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Tuesday, February 10, 2026

The NEW Portrait Artist of the Year Judges

The announcement of the NEW Judges for Portrait Artist of the Year was rather weird in terms of timing and what appeared when.

So I decided to defer comment until sure everything that was being published had been published. So below is:
  • An Overview of "What Happened?"
  • The NEW Judges of Portrait Artist of the Year
  • The Major Disconnect around Portraiture re. PAOTY
  • New Judges for Landscape Artist of the Year?
The New Judges for PAOTY in 2026

Commentary on the new format of LAOTY - which has also been announced (on 20th January by Artist of the Year, Tai-Shan Shierenberg and Stephen Mangan) - and what happens re the Judges for that will follow.


What Happened?


There has been a lot of clamour on social media for the Judges to be changed - for various reasons - for quite a while (that's years!).  So it's now happening - but the media roll-out could have been better organised. It has the feel of something which had a few hiccups along the way

My timeline of info (coming and going out) went something like this
  • On 9th January, we had the announcement from Kate Bryan on Instagram that she was longer participating in Artist of the Year. 
    • This appeared on her Instagram Account but NOT the Artist of the Year Accounts. 
    • Which is very unusual, media teams usually arrange to sync re the announcement of any change when this has been a negotiated and amicably agreed. 
    • It also didn't appear on the accounts of the other two Judges. Make of that what you will.
Normally any well planned announcement goes live contemporaneously. (my blog post)
  • The explanation for no announcement from Storyvault Films was probably because they were in the throes of the media publicity run-up to the new series of Landscape Artist of the Year - and you do NOT run two big stories at the same time! I kept looking - in the days afterwards - but the LAOTY news continued to predominate (as one would expect) 
  • On 15th January I published that Kate Bryan is no longer a Judge for Artist of the Year referencing her Instagram post and highlighting that
    • it had previously been announced that she was stepping down from Landscape Artist of the Year - but would carry on with PAOTY
    • but it now included to Portrait Artist of the Year too!
  • On 20th January - once LAOTY was underway, we got another major change announced completely out of the blue - about a major change to Landscape Artist of the Year 
  • Then 0n 29th January an announcement about a refresh and a change in Judges for Portrait Artist of the Year dropped - on Instagram

  • Followed by my post on 30th January Goodbye - ALL THREE Artist of the Year Judges (which I had drafted late the previous evening and set up to publish at 9:30am.
  • Followed 30 minutes later at 10am on 30th January, by the announcement of the NEW Portrait of the Year Judges. Here's the Facebook Announcement 

By which point I'd decided to give Artist of the Year a bit of a break re announcing changes on my blog - just in case there were any more!!

The NEW JUDGES for Portrait Artist of the Year


There are three new Judges for Portrait Artists of the Year. Below I will 
  • summarise the three new Judges below with links to their websites and social media.
  • followed by a commentary by me re the type of Judge that has been chosen and what I'm calling "The major disconnect around Portraiture"
I think Storyvault Films have basically gone with a "more of the same" BUT "bigger and better" than the three existing Judges. They have certainly updated with new younger models.

However they have not introduced more artists and I think the ratio is the wrong way round. Two well established and reputable portrait artists plus a heavyweight in the curatorial/commercial world would be a better balance in my view.

Eva Langret 

I regard her as the bang up to date and heavy weight substitute for Kathleen Soriano. She is a leading figure in the world of contemporary art and has a VERY high profile job as Director of Frieze which places her right at the centre of the current contemporary art fair scene - with a very global perspective.
Since 2019 Langret has been director, first of Frieze London, but now, aged 42, for the whole of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. (Sunday Times Profile 11 October 2025)

I'd have personally thought her current portfolio to be a tad too important to undertake a role like this - but I guess it raises her profile and expands her potential for the future into television and broadcasting generally. 

The promo image re the announcement of the new judges
Eva Langret
One of the leading voices in contemporary art, Eva Langret is Director for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa for Frieze — one of the world’s most influential art fairs. Staged every October in Regent’s Park, Frieze London plays host to the biggest names on the modern art circuit and, through its sister event Frieze Masters, showcases hundreds of years of art history.
Born and raised in Paris, she studied economics at Paris’s Dauphine University before completing a master’s degree in art history at SOAS University of London. Her first job was at 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning, a public art gallery near Brixton that provides a platform for African, Caribbean, and Asian artists. The aim was always to promote art by British people of colour as well as creating outreach and educational opportunities for young people. 

