Ellis King is a contemporary British figurative artist whose work examines the raw and complex realities of womanhood. Through emotionally charged portraiture, she creates space for stories often left unspoken—those shaped by vulnerability, strength, silence and resistance. Her bold yet intimate style blends realism with abstraction, using colour, gesture and surface to challenge the patriarchal narratives that continue to frame women’s lives and bodies.

Born in Norfolk in 1989, King studied art and photography at GCSE and A Level before completing a degree in English Language and Linguistics at Queen Mary, University of London. She built a successful career in charity marketing while continuing to paint, but in 2019—following the premature birth of her son—she returned to her artistic practice with renewed purpose. Painting became both a form of personal grounding and a means of confronting the systemic failures surrounding women’s healthcare, care work and lived experience.

Since beginning her professional practice in 2020, King’s work has been recognised for its emotional depth and unapologetically feminist perspective. In 2022, she exhibited with Prince & Pilgrim in Richmond, later joining Thompson’s Gallery in London and Clifton Fine Art in Bristol. Her achievements include the Square Feet Gallery Exhibition Prize and a place among the final 22 shortlisted artists for the Women in Art Prize (2025). She was also named one of 100 Emerging Artists by Arts to Hearts Project (2024), and in 2025 was selected to appear on Sky Arts’ Portrait Artist of the Year, cementing her growing profile within contemporary figurative painting.

King lives and works from her studio in Norwich. Her paintings are held in private collections across the UK, Europe, Canada and America, and continue to evolve as she explores the complexities, contradictions and quiet power of women’s lives today.

Ellis King (b. 1989)
Social: @elliskingart
Email: hi@ellisking.co.uk

Press and Publications

2025 – Portrait Artist of the Year Season 12, Sky Arts
2025 – Celebrating daring voices and new perspectives in contemporary art, Luxury London Living
2025 – Artist Interview, “How Ellis King is Exposing the Realities of Modern Womanhood”, Arts To Hearts Projects
2025 – Artist Series Blog with Heath Kane
2025 – Artist Series – Ellis King, by Heath Kane
2022 – Podcast Guest, The Flying Fruit Bowl
2021 – Cover Design & Illustration, The Food Fighters E-Cookbook
2020 – Window Design, Bread Source, Norwich

Art Fairs

2025 – Manchester Art Fair, Manchester
2025 – The Other Art Fair, Truman Brewery, London
2024 – Manchester Art Fair, Manchester
2024 – Affordable Art Fair, with Clifton Fine Art, London
2024 – The Other Art Fair, Truman Brewery, London
2023 – Art Fair East, St Andrews Hall, Norwich

Exhibitions

2025 – ING Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries, London
2025 – Female Five Million, BobCat Gallery, London
2025 – Women In Art, Marylebone Gallery
2025 – Silicon Gods, Ministry of Sound, London
2025 – With Heath Kane, Saffron Walden
2024 – Late Summer Exhibition, Holton Lodge Barn
2024 – Thompson’s Annual Exhibition, Thompson’s Gallery, Aldeburgh
2024 – Summer Exhibition, Prince & Pilgrim, Richmond
2022 – Contemporary Art, Brick Lane Gallery, London
2022 – Humans – Strength and Frailty, The Yare Gallery, Great Yarmouth
2022 – New Artist, Boomer Gallery, London
2021 – Nostalgia, The Holy Art, London
2021 – Facade, The Holy Art, London

Awards

2025 – Square Feet Gallery Exhibition Prize, Women In Art Prize
2025 – Shortlist (Final 22), Women In Art Prize
2024 – Selected Artist, 100 Emerging Artists, Arts To Hearts Project