
Martin Kantor Portrait Prize 2019 Gallery
The 2019 Ballarat International Foto Biennale Martin Kantor Portrait Prize is named in honour of the late portrait photographer Martin Kantor. The $15,000 prize is awarded for an exceptional photographic artwork of a significant, living Australian in the fields of art, letters, science, sport or politics. The three judges Max Delany, Pippa Milne and Susan van Wyk unanimously chose Penelope Hunt’s portrait of Alan Constable. Below is their collective statement:
“Alan Constable is a distinguished artist whose work has been exhibited widely nationally and internationally. Penelope Hunt’s portrait gives a strong feeling for the very tactile nature of his ceramics sculptures and drawings. The portrait is an intimate, complex representation of the subject, and its unorthodox framing and composition aligns strongly with Alan Constable’s work. The relationship between viewing devices (cameras and binoculars) and sight is a recurrent theme in Alan Constable’s work and life experience. The return of the photographer’s (and by extension the viewer’s) gaze is also important, as is the awareness, participation (and possibly resistance) of the subject in this process. We were also pleased to learn Penelope Hunt has worked with Alan Constable for over a decade, and this relationship, intimacy and understanding is apparent in the work.”
The judges also gave a special mention to:
Mia Mala Macdonald for her portrait of Helen Garner
Rod McNicol for his portrait of Ron Merkel QC
Tobias Titz for his portrait of Michael Leunig
Supported by the Dara Foundation.


Chris Budgeon
Stephen Cummings, 2015

Jeff Busby
Phillip Adams, 2019

Kelly Champion
Susan Beal, 2019

Robert Earp
Richard Nylon, 2019

Alex Ellinghausen
Julia Gillard, 2018

Alex Ellinghausen
Ken Wyatt, 2019

Sonia Esposito
Kon Karapanagiotidis, 2019

Ponch Hawkes
Darvell Hutchinson, 2014

Shara Henderson
Charlie Veron, 2017

Sophia Hewson
Sophia Hewson, Gary Foley, Caroline Crossley, Ewan Coffey, Nicholas Mann, Sam Rankin, 2018

Glenn Hunt
Jeff Horn, 2017

Glenn Hunt
Judy Watson, 2017

Penelope Hunt (WINNER)
Alan Constable, 2019

Katrin Koenning
Tom Iansek, 2017

Kellie Leczinska
Penelope Seidler AM, 2018

Kirsten Lyttle
Sana Balai, 2017

Mia Mala McDonald
Helen Garner, 2018

Rod McNicol
Ron Merkel QC, 2019

Ellie Meade
Stevie Payne, 2019

Christopher Polack
Julia deVille, 2016

Allison Rose
Julie Bates AO, 2018

Sanjeev Singh
Georgie Stone, 2019

Rodney Stewart
Henry Maas, 2019

Tristan Still
Serwah Gyekyewah Attafuah, 2018

Tobias Titz
Michael Leunig, 2016

Thuy Vy
David Gulpilil, 2016
