Calling All Artists! Annual Hennessey Portrait Prize
Are you an artist? Have you ever wanted to become one of the greatest painters or sculptures that has ever lived? Would you like your art hanging on walls with world famous artists like Rembrandt, Caravaggio or Hamilton? If you do, there is just a little over four weeks remaining for Irish artists to enter the Hennessy Portrait Prize. Hennessy and the National Gallery of Ireland will be hosting their second annual Hennessey Portrait Prize giving this year. This is an exceptional opportunity to join those great masters of the arts and maybe, who knows, become the next Dillon.
Artists from all genres and disciplines of artistry are invited to create a portrait for the Hennessey Portrait Prize and will also be commissioned to create another portrait for inclusion in the National Portrait Collection at the National Gallery of Ireland. The Hennessey Portrait Prize 2015 will go to one artist who must be an Irish resident or an Irish citizen living abroad.
“Hennessy has been intrinsically linked to the distinctive Irish way of life and our dedication to discovering gifted Irish talent goes back decades; in literature and poetry with the Hennessy Literary Awards, in sport, culture and fashion, and now in the Arts with the Hennessy Portrait Prize. As Hennessy prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, we are more mindful than ever of Hennessy’s story which focuses on crafting the future. Our ongoing partnership with the National Gallery of Ireland allows us to continue to help Irish artists to do just that through contemporary portraiture of all manner and media,” said Caroline Sleiman, the Market Development Manager for Moët Hennessey.
The panel of four judges will be choosing a shortlist of 12 portraits that will be exhibited at the National Gallery from 14 November to 14 February 2016. The judges at this years’ Hennessey competition are all experienced and familiar with the world of arts. They are Catherine Marshall (scholar and curator), Colin Davidson PRUA (artist), Aidan Dunne (art critic for the Irish Times) and Anne Hodge (curator of prints and drawings, NGI).
Last year’s winner was Sligo artist Nick Miller, who won the prize for his painting Last Sitting, Portrait of Barrie Cooke. He was commissioned to complete a portrait worth €5,000 as part of the prize and painted Playing, a portrait of Dónal Lunny, the legendary Irish musician and composer. His portrait was unveiled earlier this year at the National Gallery of Ireland.
The National Gallery of Ireland first opened its doors in 1854 and now homes over 14,500 works of art from across Europe and Ireland dating back from the early Renaissance to the 1950’s. It is also home to Ireland’s National Portrait Collection that was founded in 1874. This collection has been added to through the years with many well known artists and famous people’s portraits like Bono by Louis le Brocquy and Gay Byrne by John Kindness added to the collection. The winner of the Hennessey Portrait Prize could stand a chance to be commissioned for a portrait that will join the present collection.
Hennessey who is celebrating their 250th anniversary this years’ first distillery was founded in Cognac, France in 1756, by Richard Hennessey an Irishman. The Hennessey Portrait Prize will be announced in November and the winner will receive €15,000 and a commission worth €5,000 for a portrait for the National Portrait Collection. The closing time for interested artists is the 31st July, 2015 and it is open to artists across all disciplines. The reason why this Prize is annually rewarded is to support modern art and upgrade the profile of the National Portrait Collection, but it is also a once in a lifetime opportunity for an artist to make his or her mark and become a part of history.
