Issy Wood Picked as National Portrait Gallery’s Inaugural Artist for Contemporary Program
The National Portrait Gallery in London has launched a new contemporary initiative, Artist Focus, with three free-admission exhibitions annually in the Weston Wing. The inaugural Artist Focus exhibition will feature American-born British artist Issy Wood and will run from October 9 to February 28, 2027. The gallery has already acquired three works by Wood, including Self Portrait 2 (2021), and the presentation will also include 11 paintings from Wood’s personal collection plus seven portraits never previously shown publicly. The museum noted its long history of portrait innovation since its founding in 1856, and it also highlighted its portrait prize (renamed the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award in 2024), which carries a £35,000 cash award.
From This Briefing
This story was covered in Donations, Restitution, and the Museum Power Play