The Darling Portrait Prize is a new annual prize for painted portraits, joining the National Photographic Portrait Prize at Australia’s home of portraiture, the National Portrait Gallery.

The winner of the inaugural $75,000 prize for 2020 is Elizabeth by Anthea da Silva, for her painting of the ‘high priestess’ of Australian contemporary dance, Dr Elizabeth Cameron Dalman OAM.

While the Gallery is closed because of the COVID-19 emergency, details of the winning portrait can be viewed at https://www.portrait.gov.au/exhibitions/darling-portrait-prize-2020

Elizabeth Cameron-Dalman OAM, PhD has been described as the high priestess of Australian Dance – she established the Mirramu Creative Arts Centre near Bungendore 30 years ago, and 50 years ago she founded and was the first Artistic Director of the Australian Dance Theatre, and has been celebrating contemporary dance ever since. Elizabeth tours as an actor/dancer, most recently with Michael Keegan Dolan’s award-winning Swan Lake/Loch na hEala production in Ireland, Denmark, the UK, Germany, Australia, Russia and New York.  

I was very fortunate and honoured to catch up with Elizabeth at the 30th birthday of Mirramu and asked her to sit for this Portrait Prize.  In her humble, youthful, curious way she agreed. 

from Anthea da Silva’s website