Waterford artist wins Young Portrait Prize at National Gallery of Ireland

Aoibhe Devereux, a 16-year-old artist from Dungarvan, has been announced as the winner of the National Gallery of Ireland’s AIB Young Portrait Prize. 

Her portrait, a work in acrylic on canvas board, Tumtha (Immersed), was revealed as the winning portrait last week during a prize-giving ceremony at the gallery, earning her a personalised box of art materials alongside a prize of €250.

About her piece, Devereux said, “This is a portrait of my youngest brother on our holidays. I wanted to immortalise this moment of him in the pool with the rainbows dancing on his skin, to capture his joy and youthfulness. 

"I enjoyed painting this portrait because I was constantly reminded of all the fun he has on our family holidays and all the fun we have together. It’s my favourite picture of him because it really shows who he is, a boy who has fun everywhere, especially Tumtha (immersed) underwater.” 

Twenty-six artists, working across a variety of media, made it through to the final stage of the AIB Portrait Prize this year, while 20 young artists aged between three and 18 years old were shortlisted for the AIB Young Portrait Prize.

Commenting on the selection, judge Ashwin Chacko said, "It’s been an honour and a brilliant experience being asked to judge the AIB Young Portrait Prize 2024. I was blown away by the standard of submissions this year, it made it phenomenally harder for us judges to choose the winners. I am encouraged to see that we are in no shortage of talent in Ireland and we can look forward to a bright future.” 

The AIB Portrait Prize exhibition, featuring 26 shortlisted works in total, is now open at the National Gallery of Ireland. It will run until March 9, 2025, alongside the AIB Young Portrait Prize exhibition of 20 shortlisted portraits.