Marian McKinney
Painted by John Howard
Sanden before an audience at the Art Students
League of New York, January,1990.
 he
world of portrait painting lost one of its central
figures on August 1, 2007, with the death of
Marian MacKinney, President and Director of
Portraits, Inc. in New York. She was 57.
Marian MacKinney was known to virtually everyone
in the field of contemporary portrait painting.
Her gallery in New York, of which she was the
owner, was the pioneer in the exclusive representation
of portrait artists. Her roster included virtually
every major portrait painter and sculptor in
the world today. The clientele of Portraits,
Inc. included the foremost names in the worlds
of business, the professions, the arts, academia
and society.
Organized in 1940 by Lois Shaw (joined soon
after by Helen Appleton Read), Portraits, Inc.
is today probably the best known portrait brokerage
in the world. The gallery's location in Rockefeller
Center in midtown Manhattan was an example of
Marian's courage and determination. She had
moved the gallery there in 2005 after several
decades on upper Park Avenue.
Marian MacKinney joined Portraits, Inc. in
1986, became its director in 1988 and its owner
in 1990. She had a high of view of portraiture
and saw her own mission as a calling to restore
portraiture to its historic position in the
fine arts.
It was my privilege to work with Marian for
21 years. During that time, we collaborated
on countless projects. She was endlessly patient,
considerate, and encouraging. She had a highly
developed sense of style and appropriateness.
Underneath it all was a current of purposefulness
and determination which called forth the best
in everyone who associated with her. It is not
an exaggeration to say that Marian MacKinney
was the central player in the international
world of portrait painting in the 21st century.
She will be sorely missed.
Gifts in Honor of Marian
Many who knew Marian MacKinney as a leader
in the world of the visual arts
may not know that her first love was music (she
originally came to New York
to study singing). A fund has been established
in her name to further the
education, recognition and fostering of young
classical musicians.
Please direct gifts to:
The Marian MacKinney Lorch Memorial Fund
The Stecher and Horowitz Foundation
119 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019
Telephone: (212) 581-8380
www.stecherandhorowitz.org
Contact: Melvin Stecher or Norman Horowitz
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