• © Rob Palmer. The mahi-mahi, 2019. National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020 - Overall winner. Josh Niland, head chef and owner of Saint Peter restaurant, is reinventing what can be done with fish, and – most importantly – with every part of the fish, in a huge effort to drastically reduce wastage. His trailblazing work has received enormous praise from the likes of Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson.
    © Rob Palmer. The mahi-mahi, 2019. National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020 - Overall winner. Josh Niland, head chef and owner of Saint Peter restaurant, is reinventing what can be done with fish, and – most importantly – with every part of the fish, in a huge effort to drastically reduce wastage. His trailblazing work has received enormous praise from the likes of Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson.
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Sydney photographer scoops National Photographic Portrait Prize

15 March 2020

Sydney-based photographer, Rob Palmer has won the 13th annual National Photographic Portrait Prize (NPPP) with his portrait of chef Josh Niland, titled The mahi-mahi, 2019. The winning image is from a series Palmer created with Niland, The Whole Fish Cookbook. Over 2,400 entries were submitted, with a total of 48 named as finalists.

Palmer is a lifestyle and food photographer, represented by FLIPP. He describes Niland as trailblazer. “Josh is reinventing what can be done with fish and – most importantly – with every part of the fish, in a huge effort to drastically reduce wastage,” Palmer said.

Of the winning work, the judges, Penny Grist (Curator, NPG), Nici Cumpston (Curator, Art Gallery of South Australia), and artist Naomi Hobson noted the portrait’s “majesty and power”, and its “painterliness and composition. The sitter’s embrace of the fish so eloquently conveys his identity as a chef,” they said.

© Hugh Stewart. National Portrait Photographic Prize 2020 - Highly Commended. Eileen Kramer is a dancer, 2019. She moved back to Australia from New York when she was 98 because she wanted to hear a kookaburra. She is 105 this year.
© Hugh Stewart. National Portrait Photographic Prize 2020 - Highly Commended. Eileen Kramer is a dancer, 2019. She moved back to Australia from New York when she was 98 because she wanted to hear a kookaburra.
She is 105 this year.

Fashion and portrait photographer, Hugh Stewart’s his portrait of 105-year-old dancer Eileen Kramer received the Highly Commended prize. The Art Handlers' Award went to Shea Kirk for Gemma Baxter.

Rob Palmer takes home a first prize of $30,000 plus $22,000 worth of photographic equipment from Canon. Highly Commended winner Hugh Stewart collects an Eizo ColorEdge CG2730 27" monitor valued at $3,245.

© Shea Kirk. Gemma Baxter (right view), 2019. National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020 Art Handler's Award. ‘Getting older, our faces and bodies change – but slowly I think I'm feeling more and more proud of mine. A body that started a business, hauled fabric around the city, filled a room with machinery that I taught myself how to use. When I saw the image you took of me, I was kind of inspired by myself. It was a fucking lovely feeling.’ This image – from the ongoing series Vantages – is half of a stereoscopic portrait of my dear friend Gemma, the genius behind ‘To Barwyn And Back’, a Melbourne-based label creating tech-streetwear, prioritising safety, comfort and community.
© Shea Kirk. Gemma Baxter (right view), 2019. National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020 Art Handler's Award. ‘Getting older, our faces and bodies change – but slowly I think I'm feeling more and more proud of mine. A body that started a business, hauled fabric around the city, filled a room with machinery that I taught myself how to use. When I saw the image you took of me, I was kind of inspired by myself. It was a fucking lovely feeling.’ This image – from the ongoing series Vantages – is half of a stereoscopic portrait of my dear friend Gemma, the genius behind To Barwyn And Back, a Melbourne-based label creating tech-streetwear, prioritising safety, comfort and community.

NPG Director Karen Quinlan AM describes the NPPP as, “one of our most popular exhibitions, offering equal billing for amateur and professional photographers. This year we see works of astounding quality and breadth from across the nation – many pushing the boundaries of photographic portraiture, and each reflecting quintessentially Australian stories.”

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