Readers might remember being asked last year to cast their vote for Julia Margaret Cameron, as the next face of the £20 note.
The campaign, spearheaded by Gail Middleton of Mrs Middleton’s Shop in Freshwater and Julie Jones-Evans, fought hard to ensure the place of Victorian photographer, whose home later became Dimbola Museum and Galleries, was secured on the next £20 note.
In total 29,701 nominations were made, covering 590 eligible visual artists.
The nominations (which included the Island’s Anthony Minghella) were shortlisted, and today (Friday) the Bank of England announced the next face of the £20 note will be J.M.W. Turner due to be issued by 2020.
We gave it a good go
OnTheWight spoke to Gail this afternoon following the announcement. She told us,
“It’s a great shame that we weren’t successful. We put in a strong bid and fulfilled each of the criteria required.
“Thanks to everyone on the Island that voted for her – We were amazed and delighted how many did.”
Gail went on to say,
“Julia may not have made it to the new £20 note, but Julia and Dimbola have already had a very strong lift in attention from the V&A exhibition in London, which is now scheduled to tour the world.
“On the strength of that, we’ve got the V&A photo box coming down to Dimbola – another great addition to our offering.
“In addition, the V&A is in the process of creating their first permanent exhibition dedicated to photography, after Julia’s recent exhibition helped bring home to them how important photography is as an art form.”
It was announced last year that the next £20 banknote will be printed on polymer. According to the Bank of England, a more secure, durable and cleaner material.
