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Monday, May 08, 2023

Review: Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition 2023

This is a review of the Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, now on at the Mall Galleries until Saturday 13th May, 2023. It includes:
  • observations on what makes this exhibition different and the content of the exhibition
  • commentary on what's different this year
  • portraits I particularly liked
  • tips for the Mall Galleries
  • a commentary on pricing for artists
Apologies to those who were expecting this blog post yesterday - but I was unavoidably detained by an urgent visit to A&E yesterday morning!

Mall Wall of West Gallery 

Last November, I wrote my annual blog post about the Call for Entries: Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition 2023. 

Subsequently artists who entered via the open entry were notified (you can see a list of who made it to the exhibition in my last blog post Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition 2023: Prizewinners and selected artists) and last week I visited the exhibition.

Last Thursday, the exhibition opened to the public. However, if you're unable to visit London, you can also see the artworks online as follows:
  • RP Annual Exhibition Online (scroll down the page)
  • Albums on my Facebook Page (links to which will be inserted here after this blog post is published)
    • East Gallery
    • West Gallery (tomorrow)
    • North Gallery. 
    • NOTE: These exclude all nudity involving "parts" which FB will just take down. Which is a pity as this exhibition has a wall which I christened "the willy wall".
You can also buy the RSPP Annual Exhibition 2023 Catalogue online. It has a stunning cover - and a not inconsiderable price! (£13)

Cover of the RSPP Annual Exhibition 2023 Catalogue

Observations about the Exhibition


The exhibition comprises 247 portrait paintings and drawings by member artists and those artists selected from the open entry.


One wall in the East Gallery

Content of the RSPP Exhibition - what makes this exhibition different

The major difference is that this is very much a one genre exhibition - relating to portrait drawings and paintings of people.

This is also the one exhibition at the Mall Galleries where artwork is not required to be for sale. We get to see a LOT of commissioned artworks which are marked up NFS i.e. 'Not for Sale'. That's because this exhibition is very much a marketing platform for those who members who work on commission. Which is also why membership of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters is so prized!


West Gallery - End Wall


Commissioned Portraits


This exhibition now has many fewer 'staid and formal official portraits'. There's still enough to remind us all of one of the main occupations of career portrait painters. 

However what I noticed is that such portraits also seemed to be "less stuffed shirt" and more informal - so a Bishop in his everyday suit and not in formal dress and a mitre! Or a portrait with a contextual background which is important to the client - but 'relaxes' the overall impression of the portrait.

I am left wondering if this is partly to do with the fact that's there's also more commissioned portraits of women? I'd love to know what the portrait painters think.

As a result, it's now a much more pleasant exhibition to view and review.

There's also much less of a difference between the portraits produced by members and those from the Open Entry.

I well remember one year that I commented to a senior bod in the society that the West Gallery (full of stuffed shirts portraits) was empty and all the visitors were in the North Gallery - where they had relegated all the artwork from the open entry. The artwork in that gallery was at the time much more relaxed, more colourful and more innovative. I think maybe the point was taken on board as I've seen a gradual and continuous shift away from the way the exhibition used to look.

Indeed the explanation about the exhibition now starts with the following statement! So maybe a marked shift in attitude as well?
This exhibition presents the very best in portraiture in all its variety and diversity
I thought the portrait study of Sir David Attenborough well illustrated a shift in "how to paint a commission"

 
David Cobley
Sir David - Study for BBC
oil on linen
£15,000


I very much liked the new area devoted to Commissions. It's part of a gallery and yet set aside making this less confusing for visitors and more private for clients. I also like the fact that some attention has been paid to providing nice comfy seats for prospective clients. Overall, it looks much more professional.

