David Lenz

American portrait painter

David Lenz's paintings—whether of African American children in Milwaukee, a Wisconsin dairy-farm family, or people with disabilities—explore the particular circumstances of individuals in their respective environments. His paintings, replete with breathtaking skill and warm humanity, have been described as unflinching in their detail and realism.

National recognition of his work came in 2006 when Lenz won the grand prize of the inaugural Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, organized by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, with a painting of his 8-year-old son, Sam. The award included a commission to paint a portrait of a prominent American and the resulting painting—a portrait of Eunice Kennedy Shriver—is now part of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection.

In 2021, Lenz was commissioned to paint autism community icon Temple Grandin (detail above) for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. The painting will be unveiled at the Portrait of a Nation: 2025 Honorees gala and on display at the museum November 14, 2025 through October 25, 2026.

With his meticulous Realism, Lenz hopes to engage people's empathy, "If the image seems real, if the person portrayed seems whole and natural and believable, then maybe you will know what they know, feel as they feel.” The artist's remarkable Photorealistic technique conveys the authenticity of his subjects—not portraiture's traditional powerful and famous sitters but the poor, disadvantaged, and marginalized—those on the periphery of society.

For Lenz the message is that "every person in America is significant. No human being should ever be overlooked or cast aside."

Lenz has been painting professionally since 1989. In 2008, he received a Wisconsin Visual Art Lifetime Achievement Award; in 2009, he was inducted as a fellow into the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters.

Museum of Wisconsin Art biography (adapted)