‘A portrait is a painting with something wrong with the mouth.’

– John Singer Sargent, artist

Portraits are artistic representations of people, where their face and expression are prominent in the artwork. Portraits can be paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs or even mixed media.

Portraiture, which can be traced back to ancient Egypt, records not only a person’s likeness, but many different qualities of the subject, including their personality, mood, dress, and even their surroundings and social status. Portraits reveal something of the sitter, and often leave viewers of the work wishing they knew more about the person.

This collection of portraits and self-portraits shows how portraiture is an engaging art form for student artists to experiment with as they learn more about art styles and techniques, about other people and about themselves.