A portrait of respected West Australian Aboriginal elder Daisy Tjuparntarri Ward took out the award at the NSW Art Gallery on Wednesday, following a vote by the public.

Mr Darcy met Ms Ward - an elder of the Warakurna community and Ngaanyatjarra people in WA - in 2018 after she walked into his studio looking for art supplies.

"Over several weeks we got to know each other and I discovered I'd met an extraordinary woman," Mr Darcy said.

Ms Ward works as a cultural and community liaison officer for regional schools in WA, and is also a translator, artist, storyteller and advocate against domestic violence.

"I am very proud and happy that we, the people of the central deserts, are being recognised in this way," she said.

Australian Associated Press