RP APPLICANT PROCESS AND GUIDELINES
The Royal Society of Portrait Painters
- The Royal Society of Portrait Painters (RP) was founded in 1891 by the leading portrait painters of the day and has held annual exhibitions to this day. The RP achieved Royal Patronage in 1984 and is now a registered charity that promotes the practice and appreciation of portraiture.
- Early and past members of the Society include John Singer Sargent, Philip de Laszlo, Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Annie Louisa Swynnerton, John Collier, John Millais, Anna Merritt, James McNeill Whistler, Augustus John, Anna Airy, William Orpen, Flora Lion, Alice Burton, Anna Zinkeisen, Doris Zinkeisen, Pietro Annigoni and Laura Knight, to name a few. Current members include some of the most recognised and critically acclaimed portrait painters of today.
- The aim of the RP is to foster, represent and showcase the best examples of contemporary painted portraiture, in all its expressions and approaches. The main platform for this being our annual exhibition held at the Mall Galleries in May of every year.
- The RP also acts as a platform for commissioning portraits via its commissioning team. A percentage of portrait commissions, exhibitions submissions and sales fund the RP’s charitable activities, including its annual exhibition run in association with the FBA at the Mall Galleries.
Application Process
- Anyone is eligible to apply to become a candidate for selection to membership of the Society. Please note the RP likes to be aware of an applicant’s work, career, artistic vision and dedication, so regular submission and selection to the annual exhibition is normally the first step in the process.
- The RP has a maximum of 60 members, so inevitably the bar for membership is very high. The society is looking to find excellence of execution, individuality of vision, and commitment and professionalism in its applicant artists.
- Artists wishing to be considered for membership must submit work to the annual exhibition as normal. If their work is shortlisted for the second, physical stage of judging, they will be notified through the Open Exhibition Submission System (OESS). On this same window will be instructions as to how to register to be added to the APPLICANT’s list for membership of the RP.
- Should an APPLICANT’s work be selected at the second round of judging for exhibition, they will be contacted and asked to provide a digital portfolio and CV for review by the Membership Committee.
- The Membership Committee will decide which APPLICANTS will be invited to become CANDIDATES for membership.
- At the close of the annual exhibition, CANDIDATES will be invited to submit a physical portfolio of work for review by the Society at large and voted on for MEMBERSHIP at the Society’s AGM.
- CANDIDATES not initially elected to membership will remain on the CANDIDATES list for a period of 3 years, after which they will need to wait a full year before applying for membership again, following the same process.
- There is no limit to the amount of times an artist can apply for membership.
- Please note it is extremely unusual for membership to be granted at first application and most members are only elected after several attempts. We strongly encourage CANDIDATES not to be disappointed should they be unsuccessful in their first attempts to gain MEMBERSHIP.
- Upon majority agreement, the Membership Committee reserves the right to invite artists to become candidates outside of the here outlined candidacy process, based on artistic merit and outstanding achievement. All candidates are however subject to the same membership voting process as outlined above.
Membership responsibilities
- The RP is a Charitable Society and a member society of the Federation of British Artists (FBA). In compliance with Charity Commission guidelines, The Society has a Council, made up of member artists who are trustees, and direct the running of the RP, the organisation of the annual exhibition, and various other duties. Council positions are for a fixed period outlined in the Societies Memorandum and Articles and rotate amongst member artists.
- There is annual membership fee.
- It is expected that members will play a positive part in the running and development of the society, which includes serving on Council and voting on membership and council positions at the AGM.
You can direct any specific questions to [email protected]
