Colin Powell is a true American hero.

This captivating video shows nearly a hundred different portraits paintings of women, covering more than 500 years and all sorts of periods and styles of art. Western art, that is.

At first glance, it appears that there's no one naked in Trevor Christensen's collection of nude portraits. The man above is dressed, so are the people in the photos below. So if they're not nude, who is? You'll be surprised, but their expressions might give it away.

What do you get the queen who has everything?

Kate Middleton just can't catch a break*. From the horrifying authorized portrait earlier this year to this frightening rendition of Kate in lingerie she probably purchased at the clearance rack at Ross Dress for Less. The latter (shown above) is from the loins of the imagination of 25-year-old portrait artist Nick…

If you went to elementary school, middle school, or high school, you probably have at least fifteen cringe-worthy-as-crap school portraits.

These are not photographs — these are PENCIL DRAWINGS. Yes, they're done entirely with pencils. Like, the same ones you use to color in Scantrons and DMV tests. And yet, these fantasy portraits from Erica Rose Levine look just like freaking photographs, and they're blowing. my. damn. mind.

If you've never seen the work of Bill Gekas, you're in for a treat: The Australian photographer creates gorgeous images that look like classic works of art. The beautiful model is none other than his daughter, Athena, who is now 5 years old.

Earlier today, the White House released a new official portrait of Leslie Knope's boy toy, Vice President Joe Biden. Taken Jan. 10 by his official photographer, David Lienemann, we see a triumphant Biden sporting a body conscious pinstripe suit and a blue candy cane tie. He's surrounded by the American and vice…

Photographer Anthony Kurtz visited Femme Auto in Senegal and took portraits of the mechanics and auto body workers there. They're really gorgeous shots, and it's always great to see badass women doing it to it in a male dominated field.

Photographer Robyn Twomey — who I got all excited about when I first saw her name because I thought she was Robin Tunney from The Craft but no, she's not — has some stunning portraits of former Playboy Bunnies. I want to hangout with each of these women and learn all about them and then write plays about their lives.…

The dour portraits of British monarchs past has been enlivened by the Royal Collection Trust's latest splurge — four prismatic Andy Warhol screenprints of Queen Elizabeth II wearing her tiara and the big, sparkly necklace she wore during the Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1977. The Queen, it is rumored, was pleased…

Last week, we solicited some of your "hand on face" pictures. And herewith, a definitive gallery of everyone's favorite school pic/neck-flattering studio portrait pose:

The National Portrait Gallery has discovered a 400-year-old secret hiding beneath layers of paint. A portrait of Elizabeth I originally depicted the queen holding a coiled serpent, but the anonymous artist painted over the snake at the last minute. [DailyMail]

Being a model is often part of the job description for an artist's child. Now, they get their say:

"La Fille de l'artiste a deux ans et demi avec un bateau," Picasso's 1938 portrait of Maya, his daughter with Marie-Thérèse Walter, is expected to fetch up to £16 million at auction. [Telegraph]

The recession has not hurt Hollywood's booming terrible-portrait business, although the stars make a big show of finding the likenesses embarrassing. They should.

Hey! Remember when Sarah Palin was on the cover of Newsweek and Fox News got up in arms because the close-up hadn't been retouched? (Given that it was only last week, I'm gonna go with yes.) Megan very correctly diagnosed this a would-be tempest in a battered teapot, but the fracas sparked a discussion of the ethics…