Artist Nathan Beard has won the final National Photographic Portrait Prize in its current form with a deeply personal image of his late aunt.
Beard received the 2026 award for Mae Khong, a portrait taken after his aunt suffered a debilitating fall at her home in Thailand.
The photograph shows Mae Khong seated with her back to the camera after insisting on bathing herself despite the shock of the fall. Beard said she agreed to be photographed and that he worked quickly because of the sensitivity of the private moment.
Beard, a multidisciplinary artist of Australian-Thai heritage based in Melbourne, was alone in the house with his aunt when she fell.
Mae Khong died in July at the age of 84. She knew the photograph had been selected as a finalist but died before learning it had won.
Beard described the recognition as bittersweet and a final gift from an aunt who had helped foster his cultural pride and sense of belonging.
The National Portrait Gallery’s judges said the photograph had an immediate emotional pull. Although Mae Khong’s face is not visible, they said her posture conveyed resilience and fatigue, while the tightly framed composition created a strong sense of intimacy between photographer and subject.
Beard receives $30,000 from the National Portrait Gallery and $20,000 worth of photographic equipment from Canon Australia.
His work was chosen from more than 1,000 entries, with 30 photographs selected for the finalist exhibition.
The First Time Finalist Award went to Phuong Nguyen Le for Nghỉ/Nghiêm (Attention/At ease), a paired portrait of his father made to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.
The judges praised the work for adapting photographic technology historically associated with war and conflict as an act of artistic reclamation.
Visitors can also vote for the People’s Choice Award, which carries a $10,000 prize from the Calvert-Jones Foundation.
End of an era
The 2026 exhibition marks the end of the National Photographic Portrait Prize in its present form.
Established in 2007, the prize has presented more than 900 portraits by more than 600 artists. Its touring exhibitions have visited more than 70 regional and remote galleries, and 23 works from previous competitions have entered the National Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection.
To mark the final edition, the Gallery is presenting a retrospective alongside this year’s finalists, bringing together works from almost two decades of Australian photographic portraiture.
A new prize model is expected to be introduced in 2027.
Hawkesbury residents wishing to see the exhibition can visit Canberra or one of the announced touring venues. No metropolitan Sydney venue appears on the currently published schedule.
The only NSW destination presently listed is Glasshouse Port Macquarie, where the exhibition is scheduled from February 6 to March 28, 2027.
The National Photographic Portrait Prize 2026 is at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra from August 22 to October 11. Admission is $15 for adults, $12 concession and free for visitors under 18.
Further information, finalist images and People’s Choice voting are available through the National Portrait Gallery. National Portrait Gallery.
