The winners of the 2012 Moran Prizes, the world’s wealthiest art prize, were announced on the 24th of July at Moran House in Sydney’s CBD. The Moran Health Care Group, the Moran family and the Moran Arts Foundation are the benefactors of the annual Moran Prizes.

Selected from a record field of 330,409 entries, the winners of the two prizes shared AUD$300,000 in monies with prizes given to winners and place-getters at a morning event to open the Exhibition in its new home, Moran House, 13-19 Bridge Street, Sydney.

So impressive were this year’s Photographic prize entries that for the first time in the history of the Moran prizes, the Photographic prize has been equally awarded to four photographers, Kelsey Austin Walsh; Tobias Titz; Ashleigh Bradley and Jacqui Stockdale.

Each of the four Photographic prize winners received $25,000 each while Leslie Rice, the winner of the 2012 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize - the richest portrait prize in the world - walked away with $150,000 for his work Self-Portrait (with the Muses of Painting and Poetry).

Melbourne based artist Natasha Bieniek received the $10,000 runners-up prize for her portrait titled, Fading into Blue while Michael Peck from Eltham in Victoria was given an Honourable Mention by the judges for his work titled Fighter Pilot #3, 2011.

Judging this year’s highly prestigious Doug Moran National Portrait Prize were Vincent Fantauzzo, winner of the 2011 Prize and Christopher Menz, Acting Director of The Ian Potter Museum of Art.

The Judge of the 2012 Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize was esteemed international photographer, Graham Howe, CEO of Curatorial Assistance and Founding Director of The Australian Centre for Photography.

Mr Mark Moran, Chief Executive Officer of the Moran Arts Foundation congratulated the prize winners and said that 2012 marks 24 years evolution for the Moran Prizes. “Since beginning in 1988, the Moran Prizes have grown in strength and depth shown by the increasing number of entries and the world wide access to the visual arts. It is opportune that for the first time we are hosting our 2012 winners in the exhibition space near circular quay and opposite the ASX, creating even greater ease of access to the prize ” Mark Moran said.

The MORAN PRIZES is a free exhibition located at 13-15 Bridge Street, Sydney commencing July 25, 2012 for 12 weeks before touring nationally. It also includes 30 works from primary schools around Australia which were judged by Homayun Vesal.