Elizabeth Peyton

Elizabeth Peyton (born 1965) is an American artist known for her intimate, expressive portraits of celebrities, historical figures, and friends. Born in Danbury, Connecticut, she studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Peyton gained recognition in the 1990s for her small-scale, painterly depictions of cultural icons like David Bowie and Kurt Cobain. Her work has been exhibited in major institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Centre Pompidou. In 2008, the New Museum in New York hosted a major mid-career retrospective, Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton. Her portraits, often characterized by delicate brushwork and emotional immediacy, bridge contemporary art and historical portraiture. Peyton’s influence on figurative painting continues to grow. As of 2025, she remains an active and celebrated figure in the contemporary art world.