Grace Payne-Kumar (b. 1999, HK) is an award-winning artist and educator, currently teaching Art at Highgate in London. Trained in classical painting at Charles H. Cecil Studios in Florence, with an MA (Hons) in English Literature from the University of Edinburgh, she uses the ‘sight-size method’ to create portraits inspired by Old Masters such as Van Dyck and Titian.
A finalist in the 2019 Scottish Portrait Awards, Grace won the Member’s Choice Award and was commissioned to paint the first female Lord Justice Clerk of Scotland, Lady Dorrian, now permanently displayed in Parliament Hall alongside works by Raeburn and Sargent. Her solo exhibitions include About Face at the Scottish Arts Club (2021), From Life at Sarum Studio (2022), and Homecoming at The Mount House Gallery (2024).
Grace’s work is part of the permanent collection of The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow. In 2024 she created a posthumous portrait of Jamini Sen, the first female and woman of colour fellow of the College. From 2023-2025 she worked as Artist in Residence at Marlborough College, travelling to Marlborough College Malaysia on an international artist exchange in 2025. Her work was featured in three issues of British Vogue in 2024, The Spectator in 2025, and she currently serves as a trustee for The Wiltshire Museum.
Grace is currently collaborating with The University of Westminster on an upcoming exhibition for the summer of 2026. She continues to work on private commissions, teach students and create portraits to diversify collections internationally from her studio in London.