The Lester Prize 2020

The Lester Prize is celebrating its fourteenth anniversary in 2020 and its fifth year at the Art Gallery of WA.

The Lester Prize is one of the nation’s most recognised and prestigious fine art prizes. The prize pool available to professional, emerging and young artists is now worth almost $85,000, including the main prize of $50,000.

This year's forty finalists were chosen from 750 entries received from artists across Australia. Twelve finalists are from WA, eight from NSW, seven from VIC, five from SA, three each from QLD and TAS, and one each from the ACT and NT. Sixteen of the finalists have been named as finalists in previous years of the competition.

This year’s Main Awards Panel comprises of Western Australian artist Abdul-Rahman Abdullah; AGWA Associate Curator, Projects Rachel Ciesla; Alan R Dodge AM; Perth based curators Gemma Weston and Laetitia Wilson.

The finalists' artworks will be on display in the Centenary Galleries at AGWA from 31 October to 29 November 2020. The Awards will be announced 30 October at the Awards Night.

This year's prize pool consists of:
- The Richard Lester Prize for Portraiture (selected by a panel of judges) | $50,000
- Tony Fini Foundation Artist Prize (selected by artists’ peers) | $10,000 cash
- Minderoo Foundation Artist Prize | $10,000 cash
- Baldock Family People’s Choice Prize (selected by the general public) | $7,500 cash
- Highly Commended x 2 (selected by a panel of judges) | $1,000 cash, $550 domestic art transport voucher, $500 framing voucher plus $250 art supplies voucher each

Image credit - Nick Stathopoulos, Pantone black 7. Subject: Judith Martinez Estrada. Acrylic and oil on linen, 71 x 61 cm.

Stacey Evangelou, Warrior by spirit. Subject: Joe Williams. Charcoal and white chalk on toned paper, 49 x 47 cm.

Lynn Savery, Bear hug. Subject: Self-portrait. Oil on canvas, 152 x 102 cm.