Southern Highlands artist Margaret Mapperson has been named a semi-finalist in Australia's richest portrait prize.
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Ms Mapperson joins 213 other contenders for the 2022 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize with many of the works featuring portraits of Australians, both well-known and unknown.
Both emerging and renowned Australian artists feature in the list of semi-finalists that was announced on October 20, with the semi-finalists in contention for a $150,000 first prize.
The group will be whittled down to just 30 finalists on November 3 ahead of the final judging and announcement on November 30.
The 2022 Prize is judged by Gerard Vaughan AM, Australian art historian and museum administrator, Lucy Culliton, one of Australia's foremost contemporary artists and Peter Moran, Moran Arts Foundation.
Peter's parents Doug and Greta Moran AO established the Moran Arts Foundation in 1988 to fulfill their dream of helping Australian artists along the path to excellence.
"It has been a pleasure and privilege to participate in the judging of the Moran Prize." Mr Vaughan said.
"I have been impressed by the sheer quality of works submitted, and the variety of ways in which so many artists have explored - and extended - the idea of what a portrait could be, what it tells us about both the sitter and the painter, and the personal and social contexts which each painter explores.
"Our years of confronting the pandemic are one theme. I have also been very struck by the interesting self portraits submitted, and by the high number of portraits of an artist's painter friends."
He said the body of works were each artists' reflection of another human, but also their ideas, interests and tastes in the current moment of time.
The DMNPP finalists will be announced on Thursday 3 November and the winner on Wednesday 30 November, followed by an online exhibition.
A full list of semi-finalists can be found at moranarts.org.au/semi-finalists-2022-doug-moran-national-portrait-prize.
