Historic art on the horizon

It means Sheffield’s Haroon Mirza remains the only Yorkshire winner of the prize, which was initiated and remains in Leeds, in its now five year history

Mr Fitzmaurice’s entry included several historic paintings taken from Leeds Art Gallery’s collection and hung together so that the horizons in each of the paintings matched up, creating one long horizon.

He took the £16,500 winner’s cheque for work which also included a collection of photographs of objects everyday settings, presented as a digital slide show.

Mr Fitzmaurice, of The Wirral, said: “The money means I can just concentrate on my work for the next couple of years.

“When the prize started I wondered if you had to turn up in a flat cap and with a whippet, but over the years it has built into a really important event in the arts world in the North.” Judge Simon Wallis, who is director of the Hepworth Wakefield, announced the winner at a packed event at Leeds Art Gallery, where the exhibition will continue to run until February 19.

The remaining three shortlisted artists, these being Huddersfield’s Liadin Cooke, James Hugonin and Richard Rigg, were each awarded £1,500.

picture: bruce rollinson..