Portrait Artist Of The Year Will Return For Series 11 In October

It’s official: Sky Arts’ flagship show will return this autumn, bringing all the painting goodness to our screens. Filmed in spring 2024, expect our expert judges to return, joined by a star-studded line-up of sitters from stage, screen, literature and sport. Here’s everything we know so far about Portrait Artist of the Year Series 11.

Portrait Artist Of The Year Series 11: Release Date & More

Kate Bryan, Tai Shan Schierenberg, Kathleen Soriano & Stephen Mangan

What Is Portrait Artist Of The Year?

Portrait Artist of the Year is an annual art competition hosted by Sky Arts, searching for fresh new painting talent from across the UK. A sister series to Landscape Artist of the Year, Portrait Artist puts artists’ portraiture skills to the test with a variety of sitters in different backdrops.

‘Series 11? Wow. How did that come around so soon?’ says Stuart Prebble, chairman of production company Storyvault Films. ‘And yet the properly wonderful thing about working with all these immensely talented artists is that they constantly surprise you, so that what happens in every show is always fresh and never predictable. And watching these household name celebrity sitters interacting with their artists, giving of themselves, rooting for them to do their best work, is compelling and inspiring. There’s something about watching genuine creativity in motion – faces and images coming to life before your eyes – which is a little piece of magic every time.’

How Does It Work?

Artists apply to Portrait Artist of the Year by submitting a self portrait created within the last five years. A panel of expert judges then select the pool of contestants based on merit alone. Contestants are invited to the heats at Battersea Arts Centre, where nine artists are given four hours to paint one of three surprise celebrity sitters.

One winner is selected from the nine heat contestants. Heat winners then progress to the Semi-Final, where the contestants are whittled down to three with their portraits of one celebrity compared by the judges (in series 10, Emma Bunton was the celebrity sitter). Then the final three artists compete in the Final to be named Sky Arts’ official Portrait Artist of the Year. In Series 10, the final celebrity sitter was Dame Joan Bakewell to commemorate her final series presenting with Stephen Mangan.

A final episode then explores the winner’s story and journey painting the winning commission.

Joan Bakewell posing for the Series 10 final

Who Are The Sitters?

Every year, the contestants are challenged to paint a range of sitters, all recognisable faces from across the world of music, culture, sports and health. In the semi-final, painters will be faced with the challenge of painting actress Joely Richardson, while the grand finale will see painters capture the essence of one of Britain’s most iconic acting duos, Andy Serkis and Lorraine Ashbourne.

In Series 11, the famous sitters the painters in the heats will face are:

• Hannah Waddingham (Actor)
• Richard Madeley (TV Presenter)
• Saskia Reeves (Actor)
• Cush Jumbo (Actor)
• Baaba Maal (Musician)
• Carly Paoli (Musician)
• Dan Snow (TV Presenter)
• Layton Williams (Performer)
• Steven Frayne/Dynamo (Magician)
• Rosie Jones (Comedian)
• Linton Kewsi Jonhson (Poet)
• Andy Cole (Sports Personality)
• Lucy Worsley (Historian)
• Ricky Hatton (Sports Personality)
• Musa Motha (Dancer)
• Jill Scott (Sports Personality)
• Jimi Famurewa (Food Critic)
• Heather Mills (Activist)
• Kevin McCloud (Designer/TV Presenter)
• Martha Kearney (Presenter)
• Rebecca Taylor/Self-Esteem (Musician)
• Emma Thynn (Marchioness of Bath)
• Dr Karan Rajan (Public Health Advocate)

‘Series 11 of Portrait Artist of the Year returns to Sky Arts this autumn, with more incredible artists and celebrity sitters than ever,’ says Phil Edgar-Jones, Director of Sky Arts. ‘We are immensely proud of the impact this series has for artists in the real world. Our judges Kate Bryan, Kathleen Soriano and Tai Shan Schierenberg never fail to discover brilliant new talent whose work proudly hangs in some of the major art galleries in the country.’

What Does The Winner Get?

The winner of Portrait Artist of the Year gets a £10,000 commission from a British institution to paint a famous face, plus £500 worth of Cass Art materials. In Series 11, the winning commission is to paint Lorraine Kelly for National Galleries Scotland.

Previous winning commissions include:

• Series 10: Dr Jane Goodall for the National Portrait Gallery
• Series 9: Lenny Henry for the National Gallery
• Series 8: Nicola Benedetti for the Scottish National Portrait Gallery
• Series 7: Carlos Acosta for the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
• Series 6: Nile Rodgers for the Royal Albert Hall
• Series 5: Tom Jones for the National Museum of Wales
• Series 4: Kim Cattrall for the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool
• Series 3: Graham Norton for the National Gallery of Ireland
• Series 2: Alan Cumming for the Scottish National Portrait Gallery
• Series 1: Hilary Mantel for the British Library

Series 10 winner Wendy Barrett with her portrait of conservationist Dr Jane Goodall, commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery

Can You Watch Portrait Artist Of The Year In Person?

Yes, fans of Portrait Artist of the Year can join the artists’ friends and family in the studio to watch the heats being recorded. Filming usually takes place in March and April, and in 2024 the series’ production company Storyvault Films listed a limited number of tickets for each heat on Eventbrite so fans could come and watch the magic happen. Follow the page here to be notified when 2025/series 12 tickets are live.

Who Are The Judges?

Tai Shan Schierenberg, Kathleen Soriano and Kate Bryan will all return to judge the competition, assessing the artists’ progress and choosing who will advance to the semi-final and the final before selecting the overall winner.

Stephen Mangan & Joan Bakewell

Who Presents Portrait Artist Of The Year?

Stephen Mangham is going solo for series 11 of Portrait Artist of the Year, following Dame Joan Bakewell’s departure from the franchise at the end of series 10 in December 2023. Mangham also presented Landscape Artist of the Year solo in early 2024.

Since 2017, both Landscape Artist and Portrait Artist of the Year have been hosted by Bakewell and Mangham as a duo.

Where Is It Filmed?

Portrait Artist of the Year is filmed at Battersea Arts Centre in London, a grand old building that was once Battersea Town Hall but is now a performance space and arts hub. If you want to visit, check out the programme of events, or just pop by for a coffee in the cafe. bac.org.uk

Find It: Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill, London SW11 5TN. The closest station is Clapham Junction.

When Will It Air?

Portrait Artist of the Year will kick off on Wednesday 16 October 2024, with new episodes weekly. Once episodes have aired, they will be available to stream on Now.

Where Is It Streaming?

Catch up with the first 10 series of Portrait Artist of the Year (and all 10 series of Landscape Artist of the Year) at nowtv.com