Portrait Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old portrait quotes, portrait sayings, and portrait proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

The best portraits are those in which there is a slight mixture of caricature. Thomas B. Macaulay
Did you ever see a portrait of a great man without perceiving strong traits of pain and anxiety? John Adams
My portraits are half what I see and the other half is invented or dictated by the person and the painting. Francesco Clemente
The portrait is one of the most curious art forms. It demands special qualities in the artist, and an almost total kinship with the model. Henri Matisse
A good portrait is incredibly hard to create, there is too much temptation to pander to the individual rather than portray them as they really were. Philippe Halsman
Most portraits are lies. People are rarely what they appear to be, especially in front of a camera. You might know me your entire lifetime and never reveal yourself to me. To interpret wrinkles as character is insult not insight. Duane Michals
A photographic portrait is a picture of someone who knows he's being photographed, and what he does with this knowledge is as much a part of the photograph as what he's wearing or how he looks. He's implicated in what's happening, and he has a certain real power over the result. Richard Avedon
In a portrait, I’m looking for the silence in somebody. Henri Cartier-Bresson