NSW Parliament Plein Air Painting Prize
ACQUISITIVE PRIZE $20,000
At the Parliament of New South Wales May 2008

THE WINNER has now been announced.
"I must confess that in judging this prize I was torn between the winning work and a couple of other more delicate pieces. However at the end of the day, the winner for me touched the spirit of Constable, who was so important to the evolution of plein air and impressionist painting in the 19th century. You can almost feel the weather in this ensemble through its sense of direct engagement with nature. And to cap it off, there is a muscularity of effect in the overall composition which I feel would make it a fine acquisition for the Parliament House collection. The standard and the sincerity of the entries in general was high, making it a tough call."
Barry Pearce Head Curator Australian Art AGNSW and judge of the inaugural NSW Parliament Plein Air Painting Prize on the winning painting by Euan Macleod "Murwillumbah X 5".

Please click here to view pdf of selected works.

'en Plein Air'
The term ‘en plein air’ refers to the practice of painting out of doors, in direct engagement with nature, where the transitory effects of light can be observed and recorded.

It has a history in Europe of several hundred years, the most famous exponents including Salvator Rosa and Claude Lorraine in the 17th c. and Corot and the Barbizon school painters in the 19th. In an Australian context, the Impressionists of the late 19th century, including Arthur Streeton and Tom Roberts were devoted to painting out of doors, and thus brought a new understanding of Australian light and landscape to the public, through their work. Fred Williams, Australia’s great master of landscape painting in the twentieth century, used studies painted out of doors as the foundation of his work. These artists and others established a strong tradition of painting ‘en plein air’ in Australia that continues to this day.

Contemporary Australian Painting
Australia’s climate and landscape has long proven conducive to working out of doors. Contemporary Australian artists paint en plein air both in the bush and the city. For many it is a private aspect of their work, rarely exhibited, which provides a complement to their studio work. For others it is their principal method of working.

The Parliament Plein Air Prize
In establishing the a plein air painting competition, The Parliament Plein Air Painting Prize Committee recognises this great and often overlooked aspect of Australian painting, with an acquisitive prize aimed at developing a collection of plein air paintings of NSW subjects, in perpetuity for the people of the New South Wales.

The exhibition will be held in the New South Wales Parliament building throughout the month of May, with the winning painting forming part of an ever growing and significant permanent collection within Parliament. The award will be announced at an event held in The Strangers Dining Room with invitations extended to all Members of Parliament including The Premier and Ministers.