Melbourne-based artist Fiona O'Byrne has won the $50,000 Richard Lester Prize for Portraiture with Luci, now, an oil-on-linen painting of her 20-year-old daughter seated on a stool, her expression neutral. The privately run prize drew more than 1,100 submissions, its highest number yet.
That figure matters. It points to a prize built on private stewardship rather than public subsidy, and it's growing.
A Late Start, A Disciplined Path
O'Byrne didn't begin as a full-time artist. She first picked up a paintbrush at 36 and has spent the past 10 years splitting her time between painting and landscape architecture. She kept her day job. She built her craft around it.
"When my youngest was one I felt like I really needed to do something outside my day job, something creative, and I took myself off to an art class and never looked back," she told the ABC. "I found my tribe, I found my happy place - it was life changing for me."
Her subject is closer to home than most. For more than a decade, O'Byrne has painted her children. "Sitting together, you really see time move, and you see how the relationship changes," she wrote about the work. "It's an opportunity for me to stop and spend time observing her in this moment of her life. Painting her was just a way of holding onto that fierce, generous heart."
Judges Alan Dodge, John McDonald and Bryony Nainby said the portrait's softness and tenderness captivated them, carried by an "unlaboured handling of paint". They pointed to the intimacy between sitter and artist, the apparent ease in the subject's expression, the treatment of light, and details of the jacket and nail varnish.
What the Money Buys
O'Byrne spoke plainly about what the award means in practice. She said the prize money would let her explore new ideas without the pressure to sell the pieces. "For me it's a huge amount of freedom it gives me as an artist," she said.
That's the quiet case for a well-funded private prize. It gives a working artist room to take risks without chasing the next sale.
Emerging Talent Rewarded
Perth-based artist and honours student Yasamin Khadembashi won the $10,000 Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize for her two-metre-long re-imagined self-portrait, Immoral Warrior, inspired by Iranian folklore. "It's an ode to Iranian women... it really shows the Iranian spirit," she said. "I wanted something to be distinctive for representing queer Iranian joy and pride."
The judges praised her bold and adventurous use of rhinestones, synthetic eyelash extensions and metal leaf. "The artist did not play it safe, but their bravery paid off," they said.
Sky Parra's Portrait of Scott Austic, Sharon Billinge's Celeste 3, Kim Harding's Kim with Black Cockatoo, Ben Howe's Matilda in Blue and Dapeng Liu's Guido also received prizes. The prize pool totals $140,000.
Stewardship From the Private Sector
Russell Lester, founding partner of The Lester Prize, said the number of submissions reflected the prize's impact on the arts community. "Our ongoing stewardship of Australian talent and creativity is of utmost importance," Mr Lester said. "Over 60 per cent of the entries come from outside Western Australia, so it's great to bring the community together to celebrate portraiture."
Perth's WA Museum Boola Bardip is hosting an exhibition of the 40 finalist works until November 29.
Why This Matters:
The Lester Prize shows how private patronage can sustain a national arts competition without a government cheque. A $140,000 pool, more than 1,100 entries and more than 60 per cent of submissions from outside Western Australia suggest a model that draws talent on its own merits. For artists like O'Byrne, who built a creative practice alongside a day job, the money buys independence rather than dependence. There's a perspective worth weighing here: when private funders back the arts and public institutions simply host the results, taxpayers aren't left carrying the bill. It's an arrangement that rewards craft, effort and community interest, and policymakers might consider it when debating how best to support Australian culture.