Irene Bailey, originally from Yorktown, Virginia, began her formal art training at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia after studying during high school with Jack Clifton, a graduate of the Academy.

She later earned her Master of Fine Arts degree in painting from East Carolina University. Continuing her artistic development while living in Long Island, New York, and New Jersey, she studied with renowned artists including Everett Raymond Kinstler, Nelson Shanks at Studio Incamminati, Marvin Mattelson, and Daniel Green.

Her thesis exhibition at the Grey Gallery at East Carolina University elevated her professional recognition and helped launch her career as a fine art portrait painter. Twenty-two of her portraits are part of East Carolina University’s permanent collection, including two 12-by-8-foot murals in Minges Coliseum. She was commissioned by the Minges Pepsi Bottling Group to paint portraits of their CEOs, and eleven of her portraits hang in five courtrooms across North Carolina.

Now based in Emerald Isle, North Carolina, Irene lives and works in her oceanfront home, studio, and gallery.

Over the years, she has generously supported numerous charities through donations of her artwork.

Bailey is a member of the Portrait Society of America, Portrait Society of Atlanta, and Oil Painters of America. She has also been a member of the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, Allied Artists of America, and the American Portrait Society.

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Bailey’s goal is that every portrait reveals the unique personality of the individual. Combining a painterly approach with careful precision, she creates artwork meant to be cherished for generations.