Portraits, Inc.
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| Industry | Commissioned Portraiture |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1942 |
| Headquarters | Birmingham, Alabama, United States |
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Key people
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Beverly McNeil (owner) Julia Baughman (owner) Ruth Reeves (owner) |
| Products | paintings and sculpture |
| Website | www |
Portraits, Inc., is the world’s oldest and largest commissioned portrait company. Founded in New York in 1942, Portraits, Inc. specializes in commissioned paintings or sculptures. Today the agency represents over 100 of today's commissioned portrait artists. 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, General George W. Casey, Jr., Tommy Lasorda, Governor Nikki Haley, Michael Chertoff, General Martin E. Dempsey, James Gilmore, Tom Ridge, Francis J. Harvey, Ann Veneman, Timothy Kaine, Leon Panetta, and U.S. White House cabinet officials.
Portraits, Inc., was founded in New York in 1942 by Lois Shaw, an art and antiques dealer and socialite. The idea began as a partnership between Mrs. Shaw and the USO in the early 1940s. At this time Mrs. Shaw hosted weekly studio parties in her Park Avenue gallery in which she asked guest portrait artist to create drawings from life of the military men and women in attendance. The portraits of men and women in uniform 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. The three are credited for their contributions towards bring portraiture back in vogue in the United States.
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