Main Awards

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.

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 WA Museum Boola Bardip installation team) | $10,000 cash

Entries for the 2025 Lester Prize will open on 22 January and close on 19 June.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

The Lester Prize Main Awards – Terms and Conditions

Entry Fee: Early Bird fee $A40.00 until 18 March 2025 thereafter A$50.00 (inclusive of GST) per portrait.

ENTER HERE

Enter here

2024 Winner — $50,000 Richard Lester Prize for Portraiture

Ben Howe, Cartagena Library, 2023. oil on panel, 86 x 96 cm.

Youth Awards

The Lester Prize Youth Awards encourages the creative talents of young and aspiring artists. It is open to all High School students across Australia.

The Prize allows entrants to showcase their works and present their unique artistic perspectives; helps build their confidence to further their art practice; and allows them to share their stories with the wider community. 

The Prize pool consists of:

  • Prizes for Students (Years 7-8, Years 9-10, Years 11-12) | Cash prizes, art supplies & framing valued up to $5,000
  • Prize for Schools (Years 7-12) | Professional art workshop by Lester Prize Adult Finalists valued at $1,000

Entries open 15 November 2024.

The Lester Prize 2025 – Youth Awards Terms and Conditions 2025

The Lester Prize 2025 – Youth Awards Parent Guardian Consent Form 2025

The 2025 Call for Entries closes on Wednesday 5 March 2025, 5pm AWST. 

The Youth Awards are kindly supported by Oxlades Art Supplies, Montauk Lighting Co., and the City of Perth.

ENTRIES CLOSED

Entries closed

2025 Winner — Years 11-12

Anaia Kakulas, The way forward, pastel and plaster on strawboard, 80 x 70 cm. Year 11, Methodist Ladies College, WA

Our Pre-Selection and Judging process.

  • The Pre-Selection Panel members and Judges for both the Adult Awards and Youth Awards change every year. They are a group of independent experts in their respective fields with no commercial association with The Lester Prize.
  • During the Pre-Selection process, the panel is never provided the name or location of the artist (just the artwork image, title, dimensions and medium on screen).
  • Unfortunately, due to the large volume of submissions, we are unable to provide individual feedback to entrants.
  • This is the same process that many art prizes both in Australia and overseas undertake, and one that the Prize has followed since its inception.
  • Our Pre-Selection and Judging processes are fully transparent and something we are very proud of as we work hard to ensure there is no bias, personal, political or financial influence in the selection of our Finalists and Winners.
  • We are unable to enter into any correspondence about the selection of the Finalists and Winners.
  • We stand by and support all our Finalists, and respect the decisions made by our independent Pre-Selection Panellists and Judges.
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