Child Portraits

Traditionally children were painted in oil, as opposed to charcoal. Girls were often portrayed drifting through a romanticised landscape holding a basket, or a hat. Boys were depicted with a reference to a subject/sport that they excelled at, (The Duke of Argyll by John Opie). Conversation pieces of large families were also popular. However, post war, family portraits became unaffordable and it wasn't until the mid-eighties, a decade which produced child portraits such as the Benyon sisters by Howard Morgan, that the traditional conversation piece came back into fashion.

Head and shoulders drawings of children largely replaced the romanticised oils in the latter half of the last century. Oddly, these child portraits were often relegated to hang in bedrooms in fairly basic frames, almost as though a portrait of a child was less of a luxury and more of a standard requirement.

Nowadays our clients commission many different styles and compositions. We encourage people to consider several factors, i.e. the age of the child and whether they suit a certain media. Commissions range from double portraits of mother and child, to delicate pastels, or strong charcoal head and shoulders portraits. Interestingly, drawings are now framed to sit comfortably amongst the best modern and traditional paintings.

Many artists will promote themselves to paint children. However, we have learnt over the last ten years that an additional skill is required and our policy of sticking with a small selection of artists who meet our exacting standards for child portraits has paid dividends for our clients.