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Pet portraiture gets popular with pawrents

Tonya and Larry Smith hold a commissioned portrait of their King Charles Spaniel, Rusty, who passed away in November at their home in Quitman, Ga., on March 19, 2026. Commissioned pet portraits have been around for centuries, but now they’re reaching a much wider clientele. (Erich Martin/The New York Times)

Tonya and Larry Smith with a commissioned portrait of their King Charles Spaniel, Rusty, who died in November.

PHOTO: ERICH MARTIN/NYTIMES

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Dorie Chevlen

NEW YORK – Like many of their generation in the south, Tonya and Larry Smith, both 69, commissioned oil paintings depicting each of their six grandchildren, the girls wearing frilly dresses, the boys in slacks.

But only one portrait currently hangs in their Valdosta, Georgia, home and its subject is naked.

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