Overview

Valued at $40,000, the Helen Lempriere Travelling Art Scholarship is one of the most generous art prizes for emerging artists in Australia today. It was established in 1997, replacing the prestigious NSW Travelling Art Scholarship which helped launch the careers of many notable Australian artists since it was inaugurated in 1900.

The Scholarship receives generous support from the Helen Lempriere Bequest, established in 1996 from the estate of Keith Wood, husband of Melbourne-born artist Helen Lempriere and managed by Perpetual Trustees. Helen Lempriere, who died in 1991 at the age of 83, established her professional reputation while living in Europe from 1950 to 1966.  She is represented in public collections in Australia, including the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

The 2005 Helen Lempriere Travelling Art Scholarship, valued at $40 000, has been awarded to Ms&Mr, collaborative artists Richard and Stephanie nova Milne, for their work The Woman Who Mistook Her Husband For Art and their proposal to study at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam.

Highly commended artists were Vanila Netto, Huseyin Sami and Matthew Tumbers.

The selection committee, Tony Bond, General Manager, Curatorial Services, Art Gallery of NSW and artists Euan Macleod and Rosemary Laing, said they were greatly impressed by the outstanding quality and diversity of the works and that the artists' collective commitment to the arts community is demonstrated by their outstanding track records as practitioners.

The Helen Lempriere Travelling Art Scholarship is presented by the New South Wales Government with the support of the Helen Lempriere Bequest, managed by Perpetual Trustees.