Same Prize. Different Face. The Black Swan Prize for Portraiture, one of the country’s richest prizes for portraiture has been renamed The Lester Prize in honour of the award’s leading patron, Richard Lester. Amongst this year's finalists, 15 were WA artists, 10 were from VIC, 9 from NSW, with the remaining 6 from QLD, TAS and the ACT. Subjects of the works range from self-portraits to people who have played a significant part in the artists' lives. A quarter of this year's finalists have been named as finalists in previous years of the competition. Congratulations to Lori Pensini for winning the Tony Fini Foundation Artist Prize for her painting, Banksia grandis—love begets love 2019. Artist Statement This is a love story – it is my family’s story. It tells of love lost, forbidden and endured; of discrimination, shame and division of which my family wasn’t immune. It is important for my person and myself as an artist to paint the courage, resilience and the sheer resolve of character my forbearers modelled. They empower me, their laudable threads woven intricately into the fabric of my being. They ground and grow my inner strength, and, in turn, give rise to fertile beds to nourish my children.