Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680) is widely acknowledged as the greatest Baroque sculptor for his monumental works such as Apollo and Daphne (1622–25) and the Ecstasy of St. Theresa (1647–52). His unparalleled talent as a portrait sculptor transformed the practice and earned him the patronage of the Catholic Church and nobility in 17th- century Rome, as well as important commissions from foreign rulers.

The man who took sculpture off the plinth now puts the portrait back on a pedestal - National Portrait Gallery displays Sir Anthony Caro's figurative busts for the first time. Four heads in bronze and steel by Sir Anthony Caro, who is widely regarded as Britain's greatest living sculptor, go on display for the first time this weekend at the National Portrait Gallery.

The Arnold & Marie Schwartz Gallery Met, the Metropolitan Opera's exhibition space for contemporary visual art, will present CHUCK CLOSE PHILIP GLASS 40 YEARS. The exhibition features 18 portraits of composer Philip Glass created by Chuck Close between 1968 and 2008. Over the last 40 years, Close has created more than 100 different studies of Glass, in many different mediums.

Bristol University students have been delving into the secrets of an important collection of Tudor portraits, thanks to a unique collaboration between the University, the National Portrait Gallery and the National Trust.

Forensic artists at the University of Dundee have recreated the face of Johan Sebastian Bach, one of the world’s greatest composers.

The Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. announces its 2008 exhibition schedule will include, Richard Avedon: Portraits of Power, on view from September 13, 2008 to January 25, 2009.

The National Portrait Gallery has commissioned a portrait of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of Special Olympics, from David Lenz, winner of the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2006. The painting will be included in the National Portrait Gallery's permanent collection.

LL Cool J, Erykah Badu, Common and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five are just a few of the hip hop artists featured in paintings and photographs in "RECOGNIZE! Hip Hop and Contemporary Portraiture." The exhibition opens at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery Feb. 8 and continues through Oct. 26, 2008.

A national museum has launched an appeal campaign to prevent the overseas export of a portrait of General Wolfe, victor of the Battle of Quebec and a hero of the Seven Years War. London’s National Army Museum has just under six months to raise £300,000 to save General Wolfe for the nation.

Geffrye Museum will present 'Cycle of Life - Hackney Elders in their Gardens', an exhibition of portraits by Sophie Verhagen, running from 16 October 2007 to 4 February 2008.

National Gallery of Ireland presents an exhibition, Catching a Likeness, featuring over 50 portraits on paper from the fifteenth to the twentieth centuries. It will show how portraits have varied in accordance with prevailing artistic fashions, favoured styles, techniques and media.

The portraits of the Levy-Franks family, attributed to Gerardus Duyckinck and dating from the 1720s to 1735, are the most extensive surviving group of Colonial American portraiture. The Jewish Museum will be exhibiting six of them consecutively in pairs from April 2007 through June 2009.