The Lord Mayor's Prize, the top award in the annual Brisbane Portrait Prize, will increase by 50 per cent from $50,000 to $75,000 from 2027, Brisbane Times reported on Sunday (1 November). The funding boost brings the overall prize pool to $139,500.
Brisbane City Council funds the Lord Mayor's Prize and acquires the winning portrait each year. Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the extra prize money was a way of supporting Brisbane's talented artists and important stories.
"As our city continues to grow and change, it's important we celebrate our history, embrace our identity and support the artists who bring Brisbane's stories to life," Schrinner said.
Brisbane Portrait Prize chair Anna Reynolds said the prize was now of national significance. "As the world's attention turns to Brisbane over the next six years, a place-based prize like this embodies our city, our arts, our culture and our character," she said.
Among the Nation's Richest Art Awards
Brisbane Portrait Prize launched in 2019 and is open to artists with a connection to Brisbane. In addition to the Lord Mayor's Prize, smaller cash prizes are given in eight other categories, along with grants. The winner of the Lord Mayor's Prize in 2026 was artist Pat Hoffie for her portrait of her elderly father.
Hundreds of art prizes are awarded in Australia each year, and at least seven award $80,000 or more for a single artwork, according to Brisbane Times. The Archibald Prize, given out most years since 1921, is worth $100,000. The Doug Moran Portrait Prize, with a top prize of $150,000, has been on hold since 2023, and the new $125,000 Sorrento Art Prize is funded by a private donor and presented by a commercial gallery.
Rival Prizes in Queensland
Two rival prizes to the Brisbane Portrait Prize have emerged in Queensland in the past 12 months. The $100,000 Banksia Prize is a national prize funded by Brisbane-based businesspeople Zuzanna Kamusinski and Jake Phillpot. It is not exclusively for portraits, and its inaugural winner will be announced on Thursday (12 November), with the finalists exhibited at the Brisbane Powerhouse from 13 November.
The $50,000 John D. Bowe Art Prize was established by Anne Carne in memory of her son John, and in support of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Its inaugural award was won in July by Brisbane artist K.V. Kosala Wijegunaratna.
Finalists Exhibition at the State Library
The current Brisbane Portrait Prize Finalists Exhibition at the State Library of Queensland continues until Sunday (8 November). Daily visitation has increased by 71 per cent over the past two years, with an average of 452 people visiting the exhibition each day in 2026.
The State Library's exhibition page lists the free show in the slq Gallery on level 2, open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 5pm on weekends. The library says the prize "celebrates the stories and lives of the people of Meanjin/Brisbane", with questions of identity, sovereignty, belonging and visibility running through this year's finalists.
The exhibition has free entry at the library on Stanley Street, South Brisbane, according to its Visit Brisbane listing.