Laois artist shortlisted for prestigious prize at the National Gallery of Ireland
Laois artist Mark Fisher's shortlisted entry, 'Belly Boy'.
A LAOIS artist has been shortlisted in this year’s AIB Portrait Prize.
Mark Fisher, an artist from Stradbally, County Laois, has been shortlisted for the AIB Portrait Prize alongside 25 other artists from across the country with his piece in acrylic on canvas, titled ‘Belly Boy’.
From hundreds of entries, the shortlists for this year’s AIB Portrait Prize and AIB Young Portrait Prize were announced last week by the National Gallery of Ireland.
The AIB Portrait Prize shortlist includes paintings, video, pastel, mixed media and photography by artists from across the country.
The winner of the AIB Portrait Prize will receive a cash prize of €15,000 and will be commissioned to create a work for the National Portrait Collection, for which they will be awarded a further €5,000.
Two additional awards of €1,500 will be given to highly commended works. Judges for the AIB Portrait Prize 2026 are Dr Brian Fay, artist and lecturer at TU Dublin; Christina Kennedy, senior curator, head of collections at the Irish Museum of Modern Art; and Dr Joseph McBrinn, art historian and lecturer at Belfast School of Art.
The AIB Young Portrait Prize showcases the artistic talent of young people aged eighteen and under. Winners in each of the four categories (6 and under, 7–11, 12–15, and 16–18) as well as an overall winner, will be selected from the shortlist. Category winners will receive a bespoke art box and a cash prize.
The overall competition winner will be awarded a personalised wooden box of high-quality art materials and a cash prize of €500. This year’s AIB Young Portrait Prize judges are Amanda Coogan, artist; Carl Hickey, artist; and Donna Rose, curator at the National Museum of Ireland.
Dr Caroline Campbell, director of the National Gallery of Ireland, said that watching entries arrive “is a highlight of our year”, noting that the shortlist this year “demonstrates an incredible breadth of Irish artistic talent”.
Colin Hunt, CEO at AIB, said: “These portraits demonstrate the wonderful creativity of portrait artists of all ages in communities across the country, and we are thrilled to see such a strong selection of works once again in this year’s shortlists.
“AIB is proud to continue its sponsorship of these exciting competitions at the National Gallery of Ireland”.
The exhibition of the shortlisted portraits in both competitions will be on display in the Portrait Gallery (Room 23) at the National Gallery of Ireland from 14 November 2026 – 14 March 2027. The winners of the Prizes will be announced at a ceremony held in the National Gallery of Ireland on 2 December 2026.
The National Gallery partnered 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.
Full shortlists for the AIB Portrait Prize 2026 and the AIB Young Portrait Prize 2026 are available on the National Gallery of Ireland website.
