Celebrated painters Chantal Joffe RA and Ishbel Myerscough were joined by award-winning novelist Ali Smith CBE for a conversation about portraiture, observation, and the emotional truths revealed through drawing.
This conversation formed part of our 25th-anniversary series of discussions with leading artists and creatives exploring how drawing shapes creative practice across disciplines.
Ali Smith CBE
Ali Smith is the author of many works of fiction, including, most recently, Companion Piece, the "Seasonal Quartet," Public library and other stories, and How to be both, which won the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction, the Goldsmiths Prize, and the Costa Novel Award. Her work has four times been short-listed for the Man Booker Prize. Most recently, she won the George Orwell Prize for Political Fiction for Summer. Born in Inverness, Scotland, she lives in Cambridge, England.
Chantal Joffe RA
Chantal Joffe brings a combination of insight and integrity, as well as psychological and emotional force, to the genre of figurative art. Born in 1969, Joffe lives and works in London. She holds an MA from the Royal College of Art and was awarded the Royal Academy Wollaston Prize in 2006. Joffe has exhibited nationally and internationally at venues including The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, UK (2023–2024); The Modern, Fort Worth, Texas, USA (2022); and Koohouse Museum, Yangpyong, Korea (2022); among others. Joffe has created a major public work for the Elizabeth line in London titled ‘A Sunday Afternoon in Whitechapel’, on view at Whitechapel Elizabeth line station.
Ishbel Myerscough
Ishbel Myerscough is a British artist renowned for her highly detailed and deeply observed portraits, exploring themes of youth, parenthood, desire, and loss. She studied at Glasgow School of Art (1987-91) and the Slade Schools of Art (1993-95). Her work has been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, Turner Contemporary, and the Royal Academy. In 2024, she featured in Hayward Gallery’s touring exhibition ‘Acts of Creation: On Art and Motherhood’.
