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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

2020, 2021

Jaq Grantford

Darling Portrait Prize 2022 Winner

2020, 2021

The pandemic for me has been a time of mixed feelings. A time of fear and concern for the safety of the people I know. Uncertainty about seeing my daughter and mother when the borders closed. And then in contrast to this, there was a guilty relief that the chaos of life could simply stop. That I could enter the studio and create.

Shortly after finishing this painting I was diagnosed with cancer and lost all my hair. Although it has since started to grow back, I now feel some level of disconnect from the women with a full head of hair in this self portrait.

Jaq Grantford. Video length: 4 minutes 3 seconds

Darling Portrait Prize 2022
(More information, View all 39 paintings)

Shadow crown
Alex Miller, novelist
Weight of the Mind's Periapt
Sabine Desrondaux - Woman of Letters

Related information

2020, 2021 Jaq Grantford
2020, 2021 Jaq Grantford
2020, 2021 Jaq Grantford
2020, 2021 Jaq Grantford

Darling Portrait Prize 2022

Previous exhibition, 2022

The Darling Portrait Prize is a biennial national prize for Australian portrait painting honouring the legacy of Mr L Gordon Darling AC CMG (1921-2015). The winner receives a cash prize of $75,000.
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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

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