The Turner Prize is awarded on a yearly basis to an
British artist under fifty and who is working in Britian, for outstanding work in the last year. It originated in 1984, when the
Tate Gallery agreed to put up £10,000 per year in
prize money (the sponsorship was take up by Drexel Burnham Lambert in 1987, and
Channel 4 in 1991 when it was upped to £20,000), in a move to promote public discussion of new developments in
contemporary British art. The prize is awarded by a panel of
Judges consisting of, a British
curator, a British
critic, an overseas curator, a representative of the Tate Patrons, and the
Director of the
Tate Gallery as Chair.
The Turner Prize is notorious for the media hype it causes as the public (pretty understandably IMHO) can't see why pieces such as cows in formaldahyde (One of Damien Hirsts entries), or Tracey Emin exhibiting her bed (complete with used condoms, tampons, and stained underwear) should get any money at all.
Past nominees and winners include
1984
Richard Deacon
Gilbert and George
Howard Hodgkin
Richard Long
Malcolm Morley
Prize awarded to: Malcolm Morley
1985
Terry Atkinson
Tony Cragg
Ian Hamilton Finlay
Howard Hodgkin
Milena Kalinovska
John Walker
Prize awarded to: Howard Hodgkin
1986
Art & Language
Victor Burgin
Gilbert and George
Derek Jarman
Steven McKenna
Bill Woodrow
Prize awarded to: Gilbert and George
1987
Patrick Caulfield
Helen Chadwick
Richard Deacon
Richard Long
Declan McGonagle
Thérèse Oulton
Prize awarded to: Richard Deacon
1988
no shortlist
Prize awarded to: Tony Cragg
1989
Gillian Ayres
Lucian Freud
Richard Long
Giuseppe Penone
Paula Rego
Sean Scully
Richard Wilson
Prize awarded to: Richard Long
1990
prize suspended (due to lack of sponsorship)
1991
Ian Davenport
Anish Kapoor
Fiona Rae
Rachel Whiteread
Prize awarded to: Anish Kapoor
1992
Grenville Davey
Damien Hirst
David Tremlett
Alison Wilding
Prize awarded to: Grenville Davey
1993
Hannah Collins
Vong Phaophanit
Sean Scully
Rachel Whiteread
Prize awarded to: Rachel Whiteread
1994
Willie Doherty
Peter Doig
Antony Gormley
Shirazeh Houshiary
Prize awarded to: Antony Gormley
1995
Mona Hatoum
Damien Hirst
Callum Innes
Mark Wallinger
Prize awarded to: Damien Hirst
1996
Douglas Gordon
Craigie Horsfield
Gary Hume
Simon Patterson
Prize awarded to: Douglas Gordon
1997
Christine Borland
Angela Bulloch
Cornelia Parker
Gillian Wearing
Prize awarded to: Gillian Wearing
1998
Tacita Dean
Cathy de Monchaux
Chris Ofili
Sam Taylor-Wood
Prize awarded to: Chris Ofili
1999
Steve McQueen
Jane and Louise Wilson
Steven Pippin
Tracy Emin
Prize awarded to: Steve McQueen
2000
Glenn Brown
Michael Raedecker
Tomoko Takahashi
Wolfgang Tillmans
Prize awarded to: Wolfgang Tillmans
2001
Richard Billingham
Martin Creed
Isaac Julien
Mike Nelson
Prize awarded to: Martin Creed
Nominees and Winners list taken from the Tate Gallery FAQ @ www.tate.org.uk
I do hope to do a brief synopsis on each artist .. starting with the winners .. any helpers please /msg me