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The Archibald Prize
The Archibald Prize for portraiture is the best-known and one of the oldest visual arts awards in Australia. The winning portrait painting is judged by the Trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The prize of $35,000 and the recognition and publicity the prize generates encourages painters to stretch their skills and encourage their development.
The Archibald Prize competition, and each year's winning entries, are the subject of great public interest and debate. The Archibald Prize encourages public discussion about portraiture, painting, and art and definitions of quality.
To enter the Archibald Prize, the artist must personally know the subject and the subject of the portrait must be aware of the artist's intention to enter the Archibald competition. There has to be at least one sitting by the subject for the portrait.
People's Choice Award
In the Australian Bicentennial Year of 1988, the wider public were encouraged to participate in the Archibald Exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales by including the People's Choice Award.
Only twice has the winner of the People's Choice Award been awarded to the winner of the Archibald. The first was in 1988 when Fred Cress's portrait of John Beard won both awards and in 2004 when Craig Ruddy won both prizes. The winner of the People's Choice Prize is awarded $2,500.
The Packing Room Prize
A side line feature of the Archibald competition is the Packing Room Prize, awarded by the
workers behind the scenes who receive, unpack and hang all the entries. The Packing Room Prize was first awarded in 1991.
Steve Peters, the Art Gallery of NSW's Storeman,
adjudicates the Packing Room Prize and claims his right to 51 per cent of the votes. This prize is traditionally awarded a couple of days before the
Archibald is announced, after the hanging of the finalist's portraits.
Jules Francois Archibald
The Archibald Prize began in 1921 with a bequest from the editor of The Bulletin magazine, Jules Francois Archibald.
Archibald said the Prize was to be awarded by the Trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales to 'the best portrait, preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in Art, Letters, Science or Politics, painted by an artist resident in Australasia during the 12 months preceding the date fixed by the Trustees for sending in the pictures'.
The prize aims to encourage portraiture by supporting artists and celebrating the memory of great Australians.
Dobell's controversial 1943 Archibald win
William Dobell's 1943 Archibald win was very controversial - many people argued
that his portrait of Joshua Smith distorted Smith's features that it could not be called a portrait.
William Dobell's win expanded the concept of what could be a portrait, and abstract
art as well as conventional portraits have been submitted ever since.
Famous winners and subjects
Many famous artists have won the Archibald including Brett Whiteley, Judy Cassab, Clifton Pugh, Keith Looby, and William Dobell.
William Dobell, winner 1943, 1948 and 1959
William Pidgeon, winner 1958, 1961 and 1968
Clifton Pugh, winner 1965, 1971 and 1972
Garry Shead, winner 1992/93
Brett Whiteley studio virtual tour, winner 1976 and 1978
Wendy Sharpe, winner 1996
Lewis Miller, winner 1998
Craig Ruddy, winner 2004
John Olsen, winner 2005
Famous subjects for the Archibald portraits have included Banjo Paterson, Marcus Clarke, Margaret Olley, Albert Namatjira, Patrick White, Lloyd Rees, John McEwan, Gough Whitlam, Philip Adams, and Dorothy Hewitt.
Other art prizes
The Archibald is not the only significant Australian art prize.
The Wynne Prize is Australia's oldest art award, having been awarded since 1897. It is an
art prize for the best landscape painting or for the best figure sculpture by an Australian artist.
The Sulman Prize is awarded for the best subject painting, mural project, or genre painting by an Australian artist. Unlike the Archibald and the Wynne, which are both judged by the Art Gallery of New South Wale's Trustees, the Sulman is selected by a single artist.
The Dobell Prize is sponsored by The Sir William Dobell Art Foundation for Drawing to encourage excellence in drawing and draughtsmanship. The 2004 Dobell Prize for Drawing is held separately later in the year.
The Australian Photographic Portraiture Prize promotes contemporary portrait photography and excellence in all forms of still photo-based art. Held in conjunction with the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes, the winner of this Prize, which is awarded annually, receives $15,000.
The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize carries a $100,000 first prize
and is the richest portrait prize in the country. Its home is the State Library of New South Wales.
Helen Lempriere National Sculpture Award was developed from a bequest managed by Perpetual Trustees and named after the late Australian artist, Helen Lempriere, and is the richest art prize for sculptors in Australia. It is run by Robertson Art Projects Pty Ltd.
The Macquarie Bank and The National Gallery of Australia present the National Sculpture Prize & Exhibition each year. This Prize promotes and support sculpture in Australia and recognises outstanding works.
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