All competitions · Prize / award
Adam Portraiture Award 2026
New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pukenga Whakaata · Wellington, New Zealand
Biennial NZ$30,000 award for a painted portrait of a living New Zealander based on a live sitting, open to New Zealand citizens and residents; exhibited in Wellington then touring.
Your eligibility
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Who can enter
- Location
- New Zealand (by residence or nationality)
- Age
- No age limit
- Career stage
- Any
- Mediums
- Painting
- Theme
- portraiture
- Size limits
- Max 250 cm x 200 cm including frame
- Submission
- Online submission
- Also
- New Zealand citizens or residents; subject must be a living New Zealander painted from life.
About
The Adam Portraiture Award, presented by the New Zealand Portrait Gallery and sponsored by the Adam Foundation, is New Zealand's premier portrait prize. Portraits must be predominantly painted in any medium, depict a living New Zealander, and be based on at least one live sitting or study from life, completed after 21 March 2024.
Maximum size is 250 x 200 cm including frame. Initial entries are made online. The 2026 award received 429 entries; entries closed 18 March 2026 and the exhibition runs 21 May to 9 August 2026 at Shed 11, Wellington, before touring nationally.