Adam Portraiture Award
Terms and Conditions of Entry
These are valid for the 2026 competition.
ENTRIES
1. Artists must be New Zealand citizens or residents.
2. Limit of one entry per person.
3. A work is not eligible for entry if it has received any previous awards.
4. Painted portraits must be of identifiable people and the subject(s) living New Zealand resident(s) or citizen(s). The work entered should be a painting based on at least one sitting, or a study from life, and the subject(s) should be aware of the artists’ intention to submit the work to the Award.
5. “Portrait” can be interpreted in its widest sense of images concerned with the portrayal of people with emphasis on their identity as individuals.
6. Self-portraits and group portraits are permitted.
7. Portraits must be predominantly painted – in any medium e.g. acrylic, oil, watercolour, pastel. Smaller elements of other media e.g. pencil or charcoal are acceptable.
8. Maximum size of artwork is 250cm x 200cm including frame.
9. Portraits must have been completed after 21 March 2024 (This is the date that entries closed to the previous Award)
10. The entrant must have permissions from any copyright holders or customary owner(s) of intellectual property used as source material in the creation of the work.
11. The entry fee of $50 is payable for each entry and must accompany the entry form. The entry fee is to cover administrative costs and is not refundable if work is not selected for hanging. Any entry not accompanied by an entry form and payment will not be eligible for the competition.
THE COMPETITION
12. The competition will be divided into two phases.
a) Finalist Selection Phase: Artists are invited to submit entries in the form of digital images for finalist selection which will be completed by 13 April 2024. Artists will be notified by email as to whether their work has been selected or not.
b) Hanging and Judging Phase: Artists who have been selected as finalists will be invited to submit the original work for hanging and final judging which will take place in the week leading up to the Award Ceremony. These works will be exhibited for approximately 3 Months and subsequently may tour for up to 18 months.
13. First Prize and Runner-Up announced at the gala opening on 20 May, to which all finalists will be invited. Major prize winners will be notified in advance.
14. Winners must make themselves available for media interviews in relation to the announcement of the award.
15. The People’s Choice Award will be awarded to the artist whose work has received the most votes from visitors to the exhibition at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery. Votes will be made in person at the Gallery, and no online voting will be accepted. The winner will be announced on the final day of the exhibition, 9 August.
16. Prizes are as follows - First prize: $30,000; Runner up: $2,500; People’s Choice: $2,500.
17. Ownership and copyright of the winning portrait will be transferred to the New Zealand Portrait Gallery and the artwork will be kept in perpetuity in their collection.
SUBMISSION
18. Initial entries are to be submitted via entry form on the New Zealand Portrait Gallery website. All submissions and payment of entry fees must be completed by 4pm on Wednesday 18 March 2026 (NZ Time)
19. Entries must include an accompanying image of the artwork being submitted for judging. The image, no larger than 10MB in size, must be of sufficient quality for judging and be an accurate representation of the artwork. Initial entries and documentation will be retained and will form part of the Gallery’s records.
20. Entries must include a statement and biography. These will not be referred to during judging, however, should the work be selected as a finalist, these will be used in the exhibition catalogue. The Gallery reserves the right to edit text for grammatical errors, or to shorten if the word limit has been exceeded.
21. If selected as a finalist, instructions for submitting original works chosen for exhibition will be sent by 13 April 2024.
22. Artists are responsible for appropriate packaging and sending their artworks to the Gallery. All courier costs and insurance costs for sending and returning works are at the expense of the artist.
EXHIBITION AND SALE
23. Artists whose work is selected for exhibition can choose to offer their artwork for sale - this must be indicated when the work is submitted for hanging. The New Zealand Portrait Gallery will deduct a 30% commission on work sold, including GST
24. All artworks sold will stay on display for the entirety of the exhibition and tour.
25. The Gallery and any venue showing the exhibition will take all reasonable care of exhibits and will insure the artworks while in their care.
26. Artists must include all necessary display supports to enable the presentation of their work.
27. Artists will be contacted by the Gallery if their work is not able to be included in the touring exhibition.
28. Artists whose artwork has not sold must arrange for their work to be collected no more than two weeks after receiving email notification that the exhibition/tour has concluded. Artworks not collected may be disposed of.
29. By entering the competition, entrants:
(i) warrant that they own the work submitted and that the copyright of the work is vested in them or, if this is not so, that the work is submitted with the permission of the current owner and/or holder of copyright as may be the case.
(ii) warrant that the portrait was created based on at least one sitting or a study from life, and that the person(s) featured in their submitted portrait are aware of the artists intentions to submit the work for this Award.
(iii) warrant that they have obtained appropriate releases from any copyright holders or customary owner(s) of intellectual property used as source material in the creation of the work.
(iv) agree that their work may be exhibited at any venue organised by the NZPG and that the portrait will be available for a period of up to eighteen months for the touring exhibition
(v) agree that the NZPG and exhibition sponsor shall have the right of free reproduction of all exhibited paintings for sales/publicity/educational and reference purposes in connection with the Award.
(vi) warrant that the work is theirs to sell, if they choose to, and agree to accept the price they specify at the time of submission of the work (less 30% Gallery commission).
30. The Trustees reserve the right to decline to accept an entry, or to disqualify any work if the artist has not adhered to the rules, even if the work has been selected for exhibition.
31. The judge reserves the right not to award the prize if no entry is considered deserving of an award.
32. The judge’s decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
TIMETABLE
11 September 2025: Entries open
4pm, Wednesday 18 March 2026: Entries close
13 April 2026: Finalist selection completed & finalists notified
8 May 2026: Deadline for finalists artworks to arrive at Gallery
18 May 2026: Final judging commences
20 May 2026: Winners announced at Award Ceremony
21 May – 9 August 2026: Finalists exhibition runs at New Zealand Portrait Gallery
2026-2027 (Dates TBC): Finalists exhibition tour to several venues around the country
The dates above are subject to change. All entrants will be informed via email should there be significant changes to key dates.