She has latterly expanded her activities well beyond this and has
  • subsequently worked with artists from artists from Africa, south Asia and the Middle East - which have been the major areas of expansion in terms of focus in the elite art market / high end exhibitions in the last decade or more. (Think Tate Modern rather than Tate Britain)
  • become the Director of Frieze London
  • revamped how Frieze London works
  • become the Director of Frieze for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa

She has also been very active in profiling upcoming talent in terms of artists she has identified or those identified by heavyweights in the artworld such as Tracy Emin.

Her PAOTY profile describes her as 

with a brilliant instinct for originality, ambition and artists shaping what comes next

which is pretty much what any intelligent gallery or art fair wants from its curators.  She also very much ticks the diversity box in a number of different ways. 

Expect her to be very interested in those with "diversity" in their background and any undiscovered "talent".

She is also Vice Chair @camdenartcentre and a Trustee of a number of projects

Website: None - only the Frieze website
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/evalangret/
Articles: 

Katy Hessel

Katy to my mind is an art historian who is both young and grounded as well as academic and authoritative - with a talent for making art history accessible and using media and broadcasting to spread the word.  Her media credentials are excellent. 

Sort of a heavy weight "combined Kathleen and Kate"

The promo image re the announcement of the new judges
Katy Hessel

Katy Hessel is a British art historian, broadcaster, author, columnist and curator dedicated to highlighting women artists throughout history. She is best known for 
  • her internationally bestselling book, The Story of Art without Men (2022), which won Waterstones Book of the Year 2022
    • her latest book How To Live An Artful Life: 366 Inspirations from Artists on how to Bring Creativity to Your Everyday (2025).
  • the Instagram account @thegreatwomenartists (473K followers - including me) which she had run since 2015 and 
  • hosting the podcast of the same name - on which she has interviewed many of the great women contemporary artists (check out the episode listing)
  • being a columnist for the Guardian
She is also 
Expect her to be particularly interested in how the women artists do.

website: https://www.thegreatwomenartists.com/
About Katy Hessel
social media: 
Articles:

Jonathan Yeo

The promo image re the announcement of the new judges
Jonathan Yeo

I groaned when I saw his name. He is NOT somebody I would regard as a serious portrait artist - mainly because of how many "celebrity portraits"he paints. He's got good contacts. He's seen as "fashionable".  

Speaking personally, I think he paints very good heads and very good hands - and it's a pity about the bits inbetween and the backgrounds. He should stick to straight heads. Scroll down this page to see what I mean.

He's also another artist who seems to see his future more in terms of having an investment in broadcasting,

I'm also not sure how he is going to cope with two young female powerhouses of the art world! I'm guessing it might well be interesting. Comments from those watching the heats will always be welcome!

PAOTY has chosen to describe him as 
A portrait painter whose work you almost certainly know
I'd describe him as a "popular portrait artist" in more ways than one 
  • he seems to end up doing a lot of portraits of celebrities - which of course, all the amateur portrait painters who love to paint celebrities will love!
  • He's also been very active on the digital screen (see links at end) with
    • BBC Maestro Masterclass where he is a tutor - and if he's not expecting a financial benefit from subscriptions as a result of being a Judge of this programme, I'd be very surprised.
    • YouTube Videos 
    • Facetime Portraits - done live (during Covid) - but still via a screen
Whereas Google AI sums him up as follows
Opinions on his work are divided; critics often praise his technical skill and modern, bold color choices, while others sometimes describe his style as formulaic or a "charm offensive".
He's got a nice endorsement from Nicholas Cullinan on his website - but Cullinan is not a portraiture expert (despite being an ex Director of the NPG i.e. he was there to deliver the building project) and I'd have been much more impressed if it had been a quotation from Sandy Nairne who was an expert in portraiture.

However, anybody who read this recent article in the Times and knows the portrait art market was probably left with a very raised eyebrow - when they got to the signoff re his entry. To me it was just totally out of sync with the prices that his prints of portraits sell for online!
A guide to the best portrait painters in Britain (7 January 2026 | The Times - Luxury Section)
Oil portrait commissions cost from £200,000 to £500,000, depending on the size and complexity of the work. jonathanyeo.com
You may also have read my assessment of one of his recent portraits of the King. see
The King Charles Portrait by Jonathan Yeo. 

