Media identities John Laws and Mikey Robbins, poet Les Murray, and actor Richard Roxburgh are among the famous faces featured in Australia's richest art prize exhibition, at The University of Queensland's Customs House Art Gallery.
The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize 2000/2001 will be opened by Queensland's Governor, Major General Peter Arnison AC on Friday July 13 and the exhibition continues until August 19.
The nationally touring exhibition features 32 portraits by Australian artists, selected by judges Mr Ron Radford, Director of the Art Gallery of South Australia and the artist Margaret Olley, from 643 entries.
The $100,000 prize winning portrait, Self-portrait in bed with the Animals by Melbourne artist Kristin Headlam, was chosen by Dr Charles Saumerez-Smith, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, London, in August 2000.
Director of the University of Queensland Art Museum, Mr Ross Searle said that the exhibition had become a popular annual event at Brisbane's Customs House Gallery.
"The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize showcases a broad range of artistic styles and the subjects range from family members to the famous, as well as several self portraits," he said.
"Artists are from every part of the country and have diverse cultural backgrounds."
Portraits by three Brisbane artists are represented in this year's exhibition. They are Robert Barnes' Portrait of Margaret Olley, Barbara Ryan's Queenslander, Portrait of Patricia Ryan, and A Glance in the Mirror by Queensland College of Art graduate, Dell Walker, who now lives in Adelaide.
The exhibition also includes portraits of radio and television personalities Mikey Robins by Adam Cullen, who won the 2000 Archibald Prize, and John Laws by Kenneth MacRae, poet Les Murray by both Rose McKinley and Bob Baird, Richard Roxburgh by Evert Ploeg, and Australian-Vietnamese comedian, Hung Le, by Jenny McCracken. Leading Australian artists Robert Juniper and Andrew Sibley are also represented.
The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize is an annual prize exhibition, established in 1988 by arts patron Mr Doug Moran, Chairman of the Moran Health Care Group.
Media: Further information, contact Ross Searle telephone 3365 3046 or Jan King at UQ Communications 0413 601 248.
