The shortlist for the BP award at the National Portrait Gallery was announced yesterday. The winner recieves £30,000. I haven’t yet seen the full exhibition but my complaint of previous years would be the percentage of ‘photo-real’ painters. ie Portraits that have clearly been painted from a photo rather than a sitter. I prefer a more painterly approach which is why my favourite of these three is the Buces Renard. However I think ‘Eliza’ by Michael Gaskill will win – it’s a bit more NPG and beautifully painted. Gaskill also has form in this award but has never won the top slot. The exhibition is free and always worth a look if you are anywhere near Trafalgar Square.
