Short Description
The Lester Prize is one of the country’s premier art prizes—an award that places artists and community proudly front-and-centre. Our prize is about the advancement of the artists, not the celebrity of the sitters.
Eligibility
The Artist must be aged 18 years or over and an Australian Resident as at 5.00 pm (AWST) on the Closing Date. For the avoidance of any doubt, the Artist may comprise one or more persons, all of whom must be Australian Residents aged 18 years or over.
(a) Diptychs and triptychs are eligible for entry into the Prize.
(b) The Portrait may be executed in (but is not restricted to) oil, acrylic, watercolour, pastels, textiles, pencils, charcoal, ink and mixed media. For the avoidance of any doubt, the Portrait cannot be a sculpture, photograph or digital media
How to Apply
Online Application
Program Benefits & Awards
The $130,000+ Prize pool consists of:
- The Richard Lester Prize for Portraiture (selected by a panel of judges; non-acquisitive) | $50,000 cash
- Tony Fini Foundation Artist Prize (selected by artists’ peers; non-acquisitive) | $20,000 cash
- Baldock Family People’s Choice Prize (selected by the general public) | $15,000 cash
- Minderoo Foundation Spirit Prize (selected by Minderoo Foundation; non-acquisitive) | $20,000 cash
- Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize (selected by a panel of judges; non-acquisitive) | $5,000 cash
- Highly Commended (selected by a panel of judges) | up to $3,000 value
- Barton Family Foundation Installers’ Prize (selected by the Art Gallery of Western Australia installation team) | $10,000 cash
Entry Fee
Early Bird fee $A40.00 until 18 March 2025 thereafter A$50.00 (inclusive of GST) per portrait.
Location
Perth, Australia
Timeline
- Application Deadline: 19 June 2025
