Image: National Portrait Gallery
The National Photographic Portrait Prize 2026 is set to open on 22 August at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra, bringing together retrospective works and this year’s finalists. The exhibition runs until 22 November 2026, with tickets available for visitors planning ahead.
The announcement comes through the National Portrait Gallery’s newsletter, which frames the prize as one of the institution’s longest-running exhibitions. This year’s presentation marks the end of that run, and the gallery says audiences will be able to see retrospective works alongside the finalists selected for 2026.
As a national prize devoted to photographic portraiture, the exhibition places new finalists in dialogue with earlier works from the prize’s history. The gallery’s wording suggests a retrospective dimension rather than a single-year snapshot, giving visitors a chance to view the current finalists within a broader timeline of the award.
The 2026 edition also sits alongside a busy period for the gallery’s programming. In the same newsletter, the institution highlights other portrait-related projects, including a new portrait of Andy Griffiths by Ronnie van Hout arriving from 26 September, and ‘Portrait Artist of the Year’ season 2, which will see 54 contestants compete for the chance to have work hung at the National Portrait Gallery. Those items are separate from the prize itself, but they underline the gallery’s sustained focus on portraiture across forms and formats.
The newsletter also notes that the gallery is open daily from 10am to 5pm, except 25 December, and reminds visitors that tickets are available for the exhibition. The prize will be shown at the National Portrait Gallery, King Edward Terrace, Parkes ACT 2600, and the display will remain on view through late November.
Alongside the prize announcement, the gallery’s newsletter mentions a new portrait on show in Gallery 2: ‘Aunty Beryl’ by Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay/Biripi artist Dennis Golding, described as the first commissioned etching to enter the National Portrait Gallery’s collection. That work is identified as separate from the prize exhibition, but it forms part of the same portrait-focused programme around the museum’s 2026 season.
