List of Turner Prize winners and nominees

Tate Britain: the venue for the Turner Prize

The Turner Prize is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist, organised by the Tate Gallery. Named after the painter J. M. W. Turner, it was first presented in 1984, and is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious,^[1][2][3] but controversial, art awards.^[4][5][6] Initially, the prize was awarded to the individual who had "made the greatest contribution to art in Britain in the previous twelve months", but it now celebrates "a British artist under fifty for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work in the twelve months preceding".^[7] The winner is chosen by a panel of four independent judges invited by the Tate and chaired by the director of Tate Britain. The prize is accompanied by a monetary award of £25,000,^[8] although the amount has varied depending on the sponsor. For example, between 2004 and 2007, while sponsored by Gordon's, the total prize fund was £40,000; £25,000 was awarded to the winner and £5,000 to the losing nominees.^[7]

A shortlist of finalists is drawn up and usually published about six months before the prize is awarded in November or December each year, although shortlists were not made public in 1988 and 1990; in 1989, a list of seven "commended" artists was published.^[7] Controversy surrounded the presentation of the inaugural prize to Malcolm Morley as some critics "questioned his relevance" to art in Britain; he had lived and worked in the United States for the previous 20 years.^[9] Since its inception, the prize itself has received considerable criticism.^[10] In 2002, after Culture Minister Kim Howells described the Turner Prize as "conceptual bullshit", Prince Charles wrote a letter of support to him, stating "It has contaminated the art establishment for so long".^[11] Since 2000, the Stuckists art group have protested against the prize;^[12] in 2008, they gave out leaflets with the message "The Turner Prize is Crap", to protest at the lack of figurative paintings amongst the nominees' exhibitions.^[13]

Considerable media pressure is applied to nominees and winners of the Turner Prize. The 2003 winner Grayson Perry stated that "Such media storms can be traumatising for someone who has laboured away for years in a studio, making art not news."^[14] Some artists, including Sarah Lucas and Julian Opie, have decided not to participate in the event, regarding a nomination as "a poisoned chalice".^[15] Stephen Deuchar, Director of Tate Britain suggested "We want the artists to be comfortable with media pressure. We have to shield them".^[16]

Several winners of the prize have won other notable awards such as the Venice Biennale, and continue to present their works at various international exhibitions.^[17] Winners' reactions to the award range from Damien Hirst's "A media circus to raise money for the Tate and Channel 4" to Jeremy Deller's "It blew me away, people's hunger to see what I'd done".^[18] Auction prices for works by previous winners have generally increased.^[19] The award has also seen some unexpected results: Tracey Emin's My Bed, was overlooked in 1999 despite drawing large crowds to the Tate.^[10][20] The Chapman brothers lost out to Grayson Perry in 2003 – Perry accepted the award dressed as a girl while Jake Chapman described "losing the Turner prize to a grown man dressed as a small girl" as his "most embarrassing moment".^[21]

