents the generation of Cubans that saw the dramatic changes of 1959 as young adults. They have a strength of...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Metal
Muhammad Ali, Photograph by Francesco Scavullo
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Francesco Scavullo
Title: Muhammad Ali, 1982
Medium: Gelatin Silver Print, stamped verso
Image Size: 29.5 x 19 inches
Size: 32.5 x 21 in. (82.55 x 53.34 cm)
Category
1980s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
Lakuru by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount 2009
Located in Coltishall, GB
Rendille warrior from Northern Kenya
John Kenny’s work is all shot on location in some of the remotest corners of Africa. His subjects are lit with natural light and wear their day ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Ethereal Aerial Image of a Lone White Horse on the Black Sand Beach
By Drew Doggett
Located in US
"Ocean Escape"
This best-selling image features a lone white horse running across the volcanic black sand beach of Iceland.
Set against Iceland’s ico...
Category
2010s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment
Fashion by John Galliano, his First Collection, London (Limited Edition of 25)
Located in New York, NY
This 1987 print features an iconic fashion shot captured by legend photographer, John Stoddart, from John Galliano’s (then, Britain’s most famous fashion stylist) first ever collecti...
Category
1980s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Archival Paper
La Vieja Guajira by James Sparshatt. 36 x 36” photo printed direct on aluminium
Located in Coltishall, GB
The old country girl from the Escambray mountains. I was hiking in the mountains, close to Trinidad, when I met the family. They invited me in and we chatted about our different live...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Metal
Hombre De Media Luna by James Sparshatt. 20 x 20” portrait printed on aluminium
Located in Coltishall, GB
It was almost 3am and we were still waiting for the band to start to play. I stood on the open air stage buffeted by the winds as the group and their roadies struggled to set up. Th...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Metal
La Romera by James Sparshatt. 36 x 36” photograph printed direct on aluminium
Located in Coltishall, GB
On a musical and pleasure seeking pilgrimage… during Las Romerias de Mayo festival in Holguín.
The Spirit of the Revolution series documents the generation of Cubans that saw the dr...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Metal
El Finquero by James Sparshatt. 36 x 36” photograph printed direct on aluminium.
Located in Coltishall, GB
A tobacco farmer from the Viñales valley.
The Spirit of the Revolution series documents the generation of Cubans that saw the dramatic changes of 1959 as young adults. They have a s...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Metal
Lady of the Arbore by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait with Acrylic Face-Mount
By John Kenny 1
Located in Coltishall, GB
The jewellery of the Arbore is among the most colourful in the whole of the Omo Valley: they are experts in recycling materials for beauty, particularly metal watch...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Nakini by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount 2019
Located in Coltishall, GB
A young Turkana girl
John uses simple natural light and builds primitive makeshift studios from locally acquired white sheets! The suffuse light allows him to capture a remarkable l...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
The Fairground by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount
Located in Coltishall, GB
A Turkana elder photographed by John Kenny in Kenya.
John uses simple natural light and builds primitive makeshift studios from locally acquired white sheets! The suffuse light allo...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Amuria by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount 2019
Located in Coltishall, GB
A portrait of a beautiful young Turkana woman photographed on the banks of Lake Turkana.
John uses simple natural light and builds primitive makeshift studios from locally acquired ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Lopayok by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount 2019
Located in Coltishall, GB
A young Turkana warrior
John uses simple natural light and builds primitive makeshift studios from locally acquired white sheets! The suffuse light allows him to capture a remarkabl...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Kedenye by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount 2019
Located in Coltishall, GB
Elder with a tale to tell
John uses simple natural light and builds primitive makeshift studios from locally acquired white sheets! The suffuse light allows him to capture a remarka...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Ayoni and child by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount
Located in Coltishall, GB
Ayoni and her child – a smiling Turkana mother.
John uses simple natural light and builds primitive makeshift studios from locally acquired white sheets! The suffuse light allows h...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Gumatoo by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount 2019
Located in Coltishall, GB
John Kenny met this Gabbra woman on the road to Kolal in Northern Kenya in 2019.
