The Bottom Line
This collection of winning photos from the BP Portrait Award showcases the skills of portrait artists working today, providing inspiration and encouragement for figurative painters.
Pros
- First book on the winners of the BP Portrait Award
- Contains all winners and commended paintings
- Provides inspiration if you want to enter
Cons
- Doesn’t contain all the paintings exhibited
Description
- Paperback book, 64 pages
- ISBN 1-85514-328-3, Published by the National Portrait Gallery London, www.npg.org.uk
- Full colour reproductions of paintings, most post-card size and slightly bigger
Guide Review - BP Portrait Award 1990 to 2001
The annual Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in London was first held in 1980 to encourage young artists (under 40) to paint portraits, at a time when portraiture wasn’t popular in mainstream art. Today the award exhibition is one of the most popular in the UK. This book showcases the winning portraits from the BP Portrait Award between 1990 and 2001, plus all the commended paintings and, where applicable, the painting commissioned from the first-prize winner. It reveals the vast variety of styles in modern portraiture and the tremendous talent of the artists, and shows the continuing relevance of portraiture in the age of photography and computer art.
