Lubaina Himid, a 63-year-old artist whose creations include dinner plates painted with vomiting aristocrats, has become the oldest person ever to win Britain's most prestigious art award - the Turner Prize.

The judges praised Tanzanian-born Himid for her "uncompromising tackling of issues including colonial history and how racism persists today," Alex Farquharson, director of organisers Tate Britain, said in a statement.

In the past, the prize has been viewed as a vehicle for younger artists, but it has moved in a new direction this year, with two nominees over 40 and the other two short-listed artists in their 50s and 60s.

The organisers have now scrapped a rule introduced in 1991 that required nominated artists to be under the age of 50.

Founded in 1984 and named after English 19th century landscape painter J.M.W. Turner, the Prize is the UK's most high-profile visual arts award. During the 1990s, it helped to launch the careers of some of the stars of the Young British Artists movement such as Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.

Reuters