Let's sum it up as follows from my perspective - if I were commissioning a portrait for a prestigious institution or individual, Jonathan Yeo would not even be on my shortlist. I know very many much better portrait painters.

It remains to be seen how good he might be as a Judge. I'll call it as I see it, whether he is good or bad.

Where you can find him - he's very much a social media animal.
Articles

The Major Disconnect around Portraiture

In my opinion, there is a major disconnect between 
  • aspirations about what this series might be and what it actually is.  
  • the level the Judges usually operate at - and the level the participating artists operate at
  • the language the Judges (in the past) have used and the language that the viewing public understand.
Bottom line, one of the reasons the series has drawn criticism in the past is because it makes far too little effort to connect the intended focus, the people it employs as Judges and the experience of both participating artists and viewers.

To some extent - I think it's possible they might have just widened the disconnect....

For example:
  • the Art World and Art Market are very big places
    • there are lots of layers and niches which are often very separate from one another. 
    • It reminds me of places which are "exclusive" at the top and much more "inclusive" at the bottom - and they don't meet easily in the middle.
    • the people who commission paintings are the national portrait gallery, some regional galleries (who are all strapped for cash right now) and private clients (often with the assistance service) 
    • curators of art fairs and exhibitions are not people who commission portraits
  • Most of the JUDGES chosen to date have been associated with the rather more elite end of the market 
    • in terms of exhibitions / important art galleries / art fairs / art collectors 
  • Most of the ARTISTS to date vary enormously in experience from complete amateurs who have never even painted from life and are very dependent on digital media to those who are practising professional artists - who haven't had a breakthrough. 
    • I'm the person who goes through all the presence online every heat to provide a profile of each participating artist. I know who these artists are. 
    • Most are exhibiting locally, some get work into national art societies and very occasionally into credible national art competitions.
    • very few are practising professionals making a living from their art in terms of painting people on commission
    • a lot are artists who paint a variety of subjects - and probably just want to be on television
    • a lot are amateur artists who have not done much portrait work
    • those who do well out of the programme are typically those who are decent practising professional artists already who have delivered very competent portraits as submissions and paintings during the competition and have succeeded in raising their profile. See my reviews of what happened next which I published in December
  • Most of the VIEWERS are either practising artists; those who have painted in the past or those who just enjoy art. 
Let's be realistic about how many artists have "succeeded" as portrait artists as a result of participating in these series!

Is there a good fit between the supply side and the demand side?

  • the Artist of the Year series generally is far too obsessed with "discovering new artists" when there are plenty of places you can do that which aren't this competition.
    • The ones who are having success - having done well in the programme - are those who are pursuing the more conventional ways of making progress. what the programme has helped with is profile
    • I can also name quite a few who were NOT selected as heat winners who have been having very successful careers as portrait artists since they participated
  • employing Judges associated with the historical / curatorial / elite / investment oriented end of the art market is not going to bring in a range of relevant knowledge and experience relevant to those who currently tend to practice at the other end of the art market. 
  • making selections on the basis of one or two portraits in isolation is NOT a good way of making choices about the best people to put forward for a place in a heat. (Let's also be realistic about how many artists have "succeeded" as portrait artists as a result of this series)
  • In reality it looks much more like typical "Reality Show" Type Casting - with not unexpected results

NEW Judges for Landscape Artist of the Year??


It's very unclear whether there is going to be a refresh for LAOTY on the judging front as well as the format.

So it's not just Bye Bye to Kate Bryan. Kathleen Soriano and Tai Shan Shierenberg will also NOT be the Judges for the next Series of Portrait Artist of the Year.

Which makes me wonder whether Kathleen and Tai are also not filming Landscape Artist of the Year later this year too. (There's no statement on either of their Instagram accounts)
We await any news about further developments re LAOTY. 

The fact that Tai announced the new format sort of suggests he might still be involved. Plus I don't think Jonathan is going to be assessing landscapes.

Although what the LAOTY series badly needs is at least one very experienced landscape artist of many years experience.  In particular, somebody who is used to painting plein air in all weathers on a regular basis.

That's not Tai.

I could make a very cogent argument for keeping Eva and Tai Shan Shierenberg and getting a second artist as the third Judge who is very focused on working plein air
on

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