1936

Henry Hanke

La Gitana (painting)

1937

No award

1938

Charles Meere

Atlanta's eclipse (painting)

1939

Gert Sellheim

Mural decoration at the Victorian Government Tourist Bureau, Hotel Australia Building, Melbourne

1940

Harold Abbott

Vaucluse interior (painting)

1941

Douglas Annand

Historial mural at Bathurst Public School

1942

Jean Bellette

For whom the bell tolls (painting)

1943

Elaine Haxton

Mural at le Coq d'Or Restaurant, Sydney

1944

Jean Bellette

Iphigenia in Tauris (painting)

1945

Virgil Lo Schiavo

Tribute to Shakespeare, Mural at Sydney University Union

1946

Sali Herman

Natives carrying wounded soldiers (painting)

1947

Douglas Annand

Mural, Messrs Jantzen (Aust.) Pty Ltd, Lidcombe

1948

Sali Herman

The drovers (painting)

1949

J Carington Smith

Bush Pastoral, Mural design for New State Building, Hobart

1950

Harold Greenhill

Summer holiday (painting)

1951

Douglas Annand

Mural, Restaurant, RMS 'Oronsay'

1952

Charles Doutney

Darlinghurst Road (painting)

1953

Eric Smith

Convicts Berrima 1839, mural at Old Court House, Berrima

1954

Wallace Thornton

Sculptor and model (painting)

1955

Wesley Penberthy

Oriental mural (mural design)

1956

Harold Greenhill

Prawning at night (genre painting)

1957

Michael Kmit

The voice of silence (subject painting)

1958

No award

1959

Susan Wright

The circus (genre painting)

1960

Leonard French

The burial (subject painting)

1961

Robin Norling

Sea movement and rocks (mural design)

1962

John Rigby

Children dancing (genre painting)

1963

Roy Fluke

Spring Walk (subject painting)

1964

Ken Reinhard

The private public preview (genre painting)

1965

Gareth Jones-Roberts

Grape-pickers and vineyards (subject painting)

1966

Louis James

It's hot in town (genre painting)

1967

Cec Burns

Exercise in variegation (subject painting)

1968

Tim Storrier

Suzy 350 (genre painting)

1969

Louis James

Spyhole (subject painting)

1970

Michael Kmit

Philopena (genre painting)

1971

James Meldrum

Pyramid shelf (subject painting)

1972

Peter Powditch

Sun-torso 128 (Bunch) (genre painting)

1973

Eric Smith

The painter transmogrified and Mrs Smith (subject painting)

1974

Keith Looby

Still life and comfy II (genre painting)

1975

Alan Oldfield

Transvestite (for Diane Arbus)

Geoffrey Proud

Untitled Jane (subject painting)

1976

Brett Whiteley

Interior with time past (genre painting)

1977

Salvatore Zofrea

Woman's life, woman's love 3 (subject painting)

1978

Brett Whiteley

Yellow nude (genre painting)

1979

Salvatore Zofrea

The water trap (subject painting)

1980

Brian Dunlop

The old physics building (genre painting)

1981

William Delafield Cook

A French family (subject painting)

1982

Salvatore Zofrea

Psalm 24 (genre)

1983

Nigel Thomson

Marat, the unsophisticated will be shocked by the depiction of your death: or, the artist answers his critics (subject painting)

1984

Tim Storrier

The burn (genre painting)

1985

Victor Morrison

Western suburbs magi (subject painting)

Public Art Squad

Think globally, act locally (D. Humphries and R. Monk) (mural: George Street, Redfern)

1986

Wendy Sharpe

Black sun - morning and night

Nigel Thomson

The state institution

1987

Marcus Beilby

Crutching the ewes

Bob Marchant

The grand parade Sydney Show

1988

Bob Marchant

Catching rabbits and yabbies at 5 mile dam

1989

John Olsen

Don Quixote enters the inn

1990

Robert Hollingworth

Going away/looking back

1991/92

Kevin Connor

Najaf (Iraq) June 1991

1992/93

John Montefiore

Life series

1993/94

Noel McKenna

Boy dressed as Batman 2 (Diptych)

1995

Juli Haas

By the banks of her own lagoon

1996

Aida Tomescu

Grey-to-grey

1997

Kevin Connor

The man with itchy fingers and other figures Gare du Nord

1998

Robert Jacks

Changed into a weeping willow

1999

Anne Wallace

Secret paintings

2000

John Peart

Snailsnake

2001

Euan Macleod

Exquisite corpse with fire

(Highly commended: Elisabeth Cummings Harbour light)

2002

Guan Wei

Gazing into deep space no. 9

(The judge, John Wolseley, would like to make special mention of the work by John Walker The drinkers)

2003

Eric Smith

Reflection

2004

Allan Mitelman

Untitled

2005

Sandro Nocentini

My son has two mothers

2006

Jiawei Shen

Peking treaty 1901

2007

David Disher

Axis of Elvis

2008

Rodney Pople

Stage fright