Artist Everett Raymond Kinstler left school before his sixteenth birthday and began his career drawing comic books and illustrating books and magazines. He eventually transitioned to portraiture and quickly established himself as one of the nation's foremost portrait artists. With more than 2,500 portraits to his credit, his subjects include U.S. Presidents and First Ladies, cabinet members, university presidents, business leaders, authors and famous Hollywood figures.
Kinstler's Hollywood portraits are the focus of a new exhibit that opened January 9, 2014, at the National Arts Club in New York. The show explores how the movies influenced Kinstler's art and depict many film personalities who posed for him, including Katharine Hepburn, James Cagney, Gregory Peck, Christopher Plummer and John Wayne. “Motion pictures had a profound influence on my art, as I responded to the visual images accompanying the narrative. Filmmaking and the actors interpreting characters stimulated my imagination and affected my portrait painting, and indeed all aspects of my work including my landscape and figurative art,” says Kinstler.
“My current film series is based on images new and old, real and imagined, invented and reinvented. Color and scale, text and context, are part of my attempt to pay tribute to movies,“ he says.
Portraits, Inc. owners, Beverly McNeil, Ruth Reeves and Julia Baughman attended the opening reception. The show includes paintings and drawings and a limited edition, full color catalogue has been produced. The exhibition, which is open to the public, will be on display at the National Arts Club through February 1, 2014. The National Arts Club is located at 15 Gramercy Park South, New York, New York 10003 (www.NationalArtsClub.org). Later this year, it will be on display June 7 through July 7, 2014 at Mountainsong Galleries in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.
Portraits, Inc. was founded in 1942 in New York on Park Avenue. Over its 70-year history, Portraits, Inc. has carefully assembled a select group of the world’s foremost portrait artists offering a range of styles and prices. Recognized as the industry leader, Portraits, Inc. provides expert guidance for discerning clients interested in commissioning fine art portraits.