Archibald prize finalists unveiled
The 2023 Archibald prize’s 57 finalists have been revealed by the Art Gallery of NSW.
With portraits by an entire host of exceptionally talented artists, the award - as well as its $100,000 prize - will be presented to the best portrait of a person who is “distinguished in art, letters, science or politics” that has been painted by a resident of Australia.
The 2023 competition also made history with its batch of finalists, as for the first time ever, more works by women were selected than works by men - 30 to 27. In total, the competition drew in an impressive 949 submissions.
All three competitions - Archibald, Wynne, and Sulman - also saw a record number of entries and finalists by Aboriginal artists, at 101 entries and 38 finalist pieces.
And while the overall winners won’t be announced until May 5, the Archibald Packing Room Prize 2023 winner has been revealed: a portrait of comedian Cal Wilson by Andrea Huelin.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am to receive this,” the artist confessed after learning of her win. “It means such a lot to me as an artist from a regional centre to win.”
The Packing Room Prize was selected by a team of three expert packers with 19 years of experience between them, and for the first time included two women - Monica Rudhar and Alexis Wildman - alongside Timothy Dale.
The prize, which began in 1991 and is worth $3000, is referred to as ‘the kiss of death’ by artists when it comes to selecting the overall Archibald winner.
“Andrea’s work jumped out at us as soon as it arrived,” they said of their selection. “Cal’s been such a mainstay on Australian television for two decades.”
As Michael Brand - director of the Art Gallery of NSW - explained, the decision had been reached “equally” by the trio.
Many other well-known faces were captured across the 57 finalists, with portraits of everyone from Cold Chisel’s Don Walker to Aboriginal activist Archie Roach, Silverchair’s Daniel Jones, NRL’s Latrell Mitchell, politicians Yvonne Weldon and Alex Greenwich, and actor Sam Neill.
And for anyone who would like to admire the paintings in person, the finalists of all three competitions will be on display at the gallery from May 6 to September 3.
Meanwhile, all 57 portraits are available to view on the Art Gallery of NSW’s website.
Images: Art Gallery of NSW