London, UK – Antony Williams has been awarded the prestigious Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award by the National Portrait Gallery for his egg tempera painting, Jacqueline with Still Life. This accolade marks the 42nd edition of the Portrait Award, open to artists from around the globe and includes a prize of £35,000 (USD 45,000).
Williams, born in 1964, studied at Farnham College and Portsmouth University. He is a seasoned participant in the Portrait Award exhibitions, having exhibited 11 times and securing third place in 2017. His winning portrait, created in 2020, impressed judges with its confident and masterful use of egg tempera, a medium that utilizes pigments bound with egg yolk.
Isabella Watling, a London-based artist, claimed second place with her oil painting Zizi (2023), which portrays a friend adorned in a dress by Irish designer Simone Rocha. Catherine Chambers, also from London, took third place for her painting Lying, depicting a friend in Lalibela, Ethiopia.
The Young Artist prize, awarded to artists aged 18 to 30, went to American artist Rebecca Orcutt. Her painting, Before it’s Ruined (or an Unrealized Mean Side), captures a moment of despair, symbolized by a delicate spider web representing the fragility of what we fear to lose.
Williams’ award-winning portrait will be showcased in the National Portrait Gallery’s ground-floor History Makers space, highlighting recent additions to the Gallery’s Collection. Additionally, a new commission worth £14,000 (USD 18,000) will be awarded biennially to a participant in the Portrait Award competition.
Third Prize £10,000: Catherine Chambers for Lying (Oil on canvas, 765 x 1010mm)
Lying, 2020 by Catherine Chambers © Catherine Chambers.
Catherine Chambers is a London-based artist. She has strong ties to Ethiopia, where she used to live, and its inspiration can be found throughout her body of work. She has a degree in Drawing and Applied Arts from the University of the West of England Bristol, and her work has previously been exhibited at the Embassy of Ethiopia, at the Royal Academy of Arts’ Summer Exhibition and as part of the Football Art Prize at the Millennium Gallery in Sheffield. She was also selected for the Royal Society of British Artists Rising Stars Shortlist in 2024.
This is the first time her work has been selected for display as part of the Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award.
Lying depicts a friend of the artist at their home in Lalibela, Ethiopia. The work explores vulnerability, with the sitter lying on a bed, seemingly drifting off to sleep while fully clothed in jeans and a beloved Arsenal football shirt. The artist notes that at the time of the painting, “Fly Emirates”, as emblazoned on the football shirt, could not have been more than a dream for the sitter.
The judges admired Chambers’ use of bold and vibrant blocks of colour. They were also moved by the tender and intimate depiction of the sitter, with the artist providing a window into a moment of vulnerability.
The award is now sponsored by Herbert Smith Freehills, a global law firm, further cementing its role in fostering artistic talent and international recognition.