ABOUT THE ARTIST

Jo Hay is a contemporary British American portrait painter. Born in 1964 in Newcastle Upon-Tyne, England, she received her BA from Middlesex University, London, UK in 1983 and her MFA from the New York Academy of Art, New York, NY in 2012.

Hay received the Lillian Orlowsky and William Freed Foundation Grant 2010 sponsored in part by the Provincetown Art Association and Museum and was the recipient of the New York Academy of Art Portrait Scholarship 2011. Her portrait from the Benders series entitled Dodger was a semi-finalist in the BP Portrait Award 2015 at the National Gallery in London and she was a finalist in Art For Freedom A Global Initiative curated by Madonna.

Hay was a subject of the documentary She is Juiced by British director Lois Norman. It was screened at Tate Modern in 2017 as part of the ground-breaking Queer Britain exhibition and the London Pride launch 2017. 

In reaction to the outcome of the 2016 United States presidential election Hay began an ongoing project titled PERSISTERS consisting of large-scale portrait paintings that depict contemporary, trailblazing women in pursuit of civil rights and justice. In 2019, a solo exhibition of the PERSISTERS series was shown at The Provincetown Commons and her portraits of Senator Elizabeth Warren and Vice President Kamala Harris were exhibited in the Provincetown Art Association and Museum in 2020 and 2021 respectively. On the merit of this series, in February 2022 Hay was selected to receive the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod’s inaugural Artist of the Year award.

In August 2023 Hay had the distinct honor of meeting First Lady Dr Jill Biden with her painting of President Joe Biden. In July 2024, Hay’s painting of Vice President Kamala Harris was on display at the Vice President’s campaign event for the presidential election held at the Provincetown Monument. During her solo exhibit PERSISTERS 2024, Hay was extremely honored to speak on a panel discussion covering art and politics that featured special guest Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley of MA 7th District.

Hay lives and works in Provincetown MA and is preparing for her upcoming solo exhibit at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum in 2027.