The final winner of the National Photographic Portrait Prize will be announced on August 21, as the portrait gallery promises to launch a new photography prize in 2027.
The 2026 National Photographic Portrait Prize will be the last, after being established almost 20 years ago and becoming a popular drawcard for both visitors and artists. For the 2026 prize, 30 finalists were selected from 1000 entries.
The gallery has announced it wants to establish a "revised and refreshed" prize that continues to support artists working with photography.
"The 2026 iteration of the National Photographic Portrait Prize will be the final in the series as the gallery makes way for a new prize model, launching in 2027," it said in a statement.
A retrospective of past entries will also be part of the final exhibition, opening in August.
The National Photographic Portrait Prize was established in 2007 to "celebrate and nurture contemporary portrait photography from across Australia".
More than 600 artists and 900 portraits have been shown at the National Portrait Gallery over the past 19 years. Twenty-three portraits were acquired by the gallery to add to the national collection.
The National Photographic Portrait Prize 2026 will be on exhibit from August 22 to October 11 at the Portrait Gallery before touring nationally.
Gallery director director Bree Pickering said the National Photographic Portrait Prize had "captured the spirit, vitality and breadth of contemporary portrait photography".
"We are excited to present the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2026 alongside an alumni presentation of works from the past 19 years," she said.
"The retrospective highlights some of the most compelling, authentic and evocative portraits from over the years and, together with the 2026 finalist exhibition, offers a unique insight into the past 20 years of photographic portraiture in Australia."
Finalists for the 2026 prize can be viewed here.
Tickets to the 2026 exhibition can be purchased here.
