Thursday, May 08, 2025

Royal Society of Portrait Artists Annual Exhibition 2025

I had an extremely pleasant time at the Private View yesterday for the Annual Exhibition 2025 of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. 

Overall it was a real pleasure to be able to meet artists and view an exhibition and the artwork in a very congenial environment. So much so it will be my abiding memory of the exhibition!

The catalogue of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition 2025

How to have a great Private View

The reasons for the congenial environment were:

  • the Private View started at 11am and the speeches and prize giving was in the evening at 6pm, by which time I'd disappeared!
  • at all times there were enough people around for it to be happily populated - but at no time was there any sort of crush or sense of standing room only
  • as a result I could SEE THE ART!!! 
  • More importantly for me, I was also able to talk to various artists - both members and open artists - without the sound of the constant chatter generated when you invite everybody to the same PV in a very short time slot!
  • AND I was able to take photos of the galleries because they were not too crowded
  • Net Result: I don't have to pay a second visit just to get photos - which always makes me rather grumpy....
Moreover, this was one of the best hung exhibition by the Royal Society of Portrait Painters that I've seen in recent years. It looks great and has got a really nice flow to it and, more importantly 90% of the artwork is worth a good look (Note: I never like everything!). I gather there was a new set of hangers this year and I think they should be encouraged to do a repeat job next year!

West Gallery


I took photos of all the artwork in the exhibition and 
  • my photos include the artwork I liked - as single artwork photos. It's always interesting to see which aligned with the views of the Judges. Plus there's commentary on some of the photos.

More about the exhibition after the innovations highlighted below!

The Buyers' Preview

The East Gallery

In addition, this is a Society which has reintroduced the Buyers Preview - which had been held the previous day - so when I turned up at midday yesterday, there were already a lot of red dots to see on the walls!

That's because known buyers / collectors appreciate being pampered like the VIPS they are - and a good levels of sales generally follows!
 
Being able to walk around an exhibition without the hordes is a wonderful feeling - and one which other FBA societies would do well to encourage by reintroducing the Buyers Previews which most used to have.

The new Commissions Room


The new dedicated commission room

This exhibition is always rather special as most portrait artists make their income through commissions and you have to work hard to generate commissions.

A really great innovation this year is a new and much more PRIVATE commissions room in the far room of the North Gallery. It provides an opportunity for proper conversations which are not being earwigged by those standing nearby - which I'm sure those about the spend a lot of money will appreciate!

If there was any criticism, it would be that I'd have liked to see a far more signs around the gallery, highlighting where it is.

Review of the Exhibition


I'll repeat a couple of things which I wrote last year - becasue they bear repeating
Overall, this is an exhibition which displays one genre - portraiture - of a very high standard - with a wide diversity of subjects, styles, sizes and media.

I recommend that all those aspiring to be selected for a future RP Annual Exhibition should pay particular attention to the following when viewing the artwork 
  • this is a very competitive open exhibition.
  • the kind of portraits selected for the exhibition - particularly those by non-members.
  • the quality of the artwork - which is very high
  • the media used i.e. there are drawings in a variety of media as well as paintings.

218 artworks

I think one of the reasons it looks good is that this is an exhibition of 218 works. 
  • This is less than half the number of works exhibited in some of the recent shows by other societies . In those I stopped being able to see the art properly - because there was just TOO MUCH ART!  
  • Reducing the number - as in this exhibition - takes account of: 
    • the size of some of the artwork (commissions tend to be big!) 
    • but also allows for respectful hanging and decent distances.
This wall included some very significant commissons


The Mall Wall in the West Gallery - most were one row deep.

Some members, like John Wonnacott, provide an opportunity for an unusual triptych

Small works

The Messanine Wall

This year the small works were mostly in two groups - closely hung - which I thought worked very well
  • one group on the Messanine Wall - were mainly members and standout work by open artists. I liked the fact there were only three rows and no effort had been made to squeeze in another row - because they were small!
  • another group was on a wall in the North Gallery where I thought they looked very effective. I liked the fact there was a bench in there so people could sit and look at their leisure.
Small works in the North Gallery

I should explain that despite what I'd said already,  I am a fan of the crowded hang, when it's grouped in such a way that it looks coherent (i.e. how I hang my artwork on my walls - close together but in themes).

The Monochrome Drawing Wall


Not all the drawings were on this wall, but there was a good representation of different media and different approaches to drawing in monochrome - notably by open artists.

these drawings are all by open artists - who generally set a high standard

Framing

I very much liked the way some of the darker paintings in black frames were hung together in the North Gallery - the wall had a huge impact as a result.

The darker paintings in black frames - hung together have a great visual impact

I do think that it would be constructive if the RSPP reminded their members (again) about the type of framing which works best. What does NOT work is a very traditional frame on a very contemporary portrait.  I saw evidence of good portraits let down by their frames. Not a lot, in fact the fact there wasn't a lot made those that were jump out.

For example, with the painting below I love the painting and hate the frame when they are combined together.

Love the painting and hate the frame


About the Exhibition

The Exhibition can be seen as follows:
  • Venue: Mall Galleries 
  • Dates: 8 May 2025 - 17 May 2025 
  • Hours: 10am to 5pm
  • Admission:  £6, Free for Friends of Mall Galleries and under 25s. Concessions available. No booking required.
  • Buy the catalogue / read the e-catalogue

The Last 17 Years: Past Annual Exhibitions (2007-2024)


Posted by Making A Mark on Thursday, May 08, 2025
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