BP Portrait Award 2008

Past national and international programme archive
12 June - 14 September 2008

The BP Portrait Award is the most prestigious portrait competition in the world, promoting the very best in contemporary portrait painting. An annual competition aimed at encouraging artists to focus upon and develop the theme of portraiture in their work, the Award is open to everyone aged 18 and over in recognition of the outstanding and innovative work currently being produced by artists of all ages. With a first-prize of £25,000 the exhibition has proved the launch pad for the careers of a number of successful portrait artists.

As well as a first-prize there are three runner-up prizes, the competition also includes a special prize for entrants under the age of 30, continuing the Award's role as a showcase for young artistic talent. Anyone selected for the exhibition is also eligible to enter for the BP Travel Award.

On Monday 16 June the winner of the BP Portrait Award 2008 was announced by Ian Hislop at the National Portrait Gallery. In a record-breaking year for entries from non-UK artists, the prestigious first prize was won by 35-year-old London artist Craig Wylie. His winning portrait, K (oil on canvas, 2100 x 1650 mm), is an epic study of his girlfriend Katherine Raw based on sittings at his Hackney Wick studio. Craig wins £25,000 and a commission, at the National Portrait Gallery Trustees' discretion, worth £4,000.

The second prize of £8,000 goes to Simon Davis for Portrait of Amanda Smith at Vincent Avenue and the third prize of £6,000 goes to Robert O'Brien for Hannah O'Brien.

There is, also for the second time, a BP Young Artist Award of £5,000 for the work of an entrant aged between 18 and 30. This has been won by Peiyuan Jiang for Untitled.

This year, nearly 1,750 artists from around the world submitted their work and the resulting exhibition presents 55 works.