I often wonder why more attention to marketing commissions by member artists doesn't take place in other FBA Society exhibitions at the Mall Galleries. 
  • The mezzanine area offers an appropriate area - if the opportunity to discuss commissions were to be more clearly signposted. After all, it's not just portrait painters who do commissions!
  • the website also needs more explicit signposting (i.e. top line menu) to the opportunity to commission portraits - which is present on the RP website but NOT on the Mall Galleries website 

The new Commission Area in the East Gallery

Open Entry


This exhibition has, I think, more open entries and more artists and artwork selected from the open entry than ever before. For the 2023 exhibition, the RP got 3,466 submissions - of which c.1,000 came from artists who live outside the UK. This is more submissions than the BP Portrait Award used to get! 

It might be something to do with the fact that I have repeatedly written posts which include a section on Why it compares favourably to the BP Portrait and other portrait competitions ! ;)

I suspect the number of submissions probably has something to do with the fact that the Portrait Competition run by the National Portrait Gallery is in abeyance and will have a new sponsor when it revives. I'm expecting that to be the backend of this year. This always got a huge number of entries from international artists and it'll be interesting to see whether the Society manages to maintain this bumper number of entries in future years.

In part, I think the number of entries it attracts is because the RP have got some very good prizes open to those selected for the exhibition. Attracting and maintaining sponsorship for prizes is a very critical way of generating entries - and the associated fees which help offset the costs of the exhibition.


Portrait Drawings in the North Gallery

NEW Artwork


I expect to see NEW artwork when I come to this exhibition.

I was very surprised to see that an artwork 'I do, I undo, I redo' Nicola Hicks MBE
which was in the BP Portrait Award in 2020 was also in this exhibition. It made my 2020 post about My top 10 portraits from BP Portrait Award 2020

Jamie Routley RP
'I do, I undo, I redo' Nicola Hicks MBE'
oil on canvas, 170 x 170cm NFS

I sort of understand why this happened i.e. I do appreciate that this was a Virtual Exhibition (due to the Pandemic) - rather than an actual exhibition - and this is a large and very good artwork which needs to be seen in person to be really appreciated.

Otherwise this would have been ineligible due to the entry requirement.....
Work must have been completed in the last three years and not been exhibited in London previously.
HOWEVER, I do think members of art societies ought to be held to exactly the same constraints as those submitting artwork via the open entry i.e. work must NOT have been exhibited previously.  

Given the prevalence of online exhibitions, maybe this needs to be extended to 
  • "and not previously selected for art competitions or other open exhibitions)";
  • plus "artwork must have been completed after (specified date - preferably in the last 3 years)". 
i.e. if you want to hold a prestigious art exhibition and attract large numbers of visitors, there needs to be an emphasis on NEW artwork of a very good calibre which has never been seen before ANYWHERE.

Portraits in North Gallery - note the difference in sizes

Portraits I particularly liked

I loved this portrait of Peter and Helen Wellby by Past President Alastair Adams. It's very attractive and just gave me a warm fuzzy feeling. I think this is in part due to the very relaxed poses and the colour palette. I was very sorry to learn that the wife had died prior to the exhibition. If it had been commissioned knowing what was coming down the line, I can't think of a better reason for a commission.

Alistair Adams PPRP
Peter and Helen Wellby (NFS)

I've liked the way Frances Bell paints people for some time - and she seems to keep getting better and better. She is particularly good at painting children and if I was somebody wanting a portrait of children she'd be very high on my list of possibles.

Portraits by Frances Bell RP, ROI, ARSMA

This portrait of Dame Harriet Walter caught and kept my eye.  It's an honest and unfussy portrait by Hero Johnson whose portraits I've liked for a number of years. I'm entirely unsurprised that she's painted a number of very eminent people or done well in getting repeatedly selected for various art competitions and open exhibitions.

I can only endorse her candidature for membership of the Society.

Hero Johnson
Dame Harriet Walter
oil on canvas 70 x 60cm NFS

I said in my last post that I was puzzled by the award for Best Small Portrait given the excellence of many small portraits in the exhibition.

