Louise Hearman wins Moran Prize for her portrait of Bill Henson

MELBOURNE painter Louise Hearman has won the nation’s richest portraiture prize for her depiction of Bill Henson.

Louise Hearman with renowned Australian photographer Bill Henson in Paddington today. Picture: Justin Lloyd

IT was third time lucky for Melbourne painter Louise Hearman who has taken out the nation’s richest portraiture competition, the $150,000 Moran Prize.

Hearman’s moody diptych of her sometime partner and longtime friend, photographer Bill Henson, was today judged the best of 30 finalists from the unofficial runner-up, Nicholas Harding’s portrait of actor Richard Roxburgh.

Clutching her winners’ cheque Hearman said “I’m living proof money does buy happiness.”

The veteran painter said she has twice previously entered the Moran Prize, now in its 26th year.

She has never entered the Archibald Prize, despite its $75,000 winners cheque and the potential it offers for artistic fame.

When asked why she said she only entered Powerball superdraws, so why would her approach to her work be any different.

This year’s judges were former Art Gallery of NSW director Edmund Capon and artist Lewis Miller, who sifted through digital images of the 985 entries to decide 30 finalists which have been exhibited in Juniper Hall, an historical building in Paddington, in Sydney’s east.

Also announced today was the winner of the $50,000 Contemporary Photography Prize, Suzanne McCorkell for her black and white image Time Out From Training and winners of the student prizes.

Alisha Staines from Darwin High School in the Northern Territory won the Year 11-12 category, Emily Riley from Gorokan High School, Gorokan NSW won the Year 9-10 category and Connor Russell from De La Salle Catholic College, Caringbah NSW won the Year 7-8 category.

The Moran Prize is a free exhibition open to the public from tomorrow until February 15.