The Portrait Now

"The Portrait Now" presents a unique and important selection of contemporary portraits from across the world. Featuring over eighty portraits, including the most recent work of internationally acclaimed artists, the book demonstrates the accomplishment and inventiveness of this major art form. "The Portrait Now" is an exciting overview of contemporary trends in portraiture, in the context of a changing outlook in the art world. The portraits have been chosen to show the latest developments in painting, sculpture, video art, photography and self-portraiture, and to highlight changes that are occurring in the artistic presentation of the human form. Together they illustrate how artists are responding to the human condition in increasingly inventive ways and in the context of a more complex world. The book features an essay by Sandy Nairne and Sarah Howgate in which they examine international portraiture, focusing on a selection of works from 2000 onwards. They discuss such subjects as the condition for portraits, celebrity, identity, the variety of media used, commissioning portraits, patronage, the return of the society portrait and the use of new technology. "The Portrait Now" will be an indispensable reference book for all those working in the field or interested in contemporary art. It is published to launch the Gallery's 150th anniversary year.