Georgie And Monkman

We visit the National Portrait Gallery yesterday and this is "Georgie" by Mary Jane Ansell, 2009, at the BP Portrait Award. BP sponsoring one of the most prestigious portrait competitions in the world showcasing modern .. portriture. First prize is £25,000, chosen this years from a record >1,900 artists. Fifty-six paintings, including the three shortlisted artists - Annalisa Avancini for Manuel, Michael Gaskell for Tom and Peter Monkman for Changeling 2 - alongside the work of the BP Travel Award 2008 winner Emmanouil Bitsakis who visited China in celebration of the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games. There are five judges, and I met one of them several years ago: Chair and Director Sandy Nairne. We discussed charitable giving but unfortunately for me (and good for the NPG) there was a very qualified gal from Morgan Stanely leading the charge (she being American so no probs asking for contributions).

Monkman wins First Prize BTW, announced 16 June; he has also been included in the award exhibiton in 1999, 2001 and 2003.When not brushing, he is Director of Art at Charterhouse School in nearby Surrey; he studied visual arts at the University of Lancaster, John Moores University Liverpool and the University of London. Monkman's portrait is part of a series of his daughter exploring the concept of the changeling, a child substituted for another by stealth, often with an elf. The initial ideas for this portrait came from photographic studies of Anna playing in woods in Brittany "where the light had a magical quality." he notes.