Elizabeth Joy Peyton (1965) is an American contemporary artist who became popular during the mid 90's. Known for a signature usage of oil paints, washed glazes and watercolor, her portraits often portray friends, celebrities, royalty and past lovers. In addition, figures are characterized with long, slender androgynous features or have sexually ambiguous feminine qualities.
Born in Danbury, Connecticut, Peyton's artistic journey began as a child when she took an interest to drawing people and figures. Interestingly, she was born with only 2 fingers on her right hand so she taught herself to draw using her left and even as a child, she confessed to have always been influenced by celebrities and pop culture surrounding them.
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| Left "Jarvis and Liam Smoking" (1997) Right "Tokyo" (1997) |
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| Portrait of Kurt Cobain (1995) |
She would later study fine arts at the School of Visual Arts in New York
City in 1987. Despite her later popularity, she struggled for many years after her graduation and worked as an assistant to another artist just to make ends meet. It wouldn't be until another 6 years that Peyton career would take off in the early 90's along with John
Currin and Lisa Yuskavage. Paying close attention to pop culture at the time, her portraits of celebrities were well received by several critics. She helped pioneer an outlandish,
illustrative and painterly style that would later popularize and become a
crowded genre and be recognized as one of the painters that brought
figurative art within the fashion industry.
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| "Portrait of Kanye West" (2010-2011) |
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| "Never Say Never" (Justin Bieber, 2013) | |
