This year’s young artist from Kilcullen Della Cowper-Gray won the Zurich Young Portrait Prize at the National Gallery of Ireland, writing Brian Byrne. his portrait Paint in a different world now (My father the artist) is from his father, a professional artist.

Della, 14, was one of three Kildare artists on the shortlist, which included entries from across Ireland from artists aged five to 18. There were five winners per age category, from which the overall winner was chosen.

Exhibitions of the shortlisted works in the two competitions will take place at the National Gallery of Ireland between November 13, 2021 and April 3, 2022. The exhibition will travel to Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, where it will be presented between April 23 and July 17, 2022.

Della also won first prize in the 13-15 category of the ‘Draw Our Heroes’ art competition, launched last year for children to commemorate the everyday heroes of the Covid-19 pandemic. Della chose Aideen Delahunt, the caregiver who came to her home during the first confinement to care for her 91-year-old great-uncle Amby.

At Texaco’s 66th Children’s Art Competition last year, Della – then a student at Scoil Bhride – was one of four Kildare child artists to win an award, for her portrait “The Mighty Finn”.

In 2019, she won the top prize in her age group in the Credit Schools Poster Competition. Also in 2019, she won the Brenda Scullion Memorial Trophy in the local community play art competition. In 2018, she was a silver medalist in the departmental final of the Community Games Art.

Della’s sister, Mae, 12, is also an accomplished artist, and her portrayal of her best friend, Ella Browne, with the title “Missing Ella (Loneliness during Lockdown)”, won her a top prize in the national category of Texaco Children’s 2021. Art competition.