The Moran Arts Foundation has revealed the thirty portraits that make up the finalists for the 2017 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, Australia’s richest art prize. Portraits of recognisable identities such as Isla Fisher, Alex Perry, Jack Charles and Paul Capsis have all been included in the final selection, with wellknown artists such as Anh Do, Robert Hannaford, Prudence Flint and Tim Storrier joining emerging artists in the shortlist. The winner of the $150,000 prize will be announced next week.
This year’s Doug Moran National Portrait Prize (DMNPP) is being judged by Daniel Thomas AM, Emeritus Director of the Art Gallery of South Australia, Wendy Sharpe, one of Australia’s most awarded artists and Greta Moran, Director of the Moran Arts Foundation.
Wendy Sharpe commented: “As an Artist myself, I found it exciting to see so many people so passionately involved in painting. We found it very difficult to select only 30 finalists. There were so many paintings worthy of being included and wonderful diversity”.
Daniel Thomas AM commented: “We enjoyed selecting 30 finalist portraits, whose subjects included both extreme beauty and extreme trauma. Although some fine works had to be rejected on account of excessive size, it was pleasing to note that most artists now recognise how the domestic spaces of Juniper Hall, where the Prize exhibition has been displayed over the past few years, are well suited to works expressive of intimacy.”
The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize is Australia’s richest art prize, with prize money of $180,000 including the $150,000 first prize. The DMNPP invites entries of original works from Australian artists, capturing Australians from all walks of life, whether a public figure or someone from their own circle of experience.
The winner of the 2017 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize will be announced at an event at Juniper Hall in Paddington on Wednesday 18 October at 10am. The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize Exhibition opens at 10am on Thursday 19 October at Juniper Hall and runs until 17 December 2017.
The full list of finalists can be found below and the portraits can be viewed online here
High-res images are available on request from TM Publicity.
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ABOUT THE MORAN ARTS FOUNDATION
The Moran Arts Foundation is a philanthropic, not-for-profit organisation whose objective is to support the arts in Australia through the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, the Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize, gallery exhibitions and free Moran School Photographic Workshops. Established by Doug and Greta Moran and family in 1988 in celebration of Australia’s bicentennial, the Moran Arts Foundation fosters portraiture skills and excellence in photography.