For example, one I particularly liked was this one by Estelle Day. It was clearly an accomplished portrait by somebody who has been previously selected for the BP Portrait Award

I also liked her very sensible pricing which meant this painting had sold before I got to the exhibition on the first day it was open to the public.

Estelle Day
Small Self Portrait in Studio
Oil on wooden board
17 X 12 bm
£ 850 (SOLD)


More small portraits - on the mezzanine wall


Tips for the Mall Galleries

The first one is important! 
  • Don't close the cafe early when you're having a late night! 

Increasing Sales and the Own Art Scheme


This point about content is really about the ABSENCE of any prominent / repeat marketing for the Own Art Scheme within the Gallery of the opportunity to spread the cost of paying for an artwork over 10 months with Own Art.

It's particularly relevant in the current "cost of living crisis" when people who don't have oodles of money don't buy art without a long hard think.

The labels of those artworks which are 'For Sale" do at least have a line under the price now which says "or spread the cost over 10 months with Own Art" - but an explanation of Own Art and what it means and how it works could be posted in an "easy access" place in every Gallery at an easy to read size.  That would mean more people keep being reminded of how easy it is to buy artwork.....

I'm sure if this happened there would be more sales of artworks.

I'm sure it would also be very helpful if the Mall Galleries Guide to the Own Art Scheme - A Guide to Own Art - wasn't buried on the website i.e. 
  • it is NOT part of the submenu for the Buy Art top line menu item!
  • I had to go to Google to find the page! That's very silly.
More portraits in the North Gallery - when open entries tend to be


Grouping of Portraits


I do wonder whether more commissions would be generated if all the portraits of particular sub-genre within portrait commissions were grouped together. For example:
  • all portraits of children
  • all portraits of couples
  • all portraits of families
  • all portraits also involving an animal
  • all full figure portraits
If it works in retail, one might reasonably expect it to also work in an art gallery. Remember one of the prime functions of this exhibition is to stimulate future commissions and not just sales of the artwork on the wall!

Pricing Portraits - for Artists 

I saw a LOT of paintings by non-members which I can unequivocally say are NOT going to sell at the price quoted!

This is for all those portrait artists who'd like to 
  • sell more work and 
  • generate more income from their portraits
I will be reviewing this exhibition and the sales of those artworks which are available for sale after the exhibition closes. This will look at the price ranges which tended to generate sales. 

There are a number of fundamental aspects which all portrait artists submitting via the open entry need to bear in mind if they want to sell their art.
  1. You cannot start pricing at the level of a very experienced / award winning portrait artist at the beginning or even near the beginning of your career. The charges made by member artists have been hard won over many years. If you're less experienced or new to portraiture you cannot copy the pricing of very experienced artists. Even within the ranks of member artists there will be differentiated pricing - based on experience, skill and popularity. 
  2. Just because you're exhibiting in London does NOT mean you must price very high.  This is not an exhibition at Sotheby's or Christies! You need to read my post exhibition post on pricing portraits 2023 - which will reveal the levels at which artwork sold - and I will distinguish between members and open entrants. You may be surprised. 
  3. To generate interest and sales you need to price at a level which is compatible with your skill and experience - and whether you can sell artwork at this level. If you're not generating sales you are pricing incorrectly and too high. Keep experimenting until you find the level which generates sales. If you want some indicators, 
    • take a look at the paintings in the exhibition which sell.
    • take a look at the section on How to Price My Art on my Art Business Info website
    • read the blog posts on this blog about pricing art
  4. As soon as you price over €10,000 (about £8,500) you will automatically involve the buyer in personal checks relating to the NEW Anti-Money Laundering Legislation - re sale of artworks. If you'd like to read more about what this means see:

Past Annual Exhibitions (2007-2023)


Note: There was no review of the exhibition last year due to me relearning how to walk (post surgery) at the time it was staged.

Below are my blog posts relating to previous exhibitions by the RSPP - which go all the way back to 2007! I've been visiting and reviewing this exhibition for a long time!
on

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