27 June 09
Maggie - Sue Rubirawww.npg.org.uk
The BP Portrait Award returns to the National Portrait Gallery, offering the chance to see the works of some of the country’s best contemporary portrait artists.
The BP Portrait Award returns to the National Portrait Gallery, offering the chance to see the works of some of the country’s best contemporary portrait artists.
Another fantastically varied collection of Portraits for this years event. Loads of different styles and many, many personal stories. My selection does not include any of the winners, just the works that moved me the most. Maggie by Sue Rubira stopped me in my tracks, not the most beautiful picture - but an honest and loving portrayal, an image that really illustrates that special relationship between model (Mother) and artist (Daughter).
Virginia - Erin Wozniak. Jamchandra Je - Edward Sutcliffe
I also found the two works shown above incredibly moving... Viginia by Erin Wozniak breaks all the rules - it works as a wonderfully personal portrait that captures a Grandmothers strength, character and vulnerability. By contrast, Jamchandra Je by Edward Sutcliffe is an image brimming with life and optimism. It captures a painter Sutcliffe met and befriended while travelling in India. The portrait was painted in the Hotel Ganges View, Varanasi, where each day Je would paint Indian miniatures in the hotel courtyard. A Portrait of a Portrait painter in a Portrait Gallery, perfect!
9 out of 10
