The Darling Portrait Prize is a biennial national prize for Australian portrait painting honouring the legacy of Mr L Gordon Darling AC CMG. It offers a platform for artists to explore the evolving notion of Australian identity while celebrating emerging and established portrait painters. The winner for 2024 is
William Nuttal with horses in the field, 2023 by Noel McKenna
Judges Bree Pickering (Director of the National Portrait Gallery), art critic and historian Tara Heffernan, and Erin Vink (Curator, First Nations art (local and global) at the Art Gallery of New South Wales) said McKenna’s painting is an assured, well-executed work.
“This is an energetic and unexpected portrait. The subject shares the work with animals and the landscape. It is joyous in its execution and demonstrates the skill of an established Australian artist whose practice is assured in every way.”
In 2024, 24 finalists were selected for the prize with the winner receiving a cash prize of $75,000. Kat Weir's Mel, 2024 received the most votes in the People’s Choice Award and was awarded $10,000 courtesy of the Liangis Family Foundation. Nena Salobir’s Self portrait on washcloth 2024 was selected for the Art Handlers’ award, receiving $2,000 cash from exhibition partner IAS Fine Art Logistics.
