Modern Portrait Painters – Developments in Modern Portrait Art

The genre of portraiture in painting has been a medium through which one immortalizes and captures the essence of the subjects in question. Throughout art history, the act of painting a portrait has shifted and taken on many meanings and sub-genres, resulting in many arresting and eye-catching faces. Among the best of the best were portraiture artists such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Vincent van Gogh, Mary Cassatt, and many more whose unique brushstrokes have piloted the field of portraiture painting. In this article, we will take a new detour and introduce you to some of the talented Contemporary portrait painters of the 20th and 21st centuries, who have revived and transformed the traditional art form!

Modern and Contemporary Portraiture

The art of portraiture is an intimate art form that highlights the relationships and value between the artist, the viewer, and the “subject”. Portraiture in the Modern and Contemporary era has often been featured in art forms such as photography owing to the digital age that we find ourselves in. Gaining cognizance about the language used in portraiture as a practice is of utmost importance since many artists have applied terms such as “subject” to refer to the model or individual behind a portrait and can infringe on the lines of alienating the artist from the artwork as well as creating a disconnect with the model involved and somewhat “objectifying the individual”.

Modern interiors of the Old City Hall of Dusseldorf (taken in 2020); Velopilger, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The act of portraiture is intimate for various reasons aside from introducing the viewer to the model and recontextualizing the sitter such that they are exposed to the audience in an exhibition context. Portraiture also exposes not only the sitter but the artist’s view of the sitter. There are many angles from which one can examine and present a portrait, which has been interrogated by many famous portraiture artists throughout art history.

The Top 12 Most Famous Modern Portrait Painters of All Time

With the advancement of technology and the invention of alternative mediums, artists have intuitively carried on the genre of portraiture into the 21st century to produce some of the most imaginative and bold portraits one might see in the Modern era. Below, we will introduce you to the top 12 most famous Modern portrait artists to date whose works will be historicized in the genre of Modern portraiture.

Chuck Close (1940 – 2021)

Chuck Close was a renowned Modern portrait artist who captured the essence of many popular celebrities of the 20th century. Close explored portraiture through a direct and honest confrontation with the sitter. In some of his earlier works, the artist blurred the representation of his models to emphasize alternative lenses of reading portraiture. 

Michael Danoff, Chuck Close, Donald Farnsworth, and Brad Pitt in front of Close’s 2009 tapestry portrait ‘Brad’ at Pace Wildenstein, New York (2009); Sotolux, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

His conceptual approach to portraiture is also seen in his combination of visual data from photography with the traditional medium of oil paint to create visually Modern portraits. Some of Close’s best Modern portrait paintings include works like Agnes (1998) and Kate Moss (2005).

Lita Cabellut (1961 – Present)

Inspired by the works of master Spanish painters from an early age, Lita Cabellut is one of the most famous Contemporary portrait painters to date. Her works are large-scale and include a mixture of Contemporary fresco painting techniques with conceptual subject matter that showcases her different interests across celebrities in art and popular culture.

A few of Cabellut’s best Modern portrait artworks include Janis Joplin (2012) and Ivy (2022).

Don Quijote 08 (unknown date) by Lisa Cabellut; Parklane, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Neale Worley (1962 – Present)

Neale Worley is a famous Modern portrait painter whose works reflect a preference for gentle beauty and care. Worley was elected an official tour artist for the Royal Family between 2006 and 2013 and toured with the Prince of Wales. Worley’s mastery is seen in his knowledge of the sitter, in being able to capture a likeness between the sitter’s mood and the background or context of the painting.

His portraits are romantic, yet very subtle in their emotional charge. Worley’s sitters are often female and painted in rested positions, showing the artist’s admiration of the resting femme, often in deep contemplation. Some of Worley’s best Modern portrait paintings include Katrin (n.d.) and Mariana (n.d.).

Samuel Adoquei (1962 – Present)

Samuel Adoquei is a famous modern contemporary portrait painter whose work in billboard painting in Nigeria primed him for his endeavors in New York City. Adoquei’s portraits reflect classic artistry and romanticization of the confrontation between artist and viewer through his soft, Impressionist brushstrokes. His portraits reflect a level of honesty through the gaze of the sitter as it meets the eyes of the viewer while demonstrating a gentle Realism. Adoquei also taught at the National Academy School of Fine Arts as well as the Art Students League of New York.

Today, his paintings fetch up to $25,000, and is definitely a prominent Contemporary artist to follow.

Elizabeth Peyton (1965 – Present)

Through a distortion in form and varied color formats, Elizabeth Payton reimagines the genre of portraiture through her exploration of celebrities and portraits of friends. Her work echoes a nostalgia of the 1990s through her rough brushwork and high-contrast colors to offer snapshots into some of the most well-known Modern figures of the 20th century. 

Peyton’s painting style is focused less on the perfection of form and more on the general figural qualities of the sitter. She chooses sitters with defined facial features or sitters who were considered “iconic” in some way. Some of Peyton’s best Modern portrait artworks include Prince Harry and Prince William (2000) and David (2017).

Jenny Saville (1970 – Present)

Jenny Saville is one of the most famous British Contemporary portrait painters of the 21^st century whose work combines the appeal of Modern abstraction and classical figure painting to create thought-provoking works. Saville’s ability to translate the body onto the canvas while challenging the pre-existing narrative of the representation and objectification of women in art is incredibly profound. Her portraiture is intimate and reveals an awareness of her sitter and sensory grasp for natural textures.

