The Royal Society of Portrait Painters is a charity based at Carlton House Terrace, SW1, London that promotes the practice and appreciation of portraiture. Its Annual Exhibition of portraiture is held at Mall Galleries, and it runs a commissions service to help those wanting a portrait throughout the year. Activities include artist Prizes, Awards, demonstrations, workshops, debates and talks. The Society is a member of the

Federation of British Artists The Federation of British Artists (FBA) consists of nine art societies, and is based at Mall Galleries in London where the societies' Annual Exhibitions are held. The societies represent living artists working in the United Kingdom who create co ...

History

The Royal Society of Portrait Painters was founded in 1891 by the leading portrait painters of the day. Being dissatisfied with the selection policies of the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

for its annual exhibition in London, they formed a new body to be concerned solely with portrait painting. Centenary-Catalogue-Cover-web-299x369-243x300

Centenary-Catalogue-Cover-web-299x369-243x300

The first exhibition of the society was held in 1891. The catalogue of that exhibition shows that its committee then consisted of Archibald Stuart-Wortley (Chairman), Hon. John Collier, Arthur Hacker, G. P. Jacomb-Hood, S.J. Solomon,

James Jebusa Shannon Sir James Jebusa Shannon (3 February 1862 – 6 March 1923) was an Anglo-American artist. Life Shannon was born in Auburn, New York, and at the age of eight was taken by his parents to Canada. When he was sixteen, he went to England, where he ...

and

Hubert Vos Hubert Vos (February 15, 1855 – January 8, 1935) was a Dutch painter who was born Josephus Hubertus Vos in Maastricht. He studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels and with Fernand Cormon in Paris. He exhibited widely in Paris ...

. The other members listed were

Percy Bigland Percy Bigland (1856–1926) was an English portrait painter. Life Bigland was the son of Edwin Bigland, of Birkenhead in 1856. He was educated like his brother at the Sidcot School as his family were Quakers. Bigland studied art in Munich in Ger ...

, C. A. Furse, Glazebrook,

John McLure Hamilton John McLure Hamilton (January 31, 1853 Heywood Hardy Heywood Hardy (25 November 1842 – 20 January 1933) was a British artist, in particular an animal painter and painter of horse riding scenes. He also painted landscapes and portraits, especially equestrian portraits. Early life Heywood Har ...

Hubert von Herkomer Sir Hubert von Herkomer (born as Hubert Herkomer; 26 May 1849 – 31 March 1914) was a Bavarian-born British painter, pioneering film-director, and composer. Though a very successful portrait artist, especially of men, he is mainly remembered fo ...

, Henry J. Hudson,

Louise Jopling Louise Jane Jopling (née Goode, previously Romer and later Rowe) (Manchester 16 November 1843 – 19 November 1933) was an English Victorian painting, painter of the Victorian era, and one of the most prominent female artists of her generati ...

, T. B. Kennington, W. Llewellyn, W. M. Loudan,

Arthur Melville Arthur Melville (1855–1904) was a Scottish painter of Orientalist subjects, among others. Early life and art education Arthur Melville was born in Loanhead-of-Guthrie, Forfarshire (now Angus, Scotland) on 10 April 1855. The family moved ...

Anna Lea Merritt Anna Massey Lea Merritt (September 13, 1844 – April 7, 1930) was an American artist from Philadelphia who lived and worked in Great Britain for most of her life. A printmaker and painter of portraits, landscapes, and religious scenes, Merri ...

, F. M. Skipworth, Mrs

Annie Swynnerton Annie Louisa Swynnerton, ARA ( Robinson; 26 February 1844 – 24 October 1933) was a British painter best known for her portrait and symbolist works. She studied at Manchester School of Art and at the Académie Julian, before basing herself i ...

, W. R. Symonds, Mary Waller, Edwin A. Ward,

Leslie Ward Sir Leslie Matthew Ward (21 November 1851 – 15 May 1922) was a British portrait artist and caricaturist who over four decades painted 1,325 portraits which were regularly published by ''Vanity Fair (British magazine), Vanity Fair'', under th ...

(better known as "Spy"), and T. Blake Wirgman. Other early members included Sir

John Everett Millais Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest ...

George Frederick Watts George Frederic Watts (23 February 1817, in London – 1 July 1904) was a British painter and sculptor associated with the Symbolist movement. He said "I paint ideas, not things." Watts became famous in his lifetime for his allegorical work ...

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...

Augustus John Augustus Edwin John (4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961) was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sarge ...

and

James McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...

. Women were eligible for membership from the start. At the Coronation Exhibition of 1911, which marked its 20th anniversary, it was announced that King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother ...

had conferred on the society the status of a Royal Society, and it has been known as the Royal Society of Portrait Painters since then. ''The Times'' said on 22 April 2006:

Activities

Portrait Commissions Service

To encourage the genre of portrait painting, they offer a portrait commissions service.

Annual Exhibition

The Society holds an Annual Exhibition, which takes place every year at the

Mall Galleries Mall commonly refers to a: * Shopping mall * Strip mall * Pedestrian street * Esplanade Mall or MALL may also refer to: Places Shopping complexes * The Mall (Sofia) (Tsarigradsko Mall), Sofia, Bulgaria * The Mall, Patna, Patna, Bihar, India * ...

