Wandering around the Archibald, Australia’s biggest art prize, on the morning of the winner’s announcement was a new experience for me. I could sense a building tension as groups of journalists, photographers, bloggers, influencers, videographers and online media specialists poured in and set up their gear around the podium.
I did feel like an interloper, as I don’t really regard myself as an art critic, even though I’ve spent most of my life loving art and have attended the Archibald countless times in the past as a spectator.
This behind-the-scenes experience was something else: a media circus.
The announcement was preceded by a variety of officials performing Welcomes to Country and announcing the other prizes, such as the Wynne and Sulman prizes.
The Archibald went to Richard Lewer’s portrait of Iluwanti Ken, an elderly Indigenous artist and healer. She appeared pushing her walking frame with Lewer’s assistance. They stood in front of his remarkable full-length portrait of her for the snapping of countless photographs and congratulations. It’s a simple painting in a way: a figure standing in front of a plain yellow background. Her stance and body posture reveal her frailty as well as her interior power and resilience. It is direct, understated and wonderful.
As the days went by after the show, I wondered what I could say about this group of incredibly diverse works. Meanwhile, the media began the mumble-grumble, call it controversy, that always accompanies this prize.
Back in 1947, William Dobell’s portrait of Joshua Smith caused enough controversy to land a case in the Supreme Court of NSW. Critics disputed whether it was a legitimate painting, complaining that modernism was a corrupting influence. Go figure!
Controversies of the past included complaints about nudity, celebrity sitters, conceptual versus technical painting, and even whether drawing into a painting was allowable. Today’s controversy centres around “wokefulness”, or identity-driven politics. The conservative press complains that the Archibald has favoured Indigenous subjects or culturally symbolic figures to gain favour with the public rather than focusing on purely formal or technical concerns.
Yep, everyone’s an art critic. That’s actually a good thing, but it hurts my ears when I stand next to someone saying, “Hey, I could have done that!” It’s great that people care enough to come and look at, and react to, works of art. Out of this great variety of brilliant creations, there will surely be one or two that touch you in such a way that you feel something wonderful inside. That’s enough for me.
The Archibald, Wynne and Sulman shows are on at the Art Gallery of NSW until 16 August 2026.