John uses simple natural light and builds primitive makeshift studios from locally acquired white sh...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Naiio by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount 2011
Located in Coltishall, GB
This young Turkana girl in northern Kenya wears a goatskin known as an ‘egolas’. In traditional Turkana communities the inhabitants are excellent at making garments from animals, and...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Eture by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount 2011
Located in Coltishall, GB
A young Rendille girl
A return to Kenya. On this trip John took a different approach to lighting. Building makeshift studios from locally acquired white sheets held up by four war...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Kolode by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount 2011
Located in Coltishall, GB
A Rendille girl in Kenya
A return to Kenya. On this trip John took a different approach to lighting. Building makeshift studios from locally acquired white sheets held up by four ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Lesirte by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount 2011
Located in Coltishall, GB
A Samburu warrior from Kenya
A return to Kenya. On this trip John took a different approach to lighting. Building makeshift studios from locally acquired white sheets held up by f...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Pitali by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount 2011
Located in Coltishall, GB
Sometimes a more practical hair arrangement is needed for warriors and braids are rolled into a net that is tied to keep the hair firm. Once the hair is long, a warrior will only sha...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Loicherua by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount 2011
Located in Coltishall, GB
This warrior, like many of the Samburu, cares intensely about his appearance. There are two giveaway signs beyond the amount of jewellery he wears: a small pink pocket mirror, next t...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Lokope by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount 2011
Located in Coltishall, GB
A girl of the Samburu
A return to Kenya. On this trip John took a different approach to lighting. Building makeshift studios from locally acquired white sheets held up by four war...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Emon by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount 2011
Located in Coltishall, GB
I met Emon in a small Turkana village called ‘Sarima’ in the North of Kenya. It’s a wild place that seems to sit in a wind tunnel that takes its power from the enormous water mass of...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Ikulme by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount 2011
Located in Coltishall, GB
This elder from a Rendille community in northern Kenya wears a typical bright coloured fabric wrapped around his body. It is essentially the same as the blanket-like ‘shuka’ worn by ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Loile by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount 2011
Located in Coltishall, GB
The large circular earplugs worn by this stunning Rendille warrior are made of plastic and sometimes bone. In past times, and very occasionally today, you might see the same plugs ma...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Inchoy by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount 2019
Located in Coltishall, GB
The steady gaze of Inchoy and her child.
John uses simple natural light and builds primitive makeshift studios from locally acquired white sheets! The suffuse light allows him to ca...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Himba Siblings by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount
Located in Coltishall, GB
Himba Siblings in Namibia
John Kenny’s work is all shot on location in some of the remotest corners of Africa. His images are all taken with natural light and his subjects in their ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Fula Nomad at Golondi by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait with Acrylic Face-Mount
Located in Coltishall, GB
The man was sat in the shade during a huge village market in a place called Golondi in Niger. We drank the salty, sweet tea that the nomads of the Sahel and...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Karepo Nawa by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount 2010
Located in Coltishall, GB
I met this young Himba girl near to a place called Etengwa in the far north of Namibia. We trekked a few kilometres in the midday heat, over a rocky hill to a small village within wh...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
The San Man by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount
Located in Coltishall, GB
A picture of joy. KhoiSan bushman from Namibia
John Kenny’s work is all shot on location in some of the remotest corners of Africa. His images are all taken with natural light and...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Lion of the Kalahari by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait with Acrylic Face-Mount
Located in Coltishall, GB
This Himba elder was at a huge funeral gathering in the western Kaokoland between the largest town of the area, Opuwo, and Otjitando. The area was flat, and very dry, with a strong w...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Malasso by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount 2009
Located in Coltishall, GB
I came across the intense stare of this Pokot lady at a Friday market on a mountain summit in northern Kenya; it was the same market where I photographed a Samburu goat herder wrappe...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Himba Child l by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount
Located in Coltishall, GB
In the far north of Namibia as you head towards the border with Angola at Epupa Falls, barely visible tracks radiate off the main dirt road into bush and disappear across sandy, dry ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Himba Child ll by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount
Located in Coltishall, GB
A young Himba child from Namibia
John Kenny’s work is all shot on location in some of the remotest corners of Africa. His images are all taken with natura...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Ltiriyan by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount
Located in Coltishall, GB
I met Ltiriyan at the water wells in Laisamis, part of the Rendille lands of Northern Kenya. He was with nine or ten Rendille warriors relaxing in the heat of the day, and they happily sat around and talked with me through my guide for an hour or so before preparing their camels to head off into the desert again.
Ltiriyan was the most outspoken of the young warriors...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Himba Lady by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount 2010
Located in Coltishall, GB
Himba lady from northern Namibia
John Kenny’s work is all shot on location in some of the remotest corners of Africa. His images are all taken with natural light and his subjects in...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Himba Woman by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount
Located in Coltishall, GB
Himba woman from Northern Namibia
John Kenny’s work is all shot on location in some of the remotest corners of Africa. His images are all taken with natural light and his subjects i...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Otjitando by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount 2010
Located in Coltishall, GB
Himba woman from Namibia
John Kenny’s work is all shot on location in some of the remotest corners of Africa. His images are all taken with natural light and his subjects in their d...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Nambuele by John Kenny. 26.5 x 18" portrait photo with Acrylic Face-Mount 2012
Located in Coltishall, GB
Nambuele illustrates the hair craft of the Mumuhuila of southern Angola, whose women take an obsessive pride in their hairstyle. Although it may change as a girl enters different st...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
At the Heart of Huile by John Kenny. 36 x 24" portrait photo with Acrylic Mount
Located in Coltishall, GB
Young Mumuhuile woman from the Huile region of southern Angola.
