Portraiture as an art form has been in existence for at least five millennia. A portrait conveys not only its subject’s physical characteristics, but may also reveal key aspects of an individual’s personal psychology, as well as unique insights into disparate social, cultural, and political histories. The National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution outlines…

In 1950s American culture, teenagers were the focus of sustained media attention. A recently defined social category, “the teenager” ignited hopes and fears about changes in America’s political and economic landscapes. Films about teenagers in this period often portrayed them in extreme terms, either as obedient followers of social systems or as juvenile delinquents who…