Sophie Cape Wins 2025 Hadley's Art Prize for Australian Landscape Painting

Sophie Cape, a Sydney-based artist and former professional athlete, has won the 2025 Hadley's Art Prize, receiving AUD 100,000. Her winning work, Thunder shifts the shivering sands (2024), was created in response to severe flooding and landslides in southern New South Wales last year, using locally sourced soil, rust, and charcoal. The jury praised Cape's depiction of Australian scenery as "remarkably executed, compelling, and resonant," noting it serves as an "honest record of environmental upheaval." Founded in 2017 by Don Neil and Annette Reynolds, owners of Hadley's Orient Hotel in Hobart, the prize supports contemporary Australian landscape artists. All 29 finalists' works will be exhibited at the hotel's gallery spaces from August 29 to September 21. The jury included Southern Kaantju/Umpila multidisciplinary artist Naomi Hobson, University of Tasmania's director of curatorial and cultural collections Caine Chennatt, and Tasmanian-based artist Catherine Woo. Cape's artistic career began after sports-related injuries ended her athletic pursuits, with her work often exploring nature's physical and emotional potency. She described her winning piece as "a portrait of survival and decay, beauty and destruction."