The oil portrait by artist Sally Ward shows the chancellor in determined mood preparing to deliver her first Budget in October 2024, the one that ushered in the £22bn rise in employer National Insurance contributions (NICs), but worry not, it is based on a photograph so was not distracting the chancellor at that vital moment in time. The painting depicts a moment in the study at the Treasury four months into her tenure where even in those early days Reeves was batting off criticism for her decision to virtually abolish the winter heating payment for pensioners, a move which unravelled with a painful u-turn less than a year later.

The artist depicts a scene of the chancellor in her office, with the Budget folder brimming with tax proposals, and looking most determined with that steely demeanor so reminiscent of her early days in the post. Ward described the artwork as ‘both a portrait and a history painting, capturing a decisive moment in British political and parliamentary life’, based on a photograph by Simon Dawson. It reportedly cost £3,000 which has come in for some criticism.

Reeves said: ‘When I stood at the dispatch box to deliver the first Budget by a female Chancellor, I was acutely aware of the generations of women who had fought to make that moment possible.  

‘I am deeply honoured that Sally Ward’s portrait will join the Parliamentary Art Collection as a permanent record of that history. I hope this portrait serves as a reminder to every young woman and girl across the country that there should be no ceiling on their ambition.’

The unveiling took place last monoth at an event celebrating the 170th anniversary of the Society of Women Artists (SWA) and Women’s History Month.

The Reeves portrait will be on display at the SWA summer exhibition in the Mall Galleries, London, from 23-27 June. View the portrait on the Parliamentary Art Collection.  

Pictured: Reeves at the National Growth Debate earlier this week