Sulman Prize

The Sulman is the second of major prizes offered by the Art Gallery of NSW that has odd requirements (the first being the Wynne Prize). The Sulman is awarded to the best genre or subject picture, or to the best mural or mural project. This definition set by the will of Sulman himself has defied definitive interpretation ever since it’s inception. In the early years the Trustees asked different judges to judge the separate components, but in recent years one judge judges the lot. Many artists seem to regard this competition as simply the one to enter work that is not eligible for the other major prizes, that is is not a portrait, landscape, or sculpture. The judging doesn’t seem to contradict this notion. Genre actually means a scene from everyday life. A subject picture takes its theme from literature or other culture.