Marie Dyson Award 2023
The assessor for the Marie Dyson Award for 2023 was Dr. Hannah Lyons, Curator of University Art Collections, University of Reading. Hannah, who has recently moved to Reading to take on her post at the University, thoroughly enjoyed spending the afternoon in the gallery looking at over 140 artworks in a huge variety of styles and subjects.
Winner
Congratulations to Jenny Halstead winner of the 2023 Marie Dyson Award for her pastel Savaged Olive Grove: Sicily.
Hannah said about the winning work “A perfect marriage of colour and line – I loved this work. I was immediately drawn to the luminosity, the texture, and the subject matter. I felt like I could stand in front of it for hours, close my eyes, and feel the heat of the sun on my face!”
Highly Commended
Hannah also gave a special mention to Ros Ingham and Trish Roberts whose works were highly commended. Of Ros’s Ghost Tree she said “It would be easy to walk past this very small artwork, and sometimes small things do receive less critical attention, but I was captivated by the intimacy of this exquisite etching”. With reference to Trish’s works she said “I have a soft spot for printmaking, and Trish Roberts linocuts are technically sophisticated and beautiful!”