Portraits from the Permanent Collection

Long before the advent of photography, paintings were a primary method to document the likenesses of people. This often required the sitter to remain still for hours so the artist could capture every detail of their subject. As the technology of photography reached into the lives of not just the affluent, but eventually the average person, the popularity of painted portraits waned. The permanent collection contains portraits that date back to the 1800s as well as paintings, drawings, and prints made in the 1950s.