Portraits, Inc., is the world's oldest and largest commissioned

portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

company. Founded in New York City in 1942, Portraits, Inc. specializes in commissioned

paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

sculptures Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. Today the agency represents over 100 of today's commissioned

portrait artists Portrait Painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commission, for public and pr ...

. For over 75 years, the company has been women-owned and operated, with a network of trained associates across the United States. Recent notable commissions include painted portraits of

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th Uni ...

, General

George W. Casey, Jr. George William Casey Jr. (born July 22, 1948) is a retired four-star general who served as the 36th Chief of Staff of the United States Army from April 10, 2007, to April 10, 2011. He served as Commanding General, Multi-National Force – Iraq fr ...

Tommy Lasorda Thomas Charles Lasorda (September 22, 1927 – January 7, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher and manager. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1976 through 1996. He was inducted into the Nati ...

, Governor

Nikki Haley Nimrata Nikki Haley (née Randhawa; born January 20, 1972) is an American diplomat and politician who served as the 116th and first female governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017, and as the 29th United States ambassador to the United Na ...

Michael Chertoff Michael Chertoff (born November 28, 1953) is an American attorney who was the second United States Secretary of Homeland Security to serve under President George W. Bush. Chertoff also served for one additional day under President Barack Obama. H ...

, General

Martin E. Dempsey Martin “Marty” Edward Dempsey (born March 14, 1952), is a retired United States Army general who served as the 18th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2011 until September 25, 2015. He previously served as the 37th chief o ...

James Gilmore James Stuart Gilmore III (born October 6, 1949) is an American politician, diplomat, statesman, and former attorney who was the 68th Governor of Virginia from 1998 to 2002 and Chairman of the Republican National Committee in 2001. A native V ...

Tom Ridge Thomas Joseph Ridge (born August 26, 1945) is an American politician and author who served as the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security from 2001 to 2003, and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2003 to 2005. ...

Francis J. Harvey Francis Joseph Harvey (born July 8, 1943) served as the 19th Secretary of the United States Army from November 19, 2004, to March 9, 2007. Education and family Harvey was born and raised in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He earned his doctorate in Metal ...

Ann Veneman Ann Margaret Veneman (born June 29, 1949) is an American attorney who served as the fifth executive director of UNICEF from 2005 to 2010. She previously served as the 27th United States Secretary of Agriculture from 2001 to 2005, and was the firs ...

, Timothy Kaine,

Leon Panetta Leon Edward Panetta (born June 28, 1938) is an American Democratic Party politician who has served in several different public office positions, including Secretary of Defense, CIA Director, White House Chief of Staff, Director of the Office of ...

, and U.S.

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

cabinet officials.

History

New York

Portraits, Inc., was founded in New York City in 1942 by Lois Shaw, an

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

and

antiques dealer An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

and socialite. The idea began as a partnership between Mrs. Shaw and the

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

in the early 1940s. At this time Mrs. Shaw hosted weekly studio parties in her

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...

gallery in which she asked guest portrait artist to create drawings from life of the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

men and women in attendance. The portraits of men and women in

uniform A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, se ...

were sent as matted works of art to the families of the sitters. At the time there were not galleries in New York dedicated to the exhibition of fine portraiture. Mrs. Shaw announced a gallery service for living portrait artists called "The Portrait Painters' Clearing House," then, in 1942, founded Portraits, Inc. Mrs. Shaw was soon joined by Helen Appleton Read, who became the gallery director and later president of Portraits, Inc., and Andrea Ericson, who served as the

gallery director A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

. The three are credited for their contributions towards bring

portraiture A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this re ...

back in vogue in the United States.

Birmingham and Flat Rock

Portraits Inc Birmingham gallery and corporate office

In 2008, Portraits, Inc., was purchased by Beverly B. McNeil and Julia G. Baughman. McNeil, owner of Portrait Brokers of America in

Birmingham, AL Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fro ...

, merged the two companies. Two years later, owner Ruth Reeves joined in partnership when she brought a third agency, The Portrait Source from Flat Rock, NC, under the Portraits, Inc. name.

