The 15th Annual Art of the Portrait Conference begins in just a few short weeks, during which the William Draper Grand Prize Winner of the 2013 International Portrait Competition will be announced. Today, the Portrait Society of America released the images of the 20 paintings vying for that prize, and now it is time for you to vote for who you think deserves the top honor. Of course, this is only an online popular vote, and has no bearing on the eventual outcome - in fact, the popular vote here on the Underpaintings Blog has not yet coincided with the judges' choice, nor has it always matched the People's Choice Award as decided by Conference attendees. Still, it is interesting to see how the voting differs when opened up to the larger and more diverse audience of the internet.
You can choose your favorite by voting in the poll listed in the left-hand column of this blog.
In any case, whoever wins here, or at the Conference, all of the Finalists deserve our accolades. Best of luck to all of you, and congratulations!
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| (1) Leslie Adams - Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl 60 X 41 in., charcoal |
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| (2) T.J. Cunningham - Mr. Marshall 24 X 48 in., oil |
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| (3) Marina Dieul - Bacchante 3 36 in. diameter, oil |
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| (4) Kerry Dunn - Toto and I 40 X 30 in., oil |
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| (5) Glenn Harrington - Reverie 24 X 30 in., oil |
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| (6) Seth Haverkamp - Essie's Headdress 48 X 36 in., oil |
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| (7) Jeffrey Hein - Life #2 34 X 14 in., oil |
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| (8) David Kassan - Letter to My Mother 49 X 32 in., oil |
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| (9) Cheng Lian - Girl with Silk Headscarf 36 X 24 in., oil |
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| (10) Serge Marshennikov - In the Twilight 17½ X 25½ in., oil |
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| (11) Illya Mirochnik - Artem (Studio Break) 63 X 30 in., oil |
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| (12) Greg Mortenson - Venice 50 X 25 in., oil |
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| (13) Richard Christian Nelson - Luke at 15 36 X 48 in., oil |
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| (14) Alicia Ponzio - Irving 22 X 10 X 10 in., bronze |
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| (15) Mardie Rees - La Petite Fleur 11 X 9½ X 7 in., bronze |
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| (16) Lynn Sanguedolce - Bruce at the Coffeehouse 40 X 30 in., oil |
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| (17) Mary Sauer - Erin 40 X 30 in., oil |
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| (18) Ardith Starostka - Wallflower 48 X 36 in., oil |
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| (19) Katherine Stone - Glad the Birds Are Gone Away 32 X 18 in., oil |
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| (20) Jennifer Welty - Will 40 X 40 in., oil |