The Hennessy Portrait Prize return to the National Gallery of Ireland for its third year. The competition invites artists of all disciplines to submit their work for a chance to win a prize of €15,000 and a commission worth €5,000 to produce a portrait for inclusion in the National Portrait Collection. The prize aims to encourage interest in and showcase modern portrait painting. It also aims to highlight the portrait collection at the national gallery.
The prize was launched in 2014 and organised by the National Gallery and Moët Hennessy. Last year, the prize went to Vera Klute. In early October, 14 finalists were announced from a submission of over 400 entries, from Irish artists, both living here and abroad and artists based in Ireland. The finalists were based nationally and internationally from Czech Republic to the US, Co Galway to Co Down. The prize is open to artists in all media, and this diversity was reflected in the pieces submitted by the finalists.
The judging panel this year is extremely diverse and comprises of Jackie Nickerson, a conceptual documentary photographer; Gemma Tipton, an art critic; Peter Murray, Director of the Crawford Gallery in Cork; and Dr Adriaan Waiboer, the Curator of Northern European Art at the National Gallery of Ireland.
The Winner of the €15,000 Hennessy Portrait Prize was Gerry Davis with his entry entitled “Seán”, a small oil on board painting. Although open to artists working in all media, for the third year in a row the prize went to an artist working in paint. However, for the first time, two additional awards were introduced. Two other artists from the shortlist were highly commended. They each received the new award of €1,500. The first was Gavan McCullough, an artist based in Ireland and Germany, who was shortlisted in 2014. He was commended for his portrait “Imran” – a large oil-on-canvas piece that owes particular attention to geometric shading. The other artist specially commended was Louth-based Leanne Mullen, for her canvas study of a woman’s head, “Someone’s Mother”.
The winning artist, Gerry Davis, is from Tipperary and has a degree in Fine Art from Limerick School of Art and Design. His submission “Sean” is an intense study of a man’s face. The small piece is in a muted palette and stands out in gallery space and among the collection. Its presence is undeniable. The artist has been exhibiting regularly since 2010, notably with his solo shows Burrow at TACTIC in Cork, Duality in the Normoyle-Frawley Gallery in Limerick and Studio, his most recent, at Pallas Projects in Dublin. He will be commissioned to paint a portrait of a sitter of the National Gallery’s choosing that will become part of the National Gallery of Ireland collection.
The Portrait Prize will return in 2017, the details of which will be posted to the gallery’s website early next year. The only requirement will be that the pieces submitted must be completed by the end of this year. The finalists will have their works exhibited until March in the National Gallery.
