Smithsonian Institution
National Portrait Gallery: American Women: Cecilia Beaux
A brief biography of Cecelia Beaux, portraitist and one of the most successful female artist of her era. Included is a self-portrait.
Tate
Tate: Artist's Study of the "Portrait of Mme Gautreau"
A reproduction of a study made by John Singer Sargent in preparation for painting his famous "Portrait of Mme Gautreau." The "Portrait of Mme Gautreau," or, as it is more commonly called, "Madame X," closely parallels the finished portrait.
Smithsonian Institution
National Portrait Gallery: Eye Contact: Stuart Davis
Wendy Wick Reaves,a curator at the National Portrait Gallery, discusses the pencil drawing by Stuart Davis and explains how he achieves the look of his self-portrait.
ArtLex
Art Lex: Sculpture in the Round Making a Portrait in Clay
Artlex discusses two kinds of portraiture, caricatures and realistic portraits, as part of a lesson plan with step-by-step instructions on how to make a bust out of clay. An interesting game, "Who the Heck Is That?," asks the participant...
Smithsonian Institution
National Portrait Gallery: Eye Contact: Beauford Delaney by Georgia O'keeffe
Fascinating observations of Georgia O'Keeffe's portrait of Beauford Delaney. Listen to Wendy Wick Reaves, a curator at the National Portrait Gallery, explain O'Keeffe's use of pastels.
Other
National Portrait Gallery: Artists a to Z: Nicholas Hilliard
Access the museum's collection of portraits by the sixteenth-century goldsmith and painter Nicholas Hilliard. Find miniature portraits of many well-known figures from the Tudor and Stuart periods in British history, including Elizabeth,...
Art Institute of Chicago
Modern Collection: Vincent Van Gogh Self Portrait, 1887
Click to enlarge Van Gogh's self-portrait from 1886-87, and read the paragraph of text explaining his methods.
Smithsonian Institution
National Portrait Gallery: American Women: Georgia O'keeffe
A picture of a bust of Georgia O'Keefe is accompanied by some information about her painting style and place among modern American artists.
Smithsonian Institution
National Portrait Gallery: Asian American Portraits of Encounter
Exhibition of the work of seven contemporary Asian American artists considers the genre from a distinctly Asian American point of view.
Smithsonian Institution
National Portrait Gallery: Le Tumulte Noir: Paul Colin's Jazz Age Portfolio
The spirit of Jazz Age Paris, as captured by French poster artist Paul Colin. Includes portraits of Josephine Baker and of other musicians and dancers of the time who were the undisputed stars of Parisian theater.
Smithsonian Institution
National Portrait Gallery: Picturing Business in America: Jerry Yang
From an exhibit of hedcuts from the Wall Street Journal are these two hedcuts by two different artists of Jerry Yang, developer of Yahoo. Included is a brief chronology of his business.
Smithsonian Institution
National Portrait Gallery: American Women: Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a fiery advocate for women's rights. Read an account of her actions and see a portrait of her painted by American artist, Anna Klumpke.
Smithsonian Institution
National Portrait Gallery: Eye Contact: Ethel Rosenberg
Listen to Wendy Wick Reaves, curator at the National Portrait Gallery, discuss this pencil drawing of convicted spy, Ethel Rosenberg, and what the drawing meant to the artist, Elizabeth Catlett.
Smithsonian Institution
National Portrait Gallery: Portrait of the Art World: Willem De Kooning
Brief essay about the artistic interests of Dutch-born American art legend Willem de Kooning.
Smithsonian Institution
National Portrait Gallery: Ballyhoo! Posters as Portraiture: Lillian Russell
This poster of Lillian Russell, star of light opera, was produced by the Strobridge Lithography Company. Find out how it was produced and why the artistic choices were made in designing it.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Artists, Making of African American Identity: V. 1
The artwork of four nineteenth-century free blacks expressed in portraits, landscapes, sculpture, and photography. Links to works from Joshua Johnson, Robert Scott Duncanson, Edmonia Lewis, and Augustus Washington are provided.
Other
Musee D'orsay: James Abbott Mc Neill Whistler, Portrait of the Artist's Mother
From the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, this is an image, description and explanation with an accompanying link to other facts about the American Impressionist painting "Portrait of the Artist's Mother" by James Abbott McNeill Whistler.
Other
National Diet Library, Japan: Portraits of Modern Japanese Historical Figures
Portrait photographs of nearly two hundred Japanese statesmen, government officials, military officers, businesspeople, artists, and others who had an impact on the history of modern Japanese society. Each portrait is accompanied by a...
Other
National Diet Library, Japan: Portraits of Modern Japanese Historic Figures
Features portrait photographs of 350 modern Japanese historical figures including statesmen, businessmen, scholars, artists, and military figures. View by category or name.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art: Portrait of a German Officer, Marsden Hartley
From the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, here is the image "Portrait of a German Officer", a painting by German modern artist Marsden Hartley.
Other
Dayton Art Institute: An European Portrait
Before cameras were invented artists painted portraits to show what people looked like. This website shows a famous portrait done by artist Peter Paul Rubens and tells you how to create a portrait on your own.
ArtLex
Art Lex: Portrait
A very good website on portraits and portraiture. Provides a good defintition of portrait and several examples of portraits from different eras and cultures in history. Includes many quotes by artists concerning their attitudes towards...
Other
Nmwa: Artist Profiles: Kathe Kollwitz
An excellent biography with links to several Kollwitz works including a self-portrait.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Modernist Portraits: Gertrude Stein
Feminist and modernist, Gertrude Stein is featured in this biography for her contributions of many literary genres as well as being a mentor to many twentieth century writers. See "Gertrude Stein Activities" for related materials.