The John Moores Painting Price has crowned its youngest ever winner.
Ally Fallon’s ‘If You Were Certain, What Would You Do Then’ took this year’s prestigious prize from a shortlist of five down from 71 contemporary pieces.
The 27-year-old becomes both the competition’s youngest winner of all-time as well as its youngest since Jack Smith claimed the inaugural honour in 1957.
He said: “This is a very proud moment for me.
“It was only a few years ago I came here for the first time as a student, so to be standing here with my painting on the walls, it’s a very prominent moment.
“There’s something paint as a material that allows me to express an experience in a very unique way.
“Being based in Manchester, the John Moores Painting Prize is a really, really important exhibition for Northern-based artists, as it happens outside of London – it’s seen as a real beacon.”
Also announced was the winner of the Lady Grantchester Prize with David Caines topping the list for this award with his work ‘monstrous endeavour’.
The prize offers £5,000, a residency, and £2,500 worth of art materials supplied by Winsor & Newton and is designed to support artists in the early stages of their artistic career.
David Caines said: “Making paintings is an unusual way to spend one’s time.
“Hours, days, or months are spent in isolation attempting to manifest elusive ideas or feelings, like catching smoke in a bottle, wrestling with self-doubt, never knowing whether the work will ever have a life outside the studio walls.
“My painting ‘monstrous endeavour’ is, in part, a comment on the curious, obsessional, and often unsuccessful compulsion to make art.
“I’m elated that it will be exhibited in the beautiful Walker Art Gallery. When I heard that I had won the Lady Grantchester Prize, I couldn’t quite believe it.
“It feels like a wonderful affirmation, not just of a lot of hard work, but of my peculiar preoccupations as well. I’m still pinching myself.”
The John Moores Painting Prize 2025 exhibition runs from September 6, 2025 to March 1, 2026 at Walker Art Gallery.
For further information, visit liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/jmpp.