A painting of a glamorous grandmother who starred in the TV series Fabulous Fashionistas is among three shortlisted for this year’s £30,000 BP Portrait Award.
Jean Woods, 76, whose distinctive style was showcased in the Channel 4 fashion series, was captured on canvas by Richard Twose and entered for the prestigious prize which attracted a record-breaking 2,377 entries this year.
Twose, 51, asked her to pose for him after spotting her on television and discovered they had a family connection. She had always loved fashion and started working as the oldest employee of Gap seven years ago before working for other high street names and branching into modelling.
Twose, from Bath, said her experience as a model made her a professional at sitting for the portrait and added: “I wanted to capture that sense of someone who has learnt to be almost fearless, looking forward to life still but with a great richness of experience behind her.”
The 25th anniversary of the award also sees Letter to my Mom, New Yorker David Kassan’s portrait of his mother, and Man with a Plaid Blanket, German artist Thomas Ganter’s painting of a homeless man who earns money by cleaning car windscreens, in contention for the top prize.
Sandy Nairne, director of the National Portrait Gallery which organises the award, said it had been “another outstanding year” with entries from 71 countries. The winner will be announced on June 24 and more than 50 entries including the shortlisted three will go on show in a free exhibition from June 26 to September 21.
