BP PORTRAIT AWARD WINNER ANNOUNCED

THE BP PORTRAIT AWARD 2002
19 June - 15 September 2002
Wolfson Gallery Admission free

Sponsored by BP plc

Richard E. Grant announced the winners of the prestigious BP Portrait Award at a ceremony at the National Portrait Gallery last night (Monday 17 June).

The winner of the BP Portrait Award 2002 is:

Catherine Goodman (b.1961)
Title of Portrait: Antony

Catherine wins £25,000 and, at the Trustee's discretion, a commission of £3,000 to paint a portrait for the Gallery's contemporary collection. Catherine is based in London and is Director of the Prince of Wales Drawing Studio. She has undertaken several commissions and hopes to hold a solo exhibition later this year. She studied at Camberwell School of Art and the Royal Academy Schools. Her winning portrait is of her friend Antony Sutch, who is Headmaster of Downside School in Somerset.

Second prize has been won by:

Zygimantas Augustinas (b. 1973)
Title of Portrait: Man with Utensil (Oscar)

Lithuanian artist Zygimantas Augustinas wins £5,000 for his portrait Man with Utensil (Oscar), a self-portrait inspired by Oscar, the hero of Gunter Grass's "Tin Drum". He studied at the Vilnius Academy of Art, Lithuania and the Florence Academy of Art, Italy. He has exhibited widely in Lithuania, Washington and New York and has been the recipient of several grants and scholarships including, most recently, the 2002 Elizabeth Greenshield Foundation Grant. He is represented by the Fraser Gallery, Washington.

Third prize has been won by:

Mark Shields (b.1963)
Title of Portrait: Seated Woman

Mark Shields wins £3,000 for this portrait of his wife. Shields is an Irish artist who lives and works near Belfast. He studied at the University of Ulster where he completed a BA in Fine Art and a PGCE in Art and Design. He has exhibited several times in both the BP Portrait Award and the Hunting Art Prize Exhibition at the Royal College of Art. He has exhibited regularly at the Mall Galleries as well as at the National Gallery of Ireland and the Florence Biennale of Contemporary Art. He is represented by the Grosvenor Gallery, London.

The following artists have been commended. Each wins £1,000:

Mark Entwisle (b.1961) Mária
Massimo Franco (b.1972) Self-portrait
Vasiliki Gkotsi (b.1964) Project 2001: Life is a Bitch No 1
Dean Marsh (b.1968) Rosalind Savill CBE
Kristina O'Donnell (b.1981) Self-portrait

Charles Saumarez Smith, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, said: "It was, as always, a very strong field of submissions from which to pick the winner and the decision was not easy. However, all the judges admired Catherine Goodman's thoughtful and beautifully painted portrait of Antony Sutch."

BP TRAVEL AWARD 2002

This year's BP Travel Award has been won by Daisy Richardson and Jessica Wolfson for their proposal to travel together on the Trans Siberian Railway from Moscow to Beijing, using a section of a railway carriage as a studio to paint portraits of the variety of passengers travelling with them on their epic journey. Daisy and Jessica studied together at Glasgow School of Art and are both now based at Glasgow Independent Studios. They are two of five artists from the Studios who have been selected for the BP Portrait Award 2002 exhibition, including Massimo Franco whose work has been commended in the Portrait Award. On their journey they hope to record the response of the passengers to their constantly changing environment as well as illustrating the sheer variety of people who travel on the Trans Siberian Express, whether for business, holiday, or to visit friends and family. They intend to make their journey in the Spring, and their resulting work will be displayed in June 2003, alongside the BP Portrait Award 2003.

BP TRAVEL AWARD 2001

Last year the Travel Award was won by Alan Parker, for his proposal to document the day to day life of the police force in Leicester. Alan is a police officer with Leicestershire Constabulary and took leave to shadow the Squads and Beat Officers as they worked in Leicester's diverse community, interacting with the public in a variety of circumstances. His portraits reflect the cultural diversity of both Leicester's police force and community and capture a modern city in a state of flux. His portraits are on display in the Wolfson Gallery, alongside the BP Portrait Award 2002.

Publication
A fully-illustrated catalogue accompanies the exhibition with a foreword by Richard E. Grant and introductory essay by William Packer. The catalogue, published in June 2002 is 80 pages with 60 colour illustrations, price £10, paperback.

Notes to Editors

The Portrait Award, now in its 22nd year at the National Portrait Gallery and 12th year of sponsorship by BP, is a highly successful annual event aimed at encouraging young artists to focus upon, and develop, the theme of portraiture within their work.

This year the competition received 760 entries of which 55 have been selected for display. The competition was judged from original paintings by this year's panel: Andrew Graham-Dixon, Critic, Nicola Hicks, Artist, Jock McFadyen, Artist, Fiona Shaw, Actress, Dr Charles Saumarez Smith, Director, National Portrait Gallery, Des Violaris, Director, UK Arts and Culture, BP, Stuart Pearson Wright,Winner of BP Portrait Award 2001.

The BP Travel Award is an annual prize of £2,000, which allows young artists to expand their horizons and develop the theme of portraiture within their work.

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