Royal Society of Portrait Painters | Annual Exhibition 2026
- - 10am to 5pm | Closed on Tuesday 12 May | North, West and East Galleries
Admission £7, Free for Friends of Mall Galleries and under 25s. Concessions available. No booking required.
The Society’s Annual Open Exhibition is probably the largest and most significant celebration of contemporary portrait painting in Europe
The Royal Society of Portrait Painters invites you to the RP Annual Exhibition 2026.
Promoting artistic excellence in portraiture, this annual exhibition is the leading portrait painting showcase in the country. Alongside members of the Society, emerging and established artists - both national and international - present a great breadth of approaches to portraiture.
Expect intimate moments from daily life, as well as high-profile commissions of public figures.
Royal Society of Portrait Painters x Shengxinyu Art
To coincide with the Chinese Year of the Fire Horse, the Society welcomes Shengxinyu Art, its director, Zhang Hongbin and twenty-four Chinese artists as guest exhibitors to this year's annual exhibition. 'I am confident that this collaboration will bring something extraordinary to the exhibition,' says President Anthony Connolly. 'The Society has a history of reaching out beyond these shores to outstanding artists, but never before have we extended that welcome as far as China.'
Special Events
A series of special events will accompany the exhibition, including a talk by art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon on Portraits of Women, Portrayals of Virtue: A new way of understanding Vermeer’s depiction of women. Read more
About the Exhibition
A Review of Portraiture Today
'I would like to record here and now my considered and unequivocal opinion that this is, without doubt, the very best review of contemporary portraiture anywhere.' - Anthony Connolly, President
Led by Artists
The show is always selected by a jury of practising portrait painters, no critics, no journalists, no celebrities – just painters.
Prizes & Awards
The exhibition presents prizes and awards worth over £40,000, including The William Lock Portrait Prize (£20,000) for the most timeless portrait with a real feeling for paint and its aesthetic potential.
Commissions Service
The Society offers a personal service to help those thinking of commissioning a portrait.
Become a Friend
To receive free admission to the exhibition for you and a guest, an invitation to the Private View, plus other benefits, join as a Friend of Mall Galleries.
