Museum Exhibition
The Face of Life: Modern Portraits at The Met
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
From May 18, 2026
This exhibition examines the language of portraiture from about 1900 to the 1960s through nearly 80 works from The Met collection.
Exhibition artworks
Representative work
William Orpen
Self-Portrait
ca. 1910
Oil on canvas
40 1/8 x 33 1/8 in. (101.9 x 84.1 cm)
View artwork at the museumFeatured works
Armand-Albert Rateau
Hand Mirror
ca. 1925
Bronze, ivory, mirror glass
12 1/2 × 5 1/2 in., 1.1 lb. (31.8 × 14 cm, 0.5 kg)
View at museumArthur Dove
Portrait of Ralph Dusenberry
1924
Oil, folding wooden rulers, wood, and cut-and-pasted printed paper on canvas
22 × 18 in. (55.9 × 45.7 cm)
View at museumFlorine Stettheimer
The Cathedrals of Art
1942
Oil on canvas
60 1/4 × 50 1/4 in. (153 × 127.6 cm)
View at museum
Amedeo Modigliani
The Italian Woman
ca. 1918–19
Oil on canvas
40 3/8 × 26 3/8 in. (102.6 × 67 cm)
View at museumJohn Graham
Celia
ca. 1944
Oil, casein, charcoal, chalk, graphite, and ink on Masonite
48 × 36 in. (121.9 × 91.4 cm)
View at museum30 documented works in this exhibition
View all 30 documented works