America’s Master Portraitist
Celebrate the life and artistry of Ms. Greta Kempton, one of the greatest unheralded American artists of the 20th century.
America’s Court Painter
Master Portraitist, Greta Kempton, is best known for painting the official White House portrait of President Harry S. Truman, the Truman family, and the entire Truman cabinet earning her the title of “America’s Court Painter.” She also painted many other political leaders, corporate moguls, celebrities, and everyday people in a range of styles for which she has been compared to the great masters: Rembrandt, Cezanne, Renoir and Degas.
“Greta Kempton paints people, great and small,
with a deep conviction that there is as much art in a portrait as in any other picture.
Striving for perfect likeness with a blithe disregard for modernistic effects, she works also to portray character and personality without neglecting the balance, composition and effective use of material which distinguish any other fine painting.
Her portraits are strong and positive, never vague. She uses choice of pose as well as brush to reveal her study of a subject’s entire being, but with frank emphasis on the best she finds in personality as well as in facial contours. She believes that a relative should recognize a portrait; that a stranger should be able to read a subject’s character almost as well in a painting as by looking at the person. Her many successes bolster her theories.”
— Corcoran Gallery of Art exhibition catalog, 1949
About Greta Kempton
Beginnings
Born in Vienna, Greta Kempton said that she created her first portrait at the age of nine. An art teacher recognized her precocious talent and took Greta under her wing, introducing her to the works of the masters in the museums of Vienna. >>
Early years in America
Greta’s professional career began in Long Island, when a portrait she painted of a neighborhood boy led to several commissions from other members of his family. By the mid-1930s Greta was well established as a painter of commissioned portraits. >>
The Washington Years
Greta found herself moving in political circles, and not long after, she was commissioned to paint the portrait of president Harry Truman. As one of the country’s premier portraitists, Greta Kempton was vital in documenting the Truman era. >>
Later Career
By 1950, Kempton had studios in New York, New Orleans, and Washington D.C. Despite challenges in her personal life, Greta continually pursued her passion for painting, reinventing her style and receiving numerous awards, recognition, and honors. >>
Gallery
The Greta Kempton Foundation, Inc. welcomes any stories, information or comments you have to offer on the highly accredited and talented Master Portraitist, Greta Kempton. We maintain a database that documents the artworks created by [Martha] Greta Kempton and are in the process of establishing an online catalogue raisonné of her artistry. If you own a work of art by Ms. Kempton, we would be grateful to receive information about the piece in your collection and include it in our database. To submit a work for inclusion in the database, please contact us at: info@gretakempton.org for more information.