Bank of England picks artist Turner to feature on new banknote

By Bethany Rielly

MARGATE, England (Reuters) - British painter J.M.W. Turner will feature on the Bank of England's next 20-pound note after he was chosen ahead of other visual artists such as Beatrix Potter, Alfred Hitchock and Charlie Chaplin.

The Bank received nearly 30,000 nominations from the British public for the new note, due to be issued by 2020, to replace its current face, the 18th Century economist Adam Smith.

The BoE chose Turner, who died in 1851, from a shortlist of visual artists which included filmmaker Chaplin, sculptor Barbara Hepworth, painter William Hogarth and designer Josiah Wedgwood.

"Turner is perhaps the single most influential British artist of all time. His work was transformative, bridging the classical and modern worlds," BoE Governor Mark Carney said as he announced the decision at the Turner Contemporary gallery in English seaside town Margate.

The new polymer 20-pound note, which is currently worth about $30, will feature Turner's face and one of his most famous paintings, 'The Fighting Temeraire', which depicts a worn old battleship under tow back to port.

Public interest in Turner was revived in 2014 with the release of a critically-acclaimed film, 'Mr. Turner'.

($1 = 0.6936 pounds)

(Writing by Andy Bruce; editing by William Schomberg)