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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    untitled #21 by Elina Evstig
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    untitled #21 by Elina Evstig
    untitled #21
    Paintings - 100x80 cm
    Aurora by Florina Aledo Perez
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    Aurora by Florina Aledo Perez
    Aurora
    Paintings - 38x48 cm
    M. by Thomas Thyrion
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    M. by Thomas Thyrion
    M.
    Paintings - 29x25 cm
    girl from profile by Thomas Thyrion
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    girl from profile by Thomas Thyrion
    girl from profile
    Paintings - 24x30 cm
    Habit de scène #1 by Alexandra Chauchereau
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    Habit de scène #1 by Alexandra Chauchereau
    Habit de scène #1
    Paintings - 35x27 cm
    Tellement une belle vie by JAZZU
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    Tellement une belle vie by JAZZU
    Tellement une belle vie
    Paintings - 80x80 cm
    Reinigung II (Purification II) by Ralf Schmidt
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    Reinigung II (Purification II) by Ralf Schmidt
    Reinigung II (Purification II)
    Paintings - 150x100 cm
    Native American Legend by Vincent Bardou
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    Native American Legend by Vincent Bardou
    Native American Legend
    Paintings - 97x162 cm
    Flower Moon by Juliana Do
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    Flower Moon by Juliana Do
    Flower Moon
    Paintings - 80x80 cm
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    Schmetterling XVII by Karoline Kroiss
    Schmetterling XVII
    Paintings - 30x30 cm
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    Blondie by MC Garbage
    Blondie
    Paintings - 100x100 cm
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    Sanctuary by Joanna Pilarczyk
    Sanctuary
    Paintings - 76x76 cmRent for €210 /mo
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    Reine du jour de rêve by JAZZU
    Reine du jour de rêve
    Paintings - 90x90 cm
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    Confrontation by William Fice
    Confrontation
    Paintings - 28x32 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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    Protection rapprochée by Christian Lucas
    Protection rapprochée
    Paintings - 116x81 cm
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    Miles & Miles With It by Ed Burkes
    Miles & Miles With It
    Paintings - 120x145 cmRent for €425 /mo
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    Ephémères colorés (N° Inédit) by JAZZU
    Ephémères colorés (N° Inédit)
    Paintings - 56x59 cm
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    757, Dialoge: Tafel 01 by Jan Eeckhout
    757, Dialoge: Tafel 01
    Paintings - 100x100 cm
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    Alles auf Anfang (Restart) by Ralf Schmidt
    Alles auf Anfang (Restart)
    Paintings - 100x100 cm
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    Ancestor by Sonia Martin
    Ancestor
    Paintings - 50x60 cmRent for €75 /mo
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    Calibrating Lenin by Oleksandr Balbyshev
    Calibrating Lenin
    Paintings - 140x100 cm
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    It's Not Me, You're The Joke by Evelyn Morgan
    It's Not Me, You're The Joke
    Paintings - 90x75 cmRent for €125 /mo
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    Reaching the Goal by Apollinaria Manko
    Reaching the Goal
    Paintings - 90x70 cm
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    golden kimono by Andrew Holmes
    golden kimono
    Paintings - 41x31 cmRent for €130 /mo
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    Featherweight by Angela Smith
    Featherweight
    Paintings - 135x90 cmRent for €215 /mo
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    Native American Spirit by Vincent Bardou
    Native American Spirit
    Paintings - 120x100 cm
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    pink lady by Elina Evstig
    pink lady
    Paintings - 60x60 cm
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    Savoir sublimer l'instant by JAZZU
    Savoir sublimer l'instant
    Paintings - 80x60 cm
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