A move by bus to Taranaki a decade ago has paid dividends for artist Maryanne Shearman.

The Ōakura-based, Lower Hutt-raised artist has emerged from a record-breaking entry list of 451 offerings and 37 finalists to be crowned the winner of the 2024 Adam Portraiture Award on Wednesday night (22 May).

The announcement was made with the finalists' work on show and now open to the public at Wellington's New Zealand Portrait Gallery - and comes with a hefty $20,000 cash prize.

The biennial portrait painting competition is anonymously selected - the judges offered just the artwork, not the artists' names to deliberate on - with the artist and subject needing to both be a New Zealand resident or citizen.

Shearman’s winning work Tuhi-Ao, is an oil painting on canvas depicting Tuhi-Ao Bailey, a prominent Māori climate activist from Shearman's adopted home of Taranaki.

Reacting to her victory, Shearman responded "I am really honoured and humbled to be the recipient of this prestigious award. When I was named a finalist, I was blown away but to win is just incredible, especially as I am aware of the talent, experience and skill of the artists shortlisted. 

"It’s still sinking in.”

Shearman describes her paintings as depictions of biculturalism, hope, and sustainability - with all those elements coming together for her Adam Portrait Award-winning entry focused on ecologist and community organiser Bailey.

“Tuhi-Ao Bailey is one of Aotearoa’s leading climate activists, an unwavering voice for kaitiakitanga. She has always struck me as a person living her kaupapa, authentic to a fault. 

"I initially planned on capturing her characteristic solemn expression; I hoped her mournful eyes would disrupt us, but in the end, she and I decided on this pose - a full smile mid-kōrero, a gesture which captures the light. She is standing in the Parihaka food-forest, next to the awa Waitotoroa. Ko ia te whenua, ko te whenua ko ia.”

The 38-year-old  Shearman says a love of te reo Māori me ōna tikanga and a sincere desire to live out faith, justice, and an authentic Treaty relationship as a pākehā woman informs her work and guides her future plans.

“In recent years, I have honed my skill and developed confidence to make connections with the kaupapa I am passionate about. Learning te reo and studying history and whakapapa has deeply affected my work. 

"I have had several sell-out solo exhibitions, and begun to pursue exposure outside of Taranaki."

The awards were judged by Felicity Milburn, Lead Curator at Christchurch Art Gallery and Wellington painter Karl Maughan, who remarked on Shearman's mahi:

“We saw much more than just exceptional realism in this striking work; it’s a brilliant piece of painting. The artist has captured the subject’s face and smile in a way that makes her alive with joy but also gives a strong sense of her character and life beyond this moment. 

"The light plays across her face, her hand points to us and welcomes us in with a gesture that is dignified and generous. But it was the artist’s combination of accuracy with looseness that lifted the work for us. 

"The bush in the background is softly, almost enigmatically rendered in contrast to the foreground, so it doesn’t distract or detract from our connection with the subject. Occasional flourishes of brushwork in the plants around the edges add depth and movement to the composition.

"The artist has succeeded in capturing an authentic and layered sense of the subject’s character and her sense of openness and fun. Together, these elements brought us back to all the things that painting can be.”

Shearman's triumph sees her join an honours list for the award that includes Jessica Gurnsey (2022), Sacha Lees (2020), Logan Moffat (2018), André Brönnimann (2016), Henry Christian-Slane (2014), Stephen Martyn Welch (2012), Harriet Bright (2010), Irene Ferguson (2008) and Freeman White (2006).

Also recognised for their exceptional work - Christchurch painter Hazel Rae claimed the $2,500 second prize for Lindsey’s Garden, with the judges noting “This work shows a clever understanding of composition, drawing our eyes into and around it in a way that is both skilful and rewarding." 

Oil paintings collected the trifecta, with Clark Roworth from Wellington's self-portrait, Me and Lady P, finishing third - the first time in the award’s history such a prize has been offered after the judges chose to fund it themselves to the tune of $1,500

“There’s an undeniable sense of attitude to this work that reflects the charisma of the subject, who is depicted in his own space, being exactly who he is...In this painting’s spirit of ‘more is more’, we were moved to create an additional one-off judges’ prize in order to bring this unforgettable work into the mix.”

The Adam Portraiture Award exhibition runs until 11 August at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery in Shed 11 on Wellington’s waterfront before being toured nationally.

Most of the artworks will be for sale, while the New Zealand Portrait Gallery will acquire the winning work. There is one more prize to be awarded - with the public invited to vote for the $2,500 People’s Choice, which will be announced at the conclusion of the exhibition.