{"id":77323,"date":"2026-08-21T09:19:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T09:19:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/77323\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T09:19:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T09:19:22","slug":"national-photographic-portrait-prize-awards-top-gong-to-melbourne-artist-for-portrait-of-beloved-aunt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/77323\/","title":{"rendered":"National Photographic Portrait Prize awards top gong to Melbourne artist for portrait of beloved aunt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Melbourne artist Nathan Beard has won the $30,000 National Photographic Portrait Prize for a faceless and intimate portrait of his aunty recuperating after a major medical scare.<\/p>\n

Beard captured the private moment while visiting the beloved matriarch, Mae Khong, in Thailand earlier this year.<\/p>\n

“On this particular trip she had suffered a fall at home and I was the only one in the house with her,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The winning photograph in the 2026 National Photographic Portrait Prize, titled Mae Khong, by Melbourne artist Nathan Beard. (Supplied: Nathan Beard)<\/p>\n

“She insisted that evening, even after the shock of the event, to bathe herself, and to do so independently.”<\/p>\n

The National Portrait Gallery’s Director of Curatorial and Collection, Isobel Parker Philip, said the photograph conveyed fortitude and strength, coupled with fatigue and vulnerability.<\/p>\n

“You can’t see her face but that doesn’t mean you don’t have an emotional connection to her,” she said.<\/p>\n

“You might look at it and see one of your loved ones; you can read the many, many years of her life experiences in the frame.”<\/p>\n

Mae died in July, meaning she will never know of the prestigious accolade bestowed on her nephew.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It is bittersweet being recognised for the award because it’s sort of a final gift of hers to me,” Beard said.\"Two<\/p>\n

Ngh\u1ec9Nghi\u00eam (AttentionAt ease), 2025 by Phuong Nguyen Le, winner of the $3,000 First Time Finalist Award. (Supplied: Phuong Nguyen Le)<\/p>\n

The multidisciplinary artist, who draws on his Australian-Thai heritage, said his aunty was an influential figure in fostering his sense of cultural pride and belonging.<\/p>\n

“She always struggled with why I would find her such a captivating subject,” Beard said.<\/p>\n

“She always thought it was silly that someone would think her worthy of that sort of status.”<\/p>\n

Alongside the $30,000 prize money, Beard will also receive $20,000 worth of camera equipment.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

UNTITLED_ 01 (Series_ What Remains_), by Hussein Abdirahman Mohamud, depicts a Flemington public housing resident packing to leave her home after it was earmarked for demolition. (Supplied: Hussein Abdirahman Mohamud)<\/p>\n

Moments of joy, humour, tenderness<\/p>\n

The image is among 30 finalists selected in this year’s National Photographic Portrait Prize from more than 1,000 entries.<\/p>\n

The selection showcases a diverse array of styles and subjects, from moments of joy and humour to poignant and tender snapshots.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Sublim8 by Camille Perry, a finalist in the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2026. (Supplied: Camille Perry)<\/p>\n

“It truly is a celebration of portraiture in its most expanded form,” Ms Parker Philip said.<\/p>\n

Phuong Nguyen Le won the $3,000 First Time Finalist Award for a portrait of his father, taken to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, Melbourne photographer Hussein Abdirahman Mohamud won the $3,000 Art Handlers’ Award for his image of a Flemington public housing resident, packing to leave her home after it was earmarked for demolition.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Holding Space by Adam Edwards was a finalist in the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2026. (Supplied: Adam Edwards)<\/p>\n

This National Photographic Portrait Prize was launched in 2007 and is open to emerging and established artists.<\/p>\n

This year marks the final iteration of the competition in its current format, with a new prize model to be announced by the National Portrait Gallery in 2027.<\/p>\n

Hanging alongside the 2026 show is a retrospective exhibition of almost two decades of finalists’ work.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A portrait of actor David Howell by Ingvar Kenne was also a finalist. (Supplied: Ingvar Kenne)<\/p>\n

It includes some famous faces, such as former prime minister Bob Hawke sipping a milkshake.<\/p>\n

“Photography makes up about 57 per cent of our collection,” Ms Parker Philip said.<\/p>\n

“It’s really important to the gallery and we’re excited to support more photographers in the future.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Sisterhood, by Su Cassiano, was a finalist in the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2026. (Supplied: Su Cassiano)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Melbourne artist Nathan Beard has won the $30,000 National Photographic Portrait Prize for a faceless and intimate portrait…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":77324,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[4817,17038,2184,5116,260,115701,4446],"class_list":["post-77323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-melbourne","tag-act","tag-art","tag-canberra","tag-local-stories","tag-melbourne","tag-national-photographic-prize","tag-photography"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}