Wednesday, August 13, 2025

Portrait Award 2025: The 10 portraits I liked the most

This is a post about the ten portraits I like the best in the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2025 at the National Portrait Gallery. 

I've been reviewing the Portrait Award at the NPG since 2008 (see end)
  • I generally walk out of the Awards Night Viewing knowing which portraits have made a big impression on me - and they are not necessarily the winners. (see Moira Cameron wins the £35K HSF Kramer Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery)
  • It's then interesting to go back the next morning for the Press View morning to see whether I still think the same
  • I then get to think about the portraits again when I'm writing Portrait Award 2025 - Artists with their paintings - but of course that, in part, depends on whether the artist was there and could be spotted (some artists have not yet worked out yet that the buttons they are given to wear can generate them publicity!)
  • I visited again earlier this month to see whether I still felt the same. This time to also make sure that I looked at every single portrait properly - because sometimes the impression you get depends on size and where they are hung - and my list changed!
I think it very likely that one of the ten portrait paintings you can see below will be the winner of the Visitor's Choice Award.

I'm also still waiting to hear which artist, from last year's exhibition and this one, has won the award of a commission by the NPG......

The Ten Portrait Paintings I liked the best


A strong "blokey" corner of the exhibition

I've got two lists. The one I wrote down after the Press View and the one I wrote when I visited the exhibition again at the beginning of this month. Nine are the same - I changed just one (and I'm not going to say which!). 

You will find bios for most of these artists in my last post about artists with their paintings.

So that says something for my taste I guess and/or the impact of the paintings listed below.

I need to emphasise that my personal view is that, in general, you need to know the person to want to hang a portrait (as opposed to a figurative painting) in your own home. It's very rare to create a portrait of a person which you would hang as art as opposed to a painting. Which is not to say portraits are not good art - but does serve to explain why portrait commissions are the life blood of most portrait painters.

It's a challenge to make people really interested in a portrait......
Those entering this competition must ponder long and hard about what makes a difference....

Do not read anything in to the order of the portraits presented below. There is nothing significant about the way they are listed, however I have decided to group them by size.
  • Big
  • Small
  • Large Medium
  • Small Medium
At this point I will comment that I think the National Portrait Gallery does all of the artists a major disservice by failing to state on the website or the label in the gallery what the dimensions of the portrait are. It essentially means online viewers have no idea whatsoever which are large and which are small.

It's one of the reasons I feel the need to do my post about artists with their portraits. That's because there is a HUMONGOUS DIFFERENCE in the size of different selected portraits - but you'd never ever know it if all you had to go on was the images on the website!

It was also impossible to buy the catalogue (which, from recollection, had the dimensions) when I went back - because they'd run out! How can you run out of a catalogue which is on exhibition for another 11 WEEKS?!! 

(PS Same thing had happened with the Jenny Saville Catalogue. I think somebody in NPG catalogue ordering needs a performance review and/or retraining!)

The Big Portraits I liked


The big omission here is the winner. It just did nothing for me and I'm not going to pretend it did. I think the winner this year was a significant work of art but wasn't really in the same portrait competition as the rest of the exhibitors. It was different - but was it the best? I thought there were others which were less substantial but which I liked better...........

Ollie and Orlando (The New York Couple)


Ollie and Orlando (The New York couple
by Lucille Dweck
(oil on linen)

The portrait I kept coming back to - because of its unusual subjects and their pose - was "Ollie and Orlando". The fact I also met them both (you can see them in my Artists with their Portraits post) also means I know what a good portrait it is.
The symmetry and contrast of this carefully composed portrait expresses the nature of the relationship represented.
Bottom line, it's a very unusual portrait of two great big American blokes who have an intimate relationship - and you just know it's real!

Lucille is also a great painter of fabric and clothing

The quilted shorts of Ollie and Orlando

Cliff, Outreach Worker


Cliff, Outreach Worker
by Tim Benson PPROI

Cliff has quite a profound facial difference, however while this portrait indicates it accurately, it does not make this a "feature" of the portrait - which is the way this should be.

