BP Portrait Award
at the National Portrait Gallery

First Prize winners showcase
A celebration of 10 years of the
BP Portrait Award

Personal statement
Philip Harris
Winner 1993

'Shortly after moving to London in 1986, and holding little but an entirely inadequate portfolio of work, I remember seeing a poster for the then named, John Player Portrait Award. I was impressed by, and hugely jealous of, the painting shown. Appearing in an exhibition of that kind, at that time, seemed a long way off.

It was four years later that I entered the Portrait Award, now sponsored by BP, with a small self portrait and won Third prize. This coincided with my first one man show and, I am sure, must have contributed to the reviews and sales that followed.

Following inclusion in the 1991 BP Portrait Award and several more one-man shows, I won the first prize in 1993 with Two Figures Lying in a Shallow Stream. The financial reward was of great practical assistance, but it was the vote of approval from a respected panel of judges, reviews in the national press and the public exposure that encouraged me to persevere.

The award led to many offers of commission including one from the National Portrait Gallery to paint Sir Anthony Dowell. That portrait now hangs in the permanent collection. I have pursued my career in commercial galleries and in 1997, held a one-man show of painting and drawings at Beaux Arts in Cork Street, London

I am currently working towards my next exhibition and am taking on portrait commissions'.

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All images and text are subject to copyright protection. 22 November 2008