THE National Portrait Gallery is calling for entries to the inaugural Darling Portrait Prize.

Twenty years since the Portrait Gallery was established, the $75,000 prize will recognise the significance and relevance of portraiture in Australia and in particular the legacy of the late Gordon Darling, founding co-patron of the NPG with his wife, Marilyn Darling.

Director of the gallery, Karen Quinlan, said entries were already rolling in and she was excited to see a diverse field of applicants.

“We welcome entries from all over the country and from professional and emerging artists alike,” Quinlan said.

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

Finalists will be announced in November and the Darling Portrait Prize exhibition will run at the National Portrait Gallery, alongside the finalists in the National Photographic Portrait Prize and the Digital Portraiture Award, in March 2020.

Entries to portrait.gov.au close at 9am on Tuesday, October 1.