Portrait Paintings For Sale

Explore our curated selection of portrait paintings online. Featuring work ranging from expressive self-portraits to mesmerising photorealism, our online gallery enables you to discover and collect contemporary portrait art from emerging artists.

Our expanding collection of portraits has been carefully curated, offering a variety of styles, mediums and subjects available to purchase.

Not sure where to begin? Start with our selection of realistic portraits, which use pencil, paint and sculptural mediums to carefully model the human form.

For something a little different, discover our collection of expressive portraits, combining vivid colour and emotive linework to create dramatic portrayals that convey intense emotion.

The History of Portrait Painting

Portrait painting has evolved over centuries, balancing realism with social demands to flatter and elevate subjects. Historically, artists often idealised their sitters, enhancing youth or power to meet their clients’ wishes. This is especially evident in Jan van Eyck’s The Arnolfini Portrait (1434), where a wealthy couple’s fine clothing and decor reflect their social status.

During the Baroque period, artists introduced a new psychological depth into portraiture, capturing not only a sitter’s appearance but their inner lives and emotions. Rembrandt mastered this approach, as seen in Portrait of Jan Six (1654). Six, a wealthy Amsterdammer, appears thoughtful and introspective, suggesting an intellect and sensitivity beyond status.

By the late 19th century, portrait painting saw shifts in artist autonomy, with painters like John Singer Sargent challenging societal norms. Madame X (1884), his portrait of socialite Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, was intended as a grand society piece but scandalised viewers with Gautreau’s bare shoulder and defiant pose.

The 20th century witnessed the unravelling of conventions in portraiture. The invention of photography reduced the need for accuracy in paintings and allowed for the recording of unidealised figures and fleeting moments. Lucian Freud exemplified this with Reflection (Self-portrait) (1985), where he captured his own weary expression and ageing skin, revealing vulnerability and a new uncompromising vision.

Portrait Paintings for Sale on Rise Art

Like Freud, Karen Turner is known for her frank and honest portraits that celebrate the body in all its forms. A liberating rawness characterises her work, seeking to normalise larger bodies. Are There Any Questions? is a tender yet but provocative portrait, in which a woman poses nude, completely at ease in her body, and challenging societal expectations of weight.

In contrast to Turner’s provocative work, Karoline Kroiss creates surreal scenes of female subjects in peaceful, airy compositions. In Und plötzlich versteht man es (2023), the body is punctuated by swirling lines that soar into the sky, creating a dialogue between freedom and constraint, stillness and movement.

London-based Jamaican artist Mikela Henry-Lowe is known for her portraits exploring the representation of black women in society. Artworks like Ebb and Flow (2023) place the sitter in a surreal dreamscape of teal and gold patterns. The sitter’s frank expression towards the viewer projects a raw emotional depth – complex in both its strength and vulnerability.

Discover more emerging artists in the gallery below and buy original portrait paintings online on Rise Art.

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    sans titre by Beatrice Wolff
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    sans titre by Beatrice Wolff
    sans titre
    Paintings - 50x50 cm
    M-L au collant noir by Igor Bitman
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    M-L au collant noir by Igor Bitman
    M-L au collant noir
    Paintings - 27x35 cm
    Protection rapprochée by Christian Lucas
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    Protection rapprochée by Christian Lucas
    Protection rapprochée
    Paintings - 116x81 cm
    La Llorona by Ben Stephenson
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    La Llorona by Ben Stephenson
    La Llorona
    Paintings - 70x44 cm
    Aurora by Florina Aledo Perez
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    Aurora by Florina Aledo Perez
    Aurora
    Paintings - 38x48 cm
    Portrait en Robe de Chambre  by Maria Magenta
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    Portrait en Robe de Chambre  by Maria Magenta
    Portrait en Robe de Chambre
    Paintings - 104x52 cm
    Complexe by Kogaone
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    Complexe by Kogaone
    Complexe
    Paintings - 60x60 cm
    Paysage intérieur 12 by Claudie Gimeno
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    Paysage intérieur 12 by Claudie Gimeno
    Paysage intérieur 12
    Paintings - 18x18 cm
    Next Steps IV by Yoann Bonneville YBA
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    Next Steps IV by Yoann Bonneville YBA
    Next Steps IV
    Paintings - 120x120 cm
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    Thaïs by Florina Aledo Perez
    Thaïs
    Paintings - 63x43 cm
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    Figure with Red Scarf by Ed Burkes
    Figure with Red Scarf
    Paintings - 60x40 cmRent for €90 /mo
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    Ensemble c'est tout by JAZZU
    Ensemble c'est tout
    Paintings - 100x50 cm
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    Les trois amis by Barbara Petit Lisy
    Les trois amis
    Paintings - 36x30 cm
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    Float in turquoise by Victoria Stagni
    Float in turquoise
    Paintings - 60x91 cm
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    untitled #20 (red thrread series) by Elina Evstig
    untitled #20 (red thrread series)
    Paintings - 100x80 cm
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    L'absent by Antony Squizzato
    L'absent
    Paintings - 100x81 cm
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    Habit de scène #2 by Alexandra Chauchereau
    Habit de scène #2
    Paintings - 35x27 cm
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    Le fumeur de cheroot by Ho My An
    Le fumeur de cheroot
    Paintings - 100x81 cm
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    Oujat by Fabien Delaube
    Oujat
    Paintings - 80x60 cm
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    Le saule pleureure  by James MacKeown
    Le saule pleureure
    Paintings - 150x50 cm
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    Plénitude by Claudie Gimeno
    Plénitude
    Paintings - 30x30 cm
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    Fin d'après-midi by Virginie Bastié
    Fin d'après-midi
    Paintings - 65x50 cm
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    SEE U by LABB
    SEE U
    Paintings - 73x100 cm
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    Ice Blonde by Kareem Rizk
    Ice Blonde
    Paintings - 80x150 cm
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    Coffee by Anna Sudbina
    Coffee
    Paintings - 60x60 cmRent for €170 /mo
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    Savoir sublimer l'instant by JAZZU
    Savoir sublimer l'instant
    Paintings - 80x60 cm
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    Assis et attendant by Khaled Alkhani
    Assis et attendant
    Paintings - 116x89 cm
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    Une femme caresse le faucon by Khaled Alkhani
    Une femme caresse le faucon
    Paintings - 170x170 cm
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    Ocean Sunset by Cannibal Malabar
    Ocean Sunset
    Paintings - 100x100 cm
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