PORTRAITS OF FASHION

Mary Bridgman is a contemporary realist painter creating large scale fashion portraits in oil.

Fashion has long served as a visual marker of status, culture, and personality in portraiture—communicating not only the subject's individuality, but also the social and political landscapes of their time.

Each portrait has a story and portrays friends, coworkers, students and acquaintances in clothes they have either designed and made or are by a well-known designer. These portraits explore identity and self-expression by tracing the enduring conversation between fashion and art history. This is a dialogue between old and new which includes cultural iconography, gender roles and fashion as artistic expression.

As a fashion designer and artist for many years Bridgman is communicating the significance and power of clothing in contemporary life.

With direct and indirect approaches to painting I am able to build depth, luminosity, and texture in my work, capturing both the physical and emotional layers of my subjects.

This Series is an ongoing event.

I worked as a womenswear designer for over 30 years and kept painting simultaneously. This work is a natural progression for me.

Additional subjects are in work.

Portraits of Fashion, please inquire about pricing.

Prices for commissioned portraits of this size are around $10,000 depending on the number of sitters and the garments involved, etc

Expect the painting process to take six to twelve months. I begin with photographing the subjects and discussing the colors, clothing and poses in the pieces.

See PDF below