AIB Portrait Prize 2026

Announcing the shortlist for the AIB Portrait Prize 2026

The annual AIB Portrait Prize returns in 2026, once again celebrating contemporary portraiture by Irish artists from Ireland and abroad. A shortlist of works will be selected by an expert judging panel, with the winning artist receiving a €15,000 prize and a €5,000 commission for inclusion in the National Portrait Collection. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in November 2026. The competition culminates in an exhibition in the Portrait Gallery. 

Curated by Dr Brendan Rooney, Head Curator at the National Gallery of Ireland.

See it at the National Gallery of Ireland from 14 November 2026 - 14 March 2027.

Portrait Gallery | Admission free

This year's shortlisted artists are: 

• Aideen Barry, The Creator of Birds, After Varo, 2025, photograph
• Alannah Henry, Sa Samhradh, photograph
• Beverley Healy, The Known and the Unknown (Elsa and Carlton), egg tempera and pencil on vegan gesso panels 
• Breda Kenny, Making a Splash, Pastel on board
• David Goldberg, Listening, oil on canvas on board
• David Killeen, Cricky Sea, Sandycove, December 2025, photograph
• Diego Fabro, Reverie 26 "Venetia", photograph
• Domnick Sorace, Self-Extended, artist's blood, distilled water, hollow glass spheres and resin
• Elaine Adams, Candid, photograph
• Emma Coady, There's an Artist in My Kitchen, oil on canvas
• Enda Burke, Dad and Elvis, photograph
• Evan Dow, Marie Mullen, oil on steel
• Evanna Devine, Frank Flannelly, Farmer from Easkey Co. Sligo. 06 April, 2026, photograph 
• Gary Sheridan, Moments in Between: The Story of My Life, video 
• Ivy Borden, Oikos Logia (I), tapestry woven on cotton with hand-spun wool, dyed with nettle, dock leaf and madder root and photograph 
• Joe Caslin, Seen, pencil and digital drawing on paper
• Jonathan Dickson, Theo (Almost) Hiding Behind a Tree in the Phoenix Park., oil on canvas
• Kathy Tynan, Sunday Morning, oil on canvas
• Marcel Vidal, Allergy, oil on linen
• Mark Fisher, Belly Boy, acrylic on canvas
• Mary Woods, Generation Game, acrylic on canvas
• Merve Sagit, Ritual Study I, photograph
• Michelle Boyle, Edith's Night Out, a Pint and a Half One, acrylic on hardboard
• Paul MacCormaic, Sister Stan in the Office of the Sanctuary, acrylic and oil on canvas
• Rebecca Kehoe, D A M O C L E S, graphite and polychromos pencil on paper
• Rowan Williams Huber, Rico, photograph

You can see the shortlisted portraits on our Facebook page. 

Judges:

• Brian Fay, artist and Lecturer at TU Dublin.
• Christina Kennedy, Senior Curator, Head of Collections at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA)
• Joseph McBrinn, Art Historian and Lecturer at Belfast School of Art 

Read more about the judging panel here. 

Partner venues: 

The Gallery is delighted to partner with Galway Arts Centre and Limerick City Gallery of Art to present the AIB Portrait Prize and AIB Young Portrait Prize 2026. Following their display at the National Gallery of Ireland, the exhibitions will travel to Galway Arts Centre from 3 April to 27 June 2027, and to Limerick City Gallery of Art from 9 July to 15 August 2027.