David Larned is a portrait artist, based in West Chester, Pennsylvania, who also paints still life and landscape.
Larned uses a restrained palette, and often a restrained range of values, giving his work a strong feeling of harmony. In his portraits, which range from formal and corporate to informal and family oriented, he seems to imbue his subjects simultaneously with a serene equanimity and an underlying sense of liveliness.
There are sections for the different genres on Larned’s website, as well as a separate section for details, and the portraits section is sub-divided into types of subjects.
Though the detail crops are too limited to tell if the surface of his work is painterly at a closer range, his compositions and lighting suggest to me an admiration for the work of late 19th century portrait masters like Sargent, Chase and Beaux.
His portrait commissions have included several governors of the nearby state of Delaware, along with their families, as well as other political and business leaders.
Larned is married to painter Sarah Lamb, who I profiled in July, and she has also been a portrait subject for him (images above, bottom two). There is an informative profile of both artists from Chester County Town & Country Living, along with some other articles linked below.
