Royal Society of Portrait Painters
The aim of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters...
is to promote the practice and appreciation of portraiture.
The RP Annual Exhibition is more than ever a welcoming space for both established and emerging talent. You will see fresh and sometimes surprising work by painters you know well, and you’ll see portraits by artists who are new to you.
The Society of Portrait Painters was founded in 1891. Twenty years later it became the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, with its early membership including John Everett Millais, George Frederick Watts and James McNeil Whistler.
Within its present membership, the Society contains a broad collection of stylistic and intellectual approaches that continue to make a significant contribution to the ongoing tradition of portraiture in Britain today.
The Society vigorously looks to uphold the values and practices of its long and distinguished history. At the same time, it seeks to explore and develop new artistic models and perspectives in this endlessly fascinating and relevant discipline.
Video: From Selection to Exhibition
Call for Entries
Artists are invited to submit work for exhibition alongside members of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters at the RP Annual Exhibition.
Several prizes and awards are available to win.
Prizes & Awards
The William Lock Portrait Prize
Winners
2024: Mark Shields, Companion
2023: Saied Dai RP NEAC, Charlotte
2022: Tania Rivilis, Kupka's Dog
2021: Frances Bell RP, Self Portrait
The Ondaatje Prize for Portraiture
Winners
2024: Andrew James NEAC RP, Reverie
2023: Toby Wiggins RP, Winter's Work; Russell Woodham at rest while laying a hazel hedge in the Dorset Style
2022: Lantian, Man and a Window
2021: Saied Dai RP NEAC, Portrait of the Artist's Wife
2020: Shuang Liu, Woman in a Stadtische Galerie
2019: Peter Kuhfeld RP NEAC, The Executive Chef
2018: James Hague, Mette
2017: Shawn McGovern, James
2016: Lantian D, A Portrait of Roger Scruton
2015: Brian Morris, Upp at Bäcken (Up the Creek)
2014: Jennifer McRae, Conversations with Duncan
2013: Mark Roscoe, Changing Faces Commission: Olivia Roberts
The de Laszlo Foundation Award
Winners
2024: Stefano Curti, Lukas Sheehan
2023: Phoebe-Louise Stewart Carter, Self Portrait in the Winter
2022: Laura Hope, Micheal
2021: Marco Bizzarri, Silente I
2020: Nneka Uzoigwe, Lily Before the Play
2019: Joshua Waterhouse, The Engineer
2018: Emma Hopkins RP, Doreen Wallace
2017: Jamie Routley, Alex Liederman at 17
2016: Stephanie Kullberg, Portrait of Lisa
2015: Lorna May Wadsworth, They Have Lunch Every Tuesday / Conversation Piece: Messrs Corbin & King
2014: Flora Watson, Studio 26
2013: Kelvin Okafor, Melvin
The RP Prize for the Best Small Portrait
Winners
2024: Florence Yuqing RI, Last Letter from Me
2023: Carles Belda, Study for Something Never Ends
2022: Simon Davis RP, Taslima
2021: Will Calver, Self Portrait in Hat
2020: Robbie Wraith RP, Studio Portrait
The Raw Umber Studios Prize
Winners
2024: Nashunmenghe, Elizabeth 2024
2023: Simon Davis RP RBSA, Warren Ellis
The Smallwood Architects Prize for Contextual Portraiture
Winners
2024: Miriam Escofet RP, "What will survive of us..."
2023: Martyn Harris, Paul's Emporium
2022: Catherine Creaney, Care
2021: Sandra Kuck, Portrait Through a Prism
2020: Steven Wood, Sandancer
2019: David Caldwell RP, Joe with Tattoos
2018: Michael Taylor RP, Alana - Figure with Box
2017: David Cobley RP NEAC, Made to Measure
2016: Lyn Gray, Stephen with Bill
2015: Tom Hughes, Living Room with Lamps
