Gwenneth Barth White

"Gwenneth Barth is an artist of the same calibre as France's illustrious pastel masters."

Jean-Pierre Merat, President of the Societe des Pastellistes de France.

American-born Swiss artist Gwenneth Barth White is a Maitre Pastelliste with the Societe des Pastellistes de France, and is on the Steering Committee of the Portrait Society of Canada. She's a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America, and became a Signature Member of the American Society of Portrait Artists, after winning an award at their Portrait Festival held in The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2001. Her work has been exhibited in Geneva, Gstaad, New York, Toronto and Paris.

Gwenneth has lived and worked in the Geneva area most of her life. After advanced music studies, she attended the Ecole des Beaux Arts, and graduated from Geneva's Ecole des Arts Decoratifs.

Gwenneth's fascination for traditional painting has led her to study in depth the ancient techniques and methods of the old masters, and, with the encouragement of the American master Joseph Bowler, portraiture became her main focus, although figure studies and still-lifes remain an old love.

Besides accurately recording her subjects' outer appearance, Gwenneth's particular talent remains in sensing the inner self, allowing us to perceive a person's character, rather than merely recognizing his or her likeness.

Gwenneth's work is in collections world-wide, from the U.S.A. and Scandinavia to the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Renowned for her portraits of children and families, her client list also includes leaders of industry, government and diplomacy. Among her more well-known clients are the Sultan of Brunei and his wife, and the entire family of former Saudi Oil Minister Sheik Yamani. International Artist has published her work in their books on the techniques of still-life and figures, as well as in a feature article in their magazine. Three feature articles on her work were also published in top French art magazines in 2006.

Gwenneth teaches portrait workshops in Geneva, Paris and North America. She has produced an instructional portrait-in-pastel DVD, distributed world-wide.