Artist of the Year
Artist of the Year is a television competition shown on the Sky Arts channel which aims to find the best portrait and landscape artist every year.
Overview
Through several rounds of regional competitions in different parts of the UK professional and amateur artists are challenged to produce a landscape; whilst the portrait competition takes place in London where the contestants produce a picture of one of three famous sitters. The winning artist of each round, selected by three judges, advances to the semi-final and then to the final. The landscape competition is filmed on location; whilst the portrait competition is held at Battersea Arts Centre. The winner of both series receives a £10,000 commission to paint either a famous landmark or a famous personality and the picture becomes part of a national collection.The show is produced by London and Glasgow-based independent production company Storyvault Films, and is currently presented by Stephen Mangan, who joined for the sixth series replacing Frank Skinner; until 2023 Skinner and then Mangan co-hosted the show with Joan Bakewell ; Bakewell presented her final series of the show on Portrait Artist 2023, in which she also appeared as a sitter in one of the episodes.
Until 2026 the regular judges were the British art historian, curator and arts broadcaster Kate Bryan, head of contemporary art at the Fine Art Society, Kathleen Soriano, director of exhibitions at the Royal Academy, and portrait/landscape painter Tai-Shan Schierenberg. In 2026 a new judging panel was announced, with Eva Langret, director of Frieze London, replacing Bryan from Landscape Artist 2026 onwards, and Schierenberg and Soriano replaced by artist Jonathan Yeo and curator and historian Katy Hessel from Portrait Artist 2026 onwards.
International adaptations
Landscape Artist of the Year Canada, a Canadian version of the show, premiered in 2020 on Makeful.Portrettmesterskapet, a Norwegian portrait version of the show, premiered on 14 September 2023 on NRK.
Danmarks bedste portrætmaler is a Danish portrait version of the show, premiered on 1 March 2018 on DR.
Portrait Artist Of The Year, an Australian portrait version of the show produced by EndemolShine Australia, premiered on 2 November 2025 on ABC TV and ABC iview.