The 2026 National Photographic Portrait Prize will be the last in the series as the National Portrait Gallery makes way for a new prize model, launching in 2027. To celebrate the incredible photography displayed over the last 19 years, a curated retrospective will be shown alongside the 30 finalists for 2026.

Established in 2007, The National Photographic Portrait Prize celebrates and nurtures contemporary portrait photography from across Australia. Since its inception, more than 600 artists and 900 portraits have been shown at the National Portrait Gallery, including both established and emerging artists.

The upcoming exhibition will provide a powerful visual record of the defining events, faces, moments and emotions that resonated from the year before. Through the Gallery’s touring program, the exhibition reaches Australians across the nation, with more than 70 remote and regional galleries hosting the exhibition over the years.

Bree Pickering, director of the National Portrait Gallery, says, “We are excited to present the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2026 alongside an alumni presentation of works from the past 19 years. The retrospective highlights some of the most compelling, authentic and evocative portraits from over the years and, together with the 2026 finalist exhibition, offers a unique insight into the past 20 years of photographic portraiture in Australia.”

The National Photographic Portrait Prize 2026 exhibition will be on display from 22 August to 11 October 2026 at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra before touring nationally. 

The full list of finalists has been released, with retrospective artists to be announced in August.

Book tickets here.

Feature image: Luke Austin, Aitor in London 2025 National Photographic Portrait Prize 2026 finalist © Luke Austin.