AFTER more than 7,000 votes were cast online, the winners of the National Portrait Gallery’s People’s Choice Awards for its two big exhibitions have been announced today (June 16).

Upper-Hunter Valley region photographer, David Darcy, who only began painting two years ago, won the Darling Portrait Prize People’s Choice prize of $10,000, donated by the Liangis family, for his portrait of his neighbour, 86-year-old farmer and environmentalist Wendy Bowman, winner of the 2017 Goldman Environmental Prize.

No stranger to popularity, Darcy also won the National Photographic Portrait Prize People’s Choice award in 2016, and said, “A strong woman with incredible character and painting her was an absolute joy. She has been an advocate for the environment for 40 years and has done so much for the community.”

The winner of the People’s Choice prize National Photographic Portrait Prize is Klarissa Dempsey for “Wonder”, a portrait of her daughter Tayla playing on her country homelands near Alice Springs. She wins fine art printing to the value of $2,200 donated by Sunstudios.

NPG director Karen Quinlan says, “These prize exhibitions are extremely important – a way artists can have their work shown in a national gallery, alongside their peers, and for audiences, a diverse and uniquely Australian insight into the art of portraiture.”

The Portrait Gallery has now reopened and both the National Photographic Portrait Prize and Darling Portrait Prize exhibitions are on show until July 26. Bookings, online content and new digital programs are available here portrait.gov.au