The world's richest art prize was launched in London last night by Russia, offering a staggering 500,000 euro pot to revitalise the out-of-favour style of figurative art.

And while the cash is coming from that great land in the east it's not from some football club owning oligarch or petroleum Tsar, but the taxpayers of Ulyanovsk, a humble region on the Volga River a couple of hours drive from Moscow.

The Plastov Prize will be split into 21 categories, each offering 500,000 to 1million roubles.
There will be no overall winner, but in a very Socialist manner several equal first places will share the £420,000 prize money.

It dwarfs the previous richest art prizes, the Gulbenkian - worth £175,000 - and the US-based ArtPrize worth £153k. By comparison Britain's most notable art prize, the Turner, offers £25,000 to the winner, among total prize money of £40,000.

The awards have been running for two years in Ulyanovsk and attracting about 500 entrants annually, but by throwing it open to the international community and with such a generous endowment the prize may put the region on the map.

Speaking at the launch at the MacDougall Art Auctions Gallery in St James, Central London, the governor of Ulyanovsk, Sergey Morozov, said: "We are the only region in Russia that has as its strategy the development of art.

"This means that we recognise culture as the main driver of our development, not aviation, not cars, not nuclear power, but culture as the main driver for our development.

"You won't find a territory that has brought so many talented people into this world."

He added that the community and government of Ulyanovsk believed figurative painting, a staple of Russian culture, needed to be supported and revitalised.

"This is why we are establishing one of the largest awards in the world. We hope the paintings of this artist Plastov will help you understand our endless country."

Arkady Plastov, who died in 1972, was a venerated socialist realist painter and a favourite of Stalin. But he turned his back on the honours offered by the Soviet regime to enjoy a simple life working in his home village.

There he continued to create vibrant images of 'Mother Russia', peasant scenes and rich landscapes, but never became well known internationally.

Over the years figurative painting has fallen out of fashion in favour of more modern styles, but has experienced a resurgence of sorts in recent years. Last year the major exhibition Realism in the Russian Art of the Second Part of the 20th Century was held in St Petersburg, while in London the website Go Figurative evolved and moved to a permanent gallery in Shoreditch.

British figurative painter Ken Howard said: "In a way the word 'contemporary' has been grabbed by other art styles. I think I am contemporary - I'm still alive."

A selection of Plastov's works will be on display at MacDougall's until February 5.

Gallery owner Catherine MacDougall asked why the price of Chinese art had boomed, while Russian art remained stuck in the doldrums.

"It is because Russians don't believe in themselves," she said, speaking in Russian and dismissing her translator. "We have to move Russian art in the right direction and fight for its place in the global scene."

There will be more presentations of the Plastov Prize in major European capitals over the next few months as organisers seek to increase the number of entrants.

There should be no shortage of takers.

MacDougall Arts
30a Charles II Street
London SW1Y 4AE
+44 20 7389 8160

www.macdougallauction.com

martin.newman@mirror.co.uk

Until April 19

An exhibition of paintings and sketches by a self-taught artist who only had his first solo show at the age of 82 six years ago, has proved a near sell-out.

The works of Lancashire artist John Thompson are being snapped up by a voracious art-buying public in a retrospective show one year after his death at the age of 87.

Thompson, whose style has been likened to L.S. Lowry, painted mostly urban-industrial scenes of flat cap-wearing working men in Northern England towns.

The Oldham-born artist only began painting full-time at the age of 56 in the style of the Northern Art movement of which Lowry belonged.

But despite coming to it late, he was staggeringly successful and sold some 1,500 works before his death from cancer in July last year. In fact Thompson numbered all his paintings, well over 3,000, and kept a record of them in his journal.

The exhibition at the Clark Art gallery in Hale, Cheshire, which has uncovered a large body of unseen oil and acrylic paintings, watercolours and drawings, has seen most of the works already snapped up since opening on Thursday. Many are from the artist's popular Group Series. And experts are predicting prices of his works are set to increase following his death.

Thompson's work has been hung in the House of Lords and he held major exhibitions throughout the UK. He was often hailed as 'The New Lowry', but would comment: "Lowry was an observer, where as I'm an absorber."

Bill Clark, owner of Clark Art gallery, said: "This is a rare opportunity - for the first time the full extent of his estate will be on view for the public, since his death.

"We're showcasing never seen before works, private studies and experimental drawings - the exhibition gives a new insight into the work of a great artist. It will affirm his position as a major figure in the Northern Arts scene.

