The Dobell Prize is the most respected award for drawing in Australia. Initiated by the trustees of the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation, the prize was first awarded in 1993. The winner receives $20,000. The judge of the 2006 Dobell Prize is Irena Zdanowicz, former Head Curator of Prints and Drawings at the National Gallery of Victoria, now an independent writer/curator. The winner of this year's prize will be announced on Thursday 28 September at 11am. Works were delivered to the Gallery between Wednesday 20 and Friday 22 September. This year there were 625 entries and 45 finalists. The Dobell Prize for Drawing has always been the subject of discussion and debate about the nature of drawing. What constitutes a drawing is however deliberately not outlined in the conditions of entry. That has been left for competing artists to define by their practice and for each individual judge, annually appointed by the trustees of the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation, to determine in the process of looking at all the entries. This flexible, open-minded approach has ensured that the greatest variety of drawings is submitted each year. A condition of the Dobell Prize for Drawing is that the Art Gallery of New South Wales automatically acquires the prize-winning drawing each year. Last year Kevin Connor won the prize for his drawing Le Grand Palais, Clémenceau, de Gaulle and me. There are thirteen prize-winning drawings in the collection acquired as a result of the prize, which now form part of a growing collection of contemporary Australian drawings at the gallery. Wednesday 4 October 2006, 5.30pm – Art After Hours program
An introduction to the exhibition by Anne Ryan, curator Australian prints.
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