The Portia Geach Memorial Award is an annual prize for Australian female

portraitist A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this re ...

s. The Award was established in 1961 as a testamentary trust by Florence Kate Geach, sister of Australian painter Portia Geach, with an initial endowment of AU£12,000. The first prize given under the aegis of the Award was made in 1965, comprising a £1,000 prize to Jean Appleton for a self-portrait. In 2015, the Award was worth A$30,000. The Award aims to support female artists working in the field of

portraits A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

painted from life, and is given based upon the field entries submitted to the Award. Under the terms of the initial endowment, the Award is designed to recognise: ''

... the best portraits painted from life of some man or woman distinguished in Art, Letters or the Sciences by any female artist resident in Australia during the 12 months preceding the date fixed by the Trustees for sending in the pictures and who was born in Australia or was British born or has become a naturalised Australian and whose place of domicile is Australia.

Previous winners

Past winners of the award have been: *2022 – Lynn Savery, ''Kindred Spirits'' *2021 – Marie Mansfield, ''Tilly'' *2020 – Caroline Zilinsky, ''Anthea May or May Not'' (portrait of Anthea Pilko, dancer) *2019 –

Sally Robinson Sally Robinson (born 1952) is an English-born Australian artist. She has had a long career as a portrait artist and designer, painter and printmaker, teacher and lecturer. Her work is represented in private and public collections around Austral ...

, ''Body in a box'' (self-portrait) �
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*2018 – Zoe Young, ''Drawing Storyboards'' (portrait of

Bruce Beresford Bruce Beresford (; born 16 August 1940) is an Australian film director who has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career, both locally and internationally in the United States. Beresford's notable films he has directed include '' B ...

) �
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*2017 – Amanda Davies, ''Portrait of Pat Brassington'' �
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*2016 – Jenny Rodgerson, ''Bound by the big red coat'' �
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*2015 – Natasha Bieniek, ''Sahara'' �
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*2014 – Sophie Cape, ''Romper Stomper'' �
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*2013 – Hélène Grove, ''Self Portrait. Getting On'' �
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*2012 –

, ''The Artist's Mother'' �
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*2011 – Kate Stevens, ''Indian Dream'' �
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*2010 – Prudence Flint, ''Scrambled egg'' �
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*2009 – Christine Hiller, ''The Old Painter'' *2008 – Jude Rae, ''Self Portrait 2008 (The Year My Husband Left)'' *2007 – Maryanne Coutts, ''Melbourne'' *2006 – Lucy Culliton, ''Self with Friends'' *2005 – Jude Rae, ''Large Interior (Micky Allan)'' *2004 – Nerrisa Lea, ''The Sheik & Me, Self Portrait with Imagined Portrait of Chad Morgan after Frida Kahlo'' *2003 – Wendy Sharpe, ''Self Portrait with Tea Cup and Burning Paintings'' *2002 – Vicki Varvaressos, ''Self Portrait with Painting'' *2001 – Mary Moore, ''At Home'' *2000 –

Nancy Borlase Nancy Wilmot Borlase (24 March 1914 – 11 September 2006) was a New Zealand-born Australian artist, known for her landscape-based abstract paintings and portraits, and as an art critic and commentator. Her work is displayed in the National Gal ...

, ''The Sisters: Marie and Vida Breckenridge'' �
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*1999 – Kim Spooner, ''Social Currency (Eva Cox)'' �
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*1998 – Anita Rezevska, ''Self Portrait – Woman from Riga'' *1997 – Maria Isabel, ''Cruz Maria'' *1996 – Su Baker, ''Self Portrait at Six Paces'' *1995 – Wendy Sharpe, ''Self Portrait with Students, After Adelaide Labille-Guiard'' *1994 – Jenny Sages, ''Ann Thomson'' *1993 – Aileen Rogers, ''Suzanne Mourot'' *1992 – Jenny Sages, ''Nancy Borlase and Laurie Short'' �
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*1991 – Rosemary Valadon, '' Frances Joseph'' *1990 – Jenny Watson, ''Self Portrait'' *1989 – Jenny Sands, ''Alex Karpin'' *1988 – Margaret Ackland, ''

Shay Docking Shay Docking (1928–1998) was an Australian artist who specialised in landscape drawing. Early life Docking was born in Warrnambool Victoria in 1928, and was the youngest of seven children. Her father was a clergyman and her mother a musicia ...

'' *1987 – Christine Hiller, ''Self Portrait'' *1986 – Christine Hiller, ''Self Portrait'' *1985 – Gwen Eichler, ''Dianne Fogwell'' *1984 – Margaret Woodward, ''Madeleine Halliday'' *1983 – Margaret Woodward, ''Self Portrait'' *1982 – Brenda Humble, ''Virginia Hall'' *1981 – Susan Howard, ''Jenny Kee'' *1980 – Judy Pennefather, ''Venie Schulenberg'' *1979 – Ivy Shore, ''Kondelea (Della) Elliott'' *1978 – Dora Toovey, ''Senator Neville Bonner'' *1977 – Ena Joyce, ''George Lawrence'' *1976 – Jocelyn Maughan, ''George Bouckley'' *1975 – Mary Brady, ''Elizabeth Rooney'' *1974 – Lesley H Pockley, ''Hugh Paget'' *1973 – Sylvia Tiarks, ''Self Portrait'' *1972 – Elizabeth Cummings, ''Jean Appleton'' *1971 – Mary Brady, ''Larry Sitsky'' �
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*1970 – Dora Toovey, ''Self Portrait in Landscape'' *1969 – Vaike Liibus, ''Guy Warren'' *1968 – Bettina McMahon, ''Self Portrait'' *1967 – Jo Caddy, '' Lawrence Daws'' *1966 – Mary Brady, ''Grahame Edgar'' *1965 – Jean Appleton, ''Self Portrait''

References

{{Australianartawards Australian art awards 1961 establishments in Australia