Hilary Spurling wins Whitbread for 'Matisse'

Hilary Spurling has won the Whitbread Book of the Year award for her biography, Matisse the Master, a 15-year labour of love.

The Whitbread is one of the top literary awards for writers in the U.K. and the Irish Republic, with a prize of 25,000 British pounds ($51,000).

The judges, including the actress Emilia Fox and the novelist Margaret Drabble, declared the book "a masterpiece." Spurling "made us see Matisse in a new light, " they said.

The long work was the culmination of 15 years of study of the great French painter Henri Matisse, whose work ranged from Impressionism to near abstraction.

It is the first biography of Matisse in the 50 years since the artist's death and Spurling set out to correct misconceptions about him, such as the assumption that he automatically slept with his models.

She worked with the painter's family correspondence and corresponded regularly with his wife. The result is a portrait of a life of desperation and self-doubt.

"It reads like a story. ... She somehow managed to paint a picture of a painter which was accessible to people who are not necessarily familiar with his art. That's an extraordinary achievement," said Michael Morpurgo, chair of the Whitbread jury.

Established in 1971, the Whitbread prize recognizes books in five categories: novel, first novel, biography, poetry and children's book. Then an overall winner is chosen from among them.

The Accidental by Scottish writer Ali Smith, which won as best novel, had been the favourite to win the overall award. The Accidental is the story of a beautiful stranger called Amber who disrupts a family's holiday in Norfolk.

The other contenders were:

• The Harmony Silk Factory, by Tash Aw, winner of the best first novel prize, for his family tale set in 1930s and '40s  Malaysia.
• Cold Calls, by Christopher Logue, the winner of the poetry prize. The book is the fifth volume of his celebrated rewriting of Homer's Iliad.
• The New Policeman by Kate Thompson, winner of the children's fiction prize for her Irish time travel story.

The judges said the win was a close race between Cold Calls, The New Policeman and Matisse, with a vote deciding the outcome.

The judges applauded Thompson's "extraordinary evocation of place" and her dialogue and Logue's powerful use of language. It was so close that votes had to be cast.

Whitbread will end its sponsorship of the prize this year and a new sponsor is being sought.