The biennial competition for painted portraits is held at The New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata and generously sponsored by the Adam Foundation. The Adam Portraiture Award provides painters from Aotearoa an important role in recording the changing face of Aotearoa.

In 2024, 37 finalists were chosen from 451 overall entries. The finalists’ exhibition is on display at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata from 23 May to 11 August. A selection of artworks will then tour to multiple venues around the country in late 2024 and early 2025.

Adam Portraiture Award Finalist:

Dita Angeles, It’s Love, 2024.oil on linen, 122 x 61 cm.

"Over a decade after a life-changing stroke, Knox is presented larger than life in a deeply nostalgic moment, embracing his decommissioned guitar like a beloved old friend.

No longer able to play, his pose and expression display the dichotomy he faces between the imposed peace of affliction to one side of his body, and the relentless tension of his artistic drive on the other."