The Turner Prize is a contemporary art award that was set up in 1984 to celebrate new developments in contemporary art.
The prize is awarded each year to 'a British artist under fifty for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work in the twelve months preceding'.
Nominations are invited each year, and the prize is judged by an independent jury that changes annually. The four shortlisted artists present works in a show normally held at Tate Britain before the winner is announced in December. Artists are not judged on their show at Tate. The decision is based on the work they were nominated for.
Over the recent decades the Turner Prize has played a significant role in provoking debate about visual art and the growing public interest in contemporary British art in particular, and has become widely recognised as one of the most important and prestigious awards for the visual arts in Europe.
The prize was founded by a group called the Patrons of New Art. They were formed in 1982 to help buy new art for the Tate Gallery's collection, and to encourage wider interest in contemporary art. The Patrons wanted a name associated with great British art. They chose JMW Turner (1775–1851) partly because he had wanted to establish a prize for young artists. He also seemed appropriate because his work was controversial in his own day.
At first the prize was awarded to 'the person who, in the opinion of the jury, has made the greatest contribution to art in Britain in the previous twelve months'. This meant that critics and art administrators were eligible as well as artists.
There was no age limit at first, but in 1991 it was decided to restrict the Prize to artists under fifty, so that younger artists just setting out weren't pitted against artists at the height of their careers.
There was no limit at first, but in 1987 it was ruled that any artist nominated for two years wouldn't be eligible for the following two years. This was changed again in 1991; since then there has been no limit to the number of times an artist can be shortlisted.
In the early days there were concerns about the shortlisting process. In 1988 it was decided not to announce the shortlist publicly, and instead of an exhibition of work by shortlisted artists, the winner was offered a solo show the following year. In 1989 the jury published a list of seven 'commended' artists. The shortlist was reinstated in 1991, and restricted to three or four artists.
The first sponsor was Oliver Prenn, though he remained anonymous at the time. He was a founder member of the Patrons of New Art. The prize money was £10,000 for the first three years. He was followed in 1987 by Drexel Burnham Lambert International Inc., an American investment company. They sponsored the prize until 1989. The prize was suspended for a year in 1990 when the company went bankrupt. Channel 4 was the sponsor from 1991–2003 and the prize money was raised to £20,000. From 2004 to 2007 Gordon's sponsored the prize and the value was increased to £40,000.
Grayson Perry at the 2003 Turner Prize reception
© Tate Photography