National Portrait Gallery opens entries for the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2026

Entries of painted portraits to the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award are welcome from artists aged 18 and over until Tuesday 6 January.

Shortlisted works will form part of the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award exhibition and will be displayed at the National Portrait Gallery from 25 June to 7 October 2026.

The National Portrait Gallery has opened calls for entries for the prestigious Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2026, supported by headline sponsor, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer. Celebrating contemporary portraiture from around the world, entries are open from Monday 13 October 2025 to Tuesday 6 January 2026, to all artists aged 18 and over. For this and future iterations of the Portrait Award, entrants will be able to submit new works that have been completed in the past two years. Artists entering this year’s Award are therefore invited to submit artworks that have been completed after 1 January 2024.

The Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award is one of the most important platforms for portrait painters. The highly successful competition aims to encourage artists over the age of 18 to focus upon, and develop, the theme of portraiture in their work. Since its inception, the competition has attracted over 40,000 entries from more than 100 countries, and the exhibition has been seen by over six million people.

£35,000 will be awarded to the winner, one of the largest prizes for any global art competition. The second prize winner receives £12,000 and the third prize winner is awarded £10,000. The Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award will also include a Young Artist Award, which will see a prize of £9,000 awarded to an entrant aged between 18 and 30, profiling their talent and supporting the development of their practice.

Full competition rules and guidance for digital submission can be found online at npg.org.uk/hsfkramerportraitaward. The Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award exhibition will be displayed at the National Portrait Gallery from 25 June until 7 October 2026.