– Celebration of Creativity –
Portrait Artist of the Year returns to Sky Arts and streaming service NOW on October 7, 2026 as artists compete for the opportunity to undertake a prestigious National Portrait Gallery commission.
The grand final winner of this year’s competition will paint British actor and musician Damian Lewis for the National Portrait Gallery!
The thirteenth season is set to deliver another thrilling celebration of creativity, passion and artistic talent as artists from across the UK compete for the prestigious 2026 title for a new panel of judges.
This year’s star-studded line up of portrait sitters brings together a mix of familiar faces from the worlds of entertainment, arts, broadcasting and beyond.
How it works: Artists submit a self-portrait entry and those submissions are reviewed to select contestants for the show. Each episode features nine contestant artists working side-by-side in a large, open studio. Artists are divided into groups who then live paint three well-known celebrity or public figures known as “the sitter” within a four-hour window. One standout artist from each heat or group advances to the semi-finals. Bridgerton stars Daniel Francis and Ruth Gemmell take their place in the portrait spotlight as the sitters for the semi-final, while culinary pioneer Heston Blumenthal will sit for the hotly anticipated grand final. The winner of the grand final receives £10,000 commission to paint a prominent celebrity or historical figure for a major national institution or permanent gallery collection – in this case, Damian Lewis for the National Portrait Gallery.
You may remember that Damian is one of the photographic portraits in National Gallery’s bicentennial celebration book titled, The National Gallery: Paintings, People, Portraits that will be released in November, 2026. Read about that story here.
The Sitters:
- Theatre director Jamie Lloyd
- Musician Alison Balsom
- Opera singer Danielle de Niese
- Actors Vanessa Williams, Joanna Scanlan, Dexter Fletcher, Sheridan Smith, Arti Shah, Lennie James, Daniel Francis, and Ruth Gemmell
- TV and broadcasting Rylan Clark, Louis Theroux, Yalda Hakim and Grace Dent
- Comedians Grace Campbell, Munya Chawawa and Michelle de Swarte
- Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden
- Restaurateur Jeremy King
- Culinary pioneer Heston Blumenthal
- Financier and broadcaster Anthony Scaramucci
- Poet and playwright Nikita Gill
- Author Jung Chang
- Artist and musician Kojey Radical
- Drag superstar Danny Beard
- Athlete Matt Weston
Source: Advanced Television