Lane Cove Council has announced the winners of the 2026 Lane Cove Art Award, as the competition celebrates its 61st year.
The competition’s judges awarded the $15,000 acquisitive Lane Cove Art Award, sponsored by Lane Cove Council, to Ross Harvey for Fragonard ii, a finely detailed oil still life. The painting will now join Council’s art collection.
The Award is one of Sydney’s longest-running community art prizes, this year drawing 84 finalists from across NSW.
The 2026 prize winners are:
- Lane Cove Art Award ($15,000, acquisitive) – Ross Harvey, Fragonard ii;
- Hyecorp Property Prize ($2,000) – Scott Owen, Memory Palace;
- Centrehouse Inc. Prize ($500 each) – Laurence Kimmel, Burrow 2, and Belinda Piggott, Worlds Within;
- Highly Commended – Brooke Martchel, Brighter Than a Thousand Suns, and Jaymesh Master, Against the Odds;
- Commended – Louise Knowles, The Skies in the Pilbara, W.A., and Nicola Hart, Afternoon Kept;
Mayor, Merri Southwood, congratulated all of this year’s finalists and prize winners.
“The Lane Cove Art Award has been celebrating Australian artists for more than 60 years, and this year’s finalists show just how much talent there is to discover,” she said.
“Congratulations to Ross Harvey on a truly outstanding winning work, and to every artist who exhibited this year – Council is proud to support a prize that brings such rich, thought-provoking art into our community.”
The Lane Cove Art Award 2026 exhibition is open to the public, free of charge, from Wednesday 16 September to Saturday 3 October at Gallery Lane Cove, 164 Longueville Road, Lane Cove. For more information, visit lanecoveartsociety.com.au.
