One of Bermuda’s most prestigious art competitions became embroiled in controversy after a prize winner was accused of submitting a modified version of another artist’s work.

Scott Stallard won a Judge’s Choice award worth $2,000 this month with his multimedia piece Wasted Time at the Charman Prize, which was run by Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art.

However, Mr Stallard handed back the cash after James Collieson contacted the organisers to claim the artwork was an augmented version of a piece created by his father, Will Collieson, several years earlier.

Mr Stallard told The Royal Gazette of his controversial submission: “This was the first material assemblage I have produced. It is the last.

“Art requires passion and passion can be neutralised, even by a simple e-mail.”

The official reason given for the removal of Mr Stallard’s work from the exhibition relates to when it was made: according to contest rules, all entries must have been created within 24 months of June 23, 2017.

Masterworks founder Tom Butterfield said: “The issue is that it was not created within the last two years.”

Mr Butterfield added that he did not think that Will Collieson’s integrity was “fully honoured”, as Mr Stallard’s entry was not a collaborative work.

He said: “What we’ve got is a piece of artwork which has just simply been added on to with other bits and bobs, the substructure being that of Will Collieson. It presented a big, big problem.”

Mr Collieson said he sold his piece, Night Shift, to Mr Stallard about nine years ago. It was exhibited at the Bermuda National Gallery as part of the Bermuda Biennial in 2008.

Mr Stallard said that he had asked Mr Collieson if he could use the work as a base to build a new piece.

He added: “Will was agreeable. I showed him a progression about a year later; there seemed to be no issues.”

Mr Stallard said that he spent two years attaching hundreds of items to Mr Collieson’s work.

He added: “I contend that they materially and significantly alter the base to the degree it would be seen as a new piece.”

Mr Collieson said Mr Stallard’s work was plagiarism.

He added: “Even if I am part of it, it’s still plagiarism. Obviously he moved and added, but the format is the same. Ninety-nine per cent of the pieces on that are the same. And it was my piece.”

The piece was priced for sale at $10,000.

Mr Butterfield said he did not believe there was any malice or deceit involved.

He added: “I don’t think there was, in this case, the realisation of the full scope of another’s intellectual property.”

In the e-mail sent to contest organisers, James Collieson said Mr Stallard’s submission was unethical and undermined the entire competition.

Mr Butterfield said he had been in touch with people overseas about what constituted an original artwork.

He added: “In contemporary art, the boundaries are being pushed all the time. It seems to me there are some lingering issues that remain very important.”

Mr Butterfield said Mr Stallard had returned the prize.

He added: “That was not at our request but was rather of Scott’s own volition.”

Mr Stallard said he had apologised to competition founder John Charman and spoken with Mr Collieson at length.

He added: “I hold the highest regard for both Will Collieson and John Charman, and absolve all of any responsibility save myself.”

Mr Stallard, a self-taught photographer, has worked in regions including the Arctic, Mongolia and Kenya.

He described his background in art as “trial and error”.

Mr Butterfield said: “With the integrity of the Charman Prize, we had to the right thing.”

And he added that other submitted entries not created within the two-year window were also disqualified.

The Charman Prize was established by island businessman John Charman. Nearly 120 works were entered into this year’s competition, which runs biannually.

The competition is open to artists based in Bermuda and Bermudians living overseas.