Rising young Suffolk artist Ania Hobson has been declared The BP Young Artist of the Year as part of the prestigious annual BP Portrait Award which is staged at the National Portrait Gallery.

East Anglian Daily Times: Suffolk artist Ania Hobson wins the 'Young Artist Award' 2018 at the prestigious BP Portrait Awards at the National Portrait Gallery Picture: JORGE HERRERASuffolk artist Ania Hobson wins the 'Young Artist Award' 2018 at the prestigious BP Portrait Awards at the National Portrait Gallery Picture: JORGE HERRERA (Image: JORGE HERRERA)

The 28 year old artist, who lives outside Saxmundham, was chosen for the award after submitting her large-scale work A Portrait of Two Female Painters, which depicts Ania sitting alongside her sister in law Stevie Dix.

The work explores the relationship of the two young women as they work in the studio together. The award, with a £9,000 prize, is given to artists aged between 18 and 30 showing exceptional promise.

Last year Ania’s self portrait was selected for exhibition, but this is the first time her work has been considered for any of the prizes.

The judges in their adjudication said that they liked the handling of paint and directness in of the work, “capturing an interesting air of mystery”.

“Hobson used an upward perspective to allow the viewer’s eye to map the portrait and convey a feeling of confidence and creative energy which celebrates female painters today.”

The overall winner Miriam Escofet won the BP Portrait Award 2018 for An Angel at my Table, a portrait of her mother drinking tea. More than 2,667 artists from 88 countries submitted work for the competition from which 48 were selected for the exhibition.

Ania was delighted with her win. She said, “I never counted on coming first but I couldn’t be happier to have received the Young Artist Award out of the four awards. It’s allowing me to pursue my career as a professional painter.”

The former pupil of Thomas Mills High School in Framlingham studied at Suffolk College before completing a degree in Fine Art at the University of Suffolk. She followed this with short courses at the Prince’s Drawing School and Florence Academy of Art. Her work has been seen in group exhibitions in the UK and the annual exhibitions of the Society of Women Artists and the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. Ania is based in Asylum studios at RAF Bentwaters near Woodbridge. She is hoping to continue submitting to international exhibitions and is also looking to study further.

The BP Portrait Award exhibition is on display until September 23 at the National Portrait Gallery, London.