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Art + (7)
Photography + (5)
portraits + (4)

Britain's finest Baroque portraitist , on a par with Frans Hals, has been all but forgotten, but a new BBC documentary and associated website seek to address that. William Dobson, 1611-46, was painter to Charles I's court during the English Civil War, and the turmoil of the period meant that much of his biography and even the names of the subjects of his portraits were lost. But many of his portraits have survived, and they're astonishing. [more inside]
posted by rory on Oct 1, 2011 - 18 comments

British figurative painter Lucian Freud, whose uncompromising, fleshy portraits made him one of the world's most revered and coveted artists, has died aged 88. Tate Gallery Google image search. [NSFWish]
posted by chavenet on Jul 21, 2011 - 42 comments

Celestial Soul Portraits
posted by empath on Jul 28, 2010 - 76 comments

The Cats' Portrait Gallery. Start at the ground floor and work your way up through twenty-five storeys of feline portraiture. [more inside]
posted by No-sword on Mar 28, 2010 - 18 comments

Pierre Gonnord is a French photographer who specializes in arresting portraiture.His subjects have been described as quasi biblical (Fr). He lives in Madrid, where he currently has an exhibition on called "Terre de Personne." via
posted by Lezzles on Dec 18, 2009 - 12 comments

The portfolio of Christian rex Van Minnen. [Via]
posted by homunculus on May 29, 2009 - 11 comments

When the House of Commons required a portrait of outgoing PM Tony Blair, to whom did they turn? Phil Hale. [more inside]
posted by infinitewindow on Nov 15, 2008 - 22 comments

Cosmin Bumbuţ, Romanian photographer. [nsfw] [more inside]
posted by fire&wings on Jul 8, 2008 - 5 comments

Incredibly expressive portraits of apes and monkeys by photographer Jill Greenberg whose pictures of crying babies raised heckles last year.
posted by Kattullus on Sep 17, 2007 - 71 comments

The Velvet Republican. (ebay link)
posted by anticlock on Apr 2, 2007 - 34 comments

Henry Lim composes sonatas and film scores. He also has a serious thing for Lego. The Hepburn portrait, Natalie Portman portrait, Beethoven and Fab Four portraits are impressive enough, but it is the full size, fully playable Harpsichord that demonstrates some kind of heroism. (mp3 included- to be listened to only once, really, or not even that.)
posted by IndigoJones on Jul 26, 2006 - 15 comments

The National Potrait Gallery held a competition for new entries into the gallery. The winner is a fabulous painting by David Lenz. There is a great deal of focus in the exhibit of imagery that is truthful, but not necessarily flattering. The winner is both truthful and flattering. Lenz's subject is is his son, who has Down syndrome. The title, "Sam and the Perfect World" is quite poignant. There is a long NPR program covering the entire topic of portaiture in general and this portrait specifically.
posted by plinth on Jul 18, 2006 - 31 comments

Composite Drawings of suspects wanted by the Michigan State Police. With photos of the suspect if they are captured, for comparison. Via.
posted by Divine_Wino on May 26, 2005 - 49 comments

The Liner. "The entire graduating class of Hamline University, 1925, in drawings of varying quality made semi-nightly in about one hour each." (Appears to be by our very own interrobang.)
posted by _sirmissalot_ on Mar 28, 2005 - 44 comments

Simon Hoegsberg's latest project involved stopping passersby and asking what they were thinking at exactly that moment. These are their thoughts and portraits.
posted by freddles on Jan 21, 2005 - 16 comments

The Documentary Photography of Desiree Dolron
posted by chill on Aug 30, 2003 - 10 comments