GIDEON SUMMERFIELD

ABOUT

I’m looking ahead to an exciting year in 2026. With a number of projects unfolding both in the studio and abroad. I will be preparing for a forthcoming exhibition in New York and Sweden, continuing a busy schedule of portrait commissions, and developing several new projects that I hope to reveal very soon.

2025 was an extraordinarily productive year. It began with a particularly special exhibition at the Romanian Cultural Institute, where I presented a series of landscapes completed in summer 2024. Not long after, I returned to the Hebrides to create a new body of landscapes and portraits for a private collection - an opportunity that brought together my love of portraiture with the untamed beauty of the Scottish Islands.

In addition a standout moment in 2025, was the presentation of my painting of The Changing of the Colours by HM King Charles III commissioned by the Royal Navy Trophy Centre. It was an extraordinary honour to have the work unveiled on the bridge of the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth in the presence of Captain Claire Thompson OBE RN, the first female Captain of a Royal Navy aircraft carrier.

CAREER BACKGROUND

2023-2024 marked a very special time in my career. I was commissioned by HM the King to produce a series of paintings of the Procession on the day of the Coronation, on May 6th 2023. These paintings have now become part of The Royal Collection and were viewed by HM the King, in September 2024.

I was also re-commissioned for by Hauser & Wirth gallery, to produce another series of portraits of locals living in Braemar, in Aberdeenshire. In addition the gallery commissioned me to paint the portraits of local Scottish fisherman for their ‘Fish Shop’ restaurant.

2020-22 was a busy period inspite of the global pandemic. I continued to paint and draw, both in the UK and overseas, including a special time in Norway. I also discovered I had an interest in garden design and am inspired by the amazing Dutch designer, Piet Oudolf.

In 2019 I embarked on a project to draw D-Day veterans to coincide with the 75th Anniversary of D-Day. In June I visited Normandy to meet veterans from many countries including the UK, America and Canada. The Royal British Legion kindly hosted an exhibition of my portraits and I was thrilled these were viewed by HRH the Prince of Wales and HRH the Duchess of Cornwall.

In 2018 I was fortunate to be commissioned by Hauser & Wirth to create a series of portraits of local people living in Braemar, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. These portraits can been seen under the tab Characters of Braemar and are on display at the Fife Arms Hotel in Braemar.