Elvic Steele Portrait Paintings

Painting by Donald Purdy (1924 - 2016). Oil on masonite Measures 25"L x 23"W. Work is behind glass and comes with exceptional antique frame. Acquired from the Schoneman Gallery in NY...

The young male subject in Richard Gibbons' work simply entitled "Youth", is that of a curious young man with his head tilted. Dressed in clothing similar ...

"Victoria" is portrait of a young female with flowing blond hair and draped in white. Purple flowers adorn her hair as well as her dress. Her pale skin, as well as her gaze away f...

Portrait painting of a young woman dressed in black with a bonnet. The woman has a rose in her right hand and presents her left hand with a r...

"KAMA SUTRA", 2013, is an oil painting on canvas by artist Tslil Tsemet, and measures 57x39". Characteristic of the artist's best work, it's composed as a t...

Nasser Ovissi, 'Iranian, Born 1934' "Cyrus The Great" Oil on Canvas Painting. Very fine quality painting by Persian Artist Nasser Ovissi who is considered to be known as the "Picasso of Iran". A true modern Iranian masterpiece depicting "King Cyrus...

Pug dog dressed like a general Hand Painted #3 of edition of 20 NY Street Artist Y.M. Lo oil painting. contemporary Street in NYC, Hong Kong Comes ROLLED in ...

VINCENT G. STIEPEVICH Russian, 1841-1910 Lounging Odalisque in the Harem Signed ‘VG. Stiepevich’ L/R Oil on canvas 18 x 24 inches Frame: 26 x 33 inches

"CHILDREN OF THE SUN", 2019, is an oil painting on canvas by artist Tslil Tsemet, and measures 47x62". Characteristic of the artist's best work, it features a group of four contemporary strong-man heads of state portrayed in a child's garden of dangerous toys – from plastic ray-guns to nuclear warheads. Putin, barechested on his black unicorn, is blowing bubbles that float throughout this fascist paradise. Trump and Netanyahu appear at the end of a rainbow looking both grumpy and sinister. And Kim Jong...

"EYE CHECK, 2008, is a surrealist oil painting on canvas by artist Tslil Tsemet, and measures 66x47". At once vulnerable and defiant – a nude woman sits u...

"The Dreamer" Abstract Oil Painting 58" x 102" inch by Carlos Delgado ABOUT: Carlos Delgado is a Colombian artist with international recognition livi...

Virtue of Knowledge reexamines portraits of individuals throughout history to illustrate the premise that history flows into the present in an ever-changing state. And, with each new context, we view people and events through a contemporary lens specific to that moment. Virtue of Knowledge appropriates and contextualizes original portrait elements to create reinvented portraits using technique and patterning that brings a contemporary context and perspective to these historically inspired portraits STATEMENT History flows into the present in an ever-changing state. And, with each new context, we view people and events through a contemporary lens specific to that moment. My current body of work, Contemporary Histories, explores this phenomena by re-interpreting historical portraiture using a contemporary visual language. It is my intent to create a modern visual lens through which to view these individuals and their legacies, as they continue to flow into the present in ever-changing states. As a keen example of how history changes and morphs over time, I have selected portraits of women who chose an alternate path from the traditional ones prescribed in their times. Some of these individuals overtly stepped outside the traditional roles prescribed for women to realize their goals. Others astutely maneuvered within the social system they lived in to obtain their aspirations. Whether altruistic or nefarious, these women and their actions altered the future cultural landscape. Through a 21st century lens, we view them as women with minds of their own, who made choices to control their own lives and futures. Often, in stark contrast to how they were viewed and how their actions were recorded in their own times. For a modern visual language, a combination of fine and decorative arts has inspired my approach to this subject. Employing several formal contemporary tenets, most notably, rather than place the figure in a 3-dimensional space, as in the originals, the figures reside in flat graphic picture planes of damask designs, repetitive patterns or botanical grounds as modern settings for their modern legacies. These graphic backgrounds symbolize what was historically considered a woman’s proper domain, in particular, gardening and needle crafts, such as; quilting, embroidery and sewing. Formally, unlike the originals, I am working alla prima, rather than with a base grisaille and delicate layers of glazing. While, the patterned and botanical environments, along with gold leaf applications, contemporary compositions and color palettes are formally influenced by a spectrum of 19th - 21st century artists and artisans; from Gustav Klimt and the Wiener Werkstatte to Henri Rousseau, Tamara de Lempicka and Will Cotton. BIO Honora Jacob...