A Profound Legacy and a Future Secure
- 7 minutes ago
- 5 min read
By Marianne Rice
Like clockwork, as the gray of winter subsides and the showers of April coax the earth to relinquish her green, hundreds of artists around the globe emerge from their studios. Blinking in the daylight, they pack their bags and make the pilgrimage to the annual The Art of the Portrait conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Like the great migration patterns of birds with flawless operation, volunteer staff, distinguished faculty and professional models converged to put on, and everyone agrees, the best conference yet.
In a special address, Chairman of the Board Michael Shane Neal celebrated the 28th year of the Portrait Society of America by announcing a generous endowment from the William (Bill) Rorick estate. This charitable gift helps secure the future of the Portrait Society of America and ensures the preservation of artistic excellence in the time-honored techniques of portrait painting. The thoughtful rebrand includes a new logo and the renaming of The International portrait competition’s highest award to the Rorick Grand Prize.
A full day of well-attended pre-conference workshops prefaced the kick-off of the grand event. Acclaimed artist Ali Cavanaugh taught her contemporary approach to the luminous watercolor portrait with a limited palette. Internationally recognized sculptor Kevin Chambers worked with students in clay relief, and renowned artist Susan Lyon explored the depth and subtleness of the black and white portrait.
Two powerhouse events punctuate the four-day weekend. On opening night, sixteen of the best contemporary artists in the world, among them Shane Wolf, Frances Bell, Jeremy Lipking, Quang Ho, Michelle Dunaway, Daniel Keys, Alicia N. Ponzio, Grace DeVito and Zhaoming Wu, were assigned randomly into groups of three to paint, draw or sculpt from a model. Attendees circle the ballroom during the three-hour, Face-Off style event and witness the progress from start to the grand finale.
Friday evening’s 6x9 Mystery Art Sale is a spirited, selling extravaganza. The ballroom is lined with panels stacked with small, gemstone paintings, labeled by number with the artist’s signature on the back. In a shotgun start, all the panels begin selling simultaneously, while participants toss their name tags in baskets, hoping to take home a small painting at a reasonable price, from a notable artist.
The proceeds from the 6x9 Mystery Art Sale helped fund over 35 scholarships awarded each year to developing artists attending the conference. It is worth noting that faculty artist Stephanie Paige Thomson and guest artist in the Next Generation Demonstration, Tina Figarelli, originally attended the conference on scholarships.
During a workshop in 2016, Stephanie Paige Thomson was encouraged by Dawn Whitelaw to apply for a scholarship. “I did, and it honestly changed my life. I found the world of art I desperately wanted to live in and a path to get there through very strategic mentorship and hard work.” Ten years later, Thomson, alongside Michelle Dunaway, painted Dawn Whitelaw in a breakout session on the subject of mentorship. This poetic, full circle moment exemplifies the great mission of the Portrait Society of America.
Through main stage demonstrations and breakout sessions, attendees had the opportunity to learn from a broad group of artists, using various mediums and speaking on a range of subjects. Frances Bell and Shane Wolf focused on simplifying the masses early when establishing a solid beginning. Louis Carr and Anna Rose Bain demonstrated the challenges of painting children from life and Grace DeVito, Louis Carr and Chelsea Lang discussed how to use reference photographs to serve your art.
Michael Shane Neal walked through the process of a commissioned portrait while painting fellow artist and daughter, Mattie Ree Neal. Mary Whyte, the consummate teacher, was paired in a portrait demonstration with Daniel Keys, whose signature style of tough love balanced the duo completely. Casey Childs and Susan Lyon led an inspiring demonstration on narrative depth, and in a new feature this year, Jeff Hein utilized his podcasting skills, speaking with Micah Christensen on the history of portraiture and leading an unfiltered, after-hours conversation with fellow artists.
Between demonstrations and breakout sessions, guests had the opportunity to receive portfolio critiques and have books signed by knowledgeable, published artists. Every day there was ample opportunity to apply what was learned through open model drawing sessions.
Artists leave room in their suitcases for the best in fine art materials available in the Exhibit Hall. Sought-after manufacturers in the industry like Artefex, Michael Harding, Rosemary & Co., Silver Brush, Jack Richeson, New Wave, Jerry’s Artarama, and Blick Art Materials offered discounts and were generous sponsors of the competition prizes. Throughout the weekend faculty artists like Ali Cavanaugh, Quang Ho and Timothy Rees provided booth-side demonstrations utilizing many of the materials available for sale.
The annual Gala Banquet held in the Grand Ballroom is the crescendo of the weekend, as the Signature Status, Future Generation, and The International award winners are announced. The recipient of this year’s prestigious $50,000 Rorick Grand Prize and the People’s Choice award was Rose Frantzen, for her piece titled Last Light.
Frantzen has been a recognized finalist in the Portrait Society of America’s The International portrait competition multiple times. Her compelling portrait had a persuasive sense of setting sunlight cast across the eyes of the figure, and a poignant, honest reflection on the final threshold of life.
For the second year in a row, the winner of the Grand Prize was also the winner of the People’s Choice Award. It is perhaps the highest honor to be acknowledged by your peers. The coincidental coupling of these two awards is not entirely shocking. As the kids say, “game recognizes game.” Excellence is never an accident, and anyone who labors toward excellence in a discipline recognizes it when they see it.
Bo Bartlett received the 2026 Gold Medal Award, presented for his dedication to excellence in his work and his commitment to educating fellow artists. He accepted the award on behalf of all the artists who strive, day in and day out, to capture the human spirit in paint. Leona Shanks accepted the Excellence in Fine Art Education Award for Studio Incamminati, the Philadelphia-based school for contemporary realist art, founded by Leona and her husband Nelson Shanks.
These last two awards, honoring individuals and organizations who have given their lives to the continuation of their craft, are particularly meaningful to the Portrait Society. The great gift of having been mentored by someone is that you feel indebted to be a mentor to someone else – to be a torch bearer to the next generation. Mentorship is intrinsically compelling and expansive in this way. It is a vital part of art history and an imperative call to the continued preservation of excellence in fine art.
In the final event of the conference, guests boarded busses headed to either the High Museum of Art or the Booth Western Art Museum. Exhibiting at the Booth Western Art Museum was a major retrospective celebrating the distinguished, 30-year career of faculty artist Jeremy Lipking. Artists journeying home from the conference could not help but consider that the work hanging in the finalist rooms of today, will be the masterworks studied, nose-to-nose, in the world class museums of tomorrow.
Photos by Robin Damore
