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Portrait Award Catalogue 2026 - as advertised on the NPG website
Every year I usually get the catalogue of The Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery. I use it when writing my review of the exhibition. You'll note no review to date....
However this year there have been two major mishaps
The Printing Error
The "ready to ship" date.
The Printing Error
This year, 2026, the catalogue, sponsored by Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, was found to have a serious error in the original printed version.
Now printing errors in museum publications are not unheard of
many are relatively minor (eg a name spelt incorrectly) and
they are normally corrected in the next print -
and an errata slip put in the edition with the error.
My guess as to why the original catalogue was NOT released at all is that it the error is too significant/important - and this most likely reason is it involves the sponsor's name.
The name that keeps changing. It started as "Herbert Smith Freehills" - and last year it became "Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer".
That's important enough to stop the release of a catalogue.
The alternative might be that the colours were badly wrong. Except, as somebody who used to be responsible for producing marketing material for my professional qualification, I know that sort of error gets caught very easily at the proofs stage. So long as you have somebody competent doing the job and piping up as soon as they spot a problem.
Approving proofs is the signal to "go to print".
When I did it, my publications lady did all the checking - but the proofs were signed off by me after I had checked them carefully too. It's much too expensive to get wrong hence all mistakes have to be spotted!
So I can only assume that whoever was responsible for collating, drafting, designing and checking - and double checking and authorising - the catalogue proofs did not do their job properly.
That's a very expensive mistake. That's because once you have approved the proofs, you are agreeing liability for the costs of the print run. Which means NPG will be charged for that error and in effect will have paid for the catalogue twice.
For the record, I did ask what the print error - but was nobody knew and/or was prepared to say.
The "Ready to Ship" date
I was thinking of going into the NPG today to pick up a catalogue. However I wasn't optimistic it would be there (I know how long print runs take - particularly if a job is contracted out to Asian printers as many are - ships take a long time to dock!) so checked the website first.
That's when I found the page related to the Portrait Award Catalogue for sale in the shop.
Which states
Expected to ship from 29 July 2026.
That's seven weeks late - given the exhibition opened to the public on 25th June.
I'm very pleased to report that one of the art societies at the Mall Galleries - the Royal Society of Marine Artists - has opened its annual exhibition - with ALL relevant information online.
Royal Society of Marine Artists - cover of Catalogue of the Annual Exhibition 2025 at the Mall Galleries
I spent the first few years of reviewing annual exhibitions by FBA Societies asking Presidents and officers why they didn't have all relevant information online at the start of the exhibition e.g.
A lot of progress has been made in the years since - notably all the artwork now being online before the exhibition and also available for sale - but it's still irritating to see when marketing opportunities are lost for both art society and artists.
Hence, it's a real pleasure to go to the Mall Galleries website this morning and find everything I want to see on the RSMA page - BEFORE I visit the exhibition of the Royal Society of Marine Artists today!
A review of the exhibition will follow either tomorrow or at the weekend.
You can view the artwork of all the award winners online - see below
You can see entries for all the artwork selected in the catalogue - see below.
and so.....
Award Winners at the Royal Society of Marine Artists Annual Exhibition
You can find the images of the artwork and the names of the artists that won prizes
on the Mall Galleries website - Click the "View Award Winners" button on this page
in the catalogue - see below
The latter means that some of the award winners must have been chosen some time in advance because of the time required to set up and print a catalogue.
Catalogue of the RSMA Annual Exhibition 2025
You can buy the catalogue or read the e-catalogue without visiting the exhibition.
Most of the FBA societies now use Issuu to provide a very pleasing e-catalogue online for viewing all the pages in the catalogue - including the lists of all all the artwork.
Examples of work by non members
The online catalogue is particularly useful for those thinking of applying in future as it gives you a good sense of
not only some of the artwork by non members - and the media used
but also the pricing by non members who were selected (ie those artists without RSMA after their name in the list of artworks at the end).
I noted that it seems many artists people have become more realistic in pricing of late - but I'll look at this in more detail in a subsequent post about sales.
One more thing....security!
One more thing which does still need fixing!
The website of the Royal Society of Marine Artists is INSECURE.
