BP absent from judging panel for BP-sponsored portrait award

For the first time in 23 years there was no representative from BP on the judging panel for this year's annual BP Portrait Award. 78 leading artists, including five previous Turner prize winners, had signed a public letter urging the National Portrait Gallery to remove the BP representative from the judging panel. The Gallery told The Guardian the decision not to include a BP representative was not influenced by the campaigners, though environmental pressure group Culture Unstained claimed it was "no coincidence". The prize was won by self-taught artist Jiab Prachakul.