SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.-It was announced at the Art Gallery of New South Wales today that Kevin Connor is the winner of the 2005 Dobell Prize for Drawing for his drawing, Le Grand Palais, Clémenceau, de Gaulle and me.

Kevin Connor was awarded $20,000 for winning this prestigious prize, and his work was automatically acquired for the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ permanent collection. There were 576 entries this year and the prize was judged by artist, writer and curator, Elizabeth Cross.

Kevin Connor is a distinguished painter and draughtsman of expressive urban landscapes, figure compositions and portraits, with works in all major public and many private collections in Australia. Born in 1932, he has travelled extensively in Europe, America and the Middle East since the mid 1950s. He first exhibited in 1951 and his first solo show was in Melbourne in 1962. He is the recipient of a Harkness Fellowship (New York 1966-68), and the winner of numerous prizes including the Archibald Prize (1975 and 1977), the Sulman Prize (1992, 1997) and the Dobell Prize in 1993. He taught at the National Art School and Alexander Mackie College, Sydney. In 1989 the AGNSW staged a survey exhibition Kevin Connor, paintings and drawings 1947-88.

Kevin Connor says "I could live without painting and making sculptures but I just could not live without drawing. When you are up against a brick wall, or in doubt, draw!"

The Dobell Prize for Drawing was initiated by the trustees of the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation and was first awarded in 1993.