The prestigious art awards celebrate the power and diversity of Indigenous Australian art, with entries representing traditional and contemporary styles across a range of mediums.
Best known for his design of the Aboriginal flag and for his water colours, painter and activist, Mr Thomas created his large-scale and highly evocative winning work on canvas to depict the tearing apart of an Aboriginal family and the horrific impact on generations to come.
Harold Thomas says that because he spent more than twenty years working with communities of the stolen generation he is very familiar with their suffering and hardship. Hence it was very easy for him to depict this suffering in his winning portrait.
The award jury remarked that they based their decision for the winning artwork on Harold Thomass professional proficiency, visible in the artwork as well as the potency of his subject.