, The Mall, by Trafalgar Square, London. A major showcase for some 200 recent portraits it is the largest contemporary portrait exhibition in the UK. It is formed by a cohort of work by distinguished members alongside works by non-member artists who have successfully competed to be included in the show. Unlike other shows, the works are entirely selected by portrait painters. The exhibition aims to include the best of a wide variety of styles in painted and drawn media.

Prizes and Awards

Many prizes are awarded via the Annual Exhibition. These include The William Lock Portrait Prize worth £20,000,the Ondaatje Prize for Portraiture, the Prince of Wales Award for Portrait Drawing, the Burke's Peerage Foundation Prize and the de Laszlo Foundation Prize, and the Smallwood Architects Prize.

Learning

The Society also holds portrait demonstrations, workshops, talks and tours.

Collections

The People's Portrait Collection

The People's Portraits Collection owned by the society was founded in 2000 as a millennial exhibition. The idea was to represent ordinary people from all walks of life, and thereby offer a picture of the United Kingdom as it moved from the 20th century into the 21st. Each portrait is donated by a Member and Members continue to add to this collection. The Collection has been housed at

Girton College Girton College is one of the Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1 ...

(one of the 31 constituent colleges of the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

) since 2002 as a long-term loan, and is open to the public every day.Girton College: The People’s Portraits Exhibition
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Membership

Members

* Alastair Adams PPRP (Hon Archivist, Treasurer)
Frances Bell
RP * Jane Bond RP NEAC * Jason Bowyer RP PPNEAC * Paul Brason RP *

Keith Breeden Keith Breeden RP (born 25 March 1956) is a graphic designer and portraitist. He is a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. Early life Keith attended St. Wilfred's Primary in Northwich from 1962 to 1967 before attending St Ambrose Col ...

RP * Peter Brown RP NEAC PS ROI Hon. RBA * George Bruce (Past President) * David Caldwell RP * Tom Coates RP PPNEAC PPPS RWS *

David Cobley David Cobley (born 27 June 1954) is an English portrait and figure painter and founder oBath Artists' Studios Early life David Hugh Cobley was born in Northampton in 1954. He grew up in Higham Ferrers and was educated at the county primary sc ...

RP NEAC RWA
Anthony Connolly
RP (President) * Saied Dai RP NEAC * Sam Dalby RP * Simon Davis VPRP RBSA (Hon Secretary) * Frederick Deane RP *

Andrew Festing Andrew Thomas Festing MBE PPRP (born 30 November 1941) is a British portrait painter, and fellow and former president of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. Life Andrew Festing was born on 30 November 1941, the third son of four boys of F ...

PPRP MBE * Richard Foster PRP (Past President) * David Graham RP * Valeriy Gridnev RP PS ROI *

Herbert James Gunn Sir Herbert James Gunn RA RP (30 June 1893– 30 December 1964) was a Scottish landscape and portrait painter. Early life Sir Herbert James Gunn (also known as Sir James Gunn) was born in Glasgow on 30 June 1893, the son of Richard Gunn, a dr ...

RA RP (Past President) * Robin-Lee Hall (Past President) * James Hague RP * Geoffrey Hayzer RP * Emma Hopkins RP * Sheldon Hutchinson RP * Andrew James RP * Brendan Kelly RP * Peter Kuhfeld RP NEAC *

June Mendoza June Yvonne Mendoza, AO, OBE, RP, ROI, HonSWA (born 1924) is an Australian portrait painter, working mainly in oil. Early life June Mendoza was born in Melbourne, Australia. Her parents, John Morton and Dot (née Mendoza), were both musi ...

AO OBE RP ROI Hon. SWA * Anthony Morris RP NEAC * Tom Phillips RA Hon. RP * Anastasia Pollard RP * David Poole PPRP ARCA * Mark Roscoe RP * Susan Ryder RP NEAC *

Tai-Shan Schierenberg Tai-Shan Schierenberg (born 1962) is a British portrait painter, based in London. He was the joint winner of the 1989 BP Portrait Award and is Head of Painting at the Art Academy in London. Early life and career Tai-Shan Schierenberg was born i ...

Hon. RP * Melissa Scott-Miller RP NEAC * Stephen Shankland RP * Jeff Stultiens RP * Benjamin Sullivan RP NEAC * Jason Sullivan RP * Michael Taylor RP *

Daphne Todd Daphne Todd OBE (born 27 March 1947) is an English artist who was the first female President of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters from 1994–2000, and who won the BP Portrait Award 2010 with a painting of her 100-year-old mother's corpse.

OBE PPRP NEAC * Jason Walker RP * John Walton RP * Emma Wesley RP * Toby Wiggins RP * Antony Williams RP PS NEAC *

John Wonnacott John Henry Wonnacott CBE (born 1940, London, England) is a British painter. Wonnacott trained at the Slade School of Fine Art during 1958–63. He taught at Reading University's department of fine art alongside Ray Atkins from 1965 to 1973, reca ...

Hon. RP CBE * Neale Worley RP NEAC * Robbie Wraith RP * Martin Yeoman RP NEAC

References

External links

Website of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Society Of Portrait Painters 1891 establishments in England Art societies Charities based in London Organisations based in the City of Westminster