Unique Portraits

If given the chance, would you grant yourself immortality? Of course, it is probably impossible, you can’t have eternal life. But there is a way for you to keep on living after your demise. In fact, you can live through a piece of art. A portrait is the best way to be immortalized. Unique Portraits are perpetual, they are frozen in time. Find out more here in Unique Portraits

Image on left Image by Danielle Kalinovskis for Hoxton Mini Press

Portraits have been around for as long as we can remember. Some have even been dated back to Ancient Egypt thousands of years ago. But the genre was really popularized in the 15^th Century.

In those times, the only way to record someone’s appearance was through painting, drawing or sculpture. Yet a portrait is much more than just someone’s appearance. A good one can capture the personality, soul, and emotions of the subject. This is probably why they are timeless.

In history, the wealthy and landed gentry would have their portrait taken in a flattering manner. It was used to showcase power, importance, and other values. At the time, getting your portrait done was a long process. Whether it was sculpture or painting, it would take multiple sessions.

Image by Olufemi Olaiya for Hoxton Mini Press

With time came along photography. It offered a much less time-consuming option to portrait taking. Throughout the years, photographic technique kept progressing. Until today, where photographs are instantaneous and high quality. Everyone can take a picture with the power of the phone in their pocket.

Well, a good photographer knows how to capture feelings. The machine provides the quality of the image and makes the process instant. It is the artist behind whose talent brings the emotions to the final image.

It’s the photographer’s touch that brings the portrait to life. If done right, the portrait says something about the person photographed. You need a great photograph for great portraiture, that makes a person and their story everlasting.

National Gallery Lucian Freud exhibition

Portraits are eternal. This is way, painting portraiture is still important and relevant to this day. For instance, as of right now, a Lucian Freud exhibition is taking place at the National Art Gallery. It showcases his pieces containing multiple portraits, including the following piece painted in the early stages of his carrier. Thus proving that painting portraiture transcends time.

Man with a Feather (Self Portrait) 1943 (oil on canvas) by Freud, Lucian (1922-2011); 76.2×50.8 cm; Private Collection; © The Lucian Freud Archive

Portrait of Britain Volume five by Hoxton Mini Press

It’s fair to say that Unique Portraits are eternal. Although only pure art will survive the ravages of time.

Photography may be more accessible, but it doesn’t make it easier. Yet, if in the right hands, it creates timeless masterpieces. Such as Portrait of Britain a photography award run by the British Journal of Photography.

Image by Hannah Norton for Hoxton Mini Press

99 winning portraits will be featured in a month-long exhibition in partnership with JCDecaux. And a book featuring 200 images that were shortlisted was published in collaboration with Hoxton Mini Press.