"To Love, Honor and Cherish: The Role of Contemporary Portraiture"
Jeanine Jackson
A successful portrait, much like a good marriage, is the result of a profound commitment to love, honor and cherish.
All quotations and images are included with kind permission of each artist to use in this article or in the NY Arts Magazine "Portrait Album." The artists prohibit any other use, distribution, or reproduction without additional permission.Contemporary portraitists love their work, often with unbridled passion. John Howard Sanden of The Portrait Institute tells us, "I opened my portrait studio in New York in the summer of 1969. In the 31 years since, I have painted more than 500 commissioned portraits (and countless hundreds of portrait studies as demonstrations before art groups and classes)… As I write this — after all those portraits — I’m more excited than ever about the art of portrait painting. It brings me into daily contact with the world’s most interesting men and women. And I believe that my masterpiece still lies ahead!!"
Patrons love the subjects they seek to immortalize and are passionate collectors of art. They are the wind beneath the wings of contemporary portraitists and are often willing to pay five to six figures for a painting or sculpture. Marian MacKinney, President & Director of premiere portrait brokers, Portraits Inc. in New York City, affirms, "We have noticed a resurgence of portraiture as ‘fine art’. Our roster has such depth and scope now, I can honestly say it is possible for any home or institution to have a museum quality portrait."
There are a growing number of new patrons in search of portraits by up-and-coming artists. The Connecticut Society of Portrait Artists (CSOPA) is one of several regional, nonprofit chapters of the world’s largest portrait group, The American Society of Portrait Artists (ASOPA). Their exhibitions and website, www.csopa.org, offer visitors an opportunity to learn more about this classic art form and local portraitists. CSOPA reports frequent inquiries from individuals and institutions looking to commemorate special occasions with a portrait in the five-to-twenty-thousand dollar range.
Some experts, such as art scholar and dealer Gregory Hedberg, PhD, attribute this growing public demand for portraits to a general return to traditional art. In his presentation to the ASOPA Contemporary Portrait Festival at the Metropolitan Museum of Art last spring, Mr. Hedberg confirmed that representational works are finding their way back into fashion after a century of modern art and abstract expressionism commanding center stage. As the custom of commissioning climbs from this trough and rises in prestige, we find fresh motivation and meaning for portraits in the twenty-first century.
Ours is an age of unparalleled technology, corporate takeovers, and families on the move. Portraiture is one promise we can keep. It will endure for generations to come. CEO’s, government officials, and clergy recognize that a portrait is an incomparable way to honor a lifetime of achievement. Margaret Holland Sargent executes many military commissions and promises, "With care, oil portraits on linen canvas will last many hundreds of years. Thus, a well-done portrait permits later generations to perceive both the personality as well as the likeness of the subject."
The best portraitists make a lifetime commitment to honor the masters of the past. They seek training from surviving pockets of classical learning and, once established, share their knowledge in a growing number of ateliers. Carl Samson, Chairman of ASOPA (www.asopa.com), proudly observes, "When reviewing the last nearly twenty years or so, it becomes apparent that across America portrait painter’s collective ability and knowledge has been uniformly uplifted. Because our board is comprised of the leading portrait artists of our day, I firmly believe ASOPA’s programs, guests and literature are in large part responsible for this fact and are second to none!"
Classical training is the springboard for contemporary style. George Passantino, a veteran of the Art Students League of New York, Famous Artists of Westport, and Portraits Inc., honors both classical and impressionist traditions. The distinctive result is called "Sprezzatura" or the art of casual mastery. He tells his students, "Individual style is like handwriting. You’re not going to lose it. Just forget about it until you learn the rules. Only then will you be equipped to achieve your goals and enjoy true self-expression."
Reaching beyond the rules of classic composition are portrait innovators such as Susan Hauptman, Tai-Shan Schierenberg, and Chuck Close. In her multi-media portrait Hair Self-portrait with Dog, Hauptman combines charcoal, pastel and hair on paper for a hauntingly original effect. Mr. Schierenberg utilizes traditional paint and canvas to achieve a fresh, psychological result in Untitled (Seated Man with Potted Plant). Mari Hulick from Parsons School of Design observes, "Like a first love, his [Schierenberg’s] work invites careful exploration." The brilliant adaptations and visual alchemy of Chuck Close are now legend. He continues to inspire portrait artists to stretch beyond apparent limitations and create rules of their own.
The most enduring role contemporary portraiture plays is to preserve that which we cherish in our world. Richard Whitney explains, "…I make each painting my own interpretation of reality. My purpose in doing so is really quite simple: I agree with Renoir, that there is enough ugliness in the world and that it is not necessary to make more of it. I try to use my academic training in drawing and composition, together with my impressionist eye for color, value and mass, to create paintings that will give people a sense of joy and hope…"
The favorite toy of a young child, the library of a literary giant, the clothes and gesture of our subjects help to define the character of the individuals depicted and the culture in which they live. Future generations will look upon our portraits and connect to our world. Thus, Nelson Shanks’ recent painting Pope John Paul II will speak to persons of all religions and cultures forever. Everyone who stands before this grand portrait will experience the welcome of his pastoral gesture and the grandeur that was built upon extraordinary commitment.
Why create a portrait? Nothing else celebrates the composite nature of an individual so profoundly and permanently.
