The John Moores Painting Prize is the UK’s most well-known painting competition, bringing together the best contemporary painting from across the UK to Liverpool.

Bringing together the best of contemporary painting from across the UK to Liverpool, the painting prize is over 60 years old. First held in 1957, the competition was named after its founding sponsor Sir John Moores. The prize is open to all artists working with paint, who are aged 18 years or over and live or are professionally based in the UK. Showcasing the very latest in painting today across the UK, the competition culminates in an exhibition held at the Walker Art Gallery every two years. Past prize winners have included Peter Doig, Rose Wylie, David Hockney and Sir Peter Blake, who became the first patron of the John Moores Painting Prize in 2011, after winning the Junior section of John Moores 3 with his painting ‘Self Portrait with Badges’ in 1961.