Despite the twentieth-century art world’s focus on abstraction, more traditional forms of expression were never fully abandoned by modern artists. Among the most popular of these genres, portrait painting survived under the care of internationally recognized artists such as Lucian Freud and Otto Dix as well as regional talents like Dickson Reederand Hal Lotterman. Viewing the portrayals of the friends, family, and contemporaries of these artists, visitors to Let’s Face It: An Exhibition of Contemporary Portraits were able to examine the development of modern artistic ideas through this classic subject. The accompanying catalogue to the exhibition features a brief foreword, acknowledgments, and select reproductions from the show’s thirty-six paintings, drawings, and sculptures. Juxtaposed with one another, these works not only engagingly illustrate the souls of their sitters, but also present the diverse mentalities and ambitions of the modern artist.

Artists featured in the exhibition:  Ivan Le Lorraine Albright, Milton Avery, Max Beckmann, Hans Belling, Bill Bomar, Alexander Brook, Bernard Buffet, Vincent Canade, Bruno Cassinari, Emma Lu Davis, Charles Despiau, Otto Dix, Katherine Dreier, Raoul Dufy, Lucien Freud, Robert Gwathmey, Frida Kahlo, Leon Kroll, Julian Levi, Hal Lotterman, Marino Marini, Marthe Rakine, Dickson Reeder, Carlos Orozco Romero, Georges Rouault, Concetta Scaravaglione, Simkha Simkhovitch, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Eugene Speicher, Tebo [Angel Torres Jaramillo], Bror Utter, CornelisVan Dongen, Franklin Watkins, and Andrew Wyeth.