National Portrait Gallery Opens Entries for £35,000 Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2027

award · 2026-05-19

The Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2027 is now accepting submissions at the National Portrait Gallery, offering a top prize of £35,000 along with a chance for exhibition. Artists 18 years and older can enter new painted portraits created after January 1, 2025, until December 1, 2026. The submission period begins at 9am on September 22 and concludes at 10pm on December 1. Celebrating its 45th year, the award welcomes entries from around the globe, having received over 50,000 artworks since it began. In addition to the main prize, there is £12,000 for second place, £10,000 for third, and a £9,000 Young Artist Award for those aged 18-30. The exhibition is scheduled for June 24 to October 10, 2027.

Key facts

The National Portrait Gallery has opened entries for the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2027.
The first prize is £35,000, with £12,000 for second place and £10,000 for third.
Entries are open to artists aged 18 and over until Tuesday 1st December 2026.
Submissions are accepted from 9am on Tuesday 22 September until 10pm on Tuesday 1 December via competitions.npg.org.uk.
The award is in its 45th year and is open internationally.
More than 50,000 works from over 100 countries have been entered since the competition began.
Exhibitions associated with the award have attracted more than six million visitors.
A separate Young Artist Award offers £9,000 to an entrant aged between 18 and 30.
The Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2027 exhibition will be at the National Portrait Gallery from 24th June–10th October 2027.
Sarah Howgate is Senior Curator, Contemporary Collections at the National Portrait Gallery.

Entities

Artists

Marc Dalessio
Sarah Howgate
Chloe Cox
Joel Nichols
Michael Slusakowicz
Es Devlin
Mary Evans

Institutions

Locations

London
United Kingdom