Fiona O’Byrne Wins 2026 Lester Prize for Portrait of Her Daughter

Melbourne artist Fiona O’Byrne has won the A$50,000 Richard Lester Prize for Portraiture for Luci, now, an oil-on-linen portrait of her 20-year-old daughter seated on a stool. Judges Alan Dodge, John McDonald and Bryony Nainby praised the painting's softness, tenderness and handling of paint. The competition received a record of more than 1,100 submissions, with 40 finalists exhibited at WA Museum Boola Bardip in Perth through November 29. Perth-based Yasamin Khadembashi won the A$10,000 Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize for Immoral Warrior, among awards in a total A$140,000 prize pool.