BP Portrait Award 2011

The thirty-second edition of the Portrait Award is now open to artists working in portraiture and who wish to attain recognition for their art.

On its twenty-second year of sponsorship by BP and organized by the National Portrait Gallery, the BP Portrait Award is an international competition open to all artists with 18 years of age and over 1 January 2011, and has the purpose of encouraging artists to focus upon and develop portraiture in their work.

The competition offers three main prizes, being the first one £25,000 in cash, plus, at the judges’ discretion, a commission worth £4,000, to be agreed between the National Portrait Gallery and the artist. The second and the third prize winners will receive £8,000 and £6,000 respectively.

The artists selected to exhibit at the National Gallery will be eligible to submit a proposal for the BP Travel Award 2011, which aims to provide the opportunity for an artist to experience working in a different environment, in Britain or abroad, on a project related to portraiture which will then be part of the BP Portrait Award 2012 exhibition and tour in 2012-13.

All entrants aged between 18 and 30 will automatically be considered for the BP Young Artist Award valued in £5,000, however this prize cannot be acumulated with another.

The registration can be made online or by post and the entry form and fee of £32 must be returned to the National Portrait Gallery by Thursday 10 February 2011.
Please note that pastels, watercolours and works on paper will not be considered.
The portrait must be predominantly painted in acrylic, oil or tempera, and must be on a strecher of board, preferably framed and unglazed i.e. without glass or similar.

For those wishing to participate in the BP Portrait Award 2011, is essential to read all the rules carefuly and revise each step before sending the work. This way you will ensure that your painting won't be rejected because you missed something.

The BP Portrait Award 2011 exhibition will run at the National Portrait Gallery from 16th of June to 18th of September 2011.