The Kingston Prize

"The Kingston Prize: Canada's Portrait Competition presents over 250 extraordinary contemporary portraits by Canadian artists, celebrating the first nine years of finalists and winners of one of the country's leading portrait competitions. Founded in 2005 in Kingston, Ontario, The Kingston Prize is a biennial event that has received 3,500 submissions since its inception. The finalists and winning portraits have been viewed by hundreds of thousands of visitors to the related exhibitions, which have been held across Canada in Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Alberta. This biennial competition is open to any Canadian artist who depicts a Canadian citizen or permanent resident in a portrait based on a real-life encounter. The aim of The Kingston Prize is to encourage and reward the creation of contemporary portraits by Canadian artists, to promote Canadian artists through competition, and over time to develop an historical record of Canadians, by Canadians. Generously illustrated with full-colour reproductions of every finalist and winner since the inception of The Kingston Prize, this book offers a visual record of life in Canada, recording people of prominence, work and leisure activities, clothing and hairstyles, and, on the other side of the easel, the inspiring range of painting and drawing styles of artists active in portraiture today."-- Provided by publisher.