Although fascinating but distorted portraits can be assembled from the mess, other pieces refuse to fit, leaving the reader with a confusing jumble of enigmas and loose ends.

Niebuhr's paintings of distorted portraits of people began with a request to paint a nude for an exhibition.

The works are reminiscent of the distorted portraits of Francis Bacon, who coined the phrase "Champagne for my real friends, real pain for my sham friends."

Others ignored elements of Mr. Kerry's record and stated positions in a way that paints an incomplete or distorted portrait of his approach.

These qualities are evident in the suavely distorted portrait of Mme.

In a rather different mood, at Crane Kalman there is a punchy, viciously distorted portrait of Dora Maar by Picasso.

This show reveals that over four decades Hoch used photomontage to make disturbingly distorted portraits, subterranean landscapes and delicately explosive abstractions.

Mr. Roth turned out a gruesomely distorted portrait of each member.

To counter what she insists is a grotesque and distorted portrait of herself, she has participated in a publicity campaign to tell the world "who I really am."

"Citizen Kane" happens to be a distorted portrait of Hearst, but it has for generations suborned our perceptions because Kane was created by an artist.