$358,553
H 52 in W 40 in D 2 in
Exotic - Scottish 1920's exhibited 'Glasgow Girl' art portrait oil painting
Located in Hagley, England
Frances MacDonald, Jessie M. King, Annie French, Helen Paxton Brown, Jessie Wylie Newbery, Ann Macbeth
Oil
Tiffany Studios Bronze and Favrile Table Lamp
By Louis Comfort Tiffany, Tiffany Studios
Located in Dallas, TX
Tiffany Studios Bronze and favrile Desk lamp Damascene iridescent glass with greens, blues, goals and silver. Fine reticulated and patinated bronze base. Original favrile pearl heat...
Bronze
$855Sale Price|20% Off
H 19.3 in W 16.15 in D 5.52 in
Red Extra-Size Starfish, Océano Pacific, Ophidiaster Ophidianus
By Oceanic Arts
Located in Valladolid, ES
Ophidiaster ophidianus, measures: 495 × 418 × 140 mm, 576 g weight 2018, Océano Pacífico Red extra-size starfish! A fantastic specimen of Ophidiaster ophidianus caught in the Solo...
Other
$36,050
H 45.28 in W 56.7 in D 1.38 in
The Tooth-Puller (Il Cavadenti) - Oil on Canvas by Follower of Caravaggio
By Follower of Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi)
Located in Roma, IT
The Tooth-Puller is a superb original oil painting on canvas, realized by an anonymous artist, a follower of Caravaggio, in the first half of the XVII century. Our specimen is a rep...
Canvas, Oil
$4,230Sale Price|26% Off
H 3.15 in W 20.87 in D 20.87 in
French Chess Theme of Ancient Egypt Plaster & Wood Restored, circa 1920
Located in Labrit, Landes
French chess game in the thematic of Ancient Egypt. The chess pieces are in painted and waxed plaster, the board is in wood and the is also a display shelf. Each piece is charaterful...
Plaster, Wood
$1,723
H 9 in W 10 in D 6 in
1847 The Naval History of Great Britain, from the Declaration of War by France
By William James (Author)
Located in Bath, GB
A beautiful edition of naval historian William James's detailed and richly illustrated history of the Royal Navy. A 'New Edition' of naval historian William James's impressive work,...
Paper
Rare Queen Anne Chinoiserie Japanned Chest On Stand
Located in Lymington, GB
A sophisticated Queen Anne-period chinoiserie japanned chest raised on elegant cabriole legs with 'pony foot' carved detailing. This early-18th century chest on stand demonstrates t...
Lacquer
$84,399
H 60.63 in W 55.88 in
Christ Falling on the Way to Calvary, a painting by Carlo Francesco Nuvolone
Located in PARIS, FR
This painting by Carlo Francesco Nuvolone, the great Lombard master of the mid-seventeenth century, is striking for its dazzling composition and the brilliant colors of Christ's tuni...
Canvas, Oil
Antique Model of Ulm Cathedral
By Michael Molz
Located in Atlanta, GA
Stunning and rare scale model of the Ulm Cathedral, completed in 1925 by Michael Molz of Los Angeles. It is in remarkably good condition and features stained glass windows. The Ulm...
Wood
Rococo Style Pair of Twin Beds
By François Linke
Located in New Orleans, LA
Superior craftsmanship and elegant adornment characterize these exceptional, matching pair of mahogany twin beds by François Linke, the most influential and distinguished French ébén...
Bronze
"Rabbit Run Bridge"
By John Fulton Folinsbee
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim's of Lambertville Fine Art Gallery is proud to present this piece by John Fulton Folinsbee (1892 - 1972) One of the finest painters to embark upon the New Hope Art Colony, John ...
Canvas, Oil
$51,576Sale Price|29% Off
H 48.04 in W 67.33 in D 1.97 in
17th Century by Giulio Benso The Expulsion of the Merchants From the Temple
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Giulio Benso (Genoa, Italy, 1592 - 1668) Title: The Expulsion of the Merchants From the Temple Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: without frame 121 x 170 cm - with frame 144 x 193 cm ...
Oil, Canvas
Polpo Hand-blown glass Sculpture by Simone Crestani
By Simone Crestani
Located in Milan, IT
Polpo is a hand-blown glass sculpture that captures the fluidity and grace of an octopus. "Light and silent, the sinuous movements of the octopus seem domesticated and united with th...
Glass
Boin Taburet - 322pc Flatware Set + 15pc Platter Set, 950 Sterling & Vermeil
By Boin-Taburet
Located in Wilmington, DE
Direct from a Private Mansion in St. Tropez, a Stunning 19th Century 950 Sterling Silver and Vermeil Table Service by Premier French Silversmith "Boin Taburet", Consisting of a 322pc...
Vermeil, Sterling Silver
Romanesque Madonna - 1175/80
Located in Wien, Wien
ROMAN MADONNA “Sedes Sapientiae” Auvergne Around 1175/80 Pine wood Polychrome remains Height 40 cm This depiction of the Madonna is a masterfully carved, extremely early figure made...
Wood
$49,645
H 32 in W 26 in D 2 in
Laban Demanding the Return of the Teraphim from Rachel - Dutch Old Master art
By Willem van Nieulandt II
Located in Hagley, England
This very busy oil on panel is a Dutch Old Master painting dating to around 1620 by artist and poet Willem van Nieulandt. It is an incredibly detailed and colourful scene composed of...
Oil
$110,000
H 10.63 in Dm 11.03 in
Vase, Sign: Muller Fres Luneville, Style: Jugendstil, Art Nouveau, liberty
By Muller Frères
Located in Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, C
Vase Sign: Muller Fres Luneville acid worked Muller Feres The heart of the company was formed by five brothers (Henri, Desire, Eugene, Pierre, Victor) from a glass making family who ...
Art Glass
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.