John Kenny’s work is all shot on location in some of the remotest corners of Africa. His images are all taken with na...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
El Caballero by James Sparshatt. 36" x 36" Photo printed direct on Aluminium
Located in Coltishall, GB
The gentleman… a man of calm dignity and endessly kind eyes in Old Havana in 2016.
The Spirit of the Revolution series documents the generation of Cubans that saw the dramatic chan...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Metal
Iconic Profile Portrait of a Sable Island Horse, Vertical
By Drew Doggett
Located in US
"Regal"
Ethereal and meditative, a lone wild horse enjoys the breeze on Sable Island.
The print series Discovering the Horses of Sable Island documents ...
Category
2010s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment
Two Wild Horses Rearing Up on Sable Island, Equestrian, Iconic Photograph
By Drew Doggett
Located in US
"The Dance"
This award-winning print features a stallion protecting his band from others by defending his family.
The print series Discovering the Horses of Sable Island documents...
Category
2010s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment
Wild Horse Walking Through Water with Mane Blowing in Wind, Best-Selling Print
By Drew Doggett
Located in US
"Wild Spirit"
The wild horses on Sable Island instictively know the land as if they were born with knowledge of the island in their DNA.
The print series Discovering the Horses o...
Category
2010s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment
World-Class Yachts in Fog at the Regatta, Iconic Black and White Print
By Drew Doggett
Located in US
"White Out"
As a thick fog enveloped the harbor, the yacht Victory and other 12-Meter boats lined up waiting for the regatta to start. The suspense and excitement hung in the air. ...
Category
2010s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment
Two Wild Horses Running on the Beach of Sable Island, Horizontal, Equestrian
By Drew Doggett
Located in US
"In Pursuit"
The wild horses are the only full-time residents of Sable Island and roam freely wherever they want.
The print series Discovering the Horses of Sable Island documents...
Category
2010s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment
Iconic Portrait of a Young Man Wearing Tribal Face Paint, Ethiopia, Fashion
By Drew Doggett
Located in US
"Untitled 37"
Wearing face paint is typical in the Karo tribe. While the designs are based on tradition, each young man is encouraged to create their own motif.
This award-winnin...
Category
2010s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment
Boy In Tree Looking Over Land, Ethiopia, Africa, Iconic, Horizontal
By Drew Doggett
Located in US
"Untitled 20"
In this best-selling, award-winning black and white photograph, a Suri boy elegantly perched in a tree looks over his livestock.
The distinctly preserved cultures of the Omo Valley in Ethiopia are featured in this print series titled Omo: Expressions of a People.
For this series, Drew received the Associate Distinction from the Royal Photographic Society.
These limited edition archival prints are carefully inspected, signed, and numbered by the artist.
Custom sizes are available upon request.
Shared Edition of 75 Across All Sizes.
All images are printed in-house on Hahnemuhle Fine Art Baryta paper and come with a Certificate of Authenticity. For your convenience, all images are printed with a 3” paper border; this is not included in the listed sizes.
ABOUT DREW: Photographer & filmmaker Drew Doggett creates print series featuring the extraordinary stories of diverse cultures and communities seen through a fashion-inspired lens. Through both intimate and expansive perspectives, he reveals his subjects in vivid detail. Drew's work is in public and private collections around the world, notably the Smithsonian Institute. He has received over 100 awards and honors for his photography and short films; in 2020, he was named number one in the US and fourth globally for black and white photography...
Category
2010s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment
All White Horses Standing in Calm Water, Equestrian, Meditative
By Drew Doggett
Located in US
"Dreamland"
This best-selling image features the white horses of Camargue congregating in the pools of water that form in their home in the South of France.
The print series Band ...
Category
2010s Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
Archival Pigment
An Intense Encounter by John Kenny - Portrait, C-type Print with Acrylic Face
Located in Coltishall, GB
This Tamberma man is from a small village called Nadoba in Togo, about ten kilometres from the Benin border. The village is renowned for its facial scarification.
A fiery wind b...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
Materials
C Print
Contemporary portrait photography for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Contemporary portrait photography 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 photography 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, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Stefanie Schneider, Tyler Shields, Urizen Freaza, and Clare Marie Bailey. Frequently made by artists working with Paper, and Photographic Paper 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 photography, so small editions measuring 1.58 inches across are also available.