Kate Bryan is no longer a Judge for Artist of the Year

You, like me, may have missed the announcement from Kate Bryan that she has stepped down from being a Judge for Artist of the Year Programmes created by Storyvault Films for Sky Arts.  She's been a Judge for both series for 13 years.

• That's Portrait Artist of the Year 
• as well as Landscape Artist of the Year - which was announced last June - see A new Judge for Landscape Artist of the Year!

The announcement came via a post on her Instagram account (see below) - and NOT via the Artist of the Year account.  Which I thought very odd. Normally any well planned announcement goes live contemporaneously. 

(The latter was of course in the middle of its social media marketing in the week run up to the launch of the 11th Series of Landscape Artist of the Year - and you don't "pull focus" on one of your major social media plans!)

Here's the text of the announcement

Post on Kate Bryan's Instagram account 5 days ago (Sunday?)

What's very unclear is what's next

I'd love to know the reason why....

It's a Goodbye rather than a See You All Later.

Given the timing, I wounder whether it might be linked to an annual renewal of a contract - or not as the case might be.

People normally have a plan, a Grand Plan or at the very least a "to do" list before jumping ship.  However, based on her website and Instagram, it's unclear what Kate Bryan's is - as her message above says nothing. Her website also needs a major update. 

So my queries start with:

• Does her Curatorship of the  ever growing Art Collection for Soho House now require more of her time
• Is she trimming and refining her portfolio of interests and client and making them more focused and profitable?
• Is there something completely new in the offing?
• Does she want to spend more time with her daughter?

I have found one thing - and I can well understand why this might be thought of as a bit of a conflict of interests.

There is a new art competition - and I can do no better than to quote from the news I found. Although this was announced last November - with few ripples hence I've only just found it.

A collaborative competition between Hisense and VIDAA Artwork is being run in partnership with Portrait Artist of the Year and Landscape Artist of the year judge Kate Bryan

Launched by TV manufacturer Hisense, the contest has one top prize of £1,000 and a 55” Hisense Canvas TV. The winning piece - along with those of 19 other finalists - will be unveiled at an exclusive exhibition at Dolby House in London.

All 20 creations will then be showcased on Hisense’s new Canvas TV, a 4K QLED television designed to resemble framed artwork. When switched to Art Mode, it turns any living room into a gallery.
Daily Mirror 14 November 2025

Whatever the reasons, Kate Bryan is no more in relation to Artist of the Year. She was my least favourite Judge, by a long way and for a variety of reasons which I won't spell out here.

PLEASE can the next Judge be an active portrait artist

It will be interesting to see who replaces her on Portrait Artist of the Year which kicks off in April.

I can think of any number of portrait artists who would do extremely well in the role.

I'm very happy to make recommendations of people I know who are

• excellent portrait artists;
• with good critical faculties - specifically related to portraiture and commissions; 
• who are also articulate; and 
• "perform" well in front of cameras.

There's another important criteria which I'd be happy to spell out to Storyvault Films.