Stroud-based portrait painter Lizet Dingemans has been selected for the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2026, currently on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Her oil portrait of professional artists’ model Mark Turner is one of just 51 works chosen from nearly 1,500 entries submitted by artists across 63 countries.
Now in its 44th year, the Portrait Award is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious platforms for contemporary portrait painting in the world. The exhibition runs at the National Portrait Gallery until 7 October 2026, before touring to Derby Museum and Art Gallery and The Arc in Winchester through June 2027.
Lizet, who trained at the Angel Academy of Art in Florence and the London Atelier of Representational Art, is head tutor at Raw Umber Studios in Stroud. Her work has previously been recognised with multiple prizes from the Royal Society of British Artists, and is held in the permanent collection of the European Museum of Modern Art (MEAM) in Barcelona.
Speaking about the selection, Lizet said: “Mark is a fantastic model. He has a wonderful, calm presence in the studio that really lends itself to portraiture. Being selected for the Portrait Award is a huge achievement to me. It’s probably the most prestigious exhibition you can be part of as a portrait painter, so I’m thrilled to have my work hanging at the National Portrait Gallery.”
The Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2026 is free to visit at the National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Place, London. The annual exhibition runs until 7 October 2026, before touring to Derby Museum and Art Gallery and The Arc in Winchester through June 2027.
