Blake Prize for Religious Art
The Blake Prize for Religious Art is an annual art prize in Australia.[1] The prize was established in 1949 as an incentive to raise the standard of religious art. Founded by R. Morley, the Reverend Michael Scott SJ, Rector of Newman College, University of Melbourne, and lawyer M. Tenison, it was named after the artist and poet William Blake. The first Blake Prize was won by Justin O'Brien in 1951.
The Blake Exhibitions have been a regular travelling exhibition around Australia, visiting various major cities and provincial galleries.
The award of the Blake Prize to Charles Bannon in 1954 for his "Judas Iscariot" was one of the most controversial in its history; this opened controversy over what constituted religious art and over "abstract expressionism" which threatened to overwhelm the exhibition.
The prize is administered by the Blake Society.
In 2008 the Blake Society established the Blake Poetry Prize to link art and literature and to give Australian poets new possibilities to explore the nature of spirituality in the 21st century. The Blake Poetry Prize is presented in association with the New South Wales Writers' Centre.
List of winners
- 1951 Justin O'Brien - The Virgin Enthroned
- 1952 Frank Hinder - Flight into Egypt
- 1953 Michael Kmit - The Evangelist John Mark
- 1954 Charles Bannon - Judas Iscariot
- 1955 Donald Friend - St John and Scenes from the Apocalypse
- 1956 Eric Smith - The Scourged Christ
- 1957 Elwyn Lynn - Betrayal
- 1958 Eric Smith - The Moment Christ Died
- 1959 Eric Smith - Christ is Risen
- 1960 John Coburn - Triptych of the Passion
- 1961 Stanislaus Rapotec - Meditating on Good Friday
- 1962 Eric Smith - Eucharistic Landscape
- 1963 Leonard French - Ancient Fragments
- 1964 Michael Kitching - Last Supper-Premonition[2]
- 1965 Asher Bilu - I Form Light and Create Darkness-Isaiah 45:7
- 1966 Rodney Milgate - Ascension
- 1967 Desiderius Orban - Hosanna
- 1968 Roger Kemp - The Cross
- 1969 Eric Smith - The Assassin's Creed
- 1970 Roger Kemp - Denial & Eric Smith - Christ's Flesh: Living, Suffering and Resurrected
- 1971 Desiderius Orban - Transition to Christianity
- 1972 Joseph Szabo - Black Friday
- 1973 Keith Looby - Your Motel Calvary Still Life Flowers
- 1974 Stuart Maxwell - Christ at Emmaus & Ken Whisson - Tobias and the Angel
- 1975 Rodney Milgate - Thoughts on Holy Thursday
- 1976 David Voigt - Blue Requiem
- 1977 John Coburn - Hozanna & Rodney Milgate - Tree
- 1978 Noel Tunks - The First Friday Retreat
- 1979 Ian Gentle Alex Trompf - Roadside Altar Piece Comas
- 1980 Leonard French - Instruments for a Drama Meditation
- 1981 David Voigt - Meditation
- 1982 Mary Anne Coutts - In Mockery of Christ & Suzie Marston Sunday School Work Books
- 1983 Geoffrey Harvey Ann Taylor - The Offering
- 1984 Mary Hall - The Spirit of God hovered brooding over the face of the waters
- 1985 John Gould - Votives to Passion
- 1986 Roger Akinin - The Day of Atonement, Scapegoat and Apostate
- 1987 lan Grant - The Monks Cloak & Alan Oldfield - A High and perpetual shewing of Christ's mother according to Julian of Norwich
- 1988 Lise Floistad - This sign is a hidden treasure which desires to be known
- 1989 Warren Breninger - Hail Mary
- 1990 Gillian Mann - The Chest
- 1991 Alan Oldfield - Raft III & Rosemary Valadon - Before the Fall
- 1992 George Gittoes - Ancient Prayer
- 1993 John Davis - Some Thoughts on a Miracle
- 1994 Hilarie Mais - Veiling Silence
- 1995 George Gittoes - The Preacher - Kibeho Massacre Series, Rwanda
- 1996 Rachel Ellis - Woman at Jesus' feet
- 1997 Thomas Spence - Christmas Day 1914 (God's Truce)
- 1998 John Adair - One Dark Night (from St John of the Cross Poem Dark Night of the Soul')
- 2000 Frances Belle Parker - The Journey
- 2001 Lachlan Warner - 'Vitrine of lightweight (Sunyata), disposable (annica) Buddhas, in a range of festive colours, postures and mudras
- 2002 Hilton McCormick - The Harvest
- 2003 Shoufay Derz - Linking Back (Part 1)
- 2004 AñA Wojak - Pieta (Dafur)
- 2005 James Powditch - God is in the Details (Intelligent Design)
- 2005 Louise Rippert - Dance
- 2006 Euan Macleod - Untitled Landscape with Figure
- 2007 Shirley Purdie - Stations of the Cross
- 2008 David Tucker - A Local Girl Comes Home
- 2009 Angelica Mesiti - Rapture (silent anthem)[3]
- 2010 Leonard Brown - If you put your ear close, you’ll hear it breathing
- 2011 Khaled Sabsabi - Naqshbandi Greenacre engagement
- 2012 Fabian Astore and Eveline Kotai
- 2013 Trevor Nickolls - Metamorphosis
