Grand Rapids Man Wins $250,000 ArtPrize Competition
Chris LaPorte's eight-foot by 28-foot pencil drawing, "Cavalry, American Officers, 1921," was declared the winner of the second annual ArtPrize competition in Grand Rapids.
LaPorte runs an art studio in Grand Rapids. He describes the winning entry, which depicts U.S. Calvary officers, as "a portrait of these men who must have survived horrific events to preserve what we experience today." His massive work was displayed at the Grand Rapids Art Museum.
More than 17 hundred artists from 21 countries displayed their works at 192 venues in and around Grand Rapids during the competiton, which ends Sunday.
"Cavalry, American Officers, 1921" will become part of the permanent ArtPrize collection and will be made available on loan to other art institutions.
LaPorte says he doesn't know what he's going to do with the 250 thousand dollars, other than to pay off some debts.
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