Secretaries Of The Cabinet, by Sir John Stanton Ward

Secretaries Of The Cabinet, by Sir John Stanton Ward. National Portrait Gallery, Britain. Something about this portrait is really humorous to me and I cannot put my finger on what it is. Any ideas? [Image: A scattered group of old white men in dark suits in a lavish neoclassical room with high ceilings and mahogany brown walls. Some sit, some stand; they appear to be debating something.]

ETA: Thanks to prodding from "lkspr," I realized that they look like serious little statesmen in an aquarium, which is what had appealed to my sense of humor.

Prince William of Wales and Prince Henry of Wales by Nicola Jane ('Nicky') Philipps

Prince William of Wales and Prince Henry of Wales by Nicola Jane ('Nicky') Philipps. National Portrait Gallery, Britain. Image description will be added soon.

Sir David Hare by Paula Rego

Sir David Hare by Paula Rego. National Portrait Gallery, Britain. [Image: vertical full-body painting of a middle aged white man sitting in a wingback chair that is completely draped in stiff black or charcoal grey material, possibly satin, which continues to the ground under his feet like a carpet. Behind him on his right is a sheep or possibly gibbon, about three feet tall, wearing a black business suit and holding a shephard's crook, peering around the chair at the man or the viewer. On his right a crow or raven stands on the ground facing the viewer and a white thing-- a wad of sheep's fleece possibly?-- is on the ground behind it. The bottom half of the background is babyshit brown and the top half is pale peachy orange, with the contrasting grey-blue underpainting showing through between brushstrokes. The man wears black patent loafers, dark blue jeans, and a black sweater over a white button-down shirt. He appears to recline in exhaustion or grief, his right hand over his heart or chest with his thumb hooked into the "v" of his collar, and his left hand in a tentative loose half-fist hanging over the arm of the chair. His head lolls back and to his right, his eyes cast down and to the right as if he is lost in his own thoughts. The chair drapery creates a tall triangle from the bottom of the page to the top. Though the background brushstrokes are loose and abstracted the chair and figure-- particularly face and hands-- is composed of thick and sculptural, but tight and realistic brushstrokes. Overall the paint is thick up to the edge of the canvas and descriptive of sculptural form.]

Last Portrait of Mother, by Daphne Todd.

Last Portrait of Mother, by Daphne Todd. National Portrait Gallery, Britain. [Image: Painting on two rectangles of paper or canvas joined and overlapping on the top right quadrant of the lower rectangle and lower left quadrant on the top rectangle, so the image moves diagonally up to the right. Painting is of the head and torso of an elderly white woman, critically ill or deceased and reclining in a white hospital bed. The sheets are pulled over her body and reveal a naked chest and shoulders and two fragile arms with hands folded in the lap. Her head sags to one side and her mouth hangs agape. The paint is opaque and brushstrokes are visible but fluid, detailed and quite realistic.]

Martin John Rees by Benjamin Sullivan

Martin John Rees Baron Rees of Ludlow, by Benjamin Sullivan. National Portrait Gallery, Britain. [Image: black & white graphite drawing on vertical white paper of an older man sitting in a fancy chair wearing a white suit jacket, grey slacks, a button-down and a horizontally striped tie. The angle is from above, such as a tall person standing just in front and to the left of the seated man. The man rests his spread palms on his thighs and stares straight ahead, putting his focal point around the middle of the right edge of the image. The gaze, together with the figure and chair that move diagonally from upper right to lower left, forms an implied triangular composition. The top left side is shaded very darkly causing the head, which emerges above the chair back, to stand in sharp contrast.]

Lydia Lopokova (Lady Keynes) by Christopher Wood

Lydia Lopokova (Lady Keynes) by Christopher Wood, 1924. National Portrait Gallery, Britain. [Image: sparse drawing on tan-beige paper of a youngish white woman's head and shoulders. She's got a 1920s bob and collared shirt or dress. The lines forming her shoulders and neck are barely there and her hair isn't shaded, just left outlined and blank inside. Her head sits atop a long straight neck and she seems tight-lipped and anxious, probably due to looking down and to her right. She is turned at 3/4 angle.]

Jan Morris by Arturo di Stefano.

Jan Morris by Arturo di Stefano. National Portrait Gallery, Britain. [Image: full-body horizontal portrait of an older white woman sitting in a steelcase chair in a white room in front of a window through with a landscape is visible. Her legs are crossed, her hands are folded in her lap, and she wears a yellow sweater over white collared shirt, pearls, a wristwatch, a dark knee-length pleated skirt, and black Mary-Janes. A tabby cat is curled up at her feet. The style is realistic and opaque but ever-so-slightly primitive. The stark edges of the shapes and high saturation and contrast, while realistic, make it look sort of collage-like. The composition is also slightly uneasy and makes the painting dynamic despite the stationary subject matter.]

Ismail Merchant by Don Bachardy

Ismail Merchant by Don Bachardy. National Portrait Gallery, Britain. [Image: Watercolor portrait of an older white man's torso and head on an unpaited white background. Brushstrokes are blocky and show lots of white background through the facial features and blue stripes of his shirt or bathrobe, giving it a loose and ethereal yet graphically strong quality. The face and hand (which rests on a paper or book) are red and orange, contrasting with the blue/grey stripes of the shirt, the hair and the eyebrows. The figure moves diagonally up the page as he leans back, from the lower left-hand corner, where his hand rests, to the upper right-hand corner, where his head is.]

Camila Batmanghelidjh by Dean Marsh

Camila Batmanghelidjh by Dean Marsh. In the National Portrait GalleryBritain. I think this was a study for another, larger painting. Even though the technique, angle and unfinished headgear make this study appear to be from the 1600s or so it is unmistakably modern. I'm trying to figure out why; it might simply be that she plucks her eyebrows.

Sir Isaiah Berlin by Sir Lawrence Gowing at National Portrait Gallery, Britain

Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller by Stephen Conroy at the National Portrait Gallery, Britain

Sir Michael Caine by James Hague at the National Portrait Gallery, UK

Harold Pinter, by Justin Mortimer at the National Portrait Gallery, Britain

Bag, by Hendrik Kerstens

This is a photo. Kerstens has a series of awesome photos of this model, who is his daughter (and judging from his portfolio, a remarkably patient woman). The modern iterations of old Dutch costume are continuously witty and evoke '60s fashion and photography at the same time.

Sketch by Elizabeth Peyton

Thelma Mary Bernadette Holt, by Jennifer McRae at the Nat'l Portrait Gallery, Britain