For the Jerwood London Original Print Fair Prize, Jerwood Foundation joined the London Original Print Fair (LOPF) in its existing support of an annual print prize awarded to an artist working in print in any medium and exhibiting in the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, enhancing the value of the Prize from £2,500 to £10,000, bringing it in line with the annual Jack Goldhill Award for Sculpture.

The judging panel for the 2019 prize included Helen Rosslyn and Gordon Cooke (Directors of LOPF), Philippa Hogan-Hern (Executive Director, Jerwood) and Rebecca Salter PRA (artist and President of the Royal Academy from December 2019). 

Christopher Le Brun PPRA (artist and President of the Royal Academy 2011-2019), presented the inaugural prize to Bella Easton for Angel Heart, a large-scale lithograph on porcelain panels. The ambition, complexity and experimental elements of the 200 x 140 x 2 cm print which genuinely pushed the boundaries of printmaking, made it stand out as a worthy winner.  It is now hanging in its new home in Newport Beach, California.

Over this year my work has taken on a new direction, working with print onto porcelain.  Angel Heart is the result of this.  It has been an ambitious journey, with many tests and experiments.  My intention was to make the porcelain have the tactile appearance of hanging paper.  I like to take process on an experimental, complex journey beyond traditional technique, thus developing this uniqueness within printmaking.  Winning the Jerwood London Original Print Fair Prize has enabled me to acquire a kiln and to continue to develop the use of porcelain within my work.

- Bella Easton, winner of the Jerwood London Original Print Fair Prize, 2019

Bella Easton standing in front of Angel Heart, Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, 2019