Hennessy Portrait Prize

Hennessy is a brand with two feet firmly placed in the support of Irish arts and culture with the Hennessy Literary Awards considered a household name among writers and poets alike. It was therefore a natural progression to launch the Hennessy Portrait Prize this year in association with the National Gallery of Ireland – an initiative dedicated to championing distinctive and contemporary Irish portrait artists.

Following an arduous elimination process from over 400 entries, 12 finalists were selected by an esteemed panel of judges, comprising Cristín Leach Hughes (The Sunday Times), Dr Declan Long (NCAD), Janet McLean (NGI), and Donald Teskey (RHA), and chaired by the Director of the National Gallery of Ireland, Sean Rainbird.

On Tuesday, 11 November, one artist will be announced as the winner of the Hennessy Portrait Prize 2014 and will receive a prize of €15,000 as well as a commission worth €5,000 to produce a portrait for inclusion in the National Portrait Collection.

The short-listed artists’ works will be exhibited in the National Gallery of Ireland from 8 November 2014 until 8 February 2015 but you can view them here in the meantime!