National Gallery of Ireland unveils portrait of Limerick actor Ruth Negga

National Gallery of Ireland unveils portrait of Limerick actor Ruth Negga. Photo: Naoise Culhane

National Gallery of Ireland unveils commissioned portrait work by artist David Booth of Limerick actor Ruth Negga

Portraits of renowned Irish actors Ruth Negga and Stephen Rea have been unveiled at the National Gallery of Ireland this week.

The works are by Dublin painter David Booth (Ruth, 2025, oil on board) and Wicklow-based photographer David Stephenson (Stephen Rea (b.1946 Belfast), actor, 2025, photograph on archival paper).

Both artists were winners of the Portrait Prize at the National Gallery of Ireland: Booth in 2022 for his work Salvatore, a portrait of his friend and fellow artist Salvatore of Lucan; and Stephenson in 2023 for his photograph Ann and Ollie, Main Street, Wexford.

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Booth considered many possible settings when preparing his portrait of the actor. These included Trinity College, where Ruth Negga had studied, and a coffee shop he knew she had frequented. He and his subject finally settled on the courtyard in the National Gallery of Ireland, as it provided filtered light that would ensure good preparatory photographs. Booth wanted his subject to be looking directly at the viewer, and though he took scores of photographs, he ended up using his first as the basis for his painting.

Actor Ruth Negga said, “It has been a total and complete privilege to be the sitter for David’s work. Thank you to both David and the National Gallery of Ireland. Luckily for me he appears to have infused my portrait with his own qualities of grace, tenderness and that thing that I believe is crucial to art; a sense of the mysterious. Thank you for this extraordinary honour.”

Artist David Booth said, “It’s truly an honour to have this portrait of Ruth unveiled at the National Gallery of Ireland. My aim from the outset was for her gaze to confront the viewer directly, establishing a powerful sense of presence and immediacy. Our collaboration throughout the process was one of friendship and openness, which shaped the portrait deeply. I hope the portrait brings viewers close, offering a sense of her warmth, resilience, and unmistakable presence.”

Actor and producer Ruth Negga was born in Addis Ababa, raised in Limerick, and studied at Trinity College Dublin and the British American Drama Academy. She is known for her critically acclaimed performances on stage and screen, among them roles in the movies Breakfast on Pluto (2005), Loving (2021) and Passing (2021). She has appeared in many television productions, and received several nominations and awards. In 2025 she received her second Emmy nomination, for her role in the television series Presumed Innocent. In 2017, she received an Oscar nomination in the Actress in a Lead Role category for her performance in Loving, directed by Jeff Nichols.

Having completed a BFA at Wexford Campus School of Art in 2013, David Booth moved to Dublin to establish himself as a full-time artist. He has exhibited both in Ireland and abroad, won the Evans Painting Prize in 2016, and was shortlisted for the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in London in 2019. This commissioned portrait of Ruth Negga is part of the Portrait Prize 2022 (then the Zurich Portrait Prize). Booth was shortlisted for the prize on two earlier occasions (2018 and 2020). His work features in both public and private collections in Ireland.

The national portrait collection at the National Gallery of Ireland celebrates the most influential figures in Irish history. The fields of Irish endeavour represented range from sport, literature and broadcasting to theatre and social justice. These two new portraits are now on display to the public, for free, in the Portrait Gallery at the National Gallery of Ireland.

Dr Caroline Campbell, Director of the National Gallery of Ireland, said, “It’s an absolute honour for the National Gallery of Ireland to unveil these magnificent portraits to the public. Artists David Stephenson and David Booth were terrific and worthy winners of our Portrait Prize in 2022 and 2023. We are so proud to see their portraits of Ruth Negga and Stephen Rea – actors who have added so much to the Irish cultural tapestry both at home and abroad – hang on our walls today.”