Paul Ygartua
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PAUL YGARTUA · 61 ARTWORKS

Portrait Paintings of Indigenous People

Paul Ygartua’s portraits of Indigenous people focus on the character and expression of the individual. His interest lies in the life behind a face, using painting to convey a sense of presence beyond physical likeness.

Ygartua began painting portraits in the early 1970s. Over time, his approach developed from realistic representation towards experiments with colour and abstraction. This collection brings together different stages of that exploration, allowing viewers to compare how style changes the emotional quality of a portrait.

Although I paint faces, I don’t consider myself a portrait artist. I enjoy many different subjects, but I find myself constantly searching for the life behind the face.

I believe the emotion and sensitivity of a face should be felt as well as seen.

— Paul Ygartua

The life behind the face

Ygartua’s interest in portraiture began with character studies in his family’s Basque village. Those encounters led to a wider curiosity about people and cultures, deepened by travels with his family from Jerusalem to Rio de Janeiro. His earlier paintings were more realistic; later experiments gave him new ways to express the emotion he felt in a face.

That search also extends to his murals, where he has painted faces ten to fifteen feet high. At that scale, an individual expression becomes a monumental presence.

Close-up face in vivid red, yellow and blueHaida ChiefGreen and grey mask on a red backgroundWest Coast MaskPortrait of a man wearing a red head coveringWithinSeated man wrapped in a patterned blanketNative with BlanketClose-up face in blue, orange and redHaida Chief in colourTwo portraits surrounded by pale carved formsChief Dan GeorgeLong-haired man before a red desert landscapeSitting Bull - OrignalTwo women before a carved stone reliefMexican NativeLong-haired man shown in profileZuni ChiefMother and child before a yellow churchMexico Mother and ChildMarket figures with fruit and broad-brimmed hatsNative MexicoClose-up portrait in warm brown tonesCheyenneGroup of portraits with riders in the distanceChief JosephMan with a striped blanket below his faceMexican NativeTwo figures before a yellow churchNatives of MexicoTwo faces among pale carved bird formsNative HeritageAdult and child surrounded by cream carved formsNW HeritageSeated woman before blue and white buildingsWoman ForceThree overlapping long-haired portraitsWest Coast NativesClose-up face with bright blue and red marksNativeAdult and child with carved forms and distant figuresNW HeritageSeated man against geometric architectureMexican NativeClose-up face in red and greenNative PortraitTwo portraits before pale birdlike formsNW HeritageClose-up face in blue, violet and yellowNativeThree portraits with patterned clothingAboriginalsTwo seated market figures in green clothingMexican MarketClose-up face in detailed earthy tonesZuniGroup of faces with varied head coveringsA World UnitedClose-up face in yellow, red and greenHaida ChiefMan in a head wrap before historic buildingsMexicanFive portraits arranged among pale carved formsWest Coast HeritageClose-up face with dark eyes and moustacheIndomitableWoman carrying fruit amid colourful market figuresMexican Woman with fruitMan in a broad hat beside a donkeyMexican with donkeyMother and child wrapped in red patterned fabricMexican Mother and ChildClose-up face in red, yellow and blackChiefChild standing among containers in a doorwayMexican ChildClose-up face in red, white and turquoiseHaidaTwo women wearing blue and white wrapsSeri Woman