Finalists announced for Newcastle Art Gallery's KILGOUR PRIZE 2017

Newcastle Art Gallery has announced the finalists for the KILGOUR PRIZE 2017, the Gallery's prestigious annual award for figurative and portrait painting. This year's winner will be revealed at the launch of the exhibition, 5:30pm Friday 4 August at the Gallery.

The KILGOUR PRIZE awards $50,000 for the most outstanding painting by an Australian artist, as judged by a selection panel. Funded by the bequest of artist Jack Noel Kilgour, it is one of the most lucrative art awards in the country.

Born in 1900, Jack Noel Kilgour is known for his academic paintings and his subjects include urban landscapes and portraiture. Kilgour’s contemporaries included Jean Bellette, William Dobell, and his wife Nancy Kilgour, with whom he established a significant artistic partnership. Kilgour's works are well represented in the Gallery's collection as well as state and national collections.

"The KILGOUR PRIZE exhibition is always exciting because the works of art are so diverse," said Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes. "I look forward to seeing this year's entries as each year both the quality and the quantity improves of the works of art entered. We are proud to have a national art prize of this stature housed at Newcastle Art Gallery."

Early this year, Newcastle Art Gallery invited artists to submit entries, and the judging panel selected 30 finalists from over 370 entries received from artists across the country.

"We receive entries from artists with a wide range of styles who interpret the figurative and portraiture brief in a variety of ways, resulting in some truly surprising works of art and a very engaging exhibition," said Newcastle Art Gallery Manager Lauretta Morton. "The entries are representative of the best of contemporary Australian figurative and portrait painting."

"More and more artists are becoming familiar with the Prize and its association with Newcastle Art Gallery as it continues to gain recognition and prestige over the years," she said.

The 2017 finalists include a number of artists who were born in or currently practice in Newcastle and the Hunter region, including Michael Bell, John Earle, Lucas Grogan, John Morris, Rebecca Murray and Liam Power.

The KILGOUR PRIZE 2017 exhibition dates are: 5 August - 15 October 2017

2017 Judges:
Lauretta Morton, Manager Newcastle Art Gallery
Tony Oates, Curator, Exhibitions - Drill Hall Gallery, Australian National University
Charles Robb, practicing artist and Associate Lecturer in Art and Design - Queensland University of Technology

2017 Finalists:
Sally Anderson
Michael Bell
Ann Maree Clark
Jerome Dobinson
John Earle
Yvonne East
John Edwards
Anna Glynn
Lucas Grogan
Tanya Jaceglav
Tony Lloyd
Lauren May
Frankie Morgan
John Morris
Rebecca Murray
Adam Oste
Lori Pensini
Tom Phillips
Liam Power
Jordan Richardson
Paul Ryan
Nigel Sense
John Skillington
Tony Slater
Cameron Stead
Robin Lennox Stewart
Mark Tweedie
John R Walker
Chee Yong
Caroline Zilinsky