Nicholas Cullinan, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, and Philip Mould were among the

winners who were awarded bespoke prizes at an exclusive champagne reception. The ceremony

took place during the British Art Fair – which partnered the event - at Saatchi Gallery on Friday

September 29, 2023.

‘THE OSCARS OF THE BRITISH ART WORLD’

The Critics’ Circle is an august institution, formed in 1913, representing the country’s top arts critics

in the fields of Visual Arts, Drama, Books, Music and Film. Since 2011 the Critics’ Circle Visual Arts

Section has been running a prestigious annual awards ceremony, voted by their members,

recognising industry professionals’ contribution to British art.

TWO NEW AWARD CATEGORIES

Alex Leith, Chair of the Visual Arts Section since 2022, has this year increased the remit of the

ceremony, overseeing the addition of two new awards: Best Public Gallery Exhibition Award and

Best Private Gallery Exhibition Award, in addition to the existing Services to the Arts Award and

Unsung Hero Award. He has also arranged a partnership with British Art Fair, holding the 2023

ceremony on Friday, September 29, in Saatchi Gallery, during the Fair.

“We are planning to build our awards ceremony into – in effect – the Oscars of the British art world”,

said Leith, hosting the awards. “Our partnership with British Art Fair and our addition of two major

new awards are sizeable stepping-stones to achieving this ambition. These are exciting times for the

Critics’ Circle, and for the art industry as a whole.”

AND THE WINNERS ARE…

Services to the Arts Award

The winner of the Services to the Arts Award was Nicholas Cullinan, director of the

National Portrait Gallery, who has overseen a spectacular refurbishment of the venue,

which came in on time, within budget, despite the restrictions caused by the Covid

epidemic. Cullinan was handed the award by Nico Kos Earle, Vice Chair of the Critics’ Circle

Visual Arts Section. The award was won last year by Iwona Blazwick; previous winners

include Sir Frank Bowling and Thomas Heatherwick.

Winner of the Critics’ Circle Services to the Arts Award, Nicholas Cullinan, Director of the National Portrait

Gallery with Adi Adivani, the artist who created the trophies at the Critics Circle Award Ceremony at British Art

Fair, Saatchi Gallery. Credit: Todd-White Photography

Public Gallery Exhibition of the Year Award

Winner of the inaugural Public Gallery Exhibition of the Year Award was the National

Gallery exhibition St Francis of Assisi, which closed in July, having garnered rave reviews by

national critics. The show brought together representations from the life of St Francis from

the 13th century to the 21st, with works from Boticelli, Zurburan, Caravaggio, Stanley

Spencer and Antony Gormley, inter alia. Co-curator Joost Joustra was on hand to accept the

award. Will Ramsay, founder of The Affordable Art Fair and Ramsay Fairs (which owns

British Art Fair) was present to give him the trophy.

Joost Joustra, Winner of the Public Gallery Exhibition of the Year Award with colleagues from the National

Gallery at the Critics Circle Award Ceremony at British Art Fair, Saatchi Gallery. Credit: Todd-White Photography

Private Gallery of the Year Award

A popular winner of the inaugural Private Gallery of the Year Award was Philip Mould

Gallery for the show Without Hands: The Art of Sarah Biffin. This was awarded to curator

Emma Rutherford and the artist Alison Lapper, who suffers from a similar condition to

18th-century painter Biffin, and who co-curated the exhibition. Philip Mould is co-host of the

hit BBC series Fake or Fortune.

Philip Mould Winner of the Critics’ Circle Private Gallery of the Year Award for Without Hands: The Art of

Sarah Biffin. Credit: Todd-White Photography

Unsung Hero Award

The Denise Sylvester-Carr Award for Unsung Hero was accepted by Nicholas Eastaugh,

expert on the techniques and materials of paintings. Previous winners include Artist Support

Pledge founder Matthew Burrows and Dr Fred Hohler.

Nicholas Eastaugh Winner of the Denise Sylvester-Carr Award for Unsung Hero at the Critics’ Circle

Award Ceremony at British Art Fair. Credit: Todd-White Photography

British Art Fair SOLO Contemporary Artist Award 2023 - Winner Emma Bennett shown by

Zavier Ellis of CHARLIE SMITH LONDON

Will Ramsay, CEO Ramsay Fairs awarded a prize, sponsored by Winsor & Newton and

Contemporary Art Academy, for the best artist in the SOLO Contemporary section of British

Art Fair 2023. The winner - chosen by a panel of experts - was Emma Bennett, shown by

Zavier Ellis, of CHARLIE SMITH LONDON.

Entertainment was provided by the artist-poet-academic Gary Goodman, who had the

audience laughing with his bittersweet art-related verses. Critics’ Circle President Robert

Thicknesse gave a short, sharp speech analysing the role of arts critics in the twenty-first

century. Critics’ Circle Visual Arts Chair Alex Leith introduced proceedings. The trophies were

designed by Royal College of Art Ceramics & Glass 2023 graduate Adi Avidani, who was

chosen by Corinne Julius.

ATTENDEES

80 art insiders were present, including: Nicholas Cullinan, Philip Mould, Emma Rutherford,

Nicholas Eastaugh, Joost Joustra, representatives from the National Gallery, National

Portrait Gallery, Southbank Centre, Ben Uri Gallery & Museum, Royal College of Art,

Wellcome Collection, WaterAid, British Art Fair, and Fashion & Textile Museum.

The Critics’ Circle Visual Arts Awards was organised in partnership with British Art Fair, and

took place in a gallery space displaying the exhibition Crossing Borders: Internationalism in

British Art, with works by Lucian Freud, Leon Kossoff, Magda Cordell McHale and Charlie

Phillips, inter alia, co-curated by Colin Gleadell and Monica Bohm-Duchen.

The wine on offer – from Pommery and Nutbourne Vineyard in Sussex – was organised by

Dominic Buckwell, from the Court of Master Sommeliers and Circle of Wine Writers.

Zavier Ellis and Emma Bennett, winners of the British Art Fair SOLO Contemporary Artist Award 2023 with Will

Ramsay, CEO British Art Fair at the Critics’ Circle Award Ceremony. Credit: Todd-White Photography