Last updated: 28 October 2026
Aleah Chapin is the American artist who paints frank, tender nudes and won the 2012 BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery. Here you will find our take on her work, where to see Aleah Chapin now, how to buy her paintings, and her War Child piece.
Our take on Aleah Chapin
Chapin paints bodies honestly, often older women she has known all her life. She won the BP Portrait Award in 2012 with Auntie, a nude of a family friend. “Her body is a map of her journey through life,” she told The Guardian at the time.
Her War Child piece, As We Fell into the Sun, is oil on wood and takes its title straight from the McCartney lyric. An open hand reaches down out of a deep blue ground, and its fingers glow pink and red as if lit from below. It is a small, careful painting of skin and light, which is what she does best.
“As a painter of people, I think of the human body as a calligraphy to which we are innately literate,” she writes in her artist statement. There are no prints of her work, so for a UK collector this lot is unusual.
Aleah Chapin: the essentials
- Born on Whidbey Island, Washington, in 1986; lives and works in Los Angeles, according to her own site.
- BFA from Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle (2009), and an MFA from the New York Academy of Art (2012).
- Won first prize in the 2012 BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery, London, from more than 2,100 entries, with £25,000 and a £4,000 commission.
- Received the Willard L. Metcalf Promising Young Artist Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2016.
- Eric Fischl called her “the best and most disturbing painter of flesh alive today”, quoted by Flowers Gallery.
- Represented by Flowers Gallery, London, New York and Hong Kong.
Where to see Aleah Chapin now
- Coming up: Sound & Vision 2026, a War Child charity auction online from 27 October to 12 November 2026, with the works on view at Iconic Images Gallery, London, 6 to 8 November. The piece is As We Fell into the Sun (2026), oil on wood, 15 x 21 cm (5.9 x 8.3 in), lot page.
- Now: Supernal Light (group), Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, Wappingers Falls, New York, 21 March 2026 to 7 March 2027.
- Small is Beautiful, 43rd edition (group), Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, 21 November 2025 to 10 January 2026.
- Night Bloom (solo), Simard Bilodeau Contemporary, Los Angeles, 25 January to 1 March 2025.
- Walking Backwards (solo), Flowers Gallery Hong Kong, 20 November 2021 to 15 January 2022.
How to buy an Aleah Chapin painting
There are no Aleah Chapin prints, editions or monographs on sale. Her paintings sell through her gallery:
- Paintings: through Flowers Gallery, price on request.
- As We Fell into the Sun, 2026: a small oil on wood in the War Child Sound & Vision auction, bidding from £100 until 12 November 2026 (bid here).
Aleah Chapin FAQs
Which gallery represents Aleah Chapin?
Flowers Gallery, in London, New York and Hong Kong.
What did Aleah Chapin win the BP Portrait Award for?
Auntie, a nude portrait of a family friend, which won first prize in 2012.
Can I buy an Aleah Chapin print?
Not at the moment. There are no prints or editions; her paintings sell through Flowers Gallery on request.
Where can I see her work in London?
Her War Child piece is on view at Iconic Images Gallery from 6 to 8 November 2026.
More from CoolCuration
- Freelands Painting Prize review: new painting worth seeing in London.
- Great Women Artists: a big, useful survey of women artists.
- Best affordable art in the UK: prints and originals under £500.
- Gifts for artists: our edit of presents for people who make things.
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Main image: Aleah Chapin. Photo: Chris Rodriguez, courtesy Flowers Gallery. Cropped and framed by CoolCuration. Exhibition dates, prices, auction results and market figures last checked: 28 October 2026.
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