Judging for Australia’s most celebrated art award, the Archibald Prize, is underway after final submissions for the prestigious prize wrapped up.
Since 1921, the Archibald Prize has been awarded to artists living in Australia or New Zealand and has reflected the unique experiences of people from all walks of life.
Throughout the last week of April, artists from all corners of the two nations submitted their artworks either via an art courier or in person for consideration for the Archibald.
“You see people who might just be amateur painters and more professional, you see really everything,” James Ricupito from the Art Gallery of NSW said.
William Barry is a 66-year-old part-time club receptionist and part-time painter whose subject for his Archibald entry is the doctor who saved his life, Associate Professor Pramesh Kovoor.
“This (the painting) is the three stages of how I met him, the first stage is when I had the procedure, the second stage is when he was analysing my condition and the third stage is the man I know today,” he said.
Mr Barry said his submission was a thank you to the doctor, now a friend, who saved his life after suffering a heart episode.
“It was my way of explaining the fear, and as it dissipated, he became a friend of mine and made my life better,” he said.
“If it wasn’t for him (Prof. Kavoor), I would be dead.”
Included in the Archibald Prize season is the Wynne Prize for landscape painting of Australian scenery or figure sculpture and the Sulman Prize for subject painting, genre painting or a mural project.
First-time entrant to the Archibald Prize and full-time university student, Phoebe Webb, was encouraged by her high school art teacher to submit her work for consideration.
“I am pretty proud, I’ve never done anything like this, and my art teacher kept on pushing me to do it,” Ms Webb said.
Her self-portrait titled Pretty Ugly was part of her Year 12 HSC visual arts major work and she said the artwork was about societal beauty standards.
“The artwork is about how beauty standards don’t really focus on natural beauty and they kind of try and change you, in a lot of different ways,” the 18-year-old said.
“We are all beautiful as we are.”
Each year the trustees of the NSW Art Gallery judge the Archibald and Wynne Prize and invite an artist to select the winner of the Sulman Prize.
The public favourite Packing Room Prize is a $3000 cash prize awarded to the best entry in the Archibald Prize as judged by the Art Gallery staff who receive, unpack and hang the entries.
The finalists of the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes are announced on May 30 along with the winner of the Packing Room Prize.
The winners of the three main prizes are announced on June 7.
The Archibald Exhibition runs from June 8 until September 8.