Elizabeth Peyton

Elizabeth Peyton | American, b. 1965, Danbury, Connecticut

Elizabeth Peyton was a leader in contemporary painting’s return to figuration in the 1990s. Her modest-scale, jewel-like paintings show a deep knowledge of forebears from Édouard Manet and John Singer Sargent to Andy Warhol but are also intimately connected with the culture of late-20th-century America. Her portraits and drawings of friends, family, and personal heroes include depictions of Kurt Cobain, Liam Gallagher, and art world acquaintances like Rirkrit Tiravanija and Matthew Barney. Peyton’s seductively moody celebrations of youth, fame, and beauty are notable for their brilliant color and graphic sense.