Elizabeth Peyton

Elizabeth Peyton, born in 1965 in Danbury, Connecticut, is an American contemporary artist known for her figurative paintings, drawings, and prints. She received her BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 1987. Peyton emerged in the 1990s, a period when figurative painting was not widely emphasized in the art world, and her work contributed to a reevaluation of the genre. Peyton's early exhibitions were held in unconventional venues, including a room at the Chelsea Hotel in 1993 and a pub in London in 1995. Her practice often involves portraits of figures from her personal life, historical personages, and contemporary cultural icons such as musicians, writers, and actors. She utilizes various source materials, including photographs from print media, film stills, and sometimes works directly from life. Her works are included in the permanent collections of institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Guggenheim Museum; the Centre Pompidou, Paris; the Tate, London; and the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. Peyton continues to work in New York and Berlin.