PortraitsFrom Paintings to Pictures

Afghan Girl

This photo was taken as part of the National Geographic “Green Eyes” project, tracking the genetic trait of green eyes passed down through the Mongols of Genghis Khan’s time. The subject was Sharbat Gula and a retrospective on her life done by National Geographic can be found here. Date: 1985. Photographer: Steve McCurry, National Geographic.

Afghan Girl

Buzz Aldrin

This image was captured in 1969, the day that the Eagle lunar lander made the first touchdown on the moon, by Neil Armstrong of fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Date: 1969. Photographer: Neil Armstrong.

Buzz Aldrin

Mark Twain

An American author and humorist. Twain is most noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which has since been called the Great American Novel and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. He is extensively quoted. Date: 1907. Photographer: Unknown

Mark Twain

Marie Antoinette

Antoinette was the last Queen of France and one of the more famous victims of the guillotine during the French Revolution. Antoinette was famous for her excess in a time of extreme economic hardship for her country. Date: 1769. Artist: Joseph Ducreux

Marie Antoinette

Joan of Arc

Jeanne d’Arc, her name in the original French, was responsible for both repelling English invaders from her homeland and assisting Charles VII in succeeding to the throne of France. She is a Catholic saint. The only known portrait that she sat for was destroyed, so all we have are renditions. Date: 1876. Artist: Eugene Thirion.

Joan of Arc

Migrant Mother

This photo of Florence Owens Thompson and her children was taken in February or March of 1936 in Nipomo, California. In addition to being an iconic photo of the Great Depression, it influenced Steinbeck in his writing of The Grapes of Wrath. Date: 1936. Photographer: Dorothea Lange.

Migrant Mother

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. He was a crucial figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western classical music, and remains one of the most acclaimed and influential of all composers. Date: 1820. Painter: Joseph Karl Stiele.

Ludwig van Beethoven

Humphrey Bogart

Best known for “The Maltese Falcon” and “Casablanca”, Bogart was a mega-star in the golden age of Hollywood. The photographer who took this shot, George Hurrell, was responsible for many of the “glamour shots” in Hollywood in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Only in later years would his work be recognized as art. Date: 1938-1939. Photographer: George Hurrell.

Humphrey Bogart

Jesus Christ

This 1940 painting has been reproduced over 500 million times, making it one of the most popular works of art in history. Date: 1940. Artist: Warner Sallman

Jesus Christ

Winston Churchill

This shot was snapped in the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, Canada after the photographer had annoyed Churchill by taking away his cigar. Widely considered one of the most famous portrait photos ever taken. Date: 1941. Photographer: Yousuf Karsh. Winston Churchill was the British Prime Minister during World

War II. He was widely credited with being one of the strategic masterminds that made the Allied victory possible. Churchill was also a prolific writer and won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Winston Churchill

Bette Davis

Bette Davis was not only a famous screen actress, but the first female president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Date and photographer: Unknown.

Bette Davis

Princess Diana

Princess Diana married Prince Charles and found herself divorced from him just a few years afterwards. Patrick Demarchelier was Princess Diana’s favorite photographer. This image he took of her was featured on the cover of People magazine after her death in 1997 and it instantly became iconic. Date: 1990. Photographer: Patrick Dermarchelier.

Princess Diana

Jan Van Eyck's Arnolfini "Wedding" Portrait The intersection of the secular and

religious in Flemish painting also surfaces in Jan van Eyck's double portrait Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride. Date: 1434. Artist: Jan van Eyck

Jan Van Eyck's Arnolfini "Wedding" Portrait

Thomas Edison

This photo of a young Edison was taken with the phonograph that he invented. He was most famous for inventing a long-lasting, practical lightbulb. Date: 1877-1878. Photographer: Levin C. Handy.

Thomas Edison

Queen Elizabeth I

Elizabeth’s reign is famous for a number of historical events, including a Spanish invasion of England that was foiled by bad weather. After a couple of potentially politically disastrous marriage alliances were put forward to her, Elizabeth dubbed herself “The Virgin Queen” and never married.

Date: 1575. Artist: Unknown, perhaps Federico Zuccaro (see Sir Roy Strong, The English Icon, 1969).

Queen Elizabeth I

Queen Elizabeth II There have been many iconic photos of

the Queen, but this one taken by famous photographer Annie Leibovitz conveys her regality while presenting her in a state of contemplation accented by the eternally inclement English weather. Taken in Buckingham Palace, the shot caused a furor in the British tabloid press when Leibovitz asked the Queen to remove her crown. Date: 2007. Photographer: Annie Leibovitz.

Queen Elizabeth II

Benjamin Franklin

One of the founding fathers of the United States, Franklin served in many positions to further the independence of the United States, including a few posts as foreign ambassador in order to raise funds for the formation of the new country. This portrait of Ben Franklin by Duplessis was immortalized on the American one hundred dollar bill. Date: Unknown. Artist: Joseph Siffred Duplessis.

Benjamin Franklin

Greta Garbo

Greta Garbo was a Swedish-American actress that starred in a number of movies from the silent film era to the “Golden Age” of Hollywood. Best known for “Camille” and “Ninotchka”. Date and photographer: Unknown.

Greta Garbo

Whistler’s Mother

This painting, Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painter’s Mother, was the pinnacle of James Whistler’s career. It was purchased by France and is now in the Musee D’Orsay in Paris. Date: 1871. Artist: James Whistler.

Whistler’s Mother

Judy Garland While Garland had a successful film

career, no appearance of hers could even come close to “The Wizard of Oz”. Kids would camp out in front of the TV for this feature film extravaganza, which still felt modern right on up until the 1980’s, mostly due to Garland’s masterful acting of what would have otherwise been a very two-dimensional character. Date: Unknown. Photographer: Publicity shot for “The Wizard of Oz”

Judy Garland

Buddy Holly

A pioneer of rock and roll and an inspiration to the legends who came after him such as The Beatles and Bob Dylan, Buddy Holly’s death was even turned into a hit song; “American Pie” by Don McLean. Date: 1950’s. Photographer: Associated Press.

Buddy Holly

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs founded Apple, left it to start NEXT, and returned to catapult Apple into superstardom with the iMac, iBook, iPod and iPhone. Jobs will always be best remembered visually for making his historic announcements about the next Apple milestone at Macworld conferences. Date and photographer: Unknown.

Steve Jobs

Mona Lisa

Date: 1503-1506. Artist: Leonardo da Vinci.

Joseph Ducreux

Joseph, Baron Ducreux was a French portrait painter, pastelist, miniaturist, and engraver, who was a successful portraitist at the court of Louis XVI of France, and resumed his career after the French Revolution.

His less formal portraits show an interest in expanding the range of facial expressions beyond those of official portraiture.

Joseph Ducreux

Portrait de l'artiste sous les traits d'un moqueur, Self-portrait, ca. 1793