The Kingston Prize

04/15/2026

Calling all portrait artists across Canada 🇨🇦

The 2026 edition of The Kingston Prize is officially OPEN for submissions! This is your opportunity to share the faces, stories, and spirit of Canada through your work, and to be part of a truly national celebration of portraiture.

🖼️ 30 finalists
🏆 $25,000 Grand Prize (plus additional awards)
📍 Exhibition in Toronto
📅 Deadline: September 1, 2026

Whether you’re emerging or established, we want to see what YOU see in the people around you!

04/07/2026

The Kingston Prize announces move to annual competition!

The Board of Directors has approved a transition from a biennial to an annual competition, beginning in 2026. It is a decision born not of haste, but of abundance—the growing strength of figurative art in this country, and our desire to offer more frequent moments of recognition to those who labour, often in solitude, to capture the human spirit in line and colour.

And so, the Kingston Prize will return in 2026, with $33,000 in prize money, and with it the promise of new stories told through paint, shadow and light. The Prize will open for submissions on April 15, 2026. Submissions will close on September 1, 2026 and in early November, Toronto will once again become a meeting ground for artists and admirers alike.

As we look toward this new chapter, we do so with a renewed sense of purpose. Portraiture, at its best, asks us to pause—to reckon with the mystery of one another, to recognize something familiar in a stranger’s gaze. In a world that moves too quickly, it reminds us to be still.

02/08/2026

Portraiture has a unique way of inviting us to truly see one another.

'How Portraiture Gives Us Permission to Stare', published in The Walrus, highlights how The Kingston Prize celebrates real faces, real stories, and the artists who capture the depth, diversity, and humanity of Canadians through portraiture. It explores the power of art to connect us and push us to reflect on who we are as a country.

Read, reflect, and discover why portraiture matters — and why The Kingston Prize continues to shape the conversation around contemporary Canadian art.

👉 Read the article here: https://thewalrus.ca/how-portraiture-gives-us-permission-to-stare/

01/28/2026

✨ In the Globe & Mail ✨

'Madonna in a Tulip Chair' (2025) by Louise Kermode is featured in the 'Globe & Mail' as part of their 'Made in Canada' series.

📍 'Madonna in a Tulip Chair' is now part of The Rooms collection
🗞️ Globe & Mail, January 27, 2026

We are especially grateful to our Chair, Jason Donville, who generously donated this painting to The Rooms in Newfoundland & Labrador, ensuring it will be preserved and shared with the public for generations to come.

🇨🇦 Art that matters. Stories that endure.

01/05/2026

✨ Happy New Year, Canada! ✨

As we step into 2026, we’re celebrating the artists and storytellers who continue to shape the face of portraiture across the country. Thank you for filling the past year with creativity, courage, and unforgettable work.

Here’s to a new year of bold ideas, fresh perspectives, and portraits that move us. Wishing everyone a bright, inspired 2026.

11/25/2025

The Telegram writes an in-depth piece about how a NL connection led to this national portrait competition win.

Read the full article - https://www.saltwire.com/newfoundland-labrador/kingston-prize-nl-model-donna-meaney

.kean

11/21/2025

"Is this woman expecting your company, or awaiting devotion from the faithful? Whatever the case, in her printed capris and a loose pink blouse, she could be any contemporary woman her age. If she seems especially familiar, though, that’s not the reason why. The model’s name is Donna Meaney, and you’ve seen her in a painting before."

This painting is the story of a young girl who became the model for Canadian painters - Christopher and Mary Pratt - and one of Canada's most famous paintings, 'Girl in Wicker Chair'. Fast-forward and see how Louise Kermode has painted her as a 'strong, resilient person who's gone through a lot in her life'.

Read the full article - https://www.cbc.ca/arts/kingston-prize-2025-winner-louise-kermode-donna-meaney-portrait-9.6986276

11/21/2025

11/20/2025

How does it feel to be an immigrant to Canada? Opeyemi Olukotun expresses thoughts and feelings through his award-winning portrait, receiving honourable mention in the 2025 Kingston Prize.

Read the article - https://www.brandonsun.com/local/2025/11/17/brandon-artist-named-runner-up-in-kingston-prize-portrait-competition

11/19/2025

Craig Norris on CBC's The Morning Edition interviews The Kingston Prize 2025 recipient, Louise Kermode. Find out how she came to meet Donna and what might come next.

Listen here: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-104-the-morning-edition-k-w/clip/16182404-waterloo-artist-wins-kingston-prize

11/17/2025

Toronto Life posts an article telling the story behind Louise Kermode's award-winning portrait 'Madonna in a Tulip Chair'.

Read the article - https://torontolife.com/city/waterloo-painter-louise-kermode-won-the-25000-kingston-prize/