Painters around the world can now enter the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2027, with a £35,000 first prize and the chance to have their work exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery.
The National Portrait Gallery has opened entries for its annual portrait painting competition, inviting artists aged 18 and over to submit work until Tuesday 1st December 2026.
Now in its 45th year, the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award is open internationally, with artists able to submit new painted portraits completed after 1st January 2025.
The competition has become a significant platform for contemporary portrait painting. Since it began, more than 50,000 works from over 100 countries have been entered, while exhibitions associated with the award have attracted more than six million visitors.
There’s also substantial prize money attached. The overall winner will receive £35,000, with £12,000 for second place and £10,000 for third.
A separate Young Artist Award offers £9,000 to an entrant aged between 18 and 30, designed to support an artist at an earlier stage of their career.
“It is always a pleasure to welcome this annual competition back to the Gallery,”
said Sarah Howgate, Senior Curator, Contemporary Collections at the National Portrait Gallery.
“Now in its 45th year, the Portrait Award continues to attract exceptional artists from all over the world. We’re grateful to the long-standing support of Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer and we look forward to seeing this year’s selection of portraits.”
Following digital submissions, shortlisted works will form the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2027 exhibition, opening at the National Portrait Gallery next summer.
For artists, that means the competition offers something beyond the prize money: an opportunity to put their work on the walls of one of London’s major national galleries.
Entries for the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2027 are open to artists aged 18 and over until Tuesday 1st December 2026. The resulting exhibition will be at the National Portrait Gallery from 24th June–10th October 2027.
Full information about how to enter, including entry forms and rules, can be found at: npg.org.uk/hsfkramerportraitaward
Entries to the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award will be accepted from 9am on Tuesday 22 September. The deadline for submissions is 10pm on Tuesday 1 December. Entries must be made via the National Portrait Gallery’s digital platform, competitions.npg.org.uk.
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2027 24th June – 10th October 2027 Supported by Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer
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