Admission £7, Free for Friends of Mall Galleries and under 25s. Concessions available. No booking required.
The country’s leading portrait exhibition presents some of the best painted and drawn portraiture selected from both national and international submissions. The work on display is diverse, bringing together high-profile commissions of public figures, alongside more personal portraits of less familiar faces.
The exhibition promotes artistic excellence in portraiture, offering major prizes and an excellent opportunity for commissions.
“The Society’s Annual Open Exhibition is probably the largest and most significant celebration of contemporary portrait painting in Europe. The show is always selected by a jury of practising portrait painters, no critics, no journalists, no celebrities – just painters.”
-Anthony Connolly – President
To coincide with the Chinese Year of the Fire Horse, the Society welcomes Shengxinyu Art, its director, Zhang Hongbin and twenty-four Chinese artists as guest exhibitors to this year’s annual exhibition. ‘I am confident that this collaboration will bring something extraordinary to the exhibition,’ says President Anthony Connolly. ‘The Society has a history of reaching out beyond these shores to outstanding artists, but never before have we extended that welcome as far as China.’
A series of special events will accompany the exhibition, including a talk by art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon on Portraits of Women, Portrayals of Virtue: A new way of understanding Vermeer’s depiction of women.
John Wonnacott RP, ‘Blue Foot 2’
including The William Lock Portrait Prize (£20,000) for the most timeless portrait with a real feeling for paint and its aesthetic potential:
The William Lock Portrait Prize
NEW The Faringdon Prize
NEW The Almenara Collection Award
NEW Daler-Rowney Materials Prize
The de Laszlo Foundation Award
The RP Prize for the Best Small Portrait
The Raw Umber Studios Prize
The Royal Society of Portrait Painters’ dedicated Portrait Commission Service provides comprehensive support throughout this remarkable and unique journey. This includes help in selecting the portrait artist most appropriate to your needs and taste from a diverse range of options.
If you would like to discuss a portrait idea or learn more about our commission service, Martina Merelli-Stevens, Fine Art Commissions Manager, will be available to assist you throughout the exhibition.
Benjamin Sullivan, ‘Matthew Macfadyen’
Mall Galleries
North, East & West Galleries,
The Mall, by Trafalgar Square, London