A PAINTING of AFL great Neale Daniher is a finalist in this year's coveted Shirley Hannan National Portrait Award.
Melbourne artist Lisa Axiotis' powerful Daniher depiction is one of 35 shortlisted for the biennial award, which offers a $50,000 winner's prize.
The 106cm x 162cm artwork is named 'Reverence', in a play on the former Essendon footballer and Demons coach's nickname, 'The Reverend'.
The winner will be revealed on Friday, coinciding with the launch of the exhibition at the Bega Valley Regional Gallery, on the south-eastern coastline of New South Wales.
Among the finalists are paintings of NBA star Ben Simmons, Ian Roberts – the first rugby league player to announce he was gay – singer John Butler and activist Yassmin Abdel-Magied.
Axiotis, as she did when she entered the 2018 Archibald Prize, has pledged to donate any potential prizemoney to motor neurone disease research in Daniher's honour.
Daniher was diagnosed with MND in 2013 and dedicated his life since to finding a cure, including being the face of FightMND and the annual Big Freeze event at the Queen's Birthday AFL match.
This year's Big Freeze 4 raised $6.51 million for the FightMND Foundation, which went towards research to find a cure and helping care for MND sufferers.
"It's a privilege and an honour to be selected as a finalist, because the prize has a real emphasis on technique, so it's a huge pat on the back as an artist," Axiotis told AFL.com.au.
"I'm also really proud of this painting, because I think I captured Neale's spirit.
"On a personal level, it means a lot to me to have the opportunity to show my work and to get the message out there about MND.
"If I was lucky enough to win, I'd donate the prizemoney to the foundation and hopefully make a real contribution towards finding a cure."
Axiotis spent about 120 hours capturing Daniher's likeness in a "hyper-realistic" portrait on a transparent surface.
"The work itself is as much about what I put in as what I left out," she said.
"It's a nod to the reality that we're all passing through time – a painting for posterity – but primarily it's an ode to Neale's fortitude to face with courage the hand he has been dealt."
