It was only a matter of time!

Red Beret

By Rossotrudnichestvo correspondent

Well done to Thomas Arthurton for having one of his works selected for the final exhibition of the National Portrait Gallery's world-famous BP Portrait Award 2020; it’s a fantastic work of art!
    We met Thomas couple of years ago at the Russian Culture House in London. From our first meeting we knew that his passion would unlock any doors and pass the entry exams to St Petersburg’s State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where he is currently enrolled as a student specialising in portraiture. Born in Norwich, Thomas studied history of art at the University of York and The Courtauld and studied painting at the Florence Classical Arts Academy before going to Russia.
    The portrait, Red Beret, was painted on a dark winter evening in the attic of the St Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts. Arthurton said he left some parts of his work slightly unfinished “so that the painting is like a memory in which parts fade whilst at the same time remembering what is essential”.