Artists

Portraits, Inc. has established relationships with artists and advocated for the field of

portrait painting Portrait Painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commission, for public and pr ...

for over 75 years. The roster of artists has included

Andrew Wyeth Andrew Newell Wyeth ( ; July 12, 1917 – January 16, 2009) was an American visual artist, primarily a realist painter, working predominantly in a regionalist style. He was one of the best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century. In his ...

, Henrietta Wyeth, Albert Murray,

Robert Brackman Robert Brackman (September 25, 1898 – July 16, 1980) was an American artist and teacher, best known for large figural works, portraits, and still lifes. Biography Robert Brackman was born on September 25, 1898, in Odessa, Russian Empire (no ...

John Koch John Koch (August 18, 1909 — April 19, 1978), (pronounced "KŌK") was an American painter and teacher, and an important figure in 20th century Realism. He is best known for his light-filled paintings of urban interiors, often featuring classica ...

, Samuel Edmund Oppenheim,

Sidney Dickinson Sidney (sometimes Sydney) Edward Dickinson (November 28, 1890 – April, 1980) was an American painter. Dickinson was born in Wallingford, Connecticut, and was the son of a Congregationalist minister, Charles H. Dickinson. His parents moved freq ...

Aaron Shikler Aaron Abraham Shikler (March 18, 1922 – November 12, 2015) was an American artist noted for portraits of American statesmen, such as the official portrait of John F. Kennedy, and celebrities such as Jane Engelhard and Sister Parish. Early lif ...

, Marshall Bouldin, III, and

Nelson Shanks John Nelson Shanks (December 23, 1937 – August 28, 2015) was an American artist and painter. His best known works include his portrait of Diana, Princess of Wales, first shown at Hirschl & Adler Gallery in New York City, April 24 to June 2 ...

. Today the agency represents more than 100

across the U.S. and internationally. Notable artists include Daniel E. Greene,

Everett Raymond Kinstler Everett Raymond Kinstler (August 5, 1926 – May 26, 2019) was an American artist, whose official portraits include Presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan.John Howard Sanden,

Burton Silverman Burton Silverman is an American artist. Education Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1928, Silverman received a BA from Columbia College and studied at the Art Students League and the Pratt Institute. Now entering his sixth decade as an artist, S ...

Michael Shane Neal Michael Shane Neal (born November 23, 1968) is an American portrait artist who currently serves as the chairman of the Portrait Society of America. In 2020, Neal's painting of Congressman John Lewis was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution' ...

Ned Bittinger Edmund Stuart Bittinger (born July 4, 1951), better known by Ned Bittinger, is an American portrait painter and illustrator whose work includes the official Congressional portraits of Abraham Lincoln and Lindy Boggs for the US Capitol, as well a ...

, and

Sharon Sprung Sharon Sprung is an American painter based in Brooklyn, New York. She is primarily known for her portrait paintings such as Congressional portraits of Jeannette Rankin and Patsy Mink, as well as former First Lady Michele Obama's official White Hou ...

., Jean-Denis Maillart. Five portrait artists exclusively represented by Portraits, Inc., are David Goatley, Carol Baxter Kirby, Liz Lindstrom,

Michele Rushworth Michele Rushworth is an American artist noted for her oil-based portrait paintings. She has painted the official portraits of leading figures in government, law, education, medicine and the arts, including nine state gubernatorial portraits

, and Jennifer R. Welty.

Scholarship foundation

The Portraits, Inc. Scholarship Program was established in 2001 to provide annual funding to children and grandchildren of agency

. University scholarships are awarded each year to qualifying applicants. Six scholarship named in honor of the artist and staff Lifetime Achievement Award Winners.{{cite news , first=Lauren , last=Helmer , title=Kelly Moffatt: FACES of Birmingham , url=https://styleblueprint.com/birmingham/everyday/kelly-moffatt-faces-birmingham/ , newspaper=Style Blue Print , location=Nashville , accessdate=December 13, 2017

References

External links

Portraits, Inc.
1942 establishments in New York City American companies established in 1942 Business of visual arts Companies based in Birmingham, Alabama