Winners and shortlisted artists

Year	Winner	Format	Nominees	Notes
1984	Morley, MalcolmMalcolm Morley[9]	Painting	Richard Deacon Gilbert and George Howard Hodgkin Richard Long	Inaugural prize winner, awarded £10,000[22]
1985	Hodgkin, HowardHoward Hodgkin[23]	Painting, printing	Terry Atkinson Tony Cragg Ian Hamilton Finlay Milena Kalinovska John Walker	—
1986	Gilbert and George[24]	Photomontage	Art & Language Victor Burgin Derek Jarman Steven McKenna Bill Woodrow	Nicholas Serota (pictured), Matthew Collings and Robin Klassnik were all commended. Gilbert and George were nominees in 1984.[25]
1987	Deacon, RichardRichard Deacon[17]	Sculpture	Patrick Caulfield Helen Chadwick Richard Long Declan McGonagle Thérèse Oulton	Richard Long was also a nominee in 1984.
1988	Cragg, TonyTony Cragg[26]	Sculpture	Lucian Freud Richard Hamilton Richard Long David Mach Boyd Webb Alison Wilding Richard Wilson	Richard Long was also a nominee in 1984 and 1987.
1989	Long, RichardRichard Long[27]	Sculpture	Gillian Ayres Lucian Freud Giuseppe Penone Paula Rego Sean Scully Richard Wilson	There was no shortlist, but the losing nominees were "commended". Lucian Freud and Richard Wilson were nominees in 1988.
1990	—	—	—	Prize suspended due to lack of sponsor following the bankruptcy of Drexel Burnham Lambert[27]
1991	Kapoor, AnishAnish Kapoor[28]	Sculpture	Ian Davenport Fiona Rae Rachel Whiteread	Prize was increased to £20,000 with sponsorship from Channel 4[29]
1992	Davey, GrenvilleGrenville Davey[30]	Sculpture	Damien Hirst David Tremlett Alison Wilding	—
1993	Whiteread, RachelRachel Whiteread[31]	Sculpture	Hannah Collins Vong Phaophanit Sean Scully	First female winner; also won the £40,000 K Foundation art award presented to the "worst artist of the year"[32]
1994	Gormley, AntonyAntony Gormley[33]	Sculpture	Willie Doherty Peter Doig Shirazeh Houshiary	—
1995	Hirst, DamienDamien Hirst[34]	Installation, painting	Mona Hatoum Callum Innes Mark Wallinger	Damien Hirst: his exhibit included a bisected cow and calf in formaldehyde in a vitrine – Mother and Child Divided.[35] He was a nominee in 1992.
1996	Gordon, DouglasDouglas Gordon[36]	Video	Craigie Horsfield Gary Hume Simon Patterson	—
1997	Wearing, GillianGillian Wearing[37]	Video	Christine Borland Angela Bulloch Cornelia Parker	The first all-female shortlist[38]
1998	Ofili, ChrisChris Ofili[39]	Multi-layered painting	Tacita Dean Cathy de Monchaux Sam Taylor-Wood	—
1999	McQueen, SteveSteve McQueen[40]	Video	Tracey Emin Steven Pippin Jane and Louise Wilson	Tracey Emin exhibited her bed, titled My Bed[41]
2000	Tillmans, WolfgangWolfgang Tillmans[42]	Photography	Glenn Brown Michael Raedecker Tomoko Takahashi	Wolfgang Tillmans is German, but is based in London.[43]
2001	Creed, MartinMartin Creed[44]	Installation	Richard Billingham Isaac Julien Mike Nelson	Award presented to Creed by Madonna[45]
2002	Tyson, KeithKeith Tyson[46]	Installation, painting	Fiona Banner Liam Gillick Catherine Yass	—
2003	Perry, GraysonGrayson Perry[47]	Pottery	Jake and Dinos Chapman Willie Doherty Anya Gallaccio	Grayson Perry, a transvestite, accepted the prize wearing a dress.[48]
2004	Deller, JeremyJeremy Deller[19]	Video, installation	Kutluğ Ataman Langlands and Bell Yinka Shonibare	Prize increased to £25,000; losing nominees awarded £5,000 each
2005	Starling, SimonSimon Starling[49]	Installation	Darren Almond Gillian Carnegie Jim Lambie	—
2006	Abts, TommaTomma Abts[50]	Painting	Phil Collins Mark Titchner Rebecca Warren	Tomma Abts is German, but works in the UK. The prize was presented by Yoko Ono.[51]
2007	Wallinger, MarkMark Wallinger[52]	Installation	Nathan Coley Zarina Bhimji Mike Nelson	Mark Wallinger (a nominee in 1995) won for State Britain. The award show and ceremony were held in Tate Liverpool, and the prize was sponsored by Milligan.[53]
2008	Leckey, MarkMark Leckey[54][55]	Sculpture, film, sound, performance	Runa Islam Goshka Macuga Cathy Wilkes	No prize sponsor: funded by the Tate[56]
2009	Richard Wright	Site-specific painting	Enrico David Roger Hiorns Lucy Skaer Richard Wright[8]	—

References

General

• "The Turner Prize year by year". Tate Britain. http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/turnerprize/history/yearbyyear.shtm. Retrieved 5 June 2009. 
• Button, Virginia. The Turner Prize: New Edition 2007. Tate Publishing. ISBN 1854377566. 

Specific

External links

• The Turner Prize official website