Mr. Kavanagh's indelible portrait of Joxer is the key to Mr. Dowling's conception.

Vapnyar, who was born in 1971 and emigrated to the United States in 1994, draws an indelible portrait of the land she left behind.

And Bridges, one of the best actors on the planet, blends the contradictions of Ted . . . into an indelible portrait.

Mr. Paterson provides an indelible portrait of a man's transformation from someone who thinks he has everything under control to a man who knows how impossible that is.

In fact, Repin's indelible portrait was painted in a ward of alcoholics one day before his friend Mussorgsky died; it depicts a state of terminal dissipation.

The film nevertheless offers an indelible portrait of South Korea's public education system in the 1950's, which was far harsher and more regimented than the American system.

With a clear, articulate understanding of character and an almost volcanic intensity, Mr. Scott created a gallery of indelible portraits on stage and screen.

In her charming 1989 memoir, "Sleeping Arrangements," Laura Cunningham created an indelible portrait of her 1950's childhood in the Bronx.

We're left with an indelible portrait of not one but two well-meaning souls who have lost what they most loved by recognizing their own desires too late.

Mr. Berghof also created an indelible portrait of a sadistic Confederate prison commandant in "The Andersonville Trial" in 1959.