End of an era: Warwick Thornton's Untitled 2013 is a finalist in this year's Blake Prize.

The end is nigh for one of Australia's top prizes for religious art. The Blake Prize will be awarded for the last time on Saturday if a sponsor cannot be found.

The chairman of the Blake Society, Rod Pattenden, said the organisation had been unable to find a major sponsor for the $25,000 prize, and it was likely the 63rdBlake Prize would be the last.

"Without a major sponsor the prize will have to close," Mr Pattenden said. "In approaching sponsors, many of them recognise that spirituality is a difficult, if not prickly, subject for consideration in Australia.

"Sponsors prefer their art to be popular and safe."

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Mr Pattenden said the Blake Prize was viewed as "too open-minded" by religious organisations and "too religious" by people with secular views.

The Blake Prize was first awarded in 1951 and was originally designed to find artworks to decorate churches.

Since 2000 it has shifted focus from traditional religion to exploring spirituality and has frequently been caught up in controversy.

In 2007, former prime minister John Howard and former Catholic archbishop of Sydney George Pell criticised entries that showed a statue of the Virgin Mary in a burqa and a hologram of Christ morphing with Osama bin Laden.

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Blake Prize for religious art under threat