From over 1,000 submissions, forty Australian artists have been selected as the 2025 season finalists of The Lester Prize – Australia’s richest portraiture prize, offering a total of more than $130,000 in prize money to winners.
In keeping with The Lester Prize ethos of ‘art accessible for all’, an independent judging panel selected work from both established and emerging Australian artists, with this year’s pool including seventeen returning finalists, thirteen finalists from Victoria, and twelve finalists from Western Australia.
Ross Potter, Cost of Living
The Prize receives a vast array of entries each year – notably, 2025 finalist Ross Potter’s self-portrait Cost of Living is delicately drawn on an eggshell using watercolour and oil pencil.
“The artwork expresses the idea that during the current cost of living crisis, a once humble staple could now be an extravagant canvas to create upon,” the Fremantle artist said. “Juggling a family and an arts career in the midst of this unpredictable era, I’m now faced with the looming decision whether to keep pursuing my dreams or get a ‘real job’.
“I even had to consider if I could afford to use this egg.”
Amy Hamilton, Open Door
South Australian finalist Amy Hamilton combined knitting, collage and oil paint to create her eight-part portrait Open Door, portraying a group of academics working to improve well-being of veterans and public safety personnel and their families, with the subjects of her artwork providing some of the materials she used in her pieces.
“I am part of the group because my husband is a veteran, and I admire the work they do to support those who have served,” Hamilton said. “I chose knitting as a medium because knitting is a traditional way to support soldiers.”
The Lester Prize Main Awards entries are open to all artists with Australian residency, aged eighteen or older. There are seven awards, including the Richard Lester Prize for Portraiture, the Tony Fini Foundation Artist Prize, the Minderoo Foundation Spirit Prize and the Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize.
The finalist exhibition will be held at WA Museum Boola Bardip, Perth WA 6000, from 19 September to 16 November 2025.
