Television Lifetime Achievement Award for Pollyanna

We are proud to announce that Pollyanna has been honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by Create and Craft.

The posthumous award recognises both her excellence in wildlife art and her passion for conservation and the contribution she made to both the channel and the crafting world during her six years of regular guest appearances on the channel.

The closely guarded secret was announced live on air on Thursday 13th December. Pollyanna’s daughter Anna-Louise accepted the award on her behalf, in a video message broadcast on the channel, saying “I know that Pollyanna would have been absolutely amazed to be given this honour – she would have said that she had the best job in the world, and didn’t deserve an award for doing something that she loved so much! But I am honoured and moved to accept it on her behalf – and of course I believe that no-one could have deserved it more for her incredible talent and dedication to her artwork, and also her passion for helping the animals she loved to paint.”

Pollyanna always very much enjoyed visiting the studios, where she would paint live on air, and chat to the presenters about the animals which inspired her paintings. Over the course of almost six years she filmed around 200 live programmes – with countless more shows featuring her artwork being broadcast. Her detailed and compassionate artwork, alongside her genuine enthusiasm for painting, and her obvious love of the animals she depicted made her a firm favourite with the viewers. The fact that the shows were completely live added an air of excitement and challenge – and even resulted in Pollyanna and popular presenter Dean Wilson making an unscheduled appearance on ‘It’ll Be Alright on the Night’!

Anna-Louise has been invited to continue her legacy, and now travels to the studios for the launch of each brand new product featuring Pollyanna’s artwork, to speak about Pollyanna’s amazing travels to remote parts of the world to find her subjects, and the inspiration she found in her love of animals.

Pollyanna won almost 50 awards during her career – including three previous Lifetime Achievement Awards. She also received the most prestigious International Award in the field of Wildlife Art – the Simon Combes Conservation award, recognizing her support for conservation through artistic excellence. The award was presented at a special gala dinner during the Artists for Conservation Festival in Canada front of a VIP crowd. In 2008 The University of Derby conferred the honorary degree of master of the University on Pollyanna during their graduation ceremonies. Her business success was been recognised with several awards including the Department of Trade and Industry’s Women in Business Achievement Award.

Pollyanna of course won numerous awards for her artwork, including the Millennium Trophy, and two Gold Medals bestowed by the Wildlife Art Society International – of which she was also patron – and in 2009 she was named ‘Professional Wildlife Artist of the Year’ in the Society for All Artists Artist of the Year Awards.