A local pub, an art agency, and an art supply shop are joining forces to promote talented women painters.
The winner of this year’s Holly Bush Emerging Woman Painter Prize will earn £1,000 and the chance to see their work exhibited at Burgh House later this month.
Fullers, who own the iconic 18th Century pub in Holly Mount, have sponsored the prize, which is organised by curator, historian and writer Sue Ecclestone of Ecclestone Art Agency.
She says the prize is an effort to level up the playing-field in the art world, by assisting and celebrating emerging women artists.
Twenty-one finalists will be picked to show their work at Burgh House and of these the painter showing exceptional potential to become an established professional will recieve a cheque - with the expectation that it will fund their career.
Local art supply shop Cass Art is also backing the prize.
“This exhibition offers a genuine opportunity for emerging women artists to further their career and for art collectors to invest in the future of the art-world’s emerging talent,” said Ecclestone.
Last year’s winner Rosso said the year following her win had been “incredibly productive and rewarding”. She used the money to pay for models, which allowed her to paint figures from life. and to develop new ideas and subject matter. As a result she saw her work exhibited in the Artist of the Year at The Mall Galleries and has now been signed up by Hampstead’s Zebra One Gallery.
“I am very grateful to the Holly Bush for sponsoring this prize and to Ecclestone Art agency for pioneering an event which, quite apart from the financial aspect, has resulted in exhibiting opportunities and promotional support for the winners and participants,” she said.
The connection betwen pubs and artists may not be immediately obvious, but for centuries painting pub signs was a way for hard up painters to earn a crust.
The Holly Bush has more history with artists than most. It once housed the studio of the revered 18th century portrait painter George Romney and John Constable once lived nearby in Well Walk.
The Burgh House exhbition opens with a Private View and Prize-Giving on July 25 and runs until July 29. Further information at ecclestoneartagency.com
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