Perth artist Jordan Andreotta, with his work Sr Flora (2019), has won the 2019 People’s Choice Award of Australia’s premier portrait prize – The Lester Prize. Andreotta will receive $7,500 cash kindly donated by the Baldock Family who have been involved with the prestigious prize for the past four years.
I first met Sr Flora in 2017 when I began teaching at Iona Presentation College. There was an immediate sense of warmth and welcoming about her. Sr Flora has recently retired, after being a significant and influential member of the College for the past thirty years. My portrait aims to depict Sr Flora in a contemplative pose—capturing a presence that she has become renowned for by staff, students and the community. Her gaze and facial expression—as she looks back on all of her experiences—reflects a life of compassion, joy and purpose. – Jordan Andreotta
Jordan Andreotta, Sr Flora, 2019, graphite and pencil on paper, 41 x 55cm
Andreotta was ‘absolutely thrilled to hear the news’, receiving nearly 10% of the more than 4,353 votes submitted. A winning voter was also drawn and took home a $100 AGWA Shop Voucher, an Estelle Display Lamp valued at $979 donated by The Montauk Lighting Co. plus a 6-weeks’ Home Base Interior Design Course for two people valued at $700 donated by Home Base Perth in Subiaco.
Chair of The Lester Inc Board John Langoulant said that ‘the Prize’s celebration of portraiture grows in size and reach each year. The diverse cultural and personal narratives presented really gave us a snapshot of our contemporary world today – the works uncovered stories of self-reflection, struggle over hardship and unique insights of both our artists and their subjects.’
This award announcement brings to a close The Lester Prize’s month-long exhibition season at the AGWA. More than 900,000 people view, learn and participate in the art of portraiture throughout the Perth CBD, including the 40 main award finalists featured in AGWA’s Centenary Galleries, Salon des Refusés and Youth Award works at Brookfield Place, artist floor talks, big-screen displays, outdoor art pop-ups, and live art demonstrations.
