The long-running exhibition was established in 2003, and is held every two years, attracting some of Australia's most accomplished artists.

The AGMPP was initiated by Allen Guy CBE (1917-2007) to honour his brother Arthur Guy (1914-1945) whose life was tragically cut short whilst in military service in New Guinea.

Arthur was born in Melbourne on 24 November 1914, and was the eldest and only sibling of Allen Rupert Guy. He was educated at Bendigo's Camp Hill State School and then at Ballarat Grammar School.

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He enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in a signals unit and served in New Guinea. On February 14, 1945, aged 30, Arthur was on a biscuit bomber mission delivering supplies to troops when his plane went down near Wewak.

He is buried in the Lae War Memorial Cemetery.

Bendigo Art Gallery director Jessica Bridgfoot said the gallery was incredibly grateful to the Guy family for continuing to support the highly-regarded prize and exhibition.

"As this is an acquisitive prize, the winning work also joins the Gallery's permanent collection, ensuring future opportunities for the work to be enjoyed by our audiences beyond the prize. It is also an important opportunity to support Australian artists at all stages of their careers."

2021 judges Geraldine Kirrihi Barlow (Curatorial Manager, International Art, Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art), Tanja Johnston (Head of Arts Programs, Australian National Veterans Arts Museum) and Jessica Bridgfoot (Director, Bendigo Art Gallery), chose the 34 works from more than 350 entries from across Australia.

The winner of the $50,000 acquisitive painting prize will be announced in November. The 2021 Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize finalists' exhibition will be on display at Bendigo Art Gallery from 20 November 2021 - 13 February 2022.

A full list of the 2021 AGMPP finalists can be found at: https://bit.ly/2021agmpp

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