BP Portrait Award 2007 : Scottish National Portrait Gallery

Sunday, 16 December 2007 23:21

Edinburgh, Scotland - For only the second time in its history, the BP Portrait Award exhibition will be shown in Edinburgh this year, where it will be the highlight of the winter programme at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. Organised by the National Portrait Gallery in London, the BP Portrait Award promotes the best in contemporary portrait painting, by encouraging artists to focus upon and develop the theme of portraiture in their work. First established in 1980 – and in its 18^th year of BP sponsorship - the Award is one of the most prestigious visual arts prizes in the world, and its main winner receives the sum of £25,000, plus a commission worth £4,000.

The exhibition comprises a selection of 60 of the most impressive works submitted to this year’s competition, which attracted a record 1,870 entries. It will feature works by artists from around the world, including entrants from the USA, Germany, Norway, Israel and of course Scotland. This year, for the first time, the competition’s upper age limit of 40 was dropped, a change that benefited more than a quarter of the entrants. In addition, a new prize for the most talented artist under 30 was created.

The winner of the 2007 BP Portrait Award, 59-year-old Paul Emsley, who was born in Glasgow but now lives in Bradford-upon-Avon, near Bath, was announced in June. Emsley submitted a striking, large-scale portrait of his neighbour and fellow artist Michael Simpson. Fascinated by the appearance of his sitter, the artist has said, ‘I found his face and head visually interesting and with a strong presence… I feel it is essentially European, particularly carrying something of the history of Eastern Europe. Second and third prize winners were David Lawton for Stephen, and Johan Andersson for Tamara, respectively.

Winner of the Young Artist Award was Hynek Martinec for Zuzana in Paris Studio. Martinec (b.1980) was born in the Czech Republic and is currently working as a freelance painter in Prague, London and Paris. Martinec received £5,000 for his winning painting - a photorealist work in which the reflection of the studio is minutely observed in the sitter’s mirrored sunglasses.

During the exhibition’s run in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, members of the public will be given the chance to vote for their favourite work in the show in a “Scottish Choice” ballot. Scotland’s favourite painting will be announced towards the end of the show’s run to give people the chance to revisit the chosen work. Six artists who have trained in, or are from, Scotland have been chosen for inclusion in the exhibition, and the late Ian Hamilton Finlay, landmark Scottish artist, appears as a sitter in one of the portraits.

Nicola Kalinsky, Deputy Director of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and co-ordinator of the exhibition said: “We are delighted to be welcoming back the BP Portrait Award to Edinburgh. This year’s selection is extremely impressive, demonstrating the continuing vitality of the painted portrait. The works offer a fascinating counterpoint to our historic collection of portraits.’

Visit Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street, Edinburgh - www.nationalgalleries.org