Now in its 18th year, the National Photographic Portrait Prize supports and celebrates photographic portraiture in Australia. Each year the prize attracts thousands of entrants from emerging and established artistic talent across the country. Featuring famous faces and everyday Australians, the prize celebrates the vitality and diversity of photographic portraiture in Australia.
This year, 48 finalists have been selected by the panel of judges – writer and broadcaster Benjamin Law, Senior Curator at the National Portrait Gallery Serena Bentley, and Leigh Robb, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Art Gallery of South Australia.
The winner for 2025 is
Untitled #01 (from the series Code Black/Riot) 2024 by Hoda Afshar
Judges' statement: "This is a portrait of immense power, which creates an urgent conversation between viewer and subjects. By handing agency over to her subjects, Hoda Afshar has given these First Nations young people the rare opportunity to frame themselves on their own terms. As part of a group that are often discussed and depicted but rarely given a voice, these figures observe us in turn, giving an assessment of the nation right now. While seemingly incidental, the relationship between the haphazard staging, blurred background and focus points in the foreground make for a bracing, brilliant photograph taken by an artist who truly knows her craft."
The First Time Finalist Award winner is
Mother dreams on a stone 2024 by Sherry Quiambao
Judges' statement: "Sherry Quiambao’s portrait is a work that is playful yet resilient. Full of unexpected surprises and contrasts, the artist depicts her mother under a golden emergency blanket resting her head on a stone. The artist uses a reduced colour palate and friction between surfaces to create a portrait that powerfully represents the ongoing trials, emergencies and triages of motherhood. This is a work that contrasts the legendary and the ordinary, the mythic and the domestic and speaks to both the necessity and impossible challenge of finding comfort in hard places."
The Art Handlers' Award winner is
Antonio Initili - Sartoria (Tailor Shop) #1 2024 by George Fetting
The winner receives a prize of $30,000 cash courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery and $20,000 worth of equipment courtesy of Imaging Partner Canon Australia. The Art Handlers’ Award winner receives $3,000 courtesy of IAS Logistics. The winner of the First Time Finalist Award receives $3,000 courtesy of EIZO. The People’s Choice Award winner receives $10,000 courtesy of the Calvert-Jones Foundation. All finalists receive artist and copyright fees as well as all costs covered for freight and travel.
Finalist works will be exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery from 16 August – 12 October 2025, before touring nationally.
