Staff Directory
Bebe Barnard
Executive PartnerBebe Barnard served as a Portraits, Inc. sales associate in California, Oklahoma, and most recently Mobile, Alabama. Originally from Birmingham, she and her husband moved back to the city in the summer of 2013. She served as Commissions Manager for the company, overseeing all current commissions from start to delivery until 2017 when she was appointed President. She became Executive Partner in 2022.
Jennifer Gray
Executive PartnerJennifer Gray began her career in the arts in 2005. She graduated summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University with a bachelor’s degree in art history and French before attending graduate school at New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts. She worked in several prominent galleries and museums in the Southeast before joining the Portraits, Inc. staff in 2007. She served as Vice President until 2022, when she became Executive Partner.
Beverly McNeil
Strategic AdvisorA native of Birmingham, Alabama, Beverly Blount McNeil brings more than 35 years of experience in the arts to her role as Strategic Advisor of Portraits, Inc. Beverly founded Portrait Brokers of America in 1986, which quickly became one of the leading portrait art firms in the country. In 2008, she and Julia G. Baughman acquired Portraits, Inc., a New York-based portrait company founded in 1942, which merged together under the name Portraits, Inc., the following year. In 2022, McNeil transitioned from Executive Partner to a Strategic Advisor with the purchase of the company by Bebe Barnard and Jennifer Gray. Beverly has served on the Board of Trustees of the Children’s Hospital of Alabama since 2007. She has also served on the board of Vanguard Bank and was a founding board member of the Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation (Destin, FL) and Art on the Lake (Lake Martin, AL). Since 2000, she has owned the Beverly McNeil Gallery, located adjacent to Portraits, Inc. in downtown Birmingham's Lakeview District.
Aaron Beane
Director of MarketingAaron Beane is originally from Madison, just outside of Huntsville in northern Alabama. He completed his undergraduate studies in graphic marketing from Birmingham-Southern College in 2020, where he was awarded the Raymond J. MacMahon Award for superior accomplishment in studio art and academic achievement. He currently lives in Birmingham, where he keeps a studio as an exhibiting visual artist. He joined the Portraits, Inc. staff in 2021.
Julia Baughman
National Director of SalesJulia G. Baughman served as an Executive Partner of Portraits, Inc., from 2008 to 2018. Prior to her purchase of Portraits, Inc., Julia was Director of Sales for Portrait Brokers of America, having joined them in 1992. Today, Julia serves as National Director of Sales for the company. With 25 years in the portrait business, Julia specializes in assisting our institutional clients with their portrait needs. She also enjoys working with many families throughout the country. Julia is a native of North Carolina and graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1972. She currently resides in Columbus, Ohio.
Ruth Reeves
National Director of SalesGovernment Contracts
Ruth Joiner Reeves comes from a military family and settled in California after growing up in Japan and Germany. Ruth attended Napa College and San Francisco State University. In 1982, Ruth began representing portrait painters and formally established The Portrait Source in 1992. The Portrait Source merged with Portraits, Inc., in 2010 and Ruth took on the position of Executive Partner, a role she held until 2018. She continues to serve the company as its National Director of Sales. Ruth has been involved in arts organizations throughout her career and has served on civic boards in Charlotte, Hendersonville, and Flat Rock, North Carolina, her adopted home of twenty years. Of her career, Ruth reflects, “I’m not an artist, so it’s a wonderful feeling to help talented people make a living with their art.”
JoAnne Merrill
Gallery ManagerFlat Rock Gallery
JoAnne Merrill attended The University of Vermont. After graduating, she joined Vista, for which she was sent to North Carolina for one year of service, and has lived there for almost 40 years. After teaching at a private school for several years, she began working with Ruth Reeves and The Portrait Source in 1992, where she has served in many capacities, including Office Manager and Artist Liaison. Since The Portrait Source joined with Portraits, Inc., in 2010, JoAnne has continued to work in the Flat Rock gallery as Gallery Manager.