Ned Bittinger is an award-winning portrait painter who is best known for his portraits of prominent Americans and children's book illustrations. Bittinger's paintings are in the collections of the U.S. Capitol, the U.S. Pentagon, the U.S. State Department, The Department of Energy, universities, corporations, and courthouses across the county. His list of portrait subjects includes Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Henry Kissinger, Secretaries of State James A. Baker and Lawrence Eagleburger, Secretary of Energy Don Hodel, Congresswoman Lindy Boggs, Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine, actress Shirley Maclaine, and many leaders of the corporate, legal, medical, and diplomatic professions. Bittinger has illustrated 4 children's books for Scholastic Inc., When the Root Children Wake up by Audrey Wood, Rocking Horse Christmas by Mary Pope Osborne, The Matzah that Papa Brought Home by Fran Manushkin, and The Blue and the Gray by Eve Bunting.[1][2][3]
Biography
Ned Bittinger was born in the year 1951, In Washington, D.C. He attended Landon School in Bethesda, MD,[1] before leaving the area after high school for Denison University in Ohio, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts. After college he worked as a drawing and etching instructor for the National Collection of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C. he went on to earn his Master of Fine Arts degree at George Washington University.[1][3] Bittinger then studied portraiture and conducted workshops and school presentations in the Mid-Atlantic area.[2]
Influenced by such great artists as John Singer Sargent, Valentin Serov and N.C. Wyeth, Bittinger likes to paint in a style of realism that retains fresh and spontaneous brushwork thereby imparting energy and immediacy to his paintings.[1] Bittinger's former teachers include Daniel Greene and William Woodward.[4] Ned Bittinger also enjoys painting figurative scenes, landscapes and illustrations.[1]
Ned Bittinger moved out of Washington, D.C. to eventually settle in Rappahannock County, Virginia.[1]
Career
Ned Bittinger's oil portrait painting career began soon after his graduating from George Washington University graduate school in 1982.[2]
In the early 1990's he secured portrait commissions of two Secretaries of State, James Baker and Lawrence Eagleburger, which increased his exposure and reputation. In 2004, the US House of Representatives, commissioned Bittinger to do the Official portraits of Abraham Lincoln and Lindy Boggs, both of which hang in the United States Capitol Building.[5][6] One year later, in 2005, Bittinger was commissioned to paint the official portrait of Dr. Henry Kissinger, for the college of William and Mary.[7]
The Portrait Society of America awarded Bittinger its Certificate of Excellence in 2007; the Certificate of Merit in 2006; and the Honors Award for Portraiture twice, in 2003 and 2004.[2] He was selected as exhibiting artist in Moscow by the Washington-Moscow Art Exchange in 1991. In 1986 he received a grant for The Washington D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities. In 1982 he was awarded the Kreeger Awards Competition, Hayes Freedman Purchase Prize, Washington, D.C. In 1981 Ned was awarded David Lloyd Kreeger Award, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.[1]
Between the years 1995 and 2002 Ned's children's books won the following awards: “Rocking Horse Christmas" written by Mary Pope Osborne was chosen by The American Booksellers as their “Pick of the List"; "The Blue and the Gray" written by Eve Bunting was selected by the international Readers Association as their "Teacher's Choice" and by the children of Indiana for their “Hoosiers Young Readers Award"; “The Matzah that Papa Brought Home" by Fran Manushkin, was awarded the Notable Children's Book award by the American Library Association.[1][8]
Ned has been featured in such publications as People Magazine, Architectural Digest, Georgetown and Country, Albemarle Magazine, Washingtonian Magazine, The Artist's Magazine, American Artist, and the Daily Progress.[1][8] In 1997, his artwork from his book "Rocking Horse Christmas", was featured on the cover of the Lands' End kids' holiday catalog.[9][10]
Notable Commissions and Awards
- Gen. Carl Vuono, Chief of Staff of the Army 1987–1991, The Pentagon, Northern Virginia. 1991[11]
