DAVID M ROBINSON SPONSORS FIRST PRIZE IN UK’s BIGGEST PAINTING HONOUR

Liverpool jewellers sponsors John Moores Painting Prize

The Walker Art Gallery is delighted to announce that Liverpool jewellers, David M Robinson will sponsor the £25,000 first prize of the John Moores Painting Prize.

It is the largest ever private sector support towards the prestigious competition which was dubbed ‘the Oscars of the painting world’ by Sir Norman Rosenthal, 2010 judge and former Exhibitions Secretary for the Royal Academy.

Liverpool-born David Robinson began his own career with a major accolade when he won his first of two DeBeers Diamond Awards in New York.

David said: “I’m delighted to be able to support the arts on Merseyside and the John Moores Painting Prize in particular.

“I was lucky enough to have been helped in the development of my design business by winning two international diamond design prizes and it feels right to be helping others in the same way.”

Director of Art Galleries, Sandra Penketh said: “We are overwhelmed by the generosity shown by David M Robinson in sponsoring the first prize of the John Moores.

“The competition, which is nearly 60 years old, was founded by a local art-loving and passionate business man, Sir John Moores. It is therefore entirely fitting that we should be working with David, another Liverpool-born business man who has played such an important and encouraging role as a supporter of the arts.”

David M Robinson have been corporate members of National Museums Liverpool since 2004. In 2012 they supported one of the four John Moores runner up prizes.

The John Moores Painting Prize, organised in partnership with the John Moores Liverpool Exhibition Trust, has a track record as a springboard for the careers of many influential British artists. Previous winners include David Hockney, Sir Peter Blake (now patron of the prize), Mary Martin, Peter Doig and in 2012, Sarah Pickstone.

Sir Peter Blake’s Self-Portrait with Badges won the junior prize in 1961, an achievement which he maintains is his ‘proudest accomplishment’ and which as a young artist, fresh out of art school, spurred him on to an internationally successful career.

The exhibition (5 July – 30 November 2014) forms a major part of the Liverpool Biennial and coincides with the Liverpool International Festival of Business.

The John Moores Painting Prize is part of National Museums Liverpool's Modern Masters exhibition series part funded by the European Union - the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

For more information on the history of the prize: www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/johnmoores or follow the prize on Twitter (@johnmoores2014) or Facebook.

Notes to Editors

• An international team has been assembled to judge the 2014 prize. Artists Zeng Fanzhi, Chantal Joffe, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye and Tom Benson along with Director of Exhibitions at White Cube and broadcaster Tim Marlow will select the exhibition and award the first prize and four prize winners.
• All UK-based artists who work with paint are invited to submit work to be considered for the John Moores Painting Prize 2014.
• John Moores Painting Prize is part of Liverpool Biennial, the UK’s largest contemporary art festival. The 8th Liverpool Biennial International Festival of Contemporary Art, will take place from 5 July to 26 October 2014. www.biennial.com

David M Robinson

David M Robinson is an internationally acclaimed goldsmith and jewellery designer. His business began in 1968, in Liverpool, from a small workshop and has grown to become one of the UK’s leading jewellery retail companies with showrooms in Liverpool ONE, London’s Canary Wharf, Manchester, Altrincham, Chester and Southport.

The company has a reputation for innovative diamond jewellery design and outstanding customer care. David M Robinson Jewellers is recognised by the Sunday Times’ Best Companies Awards.

David is a passionate supporter of the business and arts scene on Merseyside and was recognised for his patronage with an honorary degree from Liverpool John Moores University.

ERDF in the Northwest

ERDF is making a real difference to people and businesses in the North West. With €755 million to invest between 2007 and 2013, ERDF is enhancing the competitiveness of the region’s economy by supporting growth in enterprise and employment.

ERDF in the North West is managed by the Department for Communities and Local Government – for further information visit https://www.gov.uk/erdf-programmes-progress-and-achievements

National Museums Liverpool

National Museums Liverpool comprises eight venues. Our collections are among the most important and varied in Europe and contain everything from Impressionist paintings and rare beetles to a lifejacket from the Titanic.                                                          

We attract more than three million visitors every year. Our venues are the International Slavery Museum, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Merseyside Maritime Museum, Museum of Liverpool, Sudley House, Border Force National Museum, Walker Art Gallery and World Museum. 

One of the finest art galleries in Europe, the Walker Art Gallery is home to renaissance masterpieces, Tudor portraits and one of the best collections of Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite art in the country. An outstanding display of contemporary art includes work by David Hockney, Lucian Freud and Banksy.

Walker Art Gallery William Brown Street, Liverpool     Admission FREE
Open 10am-5pm every day                                           Information 0151 478 4199

Website liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker

Twitter www.twitter.com/walkergallery

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