Home / /

From snapshots to masterpieces: How portrait painting is making a comeback

By Paul Little
New Zealand Listener·
13 mins to read

Online first

The 2024 Adam Portraiture Award has drawn attention to the once unfashionable art of the portrait – and King Charles has helped, too.

It’s coming up to 200 years that we’ve had photographs to tell us what people look like. And yet hand-made portraiture in painting, drawing and sculpture continues to fascinate artists and viewers.

It’s all relatively new to Maryanne Shearman, who was awarded this year’s $20,000 Adam Portraiture Award by judges artist Karl Maughan and Christchurch

King hit

A model speaks

Save