As in its prefix is http rather than https - meaning
Google will look down its nose at it and will not give it a high ranking in its search listings
You need the https prefix to encrypt your communication with a website, using the secure protocol Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) to protect your data from eavesdropping and tampering. This security is provided by an SSL certificate and ensures your information, such as passwords and payment details, remains private between your browser and the server. In addition to user trust and data integrity, search engines like Google prioritize HTTPS-secured sites, which can also improve your website's search engine ranking.
By and large I usually make it a rule now never to look at http websites.
Best to stick to the Mall Galleries website for the exhibition where you can now find all you need to know - until RSMA invests in a new website!
"Notes to myself on beginning a painting" by Richard Diebenkorn
Richard Diebenkorn was an introspective man who remained skeptical of
his success as an artist throughout his life. Over the years he spent
countless hours sitting in a favorite chair in his studio, contemplating
and looking. Perhaps it was there that he wrote thoughts that came to
mind on nearby pieces of paper, some torn from other uses.
The Diebenkorn Foundation
These notes were found on paper in his studio after his death.They're listed BELOW. You can also see a digitised version of the handwritten notes in the link
above.
Attempt what is not certain. Certainty may or may not come later. It may
then be a valuable delusion.
The pretty, initial position which falls short of completeness is not to
be valued – except as a stimulus for further moves.
DO search.
Use and respond to the initial fresh qualities but consider them
absolutely expendable.
Don’t “discover” a subject – of any kind.
Somehow don’t be bored but if you must, use it in action. Use its
destructive potential.
Mistakes can’t be erased but they move you from your present position.
Keep thinking about Pollyanna.
Tolerate chaos.
Be careful only in a perverse way.
I first came across them
on the RA website
in relation to their exhibition of his work in 2015.
They're not the conventional dictums which appear again and again in many
instruction books about painting. Some are impenetrable to people who are
not Americans or not of a certain age
For example "Keep thinking about Pollyanna" only becomes clear when
you understand that Pollyanna is a character in a 1913 novel by Eleanor
H. Porter AND that she is an orphan with an unjustifiably optimistic
attitude.
To me they're indicative of the characteristics of right brain thinking and an aversion to the factual, structured, linear, systematic approach associated with left brain thinking.
In fact they're the complete antithesis of "step by step" instruction. It's about an attitude of mind which seeks to be open to possibilities rather than learning systems for creating a painting.
This is a video of Diebenkorn speaking about beginning a painting.
The Official
Obama Portraits Tourhas been organised by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery with the aim
of reaching many people who would otherwise be unable to see the portraits.
From the moment of their unveiling at the Smithsonian’s National
Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C., in February 2018, the official
portraits of President Barack Obama and Mrs. Michelle Obama have
become iconic. Kehinde Wiley’s portrait of President Obama and Amy
Sherald’s portrait of the former First Lady have inspired
unprecedented responses from the public.
and
After witnessing a woman drop to her knees in prayer before the
portrait of Barack Obama, one guard said, "No other painting gets the
same kind of reactions. Ever."
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (March 27-May 30, 2022). no details published as yet
The choice of cities have been chosen for a mix of reasons - including
both geographical and personal connections to the Obamas or the
artists.
The Obama Portraits Tour will also feature
audio-visual elements,
Portrait Gallery-led teacher workshops,
curatorial presentations, and
a richly illustrated book (National Portrait Gallery and Princeton
University Press).
Exhibition Catalogue: The Obama Portraits
If you are interested in the two portraits and can't get to see the
portraits at either the Smithsonian or any of the five venues the
portraits are touring to, you might want to consider acquiring the
catalogue.
Front cover of "The Obama Portraits"
by TaÃna Caragol, Dorothy Moss, Richard Powell and Kim Sajet
The links below are to Amazon and will help fund the replacement for Google
shutting down feedburner for email subscriptions to this blog (when I identify it!)
Each week a different theme – portraits, animals, fantasy, view from my
window, home, Britain – was explored.
Each week an enormous number of people around the country submitted their
artwork for the theme that week.
He received nearly 10,000 entries, an overwhelming response to his call
out. The variety of entries – using canvas, paper, photography, sculpture
and mixed media – showed the imagination, skill and creativity of the
nation. These works, alongside those of Grayson Perry, Philippa Perry and
the invited artists and celebrities, will be on show in the exhibition. (Manchester Art Gallery)
The good news is that a second series will return to Channel 1 in 2021.
