joseph zaritsky was the first artist to be awarded the prize 2 january 1968. the panel of judges for the prize included sandberg and yonah fisher. the prize was given to zaritsky for the 1964 painting which paid homage to jan vermeer. in the many interviews that followed the prize, zaritsky stressed that the artwork has an independence of its own and "it is not permissible to look at a painting and see more than what is there", he explained "an artists should not imagine beyond what he sees. what he sees is what there is. a painting is not a dream".