Landscapes

The prestigious Wynne Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW was established in 1897 for “the best landscape painting of Australian scenery in oils or watercolours, or for the best figurative sculpture by Australian artists

Utopia Art Sydney has a long history with the Wynne Prize. Landscapes celebrates our gallery artists who have been exhibited in the prize.

In 1999, Gloria Petyarre was the first Indigenous artist to take the award. She broke down the unacknowledged, unseen barrier towards First Nations art.

It took another 5 years, for a second Indigenous artist to win the award, George Ward Tjungurrayi in 2004. Yet after Yukultji Napangati won the Wynne prize in 2018 (14 years after George Ward and 19 years after Gloria Petyarre), Indigenous artists have won almost every year since.

In 1995, David Aspden, more generally regarded as one of Australia’s finest abstractionists, won. In 2002, Angus Nivison’s Remembering Rain  a block buster 6.4m painting won. Immediately the AGNSW limited the entry sizes, no more epics.

Even being a finalist boosts artistic confidence and visibility. Landscapes is an exhibition of beautiful paintings from 12 great Australian artists.