COME TOGETHER

The Art of the Portrait and the 25-Year History of the Portrait Society of America

- Laura Vailati, Miami Niche

A love of art, sharing and community were the key words that characterized the 25th anniversary of the prestigious Portrait Society of America. More than 800 participants from all over the world took part in this year’s The Art of the Portrait event. There was even a virtual option available for those who could not attend the conference in person.

Welcoming the attendees was a full complement of faculty members who made the stunning success of the weekend possible. They shared with the participants their forma mentis and their approaches to art through drawing, painting and sculpture demonstrations. Interspersed with these were discursive sessions in which various topics were addressed, such as painting from photographic reference and the artistic approach while traveling.

This year’s pre-conference workshop sessions were conducted by Mary Whyte, Susan Lyon and Scott Burdick. Thursday night’s Face-Off event kicked off the main conference with 18 artists drawing, painting and sculpting simultaneously. Following this exciting opening, some of the stars of the next generation, Celia Liberace, Jared Brady, Kyle Ma and Stephanie Paige Thomson, performed parallel sessions under the eyes of Max Ginsburg, who simply described them as “the future of art.”