Now open at Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery is the annual John Moores Painting Prize exhibition, recognised as one of the UK’s most prestigious contemporary painting exhibitions.
Ally Fallon was announced as the winner of the 2025 Prize, for their painting If You Were Certain, What Would You Do Then? (2025). At 27 years old, Fallon is the youngest artist ever to win the John Moores Painting Prize.
The winner of the Lady Grantchester Prize, supported by Winsor & Newton and for artists in the early stages of their artistic career, was won by David Caines for his work monstrous endeavour.
Other shortlisted artists were: Davina Jackson for Just Like It Was (2025), Katy Shepard for Bedscape2 (2025), Miranda Webster for laid out (2024), and Joanna Whittle for Darkened Heart (a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth) (2025).
These paintings are brought together in the exhibition with 65 other works selected by a distinguished jury comprising Zhang Enli, Dr Zoé Whitley, Michael Simpson, Gemma Rolls-Bentley, and Louise Giovanelli. This year’s competition received over 3,000 entries, all of which are judged anonymously.
Named after its founding sponsor Sir John Moores in 1957, the internationally renowned prize, organised in partnership with the John Moores Painting Prize Trust, continues to support artists and bring the best contemporary painting to Liverpool. The competition has awarded more than £700,000 in prize money across 32 exhibitions, showcasing more than 2,400 works of art. Sir Peter Blake, who won the Junior Prize in 1961, has been the Prize’s patron since 2011.
2025 winner Ally Fallon 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.”
David Caines said:
“My painting is, in part, a comment on the curious, obsessional, and often unsuccessful compulsion to make art. 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.”
Charlotte Keenan, Head of Walker Art Gallery, part of National Museums Liverpool, said:
“This year’s selection demonstrates the extraordinary reach of contemporary painting across the UK. From Belfast to Brighton, from Glasgow to Gateshead, these 71 artists represent the vitality of painting happening in every corner of the United Kingdom today. Our congratulations go to every selected and shortlisted artist, and our thanks to all who submitted their artworks for this year’s Prize.
The Prize continues to be a vital platform for painters working throughout the UK, and the result is a truly exciting snapshot of contemporary practice. We look forward to welcoming visitors to discover these remarkable paintings from across the nation when the exhibition opens in September.”
For further information: liverpoolmuseums.org.uk
Image: Ally Fallon, If You Were Certain, What Would You Do Then?, 2025, Ally Fallon c/o the artist © Ally Fallon
Smith Greenfield is an independent insurance broker specialising in insurance for exclusive lifestyles and collectors of valuable objects including: art insurance, antiques insurance, jewellery insurance, watch insurance, vintage car insurance, fine wine insurance and more. To discuss specialist insurance for your lifestyle, please contact our Premier Client Adviser, Imran Moideen: imran.moideen@smithgreenfield.co.uk