Hopefully sooner rather than later.
Grayson's Art Club: The Exhibition
the exhibition will track the journey the series took as it unleashed
the nation’s collective creativity under the constraints of lockdown.
(Channel 4 Briefing)
Grayson's Art Club: The Exhibition
- of the works by the public selected by Grayson from those submitted during
the television series - and those made by guest celebrities - has been hung
at Manchester Art Gallery.
All the works on display are very personal visual representations of
lockdown, made by the public, well-known artists and celebrities for
Grayson’s Art Club. This celebration of creativity in people’s homes chronicled the
changing moods of Britain in isolation, providing a unique record of this
globally experienced extraordinary time.
The FREE exhibition should have opened on Wednesday 25 November 2020 and run
until Sunday 18 April 2021.
Then the second lockdown struck - and the Gallery had to postpone the opening.
When it finished Manchester was still under ervere Tier 3 restrictions - so
Manchester Art Gallery still cannot open.
However the current restriction allow the making of television programmes
inside art galleries - and Channel 4 got permission to make the end of the
programme which was broadcast last night on Channel 4.
The Exhibition will open when it can. Tickets will be required.
Alongside the public’s artworks, the exhibition will feature pieces by celebrities Jenny Eclair, Noel Fielding, Harry Hill, Jessica Hynes, Joe Lycett, Kevin McLeod, Jim Moir (aka Vic Reeves), Liza Tarbuck, and artists Jeremy Deller, Antony Gormley, Maggi Hambling, Chantal Joffe, Martin Parr, Raqib Shaw, David Shrigley and the Singh Twins.
I hope it comes to London too - and maybe tour the country if they can some
sponsorship?
Grayson's Art Club: The Exhibition (on television)
Grayson Perry with his wife Philippa
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED VIEWING
I watched
Grayson's Art Club: The Exhibition
- the last episode of the first series of Grayson's Art Club on Channel 4 this
morning over breakfast.
Here's a video trailer....
What's very special is that he visited a number of the artists - from a safe
distance - and saw where they made their artwork and met the artists and heard
what about what the programme meant to them.
This was prior to moving on to the plans for exhibition at Manchester Art
Gallery. As he explained exhibitions normally take two years to organised -
whereas this one was organised in about six month. Plus more artists have
contributed art than any other exhibition they'd had at the gallery in a very
long while....
I spent the last part of the programme with a smile on my face and with with
very wet eyes as the works were hung at Manchester Art Gallery and looked - as
renowned RA Summer Exhibitor Harry Hill said "It looks just like a real art exhibition".
I find it absolutely amazing that ordinary people - responding in a way that seemed best to them - should have an opportunity to record the pandemic - such a very unique time in our social history - through some exceptionally creative artwork.
My favourite piece by "proper artists" was the illuminated (in more ways than one) artwork - done in the manner of an illuminated book - by the Singh Twins - who I am an enormous fan of. The artwork NHS V Covid-19:Fighting on Two Fronts, 2020 (Slaves of Fashion Series) is also available as a print from their website - as a not inexpensive fine art giclee print and an expensive signed limited edition.
In essence it pays tribute to NHS and other frontline healthcare workers whilst presenting a satirical look at the UK Government's handling of the crisis and also challenging notions of Britishness. Special emphasis is given to the contribution of and additional risk to BAME carers working within the health sector. The main focus of the composition is an Asian nurse depicted as a modern day St George, riding a horse, with lance in hand and battling the Covid-19 virus dragon on the edge of the white cliffs of Dover. Boris Johnson is shown straddling the horse just behind the nurse, thrusting a knife into her back, whilst pulling on the horse's reins. This imagery, together, with another detail (depicting Theresa May brandishing a 'Brexit Sale', 'NHS Workers' Rights' placard and a parliamentary bill voting down a pay rise for nurses), point to the hypocrisy of a government which claps for the NHS in public but whose policy and attitude towards public sector emergency services over the years (and across different governments) has hindered and caused injury to the NHS.
it's not published until 17th December so I'm ordering in advance
It's already made #1 on the Museums and Art Collections (exhibitions and collection catalogues) listing on Amazon UK! I guarantee it will go even higher......
It's an excellent record of a very odd and very challenging time.
is going on my Christmas list as one of my stocking fillers! 