Hannah raises a glass as her Guinness paintings go down a storm in London

A CAVEHILL artist is raising a glass to her debut at a famed London exhibition, with her two evocative still life Guinness paintings selling before the exhibition even opened to the public.

Now in its 257th year, the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition is the world’s oldest open-submission art show and a landmark moment in any artist’s career. And with entries capped at 18,000, North Belfast artist Hannah O’Hagan’s works are two of just 1,729 pieces to make it through the final round of in-person judging. Both Guinness No.4 and Guinness No.5 are currently on display in Gallery I at the Royal Academy in London.

Part of an ongoing series, Hannah’s Guinness paintings offer more than a tribute to the iconic Irish drink — they explore shared rituals, memory, and connection. Drawing on her own upbringing and Irish cultural heritage, the works present partially finished pints and foamy traces as quiet portraits of unseen conversations and human presence.

“Guinness has always felt like more than just a drink to me — it’s part of the fabric of Irish life,” said Hannah. “Some of the deepest, most thoughtful conversations I’ve had have taken place over a pint. When I saw this year’s Summer Exhibition theme was dialogues, I felt my pieces belonged in that conversation.”

In a nod to the personal influences behind her work, Hannah recalls the John Gilroy Guinness posters that hung in her parents’ kitchen. These visual memories now resurface in her own artistic language — stripped-back, intimate, and rooted in everyday experience.

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Guinness No. 4

“They aren’t perfect pints,” she adds. “Each glass becomes a quiet record of a relationship — the space between words, the traces left behind.”

Her success hasn’t gone unnoticed. The paintings were featured on BBC One’s The One Show as part of its coverage of the RA Summer Exhibition.

Hannah, who paints from her home studio in North Belfast, only began sharing her work publicly in 2024 while on maternity leave. That same year, she won the ING Discerning Eye Northern Ireland Regional Prize, and has since gained growing recognition for her thoughtful figurative style and distinctive subject matter.

“To have both paintings selected on my first time entering the RA Summer Exhibition means everything,” O’Hagan said. “I’m incredibly grateful and excited to keep building on this momentum.”

The RA Summer Exhibition 2025 runs until 17 August 2025.