Now open at London’s National Portrait Gallery, the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2025 exhibition has returned for its 43rd year.
This year’s exhibition includes 46 portraits, and Moira Cameron’s painting A Life Lived has been chosen as the overall winner.
Recognised as one of the most important platforms for portrait painters, the Portrait Award encourages 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, and the exhibition has been seen by over 6 million people. With a first prize of £35,000, it is one of the largest awards for any global art competition.
2025 winner Moira Cameron is a British artist who trained at Ravensbourne College of Art and Chelsea College of Art. Her work has been exhibited around the world, including in London, Japan, New York and Switzerland.
Born into a family of artists, her artistic calling was never in question. After decades of artistic collaboration, first with her husband, Pop artist David Spiller, then with her son, Xavier, Cameron has returned to her own practice. As part of this newfound independence, she is reimagining paintings she created as a student.
A Life Lived is an evolution of a self-portrait Cameron painted 40 years ago. This large-scale work of the artist reclining in a comfortable armchair shows an older woman who has lived, observed and felt deeply. Judges admired how the painting tells a story of time passing and of a life fully experienced and, rather than capturing a single moment in time, the portrait holds a lifetime within it.
Tim Benson was awarded the second prize for Cliff, Outreach Worker, and third prize went to Martyn Harris for Memories.
Also included in the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award is the Young Artist Award, which aims to profile talent and help support the career development of a young artist. This year’s winner is Michelle Liu for her portrait, Kofi, and she has received a prize of £9,000.
The 2025 judging panel included visual artist, Maggi Hambling CBE; art historian and academic at The Courtauld Institute of Art, Professor Dorothy Price FBA; opera singer, artist and writer, Peter Brathwaite; Joint-Head of Curatorial and Senior Curator of 20th Century Collections at the National Portrait Gallery, Rosie Broadley; and, the panel chair, the Gallery’s Director of Programmes and Partnerships, Rosie Wilson.
Victoria Siddall, Director, National Portrait Gallery, said: “Congratulations to the prize-winners and all the exhibiting artists who feature in the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2025. The final artworks within this year’s selection largely explore relationships, both social and familial, and we are very happy to be able to share these stories on our walls and with the public. We are grateful for the support of our sponsors, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, which allows for free access to this exhibition.”
The Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2025 continues at the National Portrait Gallery until 12 October. For further information: npg.org.uk
Image: A Life Lived, 2024 by Moira Cameron © Moira Cameron
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