Photography / National Photographic Portrait Prize 2026, National Portrait Gallery until October 11. Reviewed by BRIAN ROPE

This is the 20th and final National Photographic Portrait Prize.

The gallery is showing works by 30 selected finalists (and selected finalists from previous years). This review only discusses this year’s artworks.

The chosen winner is MAE KHONG, 2026 by Nathan Beard. The image has previously been published in City News, so all I will say is that the artist statement provides a moving background story which reveals a great deal about the image.

Amongst the other finalists, I really enjoyed The Falling, by collaborators Lakie Sideris and Gretel Taylor. Sideris is the artist who took the photograph. Taylor – a dance artist, curator and researcher known for her site-specific performance work – is the subject. The excellent image of a falling movement is a powerful portrayal of sensing and moving with the surrounding environment.

There is much to look at in Walkabout, by Michael Cook. This portrait places its subject at the heart of Japan’s commercial district, memorialising aspects of Japanese culture. The subject is holding numerous dogs on leads. Watching them from high above is a cat. Not just any cat, but one who is a symbol of the Metropolitan Police Department. I imagine it pouncing should any dog misbehave.

Franky Tsang’s artwork, Between us, is a delightful study of his young daughter sitting quietly on her own. Tsang was nearby, watching from a short distance when he took the image, so it includes the nearby surroundings. The colourfully dressed child is beautifully lit seated beneath a streetlamp, whilst the surroundings are monotone. The image is an excellent example of the artist’s portraiture practice which focusses on subtle, often unspoken moments.

Another finalist is a high-quality monochrome portrait by Dean Saffron of a much-loved indigenous Australian photographer, Mervyn Bishop. He is pictured reflecting quietly. Appropriately, he is accompanied by his own reflection. He is portrayed in the same honest way that his own works over many years have ensured other Aboriginal people have been seen.

I loved the idea behind A portrait as a parent. Mia M. McDonald began with a candid portrait taken in her kitchen. Her children were invited to hand-colour a print of it on the wall. The end result was this most colourful fun portrait which, to my mind, perfectly portrays the colouring-in activity loved by children.

Another highlight for me was another diptych, by collaborators Briony Galligan and Abbra Kotlarczyk. The artists explain their intention to use a double exposure to counter “the idea that supposedly containable units of one’s family, body, identity and history are sealed in some way”. Regardless of that, both parts of the gentle, colourful diptych are delightful.

There is much to see in the exhibition. Visit it and vote for your favourite.

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