- James Baker, Secretary of State, US State Department, Washington, D.C., 1994[12]
- Gen. Gordon Sullivan, Chief of Staff of the Army 1991–1995, The Pentagon, Northern Virginia, 1994[11]
- Carol Joyce Gray, First Dean of the John's Hopkins University School of Nursing, 1983-1994, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, 1994
- Lawrence Eagleburger, Secretary of State, US State Department, Washington, D.C., 1995[12]
- Deborah Lehr, US negotiator for trade with China, State Department, Washington, D.C. 1997[12]
- Abraham Lincoln, Official portrait for the US House of Representatives, US Capitol, Washington, D.C. 2004[6]
- Lindy Boggs, Congresswoman, Louisiana, 1973-1991, portrait hangs in the Lindy Claiborne Boggs Congressional Women's Reading Room, US Capitol, Wash., D.C. 2004[13]
- Gov. Jon Corzine, Governor of the State of New Jersey from 2006–2010, Goldman Sachs, New York, NY, 2004[12]
- Dr. Henry Kissinger, as Chancellor of the College of William & Mary, 2001–2008, Williamsburg, VA, 2005[7]
- Tom Meeker, CEO of Churchill Downs, 1984–2007, Louisville, KY, 2007[12]
- Don Hodel, Secretary of Energy 1982–85, US Department of Energy, Washington, D.C., 2009[12]
- The Honorable Justice Mueke Barker, Supreme Court of Tennessee 1995–2009, Chattanooga, TN, 2010[12]
- John Mica, US Congressman from Florida, 1993–2017, US House of Representatives, 2012[14]
- Jon A. Husted, Secretary of State of Ohio, 2010–2016, Ohio State House, Columbus, OH, 2017[15]
- Charles Kurfess, House Speaker of Ohio, Ohio Statehouse, Columbus, OH, 2017[15]
- A. G. Lancione, House Speaker of Ohio, Ohio statehouse, Columbus, OH, 2017[15]
Awards
- 1981 David Lloyd Kreeger Award, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.[1]
- 1982 Kreeger Awards Competition, Hayes Freedman Purchase Prize, Washington, D.C.[1]
- 1986 Awarded grant by The Washington D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities[1]
- 1991 Selected as Exhibiting Artist in Moscow by Washington – Moscow Art Exchange[1]
- 2003 Honors Award for Portraiture, Portrait Society of America[2]
- 2004 Honors Award for Portraiture, Portrait Society of America[2]
- 2006 The Certificate of Merit, Portrait Society of America[2]
- 2007 Certificate of Excellence, Portrait Society of America[2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Ned Bittinger | Award Winning American Figurative Painter". Fine Art and You. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Ned Bittinger". portraitcollection.jhmi.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
- ^ a b "Grand Valley State University Art Gallery". artgallery.gvsu.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
- ^ Directory of American portrait artists. Huntington Harbour : The American Portrait Society. 1985. pp. 683–684.
- ^ "Boggs on Display". Roll Call. 2004-09-24. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
- ^ a b "Abraham Lincoln | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
- ^ a b "Portrait of Dr. Henry Kissinger". npg.si.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
- ^ a b "SHELDON HOSTS WORKSHOP BY AWARD-WINNING ARTIST". Shelton Chronicle. 1998-06-01. pp. 1–2.
- ^ Lands' End, Direct Merchants, Kids' Catalog, Holiday 1997. Lands' End. 1997. p. 1.
- ^ ALBEMARLE Magazine, December 1997 - January 1998. ALBERMARLE. 1997. pp. 45–47.
- ^ a b Bell, William (1999). Commanding generals and chiefs of staff, 1775-1995. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, U.S. Army. pp. 154–157.
- ^ a b c d e f g M.R.N. (2017-11-23). "Ned Bittinger (1951)". AMERICAN GALLERY – 21st Century. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
- ^ "Corinne Claiborne (Lindy) Boggs | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
- ^ "John L. Mica | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
- ^ a b c "Ohio Statehouse unveils seven speakers' portraits | Ohio Statehouse". www.ohiostatehouse.org. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
External links
- https://archive.org/details/RG0044_s013_c024_f008/page/n37/mode/2up
- https://archive.org/details/cootieshotstheat0000unse/page/156/mode/2up?q=Ned+Bittinger
- https://www.ronwhitmorelive.com/art-fusion-radio.html
- https://poramoralarte-exposito.blogspot.com/2017/12/ned-bittinger.html?m=0&hl=es_419
- https://portraitartist.com/bittinger/