JMW Turner and Nan Shepherd to appear on new polymer banknotes
The faces of our new polymer banknotes have been unveiled - but who are they?
Artist JMW Turner is set to feature on the Bank of England's new £20 banknote, while the Royal Bank of Scotland has revealed novelist Nan Shepherd will appear on the new Scottish £5 note.
Below is an illustration of the new £20 note, set for circulation in 2020. It features JMW Turner alongside his famous painting, The Fighting Temeraire, and will replace economist Adam Smith on the current £20 note.
Image credit: Bank of England
The Bank of England said it received an impressive 29,701 nominations from the public after it announced it wanted to celebrate an artist on the note. Almost 600 visual artists were considered- a fifth of whom are women.
Turner appeared in the five-person shortlist alongside filmmaker Charlie Chaplin, sculptor Barbara Hepworth, painter William Hogarth and designer Josiah Wedgewood.
The 'Banknote Character Advisory Committee' whittled candidates down but the final decision was made by Bank of England governor, Mark Carney.
“I am delighted to announce that J.M.W. Turner has been chosen to appear on the next £20 note. Turner is perhaps the single most influential British artist of all time. His work was transformative, bridging the classical and modern worlds. His influence spanned his lifetime and is still apparent today," he said.
New Scottish banknote
Image credit: RBS
Meanwhile, RBS has revealed that Scottish novelist and poet Nan Shepherd will feature on the new £5, which is set for circulation later this year.
It comes after the bank revealed Mary Somerville would appear on the £10 note, which is due in 2017. Somerville had been chosen by the bank even though she finished second behind Thomas Telford in a public vote.
Why polymer?
Polymer notes are being introduced because they’re safer and almost three times stronger, reportedly being able to survive a spin in the washing machine. They're also recyclable and more resistant to fraud.
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