Portraiture

Group portrait of members of the Second Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan. Congregation poses in front of church building located at 441 Monroe Street; commercial buildings in background. Inset portrait of the Reverend Robert L. Bradby. Handwritten on front: "Second Baptist Church, Aug. 5, 1923. Jackson photo." Stamped on back: "Harvey C. Jackson, photographer. Clifford 6054 M. 2614 Beaubien St., Detroit, Mich. Suitable frames for this photograph in stock or made to order.

Discovering My Roots

Unearthing my family history through James Van Der Zee and Harvey Cook Jackson's photography.

Lela Jenkins June 14

A woman in a multicolored dress is seated on a yellow couch, her back to the viewer. In the background at right is a black and white portrait of a mother holding a baby. The room is characterized by whimsical and geometric designs, including portraits as part of the wallpaper.

How to Read Portraits

Kathryn Calley Galitz takes a deep dive into
portraiture from Ancient Roman coins to Instagram selfies.

Rachel High June 6

Portrait of an old man in a simple brown tunic with fur trim. His hands are placed over each other in the bottom right corner of the frame.

Memling's Faces

They say we are given a face at birth that we must live with initially, but by a certain age, we make our own face and then we must live with that.

David Levi Strauss May 20

Episode artwork for Harlem Is Everywhere, featuring James Van Der Zee's "Couple, Harlem," with a Black couple in fur coats posing next to a cadillac

Harlem Is Everywhere: Episode 2, Portraiture & Fashion

What role did fashion play in the Harlem Renaissance?

Jessica Lynne, Bridget R. Cooks, and Robin Givhan February 20

Two tintype portraits in black and white

A Conversation with Will Wilson

Will Wilson's photography, rooted in his upbringing on the Navajo Nation, intertwines the past, present, and future of Indigenous cultural practices.

Patricia Marroquin Norby January 25

Detail of Edgar Degas's "Monsieur and Madame Édouard Manet," with Edouard Manet lounging on his couch and his wife Suzanne at the piano. The painting has been cut in half vertically at Suzanne's face.

Manet/Degas: A Podcast

Explore the legacy of Manet and Degas’s complicated relationship.

Ashley Dunn and Stephan Wolohojian Dec 8, 2023

Picasso on Stein

Learn how Picasso’s defining portrait of Gertrude Stein helped usher in a new era of modern art and literature.

Francesca Wade Nov 22, 2023

Fran Lebowitz: Pretend It’s a Museum

Fran Lebowitz goes behind-the-scenes to The Met’s Paintings Conservation Lab to see Rembrandt’s Aristotle with a Bust of Homer (1653).

Fran Lebowitz Nov 9, 2023

Exhibition Tour—Manet/Degas

Join Stephan Wolohojian, John Pope-Hennessy Curator in Charge, and Ashley Dunn, Associate Curator, to virtually explore Manet/Degas.

Ashley Dunn Oct 10, 2023

Painting that depicts six women pursuing the arts of painting, sculpture and drawing in a skylit studio with a seventh student entering the space with a portfolio in hand

Women in the Studio

Louis Lang’s Art Students presents an intriguing window into the professionalization of women’s art education in the United States during the nineteenth century.

Thayer Tolles and Abigail Sullivan Oct 2, 2023

Visiting Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion?