BBC Documentaries

The John Moores Painting Prize with Alexei Sayle (2014x209)

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The John Moores Painting Prize is one of the country's most prestigious art awards. Established over 50 years ago by Sir John Moores, the man behind the Littlewoods pools empire, past winners include David Hockney, Richard Hamilton and Peter Doig, while Sir Peter Blake, who won the junior section in 1961, is now the prize's patron. Alexei Sayle has followed the prize avidly since he was a child growing up in Liverpool and it even inspired him to train as a painter at Chelsea School of Art, before a career as a stand-up comedian beckoned. In this film, Alexei returns to Liverpool to follow the progress of the 2014 John Moores Painting Prize. He visits some of the shortlisted artists in their studios and talks to Sir Peter Blake, Jake Chapman and Peter Doig about the importance of the award and goes behind the scenes at this year's award ceremony.