Winners and Exhibitors

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Colour head and shoulder portrait of woman with dark hair tied back.
First prize: K by Craig Wylie
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Colour head and shoulder portrait of a young woman wearing a black t-shirt and with dark hair worn in pig-tails sitting at a table with a cup of tea in front of her.
Second prize: Amanda Smith at Vincent Avenue by Simon Davis
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Colour close-up portrait of elderly lady glancing to the side.
Third prize: Hannah O'Brien by Robert O'Brien
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Close-up colour portrait of young woman with shoulder-length blonde hair.
Young Artist Award: Untitled by Peiyuan Jiang
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Three-quarter length portrait of young woman seen from behind, on her left side.
Melanie by Jackie Anderson
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Colour head and shoulder portrait of a reclining young woman wearing a jumper, scarf and jacket.
Laura by Andres Basurto
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Close-up portrait of a balding man in black and grey tones.
Head-SP4 by John Beard
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Close-up colour portrait of young girl with short blonde hair.
Seraph by Celia Bennett
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Portrait of four-member family in a swimming pool with two large pool rings and a single grid pattern superimposed on top.
Blue Pool (Datuk Vinod Sekhar Family) by Paul Benney
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Colour head and shoulder portrait of shirtless young man with dark hair and Serbian religious figure in the background.
Portrait of a Serbian Student of theology with the Serbian Patriarch in background by Emmanouil Bitsakis
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Colour head and shoulder portrait of man in beige jacket and open neck shirt with a black eye.
Sunny Jim by Sue Burns
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Half-length portrait of shirtless man holding his eye glasses in both hands.
Birthmarks and Chest Hair by Annemarie Busschers
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Colour half-length portrait of a man and a woman in an embrace, the man wears eye glasses and holds a large sheet of whilte paper.
Ooh err mrs! by Stephen Chappell
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Colour head and shoulder portrait of older shirtless man wearing glasses standing in what appears to be a bathroom.
In The Bathroom Mirror by Brian Clements
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Colour portrait of older shirtless man with shoulder-length white hair sitting on a chair with his arms crossed over his knee.
John by Benjamin Cohen
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Colour portrait of young woman with long blonde hair, hands crossed around her knee as she gazes into the distance.
Her Name Is Rio by Lucie Cookson
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Close-up colour portrait of young woman holding the corner of her eyes with her fingers, her face painted white and lips bright red.
Metamorphosis by José Luis Corella Garcia
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Colour portrait of young man with tattoos and wearing a baseball cap gurning slightly.
Word to Mother by Arth Daniels
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Colour head and shoulder portrait of Mike Figgis with his eyes closed and his hand held up to his heart.
Mike Figgis by Nerys Davies
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Full-length colour portrait of a young man and elderly lady seen from the side queueing outside by a brick wall.
Moss Bank by Tom Dewhurst
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Close-up colour portrait of artist's father wearing glasses, a blue t-shirt and black beret.
Dad And His Newspaper by Alejandro Domingo
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Colour head and shoulder portrait of young woman wearing a red shirt, her dark hair tied back.
Konjit by Maryam Foroozanfar
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Black and white close-up portrait of man with dark hair and wearing a white shirt and black tie.
Carlos, 27 Years Later by Nina Mae Fowler
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Head and shoulder portrait of young boy holding a culddly toy.
Mark Prichard by Nicola Green
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Close-up colour portrait of man with short dark hair looking directly at the viewer.
Manuel by Gabriele Grones
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Colour head and shoulder portrait of woman with short dark hair and patterned shirt turning to look at the viewer.
Camisa a Cuadros (Chequered Shirt) by Pauline Hazelwood
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Portrait of an artist painting at an easle and the sitter in the foreground holding a pink rose to his nose.
La Bohème by Wim Heldens
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Half-length colour portrait of balding man holding a white flag and wearing a t-shirt that reads 'Don't panic, I'm Islamic'.
Made in Britain by Linda Hubbard
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Colour half-length self-portrait of the artist wearing a striped open collar shirt and holding a baby.
Self-Portrait With Winnie by Andrew Hunt
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Full length colour portrait of man in white coat and black trousers holding a large fish by the tail.
Walter by Oliver Jeffers
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Pale-coloured close-up portrait of woman with blonde hair standing next to what could be an open doorway, her face in the far right of the painting
Lliana by Krasimir Kolev
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Colour head and shoulder portrait of woman wearing a jacket and brooch, with two friezes running down the left and right sides of the painting
Lola by Alison Lee
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Colour head and shoulder portrait of a young man with shoulder length hair, a beard and and wearing a thick coat
Hamzah: The silver penny by Paul Lisak
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Colour half-length portrait of young man wearing a hoodie, eye glasses and earphones standing in what looks like an artist's studio.
Elixir by Barry Mcglashan
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Colour half-length portrait of a man wearing a dark jumper with his arms crossed.
Retrato del pintor Carlos Mondria (Portrait of the painter Carlos Mondria) by Alejandro Marco Montalvo
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Colour portrait of two women, one sitting in comfy chair with a trolley of things next to her, and a second woman standing behind the chair with one hand resting on the back of it in what looks like a kitchen area.
My Mother-in-law, Anne, and her sister, Auntie Audrey by Tony Noble
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Full length portrait of young man sitting on a stool, wearing a hat and holding something in his left hand.
Taha (as Ronin) by Tim Okamura
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Colour portrait of man wearing a blue shirt and tie set within a frame inside the painting
Sir Jeremy Isaacs by Tom Phillips
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Close-up portrait of man with dark beard and hat set against a dark background.
Buti by Flavia Maria Pitis
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Close-up portrait of woman with blonde hair, the left side of her face in shadow.
Portrait by Angela Reilly
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Colour head and shoulder portrait of woman wearing a low-cut bold patterned top, a long necklace and blonde hair tied back.
Kerry by Keith Robinson
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Colour portrait of man dressed in jeans, white shirt and jacket who is sat on a chair in front of a tall window, his hands are clasped on his lap.
John Waters by Oisin Roche
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Close-up colour portrait of young woman with long dark hair and dark-coloured scoop-neck top.
From the Series Answered Prayers (Bruna) by Rafael Rodríguez Cruz
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Portrait of young shirtless woman sleeping on a bed facing the viewer.
Marian Dormint (Marian Sleeping) by Josep Joaquim Santilari Perarnau
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Colour head and shoulder portrait of a young woman with short dark hair wearing eye glasses, viewed from the side.
Kristy, 3rd Attempt by Geert Schless
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Head and shoulder portrait of bare-shouldered woman with toussled short dark hair.
Tina by Fred Schley
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Colour head and shoulder portrait of a seated young woman with very long dark hair tied in a ponytail.
Rachel by Elie Shamir
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Colour portrait of young woman seen from a height sitting at a desk and writing in a notebook as she looks up at the viewer.
Student Debt by Nathan Stell
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Colour close-up portrait of older balding man with beard wearing a white shirt and black jacket set against a dark background.
Volker by Benita Stoney
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Colour portrait of seated woman in a triptych format, the sitter in the tallest central panel with smaller panels either side showing windows with lace panel curtains.
On Duddery Road by Benjamin Sullivan
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Colour portrait of seated woman with long brown hair waring a woolen hat, sitting in front of a wall covered in flowery wallpaper
Natalie by Jason Walker
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Colour portrait of man and wife, both seated and seen from the side, a table in the foreground with a phrenology bust placed on it
Professors Chris and Uta Frith by Emma Wesley
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Close-up colour portrait of a young woman washing her face with what looks like soapy water.
Boots No.7 (2) by Harriet White
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Colour head and shoulder portrait of man with greying hair and wearing a grey top.
Self by Nigel Wood
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Close-up portrait of young woman, her face on it's side and her short dark hair tousled and covering her eyes.
Meral by Joanna Yates