Presented by the Castlemaine Art Museum, the Len Fox Painting Award is a biennial acquisitive painting prize and is awarded to a living Australian artist to commemorate the life and work of Emanuel Phillips Fox (1865–1915), the uncle of Len Fox, partner of benefactor Mona Fox. The Len Fox Painting Award and generous acquisitive cash prize of $50,000 is funded through a bequest from Mona Fox. 

The Len Fox Painting Award recognises and promotes the work of Australian artists pursuing the artistic interests and qualities of E. P. Fox. These include engagement with colour and light; ambitious connections with international developments in art; and an interest in travel and an engagement with the cultures of diverse regions and peoples. 

The Len Fox Painting Award will be made to a painting judged to have addressed the interests of E. P. Fox as an imaginative, inquisitive, and worldly artist. Any style or genre is eligible; however, it is recognised that E. P. Fox is most noted for landscape, figurative and portrait paintings. The painting may be made in any medium, subject to declared practical limitations. This is an acquisitive award, with the winning work becoming part of the Museum’s Art Collection. 

Judges for 2026 are:

Dr Rebecca Coates

Dr Rebecca Coates is an accomplished museum director, curator, public speaker, writer and academic.

A leading advocate for arts and culture, Indigenous engagement and diversity and inclusion, Rebecca has a PhD in Art History from the University of Melbourne, is an Adjunct Professor at Monash University, Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Rebecca has been the director of the Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA) since 2023. She repositioned MUMA to play a core role as part of a wider university teaching and learning context, ensuring MUMA is recognised and valued for its activities across the wider Monash community and beyond.

Of the program, Rebecca said 'Universities are, at their core, about ideas, new knowledge and learning. Through MUMA's program, we extend this pursuit into the cultural sphere, offering ambitious and innovative exhibitions that foster critical reflection, dialogue and connection across diverse communities.'

Dr Angela Hesson

Dr Angela Hesson is a writer, curator and lecturer living and working on Wurundjeri Country. Her research encompasses art, literature and material culture from the Early Modern period to the present day, with a specialisation in the fin de siècle. She has worked as curator of Australian art at the National Gallery of Victoria, lecturer in literature and art history at the University of Melbourne, and curatorial research fellow with the ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions. Her major exhibitions include Love: Art of Emotion 1400-1800, Hans and Nora Heysen: Two Generations of Australian Art, She-Oak and Sunlight: Australian Impressionism and Queer: Stories from the NGV. She publishes widely on aesthetics, emotions, sexualities, nature and magic.

Finalists for 2026 are:

Adrian Corke, Alec Baker and Eric Barney, Kirsty Budge, Ella Dunn, Belinda Fox, Jemi Gale, Bryella Garmanjan Farrell, Camille Hannah, Ash Keating, Anthea Kemp, Natalie Mather, Kate McKenzie Lewis, Jeff McNeill, Elizabeth Nelson, Sally Ross, Sarah Tomasetti, Kate Tucker, Deborah Walker, Stefan Wirihana Mau, Rhett D'Costa, Mark Dober, Ben Fennessy, Peter Graham, Marion Harper, Euan Heng, Amanda Johnson, Fumikazu Kubota, Donna Lougher, Kerry Madawyn McCarthy, David McBurney, Angela Mezzatesta, Grant Nimmo, Stieg Persson, David Ralph, Steven Rendall, Kathryn Ryan, Kate Shaw, Andrew Taylor, Ross Taylor, Helen S Tiernan and Michael Vale.

Important Dates 
Exhibition Dates: 11 December 2026 – 14 March 2027 
Official Opening and Prize Announcement at CAM: 11 December 2026 
Announcement of People’s Choice: 14 March 2027