King Charles’s foundation has launched an exciting new exhibition to lead into the new year, which royal fans can attend free of charge.
A free exhibition showcasing the work of 10 icon painting students opens today at The Garrison Chapel in Chelsea Barracks, offering what organisers describe as both a spiritual encounter and a visual delight.
The display features pieces created by participants in the King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts programme, with Charles’s charity marking its 35th anniversary this year.
Aidan Hart, who directs and teaches the Certificate of Icon Painting course based in Shrewsbury, said: “Those who attend the exhibition will be treated to a real feast for the eyes, and be able to encounter a different kind of beauty.”
King Charles’s Foundation launches new Christian imagery exhibition after ‘significant demand’
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The works on display represent approximately 80 per cent of the students’ output from their three years of study.
Each icon has been crafted using egg tempera, a centuries-old technique applied to wooden panels prepared with gesso to create an ideal surface for paint and gilding.
Many of the pieces incorporate burnished gold, lending them the luminous quality characteristic of Orthodox iconography.
Throughout the part-time programme, which spans three years, students must complete seven distinct works: two depicting heads, two showing busts, two featuring whole figures, and one “feast” icon portraying a significant moment from the life of Christ or the Virgin Mary.
Graduating student Maxina Studnik with their art work at an exhibition for The King’s Foundation’s School of Traditional Arts Icon Painting programme
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Mr Hart explained: “As part of the programme, students need to exhibit at least six of the seven icons they’ve created.”
The exhibition presents around 80 per cent of the total work produced by the current cohort during their studies.
Mr Hart’s credentials in sacred art extend to the highest levels of British ceremonial life.
He created the anointing screen used during King Charles III’s Coronation in 2023, a work whose design drew inspiration from the stained-glass Sanctuary Window at the Chapel Royal in St James’s Palace.
Graduating students (left to right) Maxina Studnik, Merna Liddawi and Heather Pollington
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More recently, the course director painted an icon of St Edward the Confessor, which the King presented as a gift to Pope Leo XIV.
The Shrewsbury-based programme has produced 60 graduates since its inception, with demand for skilled icon painters remaining strong internationally.
Mr Hart said: “There has always been such significant demand around the world for high-level icon painters, and we are blessed to have produced 60 graduates from the course, many of them exceptional, in whose footsteps these ten exhibitors will hope to follow.”
For student Karen Melnychuck, the exhibition holds particular significance. She said: “While my secular art has been shown in public before, it is especially meaningful to debut my icon work, my focus for what will likely be the rest of my life, at the upcoming show at the Garrison Chapel. I’m humbled and deeply grateful.”
King Charles attending a morning service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham
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PAFellow participant Lana Woolford spoke of the bonds formed during the course: “The course has not only taught me the practical skills involved in writing icons, but has also grown into a community where we support each other in spirit and craft.”
The exhibition runs until January 23, 2026, open Monday to Friday from 11am to 6pm, with extended hours until 8pm on January 15 and 22.
Entry is free with no booking required. The venue closes from December 23 to January 4 inclusive.