The NIU Art Museum Presents: Portrait Exhibition Suite

"Seeing Each Other: Portraits in Time and Place" is a group exhibition featuring both experienced and emerging artists. Each entry explores the time-honored tradition of portraiture in artmaking in a unique way, often finding universal narratives and concerns within intimate and personal imagery.

"Hold Still: Portraits from the Permanent Collection" demonstrates how portraiture, like still lifes or landscapes, has been a pillar of art genres since time immemorial. The NIU Art Museum combed through its permanent collection to assemble an exhibition of portraits including Japanese actor prints and Andy Warhol Polaroids. Gritty and idealized, there are images of individuals, groups, the self and even animals. 

"Homage to Humanity: Portrait Prints by Sidney Chafetz" features portrait prints by Jewish American artist Sidney Chafetz (1922-2013) and how he devoted his life to education and the arts. An avid reader, Chafetz employed his talents as a printmaker to depict his social and literary heroes. In this exhibition, the NIU Art Museum gathered many of his portraits into a cultural hall of fame.