National Portrait Gallery presents Mr. Time: Portraits by Boris Chaliapin an exhibition on view from May 17, which features covers he produced during his 28 years with Time magazine. Chaliapin’s colleagues aptly nicknamed him “Mr. Time” due to his contribution of more than 413 covers as an artist for the magazine from 1942 to 1970.
Throughout Chaliapin’s career as a contract artist for Time he became known for his ability to produce lifelike portraits in as little as 12 hours. Routinely he would create a cover in three days—record speed when most cover artists required a week or more. Week after week, millions of readers recognized Chaliapin’s familiar signature on the cover.
This collection of 26 original works by Chaliapin features portraits of such icons as Marilyn Monroe, Olivia de Havilland, Harry Truman, Muhammad Ali and Child who appeared on Time’s cover. These portraits were created in a variety of media and include graphite, watercolor and oil on canvas. The exhibition also includes one of Chaliapin’s few self-portraits. Portrait Gallery historian James Barber is the curator of this exhibition. “Mr. Time” will be open through Jan. 5, 2014.
These portraits are part of the National Portrait Gallery’s Time Collection of more than 2,000 works of original cover art. This exhibition in part recognizes a recent gift of 130 additional portraits made by Chaliapin’s descendants, in honor of Boris and Helcia Chaliapin. Information: (202) 633-1000. Website: npg.si.edu.