Ellis King

Bio

Ellis King (b.1989) is a contemporary British figurative painter based in Norwich, UK.

Balancing realism with restrained abstraction, King creates psychologically charged paintings that hold tension between vulnerability and strength. Through subtle gesture, layered surfaces and considered colour, her figures occupy spaces of quiet confrontation, inviting reflection on the expectations and narratives historically imposed upon women’s bodies and lived experience.

King has exhibited widely across the UK and established a growing national profile. In 2025, she was shortlisted among the final 22 artists for the Women in Art Prize and awarded the Square Feet Gallery Exhibition Prize. She was previously selected as one of 100 Emerging Artists by the Arts to Hearts Project (2024) and appeared on Sky Arts’ Portrait Artist of the Year (Series 12). In 2026, King was awarded Runner Up in our inaugural Well Hung Painting Prize.