Landscape Artist Of The Year Will Return In January
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2 weeks ago
Here's everything we know so far about series 11
The tenth series of beloved art competition Landscape Artist of the Year wrapped up in March, and it was judge Kate Bryan‘s last hurrah (don’t worry, she’s still on the Portrait version). Back in June, Sky revealed filming for series 11 had commenced, welcoming a new judge to the brood: Eva Langret, director of Frieze London. Set to return to our screens in January, here’s everything we know so far, including the spectacular backdrops our contestants will be tasked with recreating.
Landscape Artist Of The Year Series 11: All The Details
In Landscape Artist Of The Year, amateur artists paint beautiful British landscapes. (Sky)
What Is It?
In case you are not yet acquainted with this wholesome competition series, Landscape Artist of the Year is an annual British painting contest scouring the nation for the very best landscape artists. It’s a sister series to Sky’s popular Portrait Artist of the Year, which airs every autumn/winter.
Taking place over a series of heats across the UK, in Landscape Artist of the Year, eight artists per episode are tasked with painting the landscape before them in a medium of their choice within four hours. ‘It’s a very lovely way of watching paint dry!’ long-time judge Kate Bryan told C&TH in 2024 (before she departed the judging panel). ‘We find amazing artists who apply to be on the show, and then we take them to extraordinary landscapes, and they have to render that landscape in a day. Then we have the very difficult job of deciding who did the best job on that day, and then put them through their paces again in a semi-final.’
Meanwhile, in each heat, 50 ‘wildcard’ entrants join in on the painting – all amateur artists who haven’t made the contestant list. Each heat, the judges nominate a wildcard painter to progress to the semi-final, totalling six by the end of the heats. These six wildcards are then whittled down to only one wildcard ahead of the semi-final.
Benjamin MacGregor with his £10,000 commission for the Courtauld Gallery. (Sky)
What Does The Winner Receive?
Each series, the winner of Landscape Artist of the Year is awarded £10,000 and a priceless commission to paint a landscape for a prestigious gallery. In the 2026 edition, our artists are competing for the chance to paint Croagh Patrick, Ireland’s holy mountain in County Mayo, for the National Gallery of Ireland.
In 2025, the commission came from London’s Courtauld Gallery, with the series’ self-taught winner Benjamin MacGregor asked to paint a landscape in the south of France, following in the footsteps of three great artists in the Gallery’s collection: Claude Monet, Paul Cezanne and Vincent van Gogh. In 2024, the Science Museum asked winner Monica Popham to create an artwork inspired by Orkney, spotlighting the islands’ place at the forefront of pioneering sustainable energy.
Where Are The Heats?
Every series, picturesque British scenery is carefully selected to inspire the contestants. Locations in Landscape Artist of the Year series 11 will include:
- Dover Castle, Kent
- The Lake District, Cumbria
- The Thames from HMS Wellington, London
- Dover Ferry Point, Kent
- St James’s Park, London
- The Ouse Valley Viaduct, West Sussex
- The Falkirk Wheel, Scotland
Judges Kathleen Soriano, Tai Shan Schierenberg & Eva Langret with host Stephen Mangan on set for Landscape Artist of the Year series 11. (Sky)
Who Are The Judges?
Long-time judges Tai Shan Schierenberg and Kathleen Soriano will return to judge Landscape Artist of the Year series 11, joined by a new face on the scene: Eva Langret, director of Frieze London, who brings her extensive expertise and eye for contemporary art to the series. She says she is ‘honoured’ to join the series, describing it as ‘a brilliant celebration of artistic practice’ offering ‘a unique lens on how we engage with our environment through creativity’.
‘I’ll be looking for bold ideas and work that pushes the boundaries of landscape art while demonstrating personal expression,’ Eva warns this year’s contestants.
Eva replaces long-standing judge Kate Bryan, who departs after a decade judging Landscape Artist of the Year. ‘It feels like the right moment to hand over the baton,’ she says. ‘It’s been a privilege to be part of something that means so much to so many people and to witness such extraordinary talent from the wildcards to the artists to the exceptional crew that make it all possible. Eva is a wonderful addition, and I can’t wait to see how the series evolves with fresh eyes on the panel.’
That said, Kate will continue in her role judging sister series Portrait Artist of the Year with Tai and Kathleen, which she is ‘delighted’ by.
The judges are joined by host Stephen Mangan who has presented the series since 2018. From 2018 to 2023, Mangan was a co-host with Baroness Joan Bakewell. Between 2013 and 2018, Joan presented the series with Frank Skinner.
Kate Bryan judged Landscape Artist of the Year from its inception in 2015, and continues to judge Portrait Artist. (Sky)
Landscape Artist Of The Year Series 11 Release Date
Landscape Artist of the Year series 11 return on Wednesday 14 January 2026 on Sky Arts and Freeview Channel 36 before being available to stream on NOW. Episodes will air weekly on Wednesday evenings until the finale on Wednesday 4 March.
How To Enter
Fancy yourself one of the nation’s best landscape artists? Entries for Landscape Artist of the Year series 12 are now open until 8 May 2026. To enter, you need to submit a landscape artwork you have produced in the last five years. Contestants are selected on merit by a panel of expert judges before being selected to compete. Find out more and enter at skyartsartistoftheyear.tv
All episodes of Landscape Artist of the Year and Portrait Artist of the Year are available to stream on NOW.
