Nelson Hernandez

Nelson Hernández, Chilean painter from Patagonia, based in London. Graduate of the Royal College of Art (MA Painting).

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award, Nelson Hernandez

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award

Group exhibitionLaing Art Gallery, Newcastle –

The Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award, organised by the National Portrait Gallery in London, celebrates its 43rd edition in 2025. This exhibition brings together 46 portraits selected by a panel of judges, exploring themes of cultural heritage, companionship, sexuality, illness, conflict, and grief.

The exhibition travels to Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle, where it is presented alongside Exploring Identity, a companion exhibition curated from North East Museums’ art collections that provides historical context to the art of portraiture from the 16th century to the present day.

Ukrainian Girl — an oil portrait depicting a female figure turned away from the viewer, contemplating winter light through a window — was selected to represent Nelson Hernández in this edition of the award.

Exhibition information
Laing Art Gallery
New Bridge St Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE1 8AG
United Kingdom

Gallery

all text panel for the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2025 at the Laing Art Gallery, beside a framed portrait mounted on a teal panel
General view of the main gallery at the Laing Art Gallery, portraits hung along both walls beneath a vaulted ceiling, with parquet floor and wooden benches
Second room of the exhibition at the Laing Art Gallery, seen from the wooden doors, portraits on blue-grey walls with benches under directional lighting
Detail of the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2025 wall text, photographed at an angle against the blue wall of the Laing Art Gallery
Exhibition wall with eight portraits; lower left, Ukranian girl by Nelson Hernández, a young woman seen from behind in a grey hoodie facing a window

Exhibited works