The three shortlisted artists for this year's £25,000 BP Portrait Award are David Eichenberg, Michael Gaskell and Daphne Todd for Last Portrait of Mother. The prestigious National Portrait Gallery competition is open to everyone over the age of 18 and the 58 artists exhibited here - whittled down from a record breaking 2,177 entries - are proof that portraiture is still an exciting, vital and relevant medium today. Some of the images play on perspective or use photographic techniques, alongside a host of other tricks but all share one aim: to reveal the inner lives of their subjects. Recent winners have included Craig Wylie (2008), who presented a hyper realistic portrait of his girlfriend, Katherine Raw, and last year's winner, Peter Monkman, Director of Art at Charterhouse School, who took first prize for Changeling 2, part of a series of portraits of his daughter, Anna, at different stages of her life. This year's award and prize winners will be announced on the evening of Tuesday 22nd June.
(Image: Tim II by David Eichenberg)
What's on at
National Portrait Gallery
Alex Katz Paints Anna Wintour 15th May 2010 - 21st September 2010 She's America's most influential fashion editor, dubbed 'Nuclear Wintour' for...
Price: FREE
BP Portrait Award 2010 24th June 2010 - 19th September 2010 The three shortlisted artists for this year's £25,000 BP Portrait...
London's Theatreland is the finest in the world, with swarms of Hollywood stars making pilgrimages across the pond to tread the hallowed boards of ... More
National Portrait Gallery
St Martin's Place, WC2H 0HE
Portraits from the 14th century to the present day
This isn't the place to come for serious works of exceptional... More
Gerhard Richter Portraits
National Portrait Gallery, WC2H 0HE
26th February 2009 - 31st May 2009
Following a highly successful solo show at the Serpentine Gallery at... More
BP Portrait Award 2009
National Portrait Gallery, WC2H 0HE
18th June 2009 - 20th September 2009
The £25,000 BP Portrait Award is, for many young artists, a ticket... More
National Portrait Gallery
St Martin's Place, WC2H 0HE
This isn't the place to come for serious works of exceptional artistic merit - the overriding aim of ... More
She's America's most influential fashion editor, dubbed 'Nuclear Wintour' for her cool manner - said to have inspired the Meryl Streep character in The Devil ...More
Canaletto, the Venetian painter famous for his landscapes, or vedute, of Venice, is the star of the National Gallery's display of Venetian views, Venice: Canaletto and ...More
Following a phenomenally successful run at the Lyric Hammersmith, Ghost Stories transfers to the Duke of York's theatre in the West End in June. If ...More
Overlooking Leicester Square - the setting for London’s regular film premieres - the Radisson Edwardian Hampshire has glamorous, exclusive décor to match its high-profile setting: ... More
Set in between Trafalgar and Leicester Squares and right next to the National Portrait Gallery, the Thistle Trafalgar Square is a modern hotel set in ... More
The National Portrait Gallery houses portraits of significant figures from the late 15th century to the present day. This isn't the place to come for ... More
The National Gallery dominates London's Trafalgar Square with its neo-classical columns and portico designed by William Wilkins adjoining the square on its east side where ... More
From budding Harry Potters and bumbling Tommy Coopers to dynamic David Copperfields, Davenports is a haven for magicians of every level and ability. Non-magicians too ... More
Taking inspiration from Japanese ramman-noodle bars, Wagamama is the ultimate in high-quality, fast food. Huge bowls of steaming, soupy noodles, chicken dumplings with a chilli-soy ... More
The National Gallery's National Dining Rooms restaurant won Time Out's Best British Restaurant Award in 2007 for good reasons - they do all sorts of ... More
The Courtauld is one of the most prestigious art schools in the country, affiliated with the Oxbridge system and boasting a huge private location and ... More
Imperial College London is the foremost medical training faculty in the country but for non-medical graduates wishing for a change of career, King’s is the ... More
This day spa exclusively for women is a total pampering experience from the minute you step through the door. Located in bustling Covent Garden you'll ... More
Pop "Doonstairs" from Trafalgar Square's Scottish bar and restaurant Albannach and you will enter the world of Doon, a new cocktail lounge named after the ... More
Concealed in a particularly squalid and touristy corner of Piccadilly Circus is Rumba, the bar that has kept the UK's Urban scene alive in the ... More
This
was once a sleazy Soho strip club, as the name suggests, and it really
shows. Deep reds are the dominant colour, with mirrors, booths and
velvet curtains ... More
Get the FREE monthly guide to London entertainment, arts, concerts, sport, book signings, and essential event information delivered directly to your inbox.
LondonTown.com has special discounts every week. The amount of discount will vary depending on the dates you are coming and how far in advance you book. All discounts are subject to availability.
The three shortlisted artists for this year's £25,000 BP Portrait Award are David Eichenberg, Michael Gaskell and Daphne Todd for Last Portrait of Mother. The prestigious 
