SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.- The Dobell Prize is the most respected award for drawing in Australia. Initiated by the trustees of the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation, the prize was first awarded in 1993. The winner receives $20,000.

The judge of the 2007 Dobell Prize is artist Colin Lanceley. The winner of this year's prize will be announced on Thursday 23 August at 11am. Works will be delivered to the Gallery between Wednesday 15 and Friday 17 August.

The Dobell Prize for Drawing has always been the subject of discussion and debate about the nature of drawing. What constitutes a drawing is however deliberately not outlined in the conditions of entry. That has been left for competing artists to define by their practice and for each individual judge, annually appointed by the trustees of the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation, to determine in the process of looking at all the entries. This flexible, open-minded approach has ensured that the greatest variety of drawings is submitted each year.

A condition of the Dobell Prize for Drawing is that the Art Gallery of New South Wales automatically acquires the prize-winning drawing each year. Last year Nick Mourtzakis won the prize for his drawing nature. Insects plants flowers. shell fish corals. The microscopic creatures. dreams. There are fourteen prize-winning drawings in the collection acquired as a result of the prize, which form part of a growing collection of contemporary Australian drawings at the gallery.