What do portraits do

Portraits can be paintings, drawings, sculptures or photographs which record our changing identity and aspirations. In earlier times, many people would have had only one portrait painted in their lifetime, if at all, so artists were selected with great care and expectations were high.

Portrait of a Man, by William Ramsden Brealey. Portraits are artistic representations of people. Initial Consultation and Artist Selection: One of our trained sales associates is available to meet with you to discuss your preferences and goals for the portrait. If you are unable to meet with an associate in person, customized presentations can be prepared and sent to you when necessary.

Your sales associate can guide you to the most appropriate artist, taking into consideration your preferences, time frame, and budget. First Sitting: After you select a portrait artist, he or she will travel to your desired location for a sitting.

Many artists will also work from a photograph that you provide when circumstances preclude a sitting. Prior to the sitting, you will discuss the details of the project with the artist, including the overall tone of the portrait, the size, and eventual location where it will be hung.

Then, the subject will be asked to pose for a certain length of time. Some artists require more time during the sitting than others.

The client and artist together will decide on the best pose and composition for the portrait. Your sales associate and artist will communicate with you frequently throughout the process to keep you apprised of the progress. Final Sitting: Once the portrait has reached its final stages, some artists require a final sitting to make color adjustments as well as any other requested changes.

With assistance from your personal sales associate, you will choose from our wide selection of outstanding portrait painters and portrait sculptors. Your associate will help you narrow your selection based on your personal tastes, budget, time frame, and preferences for a particular medium.

All of our sales associates are educated in fine art portraiture and are trained to help you determine the style and artist that is right for you. With a roster of more than portrait artists from almost every part of the United States, as well as Europe, Canada, and Australia, we feel sure we can provide you with an excellent artist for your project.

We encourage you not to sacrifice the quality of this once-in-a-lifetime project with restrictions on where the artist lives. We believe you should find and use the most appropriate artist for your unique commissioned project. Of course, the artist you select could live nearby! Just like a portrait of another person, a self-portrait can be in any medium, and include as much or as little information as the artist wishes.

Sometimes artists make self-portraits to express their personality and inner world. In art history, portraits of women often emphasised beauty and modesty. Portraits of men were sometimes used to represent power and status.

A portrait can do many things. First of all, portraits are made by looking and understanding the sitter. When an artist makes a portrait of someone, they are presenting a particular impression of a person. A person's story can also be told through the artist's choice of material and choice of content, including location, body language, facial expression, objects that surround the sitter and the colours in the image.

What is a sitter? What is the subject of a portrait? What can a portrait tell us? What is a self-portrait?