Artist Talk: Benjamin Sullivan on Portraiture

Chao Lee Art Foundation and Asia Society Hong Kong Center are delighted to co-present an artist’s talk by British portrait artist, Benjamin Sullivan. Based in Suffolk, UK, Sullivan is a BP National Portrait Gallery award winner whose oeuvre includes commissioned portraits of distinguished subjects; scientists, writers and academics to Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Celebrated for his sensitive, closely observed depictions, he blends classical technique with a distinctly modern eye to reveal not just how people look, but who they are.

Sullivan will share insights into his practice as a portrait painter with a presentation of significant works throughout his career including the seminal paintings; All Souls College and HM Queen Elizabeth II.

The Q&A session will be moderated by London-based curator Monica Chung.

Date: January 22, 2026
Time: 6:00 PM to 7:40 PM
Venue: Miller Theatre, Asia Society Hong Kong Center

Benjamin Sullivan is an English artist best known for portraiture. He studied painting and drawing at Edinburgh College of Art, graduating in 2000. His work has been widely exhibited, including at the Royal Academy and National Portrait Gallery. Among other distinctions, he has received a Carrol Foundation Award, the Kinross Scholarship, and a grant from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation. In 2007 he won the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize. He was elected a member of the New English Art Club and the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in 2001 and 2003 respectively, becoming the youngest person to be elected to those institutions. In 2009, he was made a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers.

His work is to be found in numerous public and private collections, including the National Portrait Gallery, the. Scottish National Portrait Gallery, the Royal Scottish Academy, Parliament House, Edinburgh, and several Oxford and Cambridge Colleges.

In 2009 he became artist in residence at All Souls College where he undertook a large commission depicting the College staff. The resulting work, The All Souls Triptych, was displayed at the Ashmolean Museum in 2012 and now sits in one of Hawksmoor’s twin towers at All Souls College. In 2014 Sullivan was appointed Artist in Residence at the Reform Club.

In 2016, Sullivan won third prize in the BP Portrait Awards for a painting of the poet Hugo Williams before winning first prize in 2017 for ‘Breech!’, a portrait of his wife breast-feeding their infant daughter. Sullivan was commissioned by the RAF Club to paint a portrait of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, in 2018. The full-length portrait now sits in the Sovereign Room at the clubhouse on Piccadilly.

Monica Chung is an acknowledged independent art consultant based in London with over twenty years experience in the art industry. She began her career as a curator and director of commercial art galleries, and since 2010, has created a bespoke art service tailored to non-profit organisations, foundations and international private clients in the UK, Europe, USA and South-East Asia.

The consultancy focuses on art acquisitions, nurturing private collections and implementing curatorial and programming strategies in both commercial and non-profit sectors. Monica’s specialist knowledge, experience and access can counsel and shape both private collections and organisations.

Monica graduated from Byam Shaw School of Art and University of Northumbria. She holds a BA Hons in Fine Art.

Organiser: Asia Society Hong Kong Center www.asiasociety.org/hong-kong
Strategic Partner: Chao Lee Art Foundation www.claf.hk