"He has a loyal following and we've seen a resurgence of interest from all over the world.

"John's work allows the observer to add to the experience themselves: to find their own meaning - that's why his eclectic paintings resonate with so many people."

Bill added: "John was warm and approachable. His art shared this charm. The exhibition is a way of saying farewell to an amazing artist and a remarkable man.

"He was a great character- nobody will ever fill John's shoes, and cap for that matter."

Clark Art Gallery
155 Ashley Road, Hale,
Cheshire WA14 2UW
0161 929 5150

www.clark-art.co.uk

martin.newman@mirror.co.uk

Turner's Keelmen Heaving Coals by Night (1835)© Image courtesy the Trustees, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, Widner Collection

In 1648 the artist Claude Gellee (born in Lorraine and later to be known by that name) painted Seaport with the Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba.

A magical scene of ships moored in a Venetian-style harbour, the sun refracted through the tranquil morning atmosphere, the work was to inspire countless artists trying to reproduce the magical inspiration of Claude's vision.

Brought to Britain by the collector John Julius Angerstein it was one of the first works acquired by the National Gallery in 1824, and for the young artist JMW Turner the initial sighting of it prompted him to burst into tears of confusion and wonderment.

The profound influence of Claude on Turner's work is traced in the National Gallery's new exhibition Turner Inspired: In the Light of Claude.

Claude's Seaport with the Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba (1648) © The National Gallery, London

It shows the development of Turner's landscape style, but also how he strove to surpass Claude, ultimately creating the genesis of the Impressionist movement.

One particular work shows best the turning point in which, perhaps, England's greatest artist came into his own.

In 1835, Turner, then at the ripe old age of 60, painted Keelmen Heaving in Coals by Night. It was at once derivative of his greatest influence Claude but struck a contemporary theme with its depiction of an increasingly industrialised Britain.

While torches burn on the boats in the port evoking the look of smelters and industrial crucibles, the light of the moon illuminates the scene almost like sunlight but for the glittering effect cast on the water and through the black smoke floating above it.

It is an almost perfect representation of the two things Turner is best known for, his depiction of light and the industrial subjects that finally marked him as an important chronicler of the time rather than a purely romantic painter.

Four years later he struck one of his most famous works The Fighting Temeraire (tugged to her last berth to be broken up), a symbol of industrial Britain, the heroic qualities of inanimate mechanisms of war and industry and a nod to England's naval might.

Turner's Banks of the Loire (1829) © Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachussets. Bequest of Theodore T and Mary G. Ellis 1940

But from early in his career Turner took Seaport with the Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba and many others of Claude's works as the basis for his own romantic pastoral landscapes and seacapes set in harbours or off the coast.

Some of his works are scenes of British countryside, Twickenham or the Tamar, but given mountainous vistas more suited to Italy and exotic names from the continent, such as 1829's Banks of the Loire.

Like Claude, Turner put his sun at the centre of his paintings, and the diffusion of light became the most important aspect of his art.

He strove to surpass him, but had so much respect for the artist that he continually returned to the painter's themes.

Turner's Sun rising through Vapour: Fishermen cleaning and selling Fish (before 1807) © The National Gallery, London

The son of a Covent Garden butcher and a wig maker Turner was accepted into the Royal Academy and had his first work shown at the Summer Exhibition by just 15.

A prodigy feted from the age of 12 when his father sold his sketches in the window of his butcher shop, he is today regarded by many as perhaps England's greatest painter.

Turner was a celebrated watercolourist too and he sought to capture the luminous atmospheric effect of watercolours in his oil painting.

Know as 'the painter of light' his works foreran the Impressionists and were an important influence on Monet and much later the American Expressionist Mark Rothko.

It was much later in life that his most influential painting was done, his use of light effects fusing into an almost abstract interpretation of landscape.

In the Light of Claude shows how Turner's lengthy tutelage reworking the themes of Claude Lorrrain and his use of light, led to his own chrysalis as the first Impressionist.

Works such as Rain, Steam and Speed - The Great Western Railway (1844) show a steam train emerging from the mist and gloom, high on a viaduct over a barely discernible city.

The sun is no longer a point in the sky, but a presence diffused across the whole scene. The influences of Claude have been assimilated and turned into something completely original and unique.

