portraitist

noun

por·​trait·​ist ˈpȯr-trə-tist How to pronounce portraitist (audio)
-ˌtrā-
: a maker of portraits

Examples of portraitist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Instead, the expert believes that the gifted portraitist and Turner contemporary John Opie painted the 24-year-old artist in circa 1799. Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 14 May 2026 An especially visually striking debut, Mosquitoes exists in a saturated hyperreality that is consummately engrossing, and announces the Bertani sisters as formidable portraitists of girlhood cast against the backdrop of an alternately beautiful and oppressive world. Zac Ntim, Deadline, 29 Apr. 2026 Renowned Spanish genre painter and portraitist Raimundo de Madrazo’s paintings of people will be on display. Alyson Rodriguez, Dallas Morning News, 19 Mar. 2026 Interdisciplinary artist Carl Cheng won the Career Achievement Award, while portraitist Greg Breda won the Public Recognition Award. News Desk, Artforum, 13 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for portraitist

Word History

Etymology

probably borrowed from French portraitiste, from portrait portrait entry 1 + -iste -ist entry 1

First Known Use

1857, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of portraitist was in 1857

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Cite this Entry

“Portraitist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/portraitist. Accessed 21 May. 2026.

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