The National Portrait Gallery has awarded the first prize in the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2026 to Marc Dalessio. The Los Angeles–born artist, who is currently based in southwest France, was awarded the prize for his work Jean-Denis (2025), a portrait of his neighbor painted in natural light over six sittings at his studio.
The award, one of the most prestigious portrait painting competitions in the world, attracted 1,474 submissions from artists across 63 countries. Some 51 shortlisted works will go on public display at the National Portrait Gallery in London from June 25th to October 7th, before the exhibition travels elsewhere in England to Derby Museum and Art Gallery and The Gallery at The Arc in Winchester,. Dalessio will receive a prize of £35,000 ($46,000).
Trained in Florence and previously recognized for his plein air landscapes, Dalessio returned to portraiture after relocating to France and restoring a former artist’s studio. Jean-Denis originated when his neighbor arrived unannounced one morning, requesting to be painted. The judges praised the work’s restrained handling and emotional immediacy, noting its empathetic depiction of the sitter and the subtle compositional authority of its execution.
Second prize of £12,000 ($15,786) was awarded to Manchester-based artist Chloe Cox for What's Mine is Yours, a double portrait of foster carers Marva and Lionel Warmington. Third prize of £10,000 ($13,155) went to London-based Michael Slusakowicz for Charlie and Magda (2026), a double portrait with a bold use of color. The Young Artist Award of £9,000 ($11,840) was presented to Joel Nichols, a recent graduate of Oxford’s Ruskin School of Art, for In Our Borderlands (2025).
Victoria Siddall, director of the National Portrait Gallery and chair of the judging panel, noted the quality and diversity of this year’s submissions.
The Portrait Award has received more than 50,000 entries and attracted over six million exhibition visitors since its inception in 1980. Among its notable past winners are Alison Watt, the Scottish painter who took the prize in 1987; Stuart Pearson Wright, whose win in 2001 marked the beginning of a distinguished career in portraiture; and Paul Emsley, the 2007 winner who went on to paint the official portrait of Catherine, Princess of Wales. The winner of the 2025 National Portrait Gallery award was Moira Cameron.
