LONDON, ENGLAND.-Shortlist of 10 is announced for the Greatest Painting in Britain poll On 25 July 2005 the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, in partnership with the National Gallery, launched a poll to find the Greatest Painting in Britain. Voting for the long list closed on Monday 8 August. A panel consisting of Martin Gayford (art critic), Jonathan Yeo (artist) and Deborah Bull (Creative Director, ROH2 at the Royal Opera House) oversaw the selection of the shortlist of 10 paintings.

The top 10 shortlisted paintings span over five centuries of European art (from 1434 to 1971) and include works by British, Italian, Dutch, Belgian and French artists. The paintings can be seen in galleries from Edinburgh to London.

The Shortlist (in date order)
'The Arnolfini Portrait' - Jan van Eyck (The National Gallery, London)

'The Baptism of Christ' - Piero della Francesca (The National Gallery, London)

'A Rake's Progress' - William Hogarth (Sir John Soane's Museum, London)

'Revd Dr Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch' - Sir Henry Raeburn (National Galleries of Scotland)

'The Hay Wain' - John Constable (The National Gallery, London)

'The Fighting Temeraire' - J.M.W Turner (The National Gallery, London)

'The Last of England' - Ford Madox Brown (Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery / The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge)

'A Bar at the Folies-Bergère' - Edouard Manet (Courtauld Institute Gallery, London)

'Sunflowers' - Vincent Van Gogh (The National Gallery, London)

'Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy' - David Hockney (Tate Britain)

Voting on the Shortlist
From 8.30am on 15 August, the public can vote for their favourite from the shortlist of the Top 10 paintings.

Voting is again via www.bbc.co.uk/today.

The Today programme is hosting three weeks of debate around these shortlisted paintings.

Dedicated web pages on www.bbc.co.uk/today and www.nationalgallery.org.uk will help stimulate a debate about what your favourite painting might be.

The Final

5 September at the National Gallery. Today presenter, James Naughtie, and National Gallery Director, Charles Saumarez Smith, will announce to the nation live on Radio 4, 'The Greatest Painting in Britain' as chosen by the British public.