Painting of mother's body wins art prize

Yorkshire born Daphne Todd, 63, clinched the runner-up prize in 1984 but stopped applying when she turned 40 because she was over the age limit.

When organisers decided to scrap the age cap in 2007, Todd, whose "devotional study" of her mother Annie was painted at the undertakers, applied again.

Speaking just before the winner was announced, Todd, whose previous subjects have included Spike Milligan and South Yorkshire born mezzo-soprano Dame Janet Baker, said: "I'm not expecting to win. I'm sure that they are making a gesture by having me in the shortlist, I'm the token elderly person."

Todd, whose painting, Last Portrait of Mother, shows her subject propped up in the refrigerated room of the undertaker's funeral parlour, said she thought she might not be perceived as "cutting edge" enough to win.