Tim Benson works with a big brush and creates big brush marks which are essentially sculptural. He won second prize with this approach and composition and execution and the Judges commented as follows.
The judges were impressed by Benson's expressive and sculptural use of paint to build a likeness. They felt that the intense focus on his sitter's face, the dignity bestowed on the sitter and the celebration of difference, combined with the over life-size scale, creates a powerful encounter.
In fact, this is very definitely a portrait for those who luxuriate in brushmarks to enjoy. I took a photograph of the painting from the side - to see what it showed about the brushmarks

A side view of Tim Benson's brushmarks

Two dogs (Portrait of David Hockney Inspired by Whistler's Mother)


Two Dogs (Portrait of David Hockney Inspired by Whistler's Mother)
By Brenda Zlamany
Oil on linen, 2024

I wouldn't be in the least surprised if Brenda Zlamany's painting is not ranked high in the running for the Visitors' Choice award. One of the UK's favourite artists and dogs - what's not to like?

Seriously though, this portrait made me smile. It capture an artist in repose who seems to be rather enjoying himself being the sitter rather than the portrait artist.  To me it looks very much like an NPG Commission!

The Small Portraits I liked


It's very difficult for small portraits to compete with large ones. I sometimes think it's amazing they even get accepted!  Then you remember the size of Vermeer and Van Eyck and remember smaller sometimes means better....

This year, there are some real powerhouse small portraits.

Christiano


Christiano
by Steve Caldwell
Acrylic on Board, 30 x 20cm

THIS IS A SMALL PAINTING which only serves to make it more impressive. He typically paints 30x24cm and this one is just a tad smaller.

It's absolutely no surprise to me that Steve Caldwell has been previously selected for the Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in 2014, 2015 and 2020. He's a very meticulous hyperrealist - of the kind who make you think it's a painting and not a photo! 

I missed Steve when he and I were in the gallery at the same time. However he recognised me outside on press view morning and we had a good old chinwag about the Portrait Award and how it had changed!

Now take a gander at the technical skill of his rendition of skin and hair.

Skin and eyes by Steve Caldwell
Hair by Steve Caldwell - most of the hairs get painted!

Steve Caldwell (b.1971) undertook foundation studies at Wirral Metropolitan
College and an HND in medical illustration at the North East Wales Institute.
His work has been seen in group exhibitions including the annual exhibitions of: 
  • the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (2014, 2017-25) and 
  • the BSA Portrait Prize (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2024). 
He was previously selected for the Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in 2014, 2015 and 2020.

...and this is Steve!


The Echo - Self Portrait


The Echo - Self Portrait
by Pippa Hale-Lynch
(oil on panel)

I've got an investment in this one. I told Pippa Hale-Lynch at the ROI Annual Exhibition last year that she needed to apply for the Portrait Award as she was very definitely good enough.

I now need to tell her to apply AGAIN next year with a much bigger portrait. I think she's got it within her to be a prizewinner in the future - and I have a VERY good track record of spotting prizewinners.

I do like to see a woman who likes to take risks....

The Echo (second from left) in context 


Large Medium Size Portraits


Inset Day


Inset Day
by Yvadney Davis
Acrylic on canvas

This portrait by Yvadney Davis has been used as one of the signature portraits for the exhibition - and hence has been seen by many on the adverts for the exhibition around London.

I posted this pic (taken by Yvadney's friend) on my Facebook page and got one of the highest number of likes for the pic that I've had for a long time. It had well over 700 likes last time I looked - which is the most of any of the pics I've posted from the exhibition.

From which I conclude that the subject and the title connects immediately with any parent.

Bottom line, you cannot do better than to find a way to paint a portrait which connects with those looking at the portrait.

Of course, credit for this goes to Yvadney's daughter! She was the one that wanted to be in the picture too. Yvadney is currently on the six week equivalent of "Inset Day" aka as the school holidays!

I think it stands a very good chance of being one of the paintings with the most votes in the Visitors Choice Award.

