National Portrait Gallery terminates BP sponsorship after three decades

The National Portrait Gallery's partnership with BP concludes after more than 30 years, with the contract ending in December 2022. The gallery's annual portrait award will proceed in 2023 without BP's financial backing. Artist Gary Hume, who served as a portrait award judge in 2019, publicly criticized the relationship and urged director Nicholas Cullinan to sever ties. Over 70 artists subsequently signed a letter demanding the gallery not renew its contract and remove BP's representative from the award jury—a position that was later eliminated, though the gallery denied this resulted from protests. Cullinan expressed gratitude for BP's long-term support, noting it fostered creativity and provided a global platform for portrait painters. This decision follows similar moves by Tate, which ended its BP sponsorship in 2016, and the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2019. The British Museum and Royal Opera House continue their partnerships with BP, with the British Museum's director reportedly seeking renewal. Jess Worth, co-director of Culture Unstained, interpreted the NPG's move as a silent rebuke of BP's business practices, emphasizing the company's diminishing opportunities to improve its public image. Worth highlighted mounting pressure on the British Museum as it deliberates renewing its own BP deal.