The First Black Woman to be in Contention for the Turner Prize

A portrait painter, whose subjects are imaginary, is one of four artists in contention for the 2013 Turner Prize.

Yiadom-Boakye is of Ghanaian descent and is the first black woman to be in contention for the award.

Born in 1977, she attended Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, Falmouth College of Arts and the Royal Academy Schools.

According to the prize's organisers, Yiadom-Boakye's "intriguing" paintings "appear traditional but are in fact much more innovative".

"Her portraits of imaginary people use invented pre-histories and raise pertinent questions about how we read pictures in general, particularly with regard to black subjects."

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye joins French installation artist Laure Prouvost, Britain's David Shrigley and the British-German performance artist Tino Sehgal on this year's shortlist.

Established in 1984, the Turner Prize is awarded to a contemporary artist under 50, living, working or born in Britain, who is judged to have put on the best exhibition of the last 12 months.

The winner - who will receive £25,000 - will be announced on 2 December while the other shortlisted artists will each receive £5,000.
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