Past exhibitions

Brett Whiteley Travelling Scholarship 2015 winner Tom Polo All she needs 2014

Tom Polo, 30, from Smithfield, NSW, has won the 2015 Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship.

A painting, All she needs, from Polo’s winning body of work is on display at the Brett Whiteley Studio alongside works by finalists Jordan Richardson (highly commended), Clara Adolphs, Sally Anderson, Natasha Bieniek, Annalisa Ferraris and Matilda Julian.

Begun in 1999, this scholarship for young Australian painters is now in its 17th year. This year’s judges were 2014 Archibald Prize winner Fiona Lowry and Head of Australian Art at the Art Gallery of NSW, Wayne Tunnicliffe. They selected this year’s winner from seven finalists, shortlisted from 80 entries.

Polo has won $30,000 and a three-month residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, which is administered by the Art Gallery of NSW.

About the scholarship

The annual Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship is open to Australian artists aged between 20 and 30 years. It was created from an endowment by Mrs Beryl Whiteley, who died in 2010. The inspiration was the profound effect international travel and study had on her son, the artist Brett Whiteley, as a result of winning the Italian Government Travelling Art Scholarship at the age of 20.

Principal sponsor