Painter angry at 'interference'

Michael Reynolds' portrait was initially criticised by the gallery

A British artist has said he will "not work again" for the National Portrait Gallery because its director criticised a painting he had submitted.

Michael Reynolds claimed he was told a portrait of conductor Bernard Haitink needed "cutting down", with less emphasis on a desk in the foreground.

Mr Reynolds said he was "shocked at such unforgivable interference".

Gallery director Sandy Nairne insisted he was "happy with the final portrait", which was displayed for six months.

Mr Reynolds wrote in arts publication The Jackdaw that he was told the portrait "needs cutting down, there's too much desk in front of Haitink, and the head needs sharper delineation".

He remonstrated with the gallery, saying: "It is the shape of the work that holds the design, which is itself the portrait; nor does any head need a full outline."

He said he was told the gallery's trustees had demanded the changes.

The National Portrait Gallery said it was "happy with the final portrait"

"It is absolutely common in the commissioning process that the gallery would have points to discuss with an artist," a spokesperson for the National Portrait Gallery said.

"In the end, the composition was accepted as it stood."

She added that a current exhibition, Icons and Idols, explored the commissioning of portraits such as that of Mr Reynolds, to explain further how the process worked.

Mr Reynolds has been a member of The Royal Society of Portrait Painters for almost 30 years, winning the society's main award, the Ondaatje Prize, in 2003.