British artist wins £25,000 prize

Chantal Joffe's Blond Girl, Black Dress was the outright winner

British painter Chantal Joffe has won the £25,000 prize for the "most distinguished work" in the Royal Academy's summer exhibition.

An independent panel of judges unanimously voted for Blond Girl, Black Dress from a shortlist of five works selected from the exhibition's 1,305.

The 36-year-old from Hertfordshire said she was "overwhelmed".

The other shortlisted artists were Sir Anthony Caro, Georg Baselitz, Flavia Irwin and Georgia Hayes.

"I never expected to win against such an illustrious line-up," said Ms Joffe.

The judges said the image of a blonde woman in a black dress was "an incredibly strong and striking painting".