Melbourne-based artist Fiona O'Byrne won the $50,000 Richard Lester Prize for Portraiture with a painting of her 20-year-old daughter. Perth-based artist Yasamin Khadembashi took the $10,000 emerging artist prize for a self-portrait inspired by Iranian folklore. This year's awards put family life and cultural identity at the centre.
A portrait shaped by family
O'Byrne's winning oil-on-linen painting, Luci, now, shows her daughter sitting on a stool, her expression neutral. O'Byrne has painted her children for more than a decade. She described the work as a way to observe a changing relationship and hold onto a particular moment in her daughter's life.
"Sitting together, you really see time move, and you see how the relationship changes," O'Byrne 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, linking those qualities to its "unlaboured handling of paint". They also cited the intimacy between artist and sitter, the ease in the subject's expression, the treatment of light, and details of the jacket and nail varnish.
O'Byrne first picked up a paintbrush at 36. For the past 10 years, she's split her time between painting and landscape architecture. She told the ABC that she began taking an art class when her youngest child was one, seeking a creative activity beyond her day job.
"I found my tribe, I found my happy place - it was life changing for me," she said. O'Byrne said the prize money would let her explore new ideas without the pressure to sell the resulting work. "For me it's a huge amount of freedom it gives me as an artist."
Iranian folklore and queer pride
Khadembashi, an honours student, won the Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize for Immoral Warrior, a two-metre-long re-imagined self-portrait. She said Iranian folklore inspired the work, which she dedicated to Iranian women.
"It's an ode to Iranian women... it really shows the Iranian spirit," Khadembashi said. She said she wanted it to represent "queer Iranian joy and pride". Judges praised her use of rhinestones, synthetic eyelash extensions and metal leaf, calling the approach bold and adventurous. "The artist did not play it safe, but their bravery paid off," they said.
A national field, displayed in Perth
The prize has a total pool of $140,000 and drew more than 1,100 submissions this year, the most in its history. Russell Lester, founding partner of The Lester Prize, said the entry numbers reflected the prize's impact on the arts community.
"Our ongoing stewardship of Australian talent and creativity is of utmost importance," Mr Lester said. He said more than 60 per cent of entries came from outside Western Australia, and that the prize brought the community together to celebrate portraiture.
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. Perth's WA Museum Boola Bardip is displaying an exhibition of the 40 finalist works until November 29.