Lord and Master


Lord and Master
by Kevin Kane
oil on board
the artist and sitter met at a charity event. "Immediately connecting over shared experiences as gay Catholics growing up in suburban Glasgow"

What amused me about Kevin Kane's portrait, was the "ambience" of classic old money - and yet there's a "rebel biker" hat well known to the male gay company on top of the bookcase and an image of a naked male in the bookcase. Suggesting a certain frisson....

Layers is the word that comes to the mind. I do like portraits which on the face of it say one thing - but look for the clues and there's a lot more to them. The artist is playing with the viewer, which is always a great way of generating engagement with an artwork,

Part of "Lord and Master" by Kevin Kane


Light and Shadow


Light and Shadow
By Shinji lhara
Oil on canvas mounted panel 91 x 72.7 cm

Shinji Ihara has painted his partner two years in succession for this competition - and been selected both times. His submissions have been enigmatic portraits of their life and his partner on both occasions. This year his portrait also includes a self portrait of himself - via his shadow and the Van Eyck style mirror held by his partner.

I just really like his paintings. They are always unusual and always tell a story. (You can see more on his website - in the we were here series) My job is to work out what it is....
I continue to paint portraits of my partner in our home as my life's work
Sadly no white cat this year....

Small Medium Portraits


Portrait of a Sculptor


This was the first painting I saw on Awards Night that I made a point of taking a photo of just the portrait. It's truly arresting. That was how much I was impressed. 

It "knocks your socks off"! The intricacy is amazing and yet it is underpinned by a design which grabs your eyes and keeps them focused - before they start travelling and marvelling at the content.

I'd have made it a prizewinner.

By Dide
Oil on canvas

Dide's portrait was very definitely part of my top ten - but going back to look at it again, I salivated even more at the mark-making in the portrait (there is a reason why my blog is so named!).

This is just the boot - and hopefully you can see how much is individual lines of paint - piecing together form, tone, wrinkles, paint drips and general wear and tear.

Likewise with the floor....

The boot in "Portrait of a Sculptor" by Dide

James
James
by Joshua Waterhouse
(oil on panel)

One of the reasons I like this one is because I've seen "the other two portraits" - because this is part of a triptych! I saw the other two portraits by Joshua Waterhouse RP at the Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters.

I'm always impressed by people who take on diptychs and triptychs. 

In this instance, I'm also very impressed by an artist who can paint hair and glasses properly!

James: the hair and the eyes


The exhibition continues at the National Portrait Gallery until 10th October 2025.

I'm going again on Monday with my god-daughter and a young relative!
  • If you visit you can read the reasons why the Judges selected the portrait
  • If you're restricted to online, the NPG in their wisdom have not repeated the explanation online - as they have done in previous years. 

In conclusion

  • What did you think of my top 10?
  • Did you have a different top 10?
Please come along and comment on my Facebook Page


REFERENCE Previous posts about the Portrait Award 2007-2025


Many of the portrait artists selected for the exhibition commented that they'd found out about the exhibition, its background and how to do well by reading my blog posts and looking at past exhibitions in the posts below.

These are all my previous blog posts going back to 2007 about this competition

HFS Kramer Portrait Award 2025

HFS Portrait Award 2024

Gap while the National Portrait Gallery was closed for a major refurbishment - and a subsequent change of sponsor

BP Portrait Award 2020 

(this was VIRTUAL EXHIBITION ONLY because of Covid)

BP Portrait Award 2019

BP Portrait Award 2018

BP Portrait Award 2017

BP Portrait Award 2016


Clara Drummond - Winner on 2016

Portrait Award 2015

BP Portrait Award 2014

BP Portrait Award 2013



BP Portrait Award 2012


Aleah Chapin - Winner in 2012

BP Portrait Award 2011

BP Portrait Award 2010

BP Portrait Award 2009

BP Portrait Award 2008

BP Portrait Award 2007




Posted by Making A Mark on Wednesday, August 13, 2025
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