Saville’s early work in portraiture also exposes the trauma of human existence through the up-close and unflattered views of her sitters.

Torso (2004 – 2005) by Jenny Saville, oil on canvas; Diego Carannante from Rome, Italy, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Jonathan Yeo (1970 – Present)

Jonathan Yeo is one of the most well-known UK-based portraiture artists of the 21st century whose works first began as an exploration of figures from pornographic material. Yeo created portraits for many famous public figures, including politicians and celebrities such as George W. Bush and Paris Hilton. Yeo has also not been shy of exploring nudity in his artwork and stirred his audience at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in 2003 when he revealed a painting of a full-length frontal view of a male figure.

Anastasia Pollard (1971 – Present)

Multi-award-winning portrait artist Anastasia Pollard is one of the best Modern portrait painters whose paintings reflect the strong characters of her sitters, often in a side-profile view, which presents a non-confrontational comfort to the viewer and glimpse into the seemingly busy nature of her models.

Pollard has won multiple BP Portrait Awards throughout the last two decades and is a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters.

Amy Sherald (1973 – Present)

Amy Sherald is perhaps one of the best Contemporary painters of the 21st century who was commissioned to paint the portrait of a first lady, Michelle Obama. Sherald’s approach to painting revolves around her interest in highlighting unseen and unsung histories within the African American community. Sherald’s painting style is clean and very precise in balancing her brush between flat color, negative space, and the starkness of the color black, which creates powerful contrasts in her portraits. 

Sherald’s portraits evoke a sense of power and pride in the shared and nuanced experience of oppressed groups of color, who have also been historically removed from the genre of portraiture in art. Art history has also associated portraiture with the act of historicizing figures of power and authority and so the re-introduction of new figures of authority coupled with the redistribution of power across previously exploited people and groups of color is what makes Sherald’s portraits so impactful.

Frans Smit (1976 – Present)

Cape-Town-based artist Frans Smit is a famous oil painter and Contemporary portrait artist whose works are inspired by 17^th-19^th century European paintings. Smit overturns the genre of traditional portraiture as most art enthusiasts have experienced it to create his own visual language. Smit’s portraits are multi-layered and negate the idea of perfecting human representation. Smit also purposefully distorts the faces in his portraits such that the very element on which portraiture lies is removed or disturbed, yet the image is still visibly a portrait.

Smit also includes provocative texts in a few of his portraits that prompt the viewer to read the artwork through a specific lens.

Kehinde Wiley (1977 – Present)

Kehinde Wiley is a popular American Contemporary portrait painter whose most famous commissioned piece for former president Barack Obama in 2018 boosted the artist’s reputation. Wiley’s signature portrait style involves unique and decorative backgrounds with bold colors that also converse with the politics of race, color, and the representation of people of color in art history.

Yasutomo Oka (1983 – Present)

Yasutomo Oka is one of the most talented Modern and Contemporary portrait painters whose Hyperrealist works captivate his audience and create a cross between the past and present. Oka paints portraits of women he encounters from real life and re-imagines them in different contexts. 

Oka appears to be inspired by traditional Japanese representations of women, which not only convey a soft atmosphere and gentleness of the sitter’s mood but also reveal the deep contemplative state of women with potentially intriguing background stories. Oka’s mastery over hyperrealist painting styles is also at the forefront of his work and is certainly one to be admired since his work mimics that of movie stills. 

These famous Modern portrait artists have created some of the most beautiful and imaginative portraits that continue to captivate the 21st century. Understanding that there is more to portraiture than the medium and traditional aesthetic is key in moving forward toward innovative ways of thinking around concepts that broaden the genre, and challenge preconceived notions of portraiture.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Modern Portraiture?

Modern portraiture refers to capturing the likeness, character, psychology, or mood of an individual or sitter, This can be achieved through a variety of mediums that communicate ideas surrounding Contemporary themes. Contemporary themes in portraiture include personal identity, subversion of traditional media, as well as social, and political issues.

What Makes Traditional Portraiture Different From Contemporary Portraiture?

Traditional portraiture differs from Contemporary portraiture in terms of an art historical view of practicing the genre using traditional mediums, such as oil paint to represent classical themes or individuals of authority. Contemporary portraiture opens up the genre of portraiture via the inclusion of additional mediums and technologies to represent individuals of any age or background, and can be used to challenge old views of portraiture while dealing with Contemporary socio-political and conceptual themes.

What Are the Different Types of Portraits?

Portraits can be created in a variety of ways and include three different primary approaches. These include a standard pose portrait, anonymous or candid portraits, and conceptual or creative portraits.

Jordan Anthony( Content Editor, Art Writer, Photographer )

Jordan Anthony is a Cape Town-based film photographer, curator, and arts writer. She holds a Bachelor of Art in Fine Arts from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, where she explored themes like healing, identity, dreams, and intuitive creation in her Contemporary art practice. Jordan has collaborated with various local art institutions, including the KZNSA Gallery in Durban, the Turbine Art Fair, and the Wits Art Museum. Her photography focuses on abstract color manipulations, portraiture, candid shots, and urban landscapes. She’s intrigued by philosophy, memory, and esotericism, drawing inspiration from Surrealism, Fluxus, and ancient civilizations, as well as childhood influences and found objects. Jordan is working for artfilemagazine since 2022 and writes blog posts about art history and photography.

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