Floor plan

The grand stairPortraits in Paint

Portraits in Paint

A young woman with a pale, peachy skin is shown from waist up, wearing a shimmering, royal-blue dress in this vertical painting. Her body is angled to our right as she holds a metal object, perhaps a vessel or incense burner, in her hands by her chest. She turns and tilts her head to our left, but then looks back across her body, off to our right with flint-gray eyes. She has a full, oval-shaped face with a straight nose, smooth cheeks, and her pale pink lips are closed. A gray pearl earring hangs from the ear we can see. Her auburn-brown hair is parted down the middle, and loosely pulled back into a braid that brushes her left shoulder, to our right. The blue dress has a square neckline and a fitted bodice. Light glints off the fabric, shading it from royal to sapphire blue. A voluminous white sleeve is rolled back to her right elbow, to our left. That arm and hand nearly span the width of the painting as she holds the vessel, which has a conical top, near the lower right corner of the composition. The background is solid black.
Portrait of a Young Girl with Rose, by Oliver Tarbell Eddy, ca. 1838
Portrait of a Young Man, by Antonello da Messina (Antonello di Giovanni d'Antonio), ca. 1470
The portrait shows the upper half of a seated woman with a round face, wrinkles, and dark hair. She wears a bonnet, a brown dress with layers, and a shawl or cloak. The background is a muted dark brown.
Portrait of Colonel Charles Heathcote, by Joseph Wright of Derby, c. 1771–72
This painting shows a man from the waist up. He is facing forward and gazes out at us. He has fair skin, light brown hair, a thin mustache and beard, and light green eyes. His expression is mostly neutral, although his peach lips are slightly turned up at the edges. He is wearing a black garment with a high collar and a hood and a black flat cap on his head. The background is plain blue, fading to black around the edges of the painting.
Portrait of a monk, possibly Chen Nga Tshultrim Bar, extending a blessing, late 11th–early 12th century
Portrait of the wife of Yizhai, by Ruan Zude, datable to 1561 or 1620

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

Faces painted from life, from Renaissance panels to Gilded Age canvases. A portrait was a record, a likeness and often a statement of standing, and the best of them still hold the sitter's attention across a room.

First flight

  1. A young woman with a pale, peachy skin is shown from waist up, wearing a shimmering, royal-blue dress in this vertical painting. Her body is angled to our right as she holds a metal object, perhaps a vessel or incense burner, in her hands by her chest. She turns and tilts her head to our left, but then looks back across her body, off to our right with flint-gray eyes. She has a full, oval-shaped face with a straight nose, smooth cheeks, and her pale pink lips are closed. A gray pearl earring hangs from the ear we can see. Her auburn-brown hair is parted down the middle, and loosely pulled back into a braid that brushes her left shoulder, to our right. The blue dress has a square neckline and a fitted bodice. Light glints off the fabric, shading it from royal to sapphire blue. A voluminous white sleeve is rolled back to her right elbow, to our left. That arm and hand nearly span the width of the painting as she holds the vessel, which has a conical top, near the lower right corner of the composition. The background is solid black.
    Portrait of a Young Woman as a Wise VirginSebastiano del Piombo, c. 1510Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. Portrait of a Young Girl with Rose, by Oliver Tarbell Eddy, ca. 1838
    Portrait of a Young Girl with RoseOliver Tarbell Eddy, ca. 1838Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  3. Portrait of a Young Man, by Antonello da Messina (Antonello di Giovanni d'Antonio), ca. 1470
    Portrait of a Young ManAntonello da Messina (Antonello di Giovanni d'Antonio), ca. 1470Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  4. The portrait shows the upper half of a seated woman with a round face, wrinkles, and dark hair. She wears a bonnet, a brown dress with layers, and a shawl or cloak. The background is a muted dark brown.
    Portrait of a LadyUnrecorded maker, probably c. 1820Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

First landing

  1. Portrait of Colonel Charles Heathcote, by Joseph Wright of Derby, c. 1771–72
    Portrait of Colonel Charles HeathcoteJoseph Wright of Derby, c. 1771–72Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. This painting shows a man from the waist up. He is facing forward and gazes out at us. He has fair skin, light brown hair, a thin mustache and beard, and light green eyes. His expression is mostly neutral, although his peach lips are slightly turned up at the edges. He is wearing a black garment with a high collar and a hood and a black flat cap on his head. The background is plain blue, fading to black around the edges of the painting.
    Portrait of a ManCorneille de Lyon, c. 1536/1540Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. Portrait of a monk, possibly Chen Nga Tshultrim Bar, extending a blessing, late 11th–early 12th century
    Portrait of a monk, possibly Chen Nga Tshultrim Bar, extending a blessingUnrecorded Himalayan maker, late 11th–early 12th centuryCourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  4. Portrait of the wife of Yizhai, by Ruan Zude, datable to 1561 or 1620
    Portrait of the wife of YizhaiRuan Zude, datable to 1561 or 1620Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Second flight

  1. A work made of oil on canvas.
    Portrait of Constance PipeletJean Baptiste François Désoria, 1797Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Lineage Portrait of an Abbot, ca. 1350
    Lineage Portrait of an AbbotUnrecorded Himalayan maker, ca. 1350Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Portrait of Tieleman Roosterman, by Frans Hals, 1634
    Portrait of Tieleman RoostermanFrans Hals, 1634Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  4. Painted dark colored portrait of man, hands in prayer.
    Portrait of Jean Gros (recto); Coat of Arms of Jean Gros (verso)Rogier van der Weyden, 1460–64Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Second landing

  1. Self-Portrait, by Abbott Handerson Thayer, 1920
    Self-PortraitAbbott Handerson Thayer, 1920Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. Artist: Charles Willson Peale, Sitter: Charles Willson Peale, Current owner: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
    Charles Willson Peale Self-PortraitCharles Willson Peale, c. 1791Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
  3. Portrait of Young Man
    Portrait of Young ManUnrecorded makerCourtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  4. Portrait of Dora Wheeler, by William Merritt Chase, 1882–83
    Portrait of Dora WheelerWilliam Merritt Chase, 1882–83Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art