Portraiture is the most accessible form of visual art. No matter the style in which it is rendered, the human likeness is something we can all relate to. It’s the one form of art we have all created at some point in our lives—there is something elemental in human nature that drives us to draw or paint the likenesses of people.
We don’t have to be experts to enjoy portraiture and we are proud to provide Western Australia with the opportunity to engage with the best of the artform each year in a format that puts the artists and community front-and-centre.
The Lester Prize Main Awards exhibition will be held at the Western Australian Museum Boola Bardip.
Jenny Rodgerson, Self-portrait, 2025. Oil on linen, 58 x 49 cm
Judges’ comments provided by Dr Christopher Allen, Professor Susanna Castleden and Margaret Moore:
“This is a strong, honest and courageous self-portrait in which Jenny Rodgerson confronts her own image in the mirror without posing or flattering herself in any way. It has the truthfulness and penetration that can only be found in working directly from life, and the vulnerability entailed in this kind of raw self-examination is poignantly expressed by the artist’s nakedness.”
Sylvia Wilson, My daughter (Great grandmother), 2025.m Acrylic on canvas, 152 x 76 cm
Provided by the Minderoo selected panel of judges:
“This painting stood out as an embodiment of quintessential values of the Minderoo prize, in particular the central role of family, and especially that of the matriarch in sustaining family and community networks in times of crisis; the sitter’s strength of character is expressed in a face that radiates intensity but also emphasised by the powerful column-like composition of the painting.”
Gene Hart-Smith, Family on Dangar Island, 2024. Oil on canvas, 152 x 102 cm
Judge’s comments provided by WA Museum Boola Bardip Install team:
“Love this realistic and richly textured work. Also like the way the blue sky radiating from round the mother’s head, peeps through the impasto across the painting. A wheelbarrow family, with the iconic object that helps build a new life.”
Sophie Hann, Tsering Hannaford, 2025. Oil on wood, 105 x 80 cm
Judges’ comments provided by Dr Christopher Allen, Professor Susanna Castleden and Margaret Moore:
“A vibrant and lively picture of a talented young artist – herself a portrait painter and the daughter of a celebrated portrait painter – perched on a stool in an attitude that is at once relaxed and full of coiled energy; the composition of the picture is both balanced and dynamic, but the central focus is appropriately on the face, which reflects the intimacy of understanding between artist and sitter.”
Sue Eva, Sue’s space, 2025. Acrylic on canvas, 54 x 54 cm
Judges’ comments provided by Dr Christopher Allen, Professor Susanna Castleden and Margaret Moore:
“A quiet but enigmatic picture in which a technically accomplished painting of a silver teapot, perhaps a family heirloom, turns out to contain many other layers: not only a subtle and suggestive self-portrait by the artist – part of a long tradition of self-portraits in convex mirrors – but multiple portraits, truncated and upside-down. An emerging artist is by definition one that has not yet shown all that he or she can do, and we look forward to seeing what comes next for Sue Eva.”
Ignacio Rojas, Son of the storm, 2025. Oil on polycotton, 40 x 30 cm
Selected by fellow 2025 Finalists.
Artist Statement: “For four years, I’ve lived with a chronic illness that affects the nervous system. Son of the storm is a portrait of my oldest son and part of a body of work created through my healing journey. I aim to capture the interplay between my senses and the world, creating portraits that go beyond physical likeness. My work explores the tension between expressionism and realism to reveal the emotional depth of each story – in this case, my son’s resilience.”
Bundy Bannerman (SA) • Elizabeth Barden (QLD) • Daniel Butterworth (VIC) • Doreen Chapman (WA) • Isabelle Chouinard (VIC) • Melissa Clements (WA) • Mark Dober (VIC) • Sue Eva (WA) • Chelinay Gates (WA) • Marta Gola (VIC) • David Griffith (VIC) • Chelsea Gustafsson (VIC) • Amy Hamilton (SA) • Sophie Hann (SA) • Gene Hart-Smith (NSW) • Corinna Howell (TAS) • Christopher Inwood (QLD) • Jessica Logan (WA) • Sarah McBride (WA) • Anne McCaughey (WA) • Fiona McMonagle (VIC) • Philip James Mylecharane (TAS) • Liam Nunan (NSW) • Sid Pattni (VIC) • Lori Pensini (WA) • Joan Peters (WA) • Jenna Pickering (WA) • Mica Pillemer (VIC) • Jon Potter (NSW) • Ross Potter (WA) • Jason Roberts (VIC) • Jenny Rodgerson (VIC) • Ignacio Rojas (SA) • Loribelle Spirovski (NSW) • Morgan Stokes (NSW) • Vicki Sullivan (VIC) • David Wells (QLD) • Sylvia Wilson (WA) • Tym Yee (NSW) • Micca Young (VIC)
Ph 08 9423 5116
PO Box 1110
Nedlands WA 6909
