For 28 years, the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize has encouraged excellence and innovative approach in contemporary Australian portraiture by asking artists to interpret the look and personality of any sitter of their choice. 

This year, the 2016 finalists include three UNSW Art & Design graduates: Claire Heise for her self-portrait complete with clouds and cockroaches, Steve Lopes for his anonymous sleeping woman dreaming of a small Aeolian Island off Sicily; and James Powditch for his portrait of the Australia Day Local Hero recipient and Director of the Sydney Story Factory, Catherine Keenan.    

Founded by Doug and Greta Moran and family in 1988, this annual prize, worth $150,000, supports Australian artists and the wider arts community by holding the Portrait Prize, Photographic Prize, and the Student Prize simultaneously, displaying the top 30 finalists in portraiture and photography, and the top 25 in the each student category (including Secondary 11-12, Secondary 9-10, Secondary 7-8, and Primary K-6).  

The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize is acquisitive and the winning portrait immediately becomes the property of the Moran Arts Foundation, to be exhibited as part of the Moran Arts Foundation Collection. 

The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize runs from 27 October 2016 to 5 February 2017 at Juniper Hall, 250 Oxford Street, Paddington.