It was a pleasure to visit The National Portrait Gallery, a Smithsonian Museum, in Washington, D.C. this weekend to view famous portrait painter and artist Everett Raymond Kinstler’s portraits of President Ronald Reagan, President Gerald Ford, Katherine Hepburn and Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta. Founded in 1962, the National Portrait Gallery’s mission is to, “tell the story of America by portraying the people who shape the nation’s history, development and culture.” Viewing classic portrait painting, as well as a number of other contemporary portrait painting styles made for a really stimulating few hours.
{A quick word on the use of “portrait artist.” Everett Raymond Kinstler. He did not like to be known as only a portrait artist and felt artists should be sure to study all aspects of painting to become more accomplished. This was a mandate to all of us who studied with him as well: to be the complete artist. You will see the reason in the four paintings I will show you. You will see that he could paint the outdoors and capture light in his unique style.}
A visit to the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery is stimulating, as not only are you viewing portraits of people from all aspects of society including artists, presidents and athletes; but you are also viewing the styles of famous portrait painters from the most realistic to the most abstract and some seemingly just thrown together in an afternoon or ten minutes(!). It’s also a walk through the history of famous portrait painters since earliest times of U.S. History.
For this post I’m going to focus on the four Everett Raymond Kinstler portraits that were on view. I have seen his works many, many times in the past at galleries, workshops, demonstrations and on view at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts; but as a former student and someone he took the time to mentor, it was moving to see his oil portraits of women and men at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. ERK was one of the top portrait artists in the country and painted many U.S. Presidents, cabinet members and luminaries. His traditional portrait artist style was classic portrait painting mixed with a cutting edge of Contemporary style as he got more confident in his craft. In his more mature years as a portrait artist he used contemporary virtuoso passages that were lively and added so much life to the oil portrait paintings: this unique style is what made him a famous portrait painter.
His portrait painting of Katherine Hepburn painting from 1982 (It is hanging in the upstairs famous “Twentieth-Century Americans” gallery, close to Michelle Obama’s first lady oil portrait.) is a lovely, casual sideview of her seated. You can see that Ray caught her being herself, which is a beautiful thing. She is in her element, wearing her favorite clothing and hat with no artifice. She is also smoking a cigarette! The word is that she asked Ray to edit that out and he said, “no, you were smoking and it’s staying.” He told us that she had a strong personality and ERK had a strong personality as well, so it’s great to see that they were able to work things out! The painting captures her vitality (smoking or not!) and is nicely framed with a more modern style frame. This image does not quite capture the vibrance of the red in the original oil portrait painting.
at The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
The next portrait painting by Everett Raymond Kinstler is a portrait commission of Norman Mineta, Secretary of Transportation on September 11, 2001. The painting is virtuoso. It was moving to read that he was the one to make the pivotal call to shut down air space nationally to preempt any further attacks on 9-11. This portrait painting is a half portrait (head and hands) and is classic ERK. The background has a contemporary portrait artist style, yet brings an intrinsic elegance to support the oil portrait painting of Mr. Mineta. ERK’s style is one-of-a-kind. What I learned during my years of study and now notice right away when I view other people’s portraits (whether they understand this as an artist or not) is the sense of weight and volume in his portrait paintings. They have structure and a true presence. The hands are beautifully painted, as well as Mr. Mineta’s face.
The next two oil portraits are Presidential portrait paintings of Ronald Reagan, 1991 and Gerald Ford, 1987. The paintings are different, as ERK’s goals in each were different. I know he felt that Ronald Reagan had the outdoor Texas aspect to his being and wanted to depict him outside. The “study” for the Official White House portrait shows President Reagan leaning against an outdoor column. This is one of ERK’s best in terms of capturing outdoor light and the figure in side light. ERK’s use of warm and cool colors in the columns is once again, virtuoso. It’s his born of his study of the Spanish portrait artist, Joaquin Sorolla, one of his favorite artists. ERK captures the feeling of a warm, glorious day and the intelligence and warmth in Ronald Reagan. It’s a lovely portrait to see.
hangs at The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
The portrait of Gerald Ford, 1987, is a more straightforward portrait with President Ford’s hand in his pocket and a more serious, formal, indoor portrait. Here you have the feeling of an American portrait artist capturing an American U.S. President in a classic, formal portrait painting style.
at The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
Famous portrait painter Everett Raymond Kinstler was one of the best portrait artists. His style was unique and he captured people without being a slave to detail. He studied with artists who studied/knew John Singer Sargent and Joaquin Sorolla and the lessons he learned show in his portrait paintings at the National Portrait Gallery. He gifted quite a few works to the NPG, so it will be nice to visit again in the future and see other of his portrait paintings, sketches and drawings that are in the archives.