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Michael Del Priore (born 1954 in Columbia, SC) is an American Portrait Artist, known for oil and pastel portraits in the Classical Realism style. Del Priore lives and works in Pelzer, SC, however, he has garnered international acclaim in his 35+ year career, doing over 850 oil portraits including members of Congress, Supreme Court Justices, clergy, educators, physicians, corporate and community leaders. His official portraits include President Ronald Reagan, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates and former Speaker of the House, John Boehner. Three of his portraits are displayed in the U. S. Capitol, and twenty are hung in the Capitol Complex. He has painted official portraits for six of South Carolina's Governors: Robert McNair, James Edwards, Richard Riley, Carroll Campbell, David Beasley and Henry McMaster. Del Priore's artistic talents were evident in his childhood. After graduating from Columbia High School, he got a job as a commercial artist. He befriended established artist, Gian Cassone after observing him painting portraits in a booth at Richland Mall. Cassone introduced Del Priore to the techniques of portrait painting in oil and pastel, and under his tutelage he completed hundreds of portraits during a 5-year stint at the mall location.
Del Priore moved to Charleston, SC in 1979, to study oil portraiture under renowned artist Ray Goodbread at the Gibbes Museum of Art. After returning to Columbia in 1984, Del Priore was able to do his first official portrait when he responded to a newspaper article announcing a competition for artists to produce an official oil portrait of former Governor, U. S. Senator Strom Thurmond. More than 200 artists responded. However, the competition narrowed to two choices, Del Priore and an artist from another state. "In this case, being a South Carolinian was the advantage I needed," said Del Priore. "Afterward, I no longer had to search for commissions. It was a great blessing and a major milestone in my career."
Del Priore has progressed creatively by studying with America’s leading portrait painters, including Nelson Shanks at the New York University Academy of Art; Everett Raymond Kinstler at the National Academy of Art, Daniel Greene at the North Salem Studio and John Howard Sanden at the National Portrait Seminar.
He has lectured and given portrait demonstrations at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Art Students League in New York, Academy Art College in San Francisco and Palette and Chisel in Chicago.
Del Priore is past chairman and serves on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Portrait Artists. He is a member of the Artists Fellowship Society of New York and is listed in the Who's Who of American Artists.
In 2018, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster presented him the Order of the Palmetto, the highest honor given by the Governor in recognition of his lifetime achievements in the arts.