Chairman of the gallery, Helen Nugent, says: “The prize will recognise the significance and relevance of portraiture in Australia and will be an ongoing legacy of Mr Gordon Darling AC CMG (1921-2015), one of the Portrait Gallery’s founding patrons.”

Dr Nugent noted that 2018 will mark 20 years since the NPG was established with the support of its founding patrons, the late Mr Darling and his wife, Marilyn.

Director of the National Portrait Gallery Angus Trumble, has welcomed the establishment of the prize, saying: “The Portrait Gallery is an advocate for the arts, fostering the creation of outstanding portraiture in a variety of mediums. It is only fitting that with the generosity of our Founding Patron, Gordon Darling, we establish a portrait painting prize.”

The new prize, he says, will aspire to be “the most prestigious portrait painting prize in the country, held at the home of Australian portraiture”.

The Darling Portrait Prize will be held annually with a cash prize of $75,000 for the winner, and paintings that meet the gallery’s collection development policy “may be considered for acquisition”.

Artists must complete their paintings on or after September 1 in preparation for the call for entries period, which begins in May 2019. The inaugural exhibition of finalists will be unveiled in September 2019.

Entrants must be an Australian citizen or resident, over the age of 18. Artists may paint any Australian citizen or resident and/or a person or persons who have a strong association with Australia or who has made a significant contribution to Australian life.

All details are at portrait.gov.au.