Muswellbrook Art Prize

The Muswellbrook Art Prize is an acquisitive art competition hosted by the Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre in the Muswellbrook Shire, New South Wales, Australia.

History
The competition was first held in 1958, at that time as the Festival of the Valley Art Prize, as an annual event until the establishment of the Regional Arts Centre as a purpose-built standalone complex in 1999.

Timeline
1958 - Festival of the Valley Art Prize opened in Muswellbrook as an annual acquisitive art competition

1956 - Works on Paper category added to the Art Prize (as the Drawing Prize)

1961 - Acquisitive Traditional Prize category added to the Art Prize (until 1968)

1971 - Acquisitive Muswellbrook Pottery Prize category added to the Art Prize (until 1976)

1974 - Art Prize renamed The Muswellbrook Art Prize and Purchase Exhibition and The Muswellbrook Pottery Prize

1987 - Acquisitive Muswellbrook Pottery Prize renamed Muswellbrook Open Ceramic Award a restored as a category

1987 - Acquisitive Muswellbrook Photographic Award category added to the Art Prize

2002 - Muswellbrook Art Prize becomes a biennial event with winning art works housed in the Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre Collection

2016 - Prize monies increased to $50,000 for Painting, $10,000 for Works on Paper, and $10,000 for Ceramics

2021 - Acquisitive Mullins Conceptual Photography Prize added to the collection of Photography again.

Description
The objective of the Muswellbrook Art Prize was stated at inception as '...to foster the interest in and understanding of art in the Upper Hunter Valley and to play a part, however modest, in the promotion of art and the encouragement of artists generally throughout Australia, the prize winning works to form the nucleus of a Muswellbrook Municipal Council Collection.'

At $70,000, the Muswellbrook Art Prize was in 2016 the second-richest art prize in South-East Asia.

2011 Prize Winners
Catherine and Jennifer Strut (Painting)

Peter Griffen (Works on Paper)

Jan Downes (Ceramics)

2013 Prize Winners
Margaret Loy Pula (Painting)

Claire Martin (Works in Paper)

Vicki Hamilton (Ceramics)

2015 Prize Winners
Nick Ferguson (Painting)

John Bokor (Works on Paper)

Jane McKenzie (Ceramics)

Painting
Suzanne Archer David Aspden Peter Atkins Alec Baker Sydney Ball

Michael Bell Marion Borgelt Dorothy Braund

Viola Bromley

Liz Cuming

Jacqueline Dabron Stephen Earle

Nick Ferguson Roy Fluke Dale Frank

Peter Gardiner

Thomas Gleghorn

Geoff Harvey Weaver Hawkins

Pearl Ingram

Jean Isherwood

Louis James

Ian Johnstone Colin Jordan

Hanna Kay

Michael Kitching

Richard Larter

Margot Lewers

Margaret Loy Pula

Elwyn Lynn

John Martin

Noel McKenna

Dennis Miller John Montefiore

Angus Nivison John Ogburn

Mike Parr

William Peascod

Charles Pettinger

David Rankin

Henry Salkauskas

Michael Shannon

Eric Smith

David Strachan

Catherine & Jennifer Strutt

Lillian Sutherland

Lezlie Tilley

Rosemary Valadon

Fred Williams

Works on Paper
Suzanne Archer

John Bokor

Francis Celtlan

Tony Coleing

Barbara Davidson

Janet Dawson

Garry Foye

Peter Gill

Strom Gould

Guy Grey-Smith

Peter Griffen

Rew Hanks

David Harrex

Ronald Hawke

Mimi Jaksic-Berger

Garry Jones

Jane Lander

Frank McNamara

Claire Martin

Bea Maddock

Kiata Mason George Moore

Murdo Morrison

Angus Nivison

Robert Shepherd

Paul Smith

Cameron Sparks

Dallas Sym Choon

Imre Szigeti

Rosemary Valadon

Paul White Margaret Wilson

Salvatore Zofrea

Vera Zulumovski

Ceramics
Hildegard Anstice

William Brownhill

Enid Cryer

Greg Daly

Peter Dobinson

Jan Downes

Toni Fischer

Vicki Hamilton

Gudrun Klix

Joanne Linsdell

William Lungas

Janet Mansfield

Jane McKenzie

Kathryn McMiles

Bunty Mitchell

Susanne Moore

Lyn Nash

Chester Nealie

Megan Puls Pam Sinnott

Vipoo Srivilasa Ray Taylor

Peter Tilley

Peter Wheeler

Muswellbrook Art Prize adjudicators 1958-2015
Bruce Adams

John Bailey

Tony Bond

William Bowmore

Barbara Blaxland

David Bradshaw

Roger Butler

Edmund Capon

Grace Cochrane

Dennis Colesy

Tracy Cooper-Lavery

Richard Crebbin

Enid Cryer

Gill Docking

Deborah Edwards

Joe Eisenberg

Judi Elliot

Andrew Fergusson

Brian Finemore

Tim Fisher

James Gleeson

Mollie Grieves

Gillian Grigg

Michael Hedger

John Henshaw

Sali Herman

Ian Howard

Robert Hughes

Garry Jones

Michael Keighery

Peter Laverty

Euan MacDonald

Ivan McMeekin

Hal Missingham

Nick Mitzevich

Bernice Murphy

Chester Nealie

John Olsen

Peter O’Neill

Desiderius Orban

Barry Pearce

Ron Ramsey

Lloyd Rees

Peter Rushforth

Anne Ryan

Bernard Sahm

Maisy Stapleton

Leigh Summers

Helen Sweeney

Daniel Thomas

David Thomas

Laurie Thomas

Peter Timms

Bruce Tindale

Tony Tuckson

Guy Warren

Joy Warren

Jane Watters

Bill Wright

Muswellbrook Art Prize sponsors 1958-2015
Muswellbrook Shire Council

Costain Coal Australia Ltd

Esso Standard Oil (Australia) Ltd

Hebden Mining Company

Hunter Valley Printing Company Pty Ltd

Muswellbrook Coal Company

Peabody Resources Ltd

State Bank of NSW

Upper Hunter Timbers Pty Ltd

Bengalla Mining Company Pty Ltd