Trevor J. Fairbrother

Brandon Brame Fortune

Lauren Johnson

Every day we are inundated with faces. Images of celebrities, acquaintances, and friends--in the news, On social networking sites, On the street--are constantly changing. Portraits, On the other hand, slow us down. They capture the artist's carefully conceived approach To The subject, whether a friend, a loved one, or a self-portrait. For this book and exhibition, The second in an ongoing series, The National Portrait Gallery in the US held an open competition, asking artists throughout the United States to submit likenesses of people close to them. From more than 3,300 entries from every state, a jury of experts chose forty-nine works of art in a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, drawing, video and new media, and photography. They are as diverse as America and represent many stylistic approaches. The grand prize winner--Dave Woody, For his photograph, Laura --received a $25,000 award and will be given a commission to create a portrait of a notable living American For The Portrait Gallery's permanent collection. The artists shown here use portraiture or self-portraiture to explore complex issues of identity, while they also test the boundaries of figurative art. These faces compel our curiosity and document the dynamic relationship between artist and subject. Ranging from quietly pensive to wildly expressive, these creative approaches To The art of portraiture assert the power of human connections.

The Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2009

This book explores the portraiture of Elaine de Kooning, an enormously talented artist whose widely admired body of work--both abstract and figurative--is overdue for a contemporary reassessment. This insightful book explores de Kooning's portraits as well as her artistic process and her position in the rise of Postmodernism. Illustrated throughout with full-color reproductions of paintings, drawings, and archival photos, this book is an important contribution to the literature on Abstract Expressionism, women artists, and feminism during a transformative period, and will also appeal to lovers of painting of all kinds.

Portraits

Elaine de Kooning

Today, with the proliferation of selfies and the contemporary focus on identity, it is time to reassess the significance of the self-portrait. Drawing primarily from the National Portrait Gallery's collection, Eye to I explores how American artists have portrayed themselves over the past two centuries. The book shows that while each individual approaches self-portraiture under unique circumstances, all of their representations raise important questions about self-perception and self-reflection. Sometimes artists choose to reveal intimate details of their inner lives. Other times they use the genre to obfuscate their true selves or invent alter egos. This richly illustrated book features an introduction by the National Portrait Gallery's chief curator and nearly one hundred fifty insightful entries on key self-portraits in the museum's collection. It enables the reader to come face to face with some of America's most influential artists of the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries, like Edward Hopper, Beatrice Wood, Man Ray, Alexander Calder, Edward Steichen, Diego Rivera, George Gershwin, Elaine de Kooning, Louise Bourgeois, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Joan Jonas, Patti Smith, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Alice Neel, David Hockney, Chuck Close, and many more. Eye to I provides readers with an overview of self-portraiture while revealing the intersections that exist between art, life, and self-representation.

Brandon Brame Fortune

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