Turner's final homage in death to the great artist was to bequeath two of his own paintings to the National on the proviso they could only ever be shown hung between two of Claude's works.

In this exhibition the artists works are uniquely entwined once again, and Turner's masterful eulogy to one of the world's finest landscape painters may well be complete.

martin.newman@mirror.co.uk

It's that time of the year again when the card industry, the balloon makers and the 'teddy holding a heart' companies bombard us with the message 'It's Valentine's Day - go out and spend'.

So, in a refreshing reversal London's first virtual charity shop has been set up to raise money for victims of domestic violence.

The Cabinet of Dreams in a window of a shop in Noel Street, Soho, presents you with nine bell-jars containing miniature works of art. Each one represents a donation, ranging from £2 to £20, that you can make via text. You can also visit the shop online.

The object of your affections will then receive the virtual gift and an image of the artwork to their phone. All the money goes to Women's Aid, a domestic abuse charity.

The bell-jars contain their own take on a romantic ideal such as Some Old Fashioned Romance by Birmingham-born artist Marie-Louise Jones, below centre.

Other contributions include Fred Butler's The Moon on a Stick, A Comfortable Silence by The Last Tuesday Society, A Portion of Spoilt Rotten by Suck & Chew, A Stolen Moment by Kyle Bean, Industrial Strength Mojo by Francesca Mair and The Apple of My Eye.

As part of a push to raise awareness about the one in four women who suffer domestic abuse at some point in their lives, Women's Aid carried out a YouGov survey to find out what really matters to women on Valentine's Day.

The poll found only one in five women wanted to receive roses as a romantic gesture.

In fact abusive men are more likely to use tokens of love to win a woman's affections than by showing truly romantic gestures.

There are many women who will end up victims of domestic abuse this Valentine's Day, as happens every day of the year, and this campaign/art project is a way of showing support to them, on a day when commercialism would otherwise run rampant.

www.cabinetofdreams.co.uk

martin.newman@mirror.co.uk

It's perhaps a mark of how rapidly Tribes has become a name within the music industry that they are now performing bespoke acoustic sets.

Formed two and-a-half years ago the Camden Town natives were back in their old stomping ground last night to play the Purple Turtle.

As lead singer Johnny Lloyd told me after the gig it was a favour to an Xfm dj mate (Steve Harris). The truth is there is such a buzz around Tribes that they are on the cusp of being too big to play venues like this.

Now however the Palace is the trendy Koko club and the Turtle has become a more than respectable venue - like a larger, seething version of the 12 Bar Club.

It's certainly an atmospheric place to see a band, with the long bar virtually reaching the stage, but you'd struggle to get 250 people in there.

So last night Tribes, whose new record label Island are already bankrolling an assault on the States, were paying back some debts in North London.

With drummer Miguel Demelo sitting it out, the three guitarists Lloyd, Dan White and Jim Cratchley, lined-up across the edge of the stage like soulful mariachis.

They started with Coming of Age from the We Were Children ep, then eased through a number of tracks from their newly released debut album Baby. Sappho was next, then Corner of an English Field and (my favourite track) Nightdriving, before they ended their brief run with the local area's new anthem of choice We Were Children.

All five fine songs, and somehow more heartfelt played and sung at a slower pace.

Lyrically Lloyd has written some touching tracks which stand-up to the scrutiny of an acoustic set. With his sleeveless T-shirt and lean, wireyness, he looked like a long-haired Scott Baio, circa Chachi 1981. But without the shoutiness.

At times Tribes sound has shades of T-Rex in it. You can hear some of the big hair rock of the '70s, then it slides back into soft poeticism. They are distinct, but occasionally you will find enviable, hard to place but satisfying licks of other bands who have been before.

Last night felt like the calm before the storm. This band is going to be big. There was a bit of joined-in singing from the audience, but also quite a bit of open mouthed awe on display. Pretty young women with their mobile phones set to video, swayed among tall, bespectacled indie geeks, who looked like they felt they might be watching history unfold before them. Perhaps they were.

"This is our first ever acoustic show," Johnny told them, as if they didn't know. "The first of many."

Undoubtedly.

Baby debuted on the charts at no.9 and the band play Brixton Academy on the 25th.

They're likely to be lined up for the Reading and Leeds festivals after that and Island has earmarked the launch of Baby in America for March 16. It's all happening rather quickly.

"We don't really know yet where it's all going. We're taking it one day at a time," said Lloyd, like a seasoned pro.