Our World In The Year 2000

The exciting conclusion to the World’s largest ever painting competition culminated in the international judging in London in June 1999.

Steve Pleune, Managing Director of Winsor & Newton, approached the Office of HRH The Prince of Wales to ask whether the Prince might be willing to become a patron. The Prince himself has been a keen watercolourist since the mid-1980s and as soon as he heard of the project, he gave it his wholehearted support. Not only was he willing to be a patron, but he also allowed time during his busy schedule to chair the international judging panel, and to host the official opening of the exhibition in February 2000

By the end of May 1999, all the paintings had arrived from around the world at Winsor & Newton headquarters in London. A survey of the winners from each country revealed that 65% were male and 35% female. The youngest national winner was Ainara Maider Del Olmo Abedul, a 15 year-old Spanish girl, and the oldest was 70 year-old Michael O’Brien from Ireland. Of the winning pictures, over a third were in oil, just under a third were in mixed media, and a quarter were in acrylic. Surprisingly, fewer than 10% were watercolours.

To allow all 250 paintings to be seen together, rather than individually or in groups, HRH The Prince of Wales arranged for St. James’s Palace to be made available, the first time it had been used for such an event. Built in the early 16th century by Henry VIII, it was lived in by Kings and Queens of England for over 300 years and remains, to this day the official residence of the Sovereign. The Prince of Wales arranged for the judging to take place in the Entrée Room and Throne Room, two of the grandest historic interiors in the palace.

The judges included the French abstract expressionist painter, Jérôme Tisserand, who had been a member of the panel in France and served as cultural adviser to the Mairie de Paris; the Japanese curator and art historian, Toshio Shimizu, who had organised international exhibitions of African, Asian, and European contemporary art; and Ronald Maddox, the President of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours. The British artist Emma Sergeant was also invited to join the panel. A highly successful figurative painter, well known for her portraiture, she had also painted a great deal around the world.
The international judging took place on 23 June 1999 and was attended by Geoff Trotter from the Guinness Book of Records, which later declared the competition to be the largest of its kind ever held. Four separate judging procedures were carried out during the day to whittle down the 253 pictures to the winning 12, followed by two further judging sessions to choose 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizewinners. The eventual winner, Eternal Amazon by Ramón Piaguaje of Ecuador, was the only painting voted for unanimously by all seven judges during the final rounds. The judges were fascinated by the widely differing techniques, styles, and means of expression, which aroused much discussion. For all, it was a unique experience, unlikely to be repeated.

Afterwards, Emma Sergeant commented: ‘What impressed me about the work was how the artists responded to the theme, which was on a grand scale as themes go. The interpretations of how they viewed their countries in the new millennium ranged from the personal to the universal. Jérôme Tisserand, who was surprised to find such quality in the work of self-taught and amateur artists, observed: ‘From the technical point of view we discovered good work, generally speaking, skilfully done in oil and acrylic. I am pleased with our choice of winners and runners up, and that the competition shows how mistaken people are to announce the death of the art of painting’. The Prince was impressed with the integrity of so many of the works and the sincerity of the thoughts and feelings expressed. Of the winning painting, he said simply: ‘He knows and loves his world and this shows what he feels about it’. As many of the concerns raised by the artists in their pictures were close to the Prince’s interests, especially the need for better understanding and management of the natural and man-made environment, The Prince’s Foundation was chosen as the beneficiary charity for funds raised by the exhibition in London.

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