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Portraiture
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Group portrait of members of the Second Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan. Congregation poses in front of church building located at 441 Monroe Street; commercial buildings in background. Inset portrait of the Reverend Robert L. Bradby. Handwritten on front: "Second Baptist Church, Aug. 5, 1923. Jackson photo." Stamped on back: "Harvey C. Jackson, photographer. Clifford 6054 M. 2614 Beaubien St., Detroit, Mich. Suitable frames for this photograph in stock or made to order."
Discovering My Roots
Unearthing my family history through James Van Der Zee and Harvey Cook Jackson's photography.
Lela Jenkins
June 14, 2024
A woman in a multicolored dress is seated on a yellow couch, her back to the viewer. In the background at right is a black and white portrait of a mother holding a baby; at left is the room's doorway. The wallpaper and floor is characterized by whimsical and geometric designs, including portraits as part of the wallpaper.
How to Read Portraits

Kathryn Calley Galitz takes a deep dive into
portraiture from Ancient Roman coins to Instagram selfies.

Rachel High
June 6, 2024
Portrait of an old man in a simple brown tunic with fur trim. His hands are placed over each other in the bottom right corner of the frame.
Memling's Faces
They say we are given a face at birth that we must live with initially, but by a certain age, we make our own face and then we must live with that.
David Levi Strauss
May 20, 2024
Episode artwork for Harlem Is Everywhere, featuring James Van Der Zee's "Couple, Harlem," with a Black couple in fur coats posing next to a cadillac
Audio
Harlem Is Everywhere: Episode 2, Portraiture & Fashion
What role did fashion play in the Harlem Renaissance?
Jessica Lynne, Bridget R. Cooks, and Robin Givhan
February 20, 2024
Two tintype portraits in black and white
A Conversation with Will Wilson
Will Wilson's photography, rooted in his upbringing on the Navajo Nation, intertwines the past, present, and future of Indigenous cultural practices.
Patricia Marroquin Norby
January 25, 2024
Detail of Edgar Degas's "Monsieur and Madame Édouard Manet," with Edouard Manet lounging on his couch and his wife Suzanne at the piano. The painting has been cut in half vertically at Suzanne's face.
Audio
Manet/Degas: A Podcast
Explore the legacy of Manet and Degas’s complicated relationship.
Ashley E. Dunn and Stephan Wolohojian
December 8, 2023
Black and white photograph of a woman wearing a white floral pattern outfit on the right with a potrait in the background done by Picasso of her.
Picasso on Stein
Learn how Picasso’s defining portrait of Gertrude Stein helped usher in a new era of modern art and literature.
Francesca Wade
November 22, 2023
Writer Fran Lebowitz speaking and gesturing with her hands in The Met’s Paintings Conservation Lab in front of Rembrandt’s Aristotle with a Bust of Homer painting.
Video
Fran Lebowitz: Pretend It’s a Museum
Fran Lebowitz goes behind-the-scenes to The Met’s Paintings Conservation Lab to see Rembrandt’s Aristotle with a Bust of Homer (1653).
Fran Lebowitz
November 9, 2023
Man and woman standing in purple gallery as they look at painting
Video
Exhibition Tour—Manet/Degas
Join Stephan Wolohojian, John Pope-Hennessy Curator in Charge, and Ashley Dunn, Associate Curator, to virtually explore Manet/Degas.
Ashley E. Dunn
October 10, 2023
Split image of Emma Scully as a child and as an adult looking at Van Gogh paintings at The Met
Video
Emma and the Van Gogh Paintings
Follow Emma Scully through time as she encounters Van Gogh.
August 31, 2023