Esther Erlich (b. 1955), a Melbourne-based painter, has been exhibiting since the early 1980s, often with the Libby Edwards Galleries in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and the Barry Newton Gallery in Adelaide. Her portrait of Steve Monaghetti won her the prestigious Moran Prize in 1998. Erlich won the Archibald People's Choice Award in 2000 with her portrait of Bill Leak, and was also a finalist in 2002, 2005 and 2007 with portraits of Deborah Conway, Lindy Wills and Tim Rogers respectively. She has been a finalist in the Portia Geach prize thirteen times, most recently in 2019. The National Portrait Gallery holds three of her paintings: The Honourable J.J. Carlton with Cravat 2000, Paul Capsis 2004 and Portrait of a Lady (Sonia McMahon) 1999. Erlich is represented in both public and private collections in Australia and internationally.
