1. Can anyone enter the Archibald Prize?
2. JF Archibald’s will says that the artists must be residents of ‘Australasia’. Does this mean that artists from New Zealand can enter?
3. Have any drawings been exhibited for the Archibald Prize?
4. How is the Archibald Prize selected and judged?
5. Who judges the prizes?
6. How many times have sculptors won the Wynne Prize?
7. Who was the youngest person to enter the Archibald Prize?
8. What is the Packing Room Prize?
9. Can you submit an artwork that has been selected for another art prize?
10. How many Aboriginal artists have won the Archibald Prize?

Can anyone enter the Archibald Prize?

Do you have to be famous? Do you have to be a certain age?

Anyone who has lived in Australia or New Zealand for a full year before the closing date and who pays the $30 handling fee, may enter the Archibald Prize. (For the next closing date, see the main Archibald Prize page.)

You do not need to be famous to enter (however, winning would certainly make you more famous!). Although so far only adults have won the Prize, the rules do not specify a minimum age.

(Incidentally, although the rules state that the portrait should be “preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in Art, Letters, Science or Politics”, many artists have painted self-portraits. After all, if you were to win, or be chosen as one of the finalists, you would certainly be distinguished in art.)

JF Archibald’s will says that the artists must be residents of ‘Australasia’. Does this mean that artists from New Zealand can enter?

Yes.

For the first fifteen years of the Archibald Prize, the competition was advertised in New Zealand newspapers and several entries were submitted by artists resident in New Zealand. New Zealand artists continued to enter until at least the late 1960s. It was the condition that Archibald entrants pay for all freight, to and from the Gallery, coupled with the Commonwealth Government’s tariff on importing works of art that saw the end of New Zealand entrants, rather than a change in the entry conditions for “Australasian” residents.

Have any drawings been exhibited for the Archibald Prize?

At least six drawings have been accepted into the Archibald Prize exhibition:

1927 competition (exhibited 1928)

• Percy I White Sir John Monash (pencil)
• Percy I White Mr Gustave Stahel (pencil)

1928 competition (exhibited 1929)

• Percy I White Mr Edward Vidler (pencil)
• Percy I White Dr William Maloney MHR (pencil)

1935 competition (exhibited 1936)

• Muriel Pornett Bon (pencil and chalk)

1967 competition (exhibited 1968)

• Jo Caddy Self portrait (chalk)

Watercolour paintings and miniatures have also been accepted into the Archibald Prize.

How is the Archibald Prize selected and judged?

The Archibald Prize is judged by the Gallery Trustees. All entries received by the specified closing date and in accord with the terms of the prize, will be accepted, numbered and stored prior to judging.

One by one the works are then carried or wheeled in by the Gallery’s installation crew to be viewed by the Trustees, who decide by consensus if the work is 'in’, 'out’ or 'maybe in’. It is uncommon for a work to be judged unanimously 'in’ straight away. The judging is a democratic decision making process and may go through many stages.

The selected group of works for that year’s Archibald are hung prior to the final judging. The Trustees now have time to deliberate over who they will choose as the winner. They will view the works several times before making their final decision. Because the winner must be determined by a majority vote, it is important that the Trustees are able to come to an agreement on a clear winner. On the rare occasion that they cannot, no prize is awarded, as happened in 1964 and 1980. In order to reach agreement the Trustees will often confer with each other regarding their choices.

Once a winner has been successfully decided the announcement is made at the exhibition press preview before an eagerly awaiting audience of media, public and artists. That same evening the exhibition will be opened officially and will invariably provoke discussion among the wider audience who come to view it in their thousands.

As Peter Ross points out in Let’s Face It, The History of the Archibald Prize

“In the main the Trustees are not experts or art insiders. What they bring to the job are the eyes of the Everyman. JF Archibald wanted a democratic portrait prize – and that democracy, rough-hewn as it may be, is delivered every year at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.”

Who judges the prizes?

The judges of the annual Archibald Prize and Wynne Prize are the Trustees of the Art Gallery of NSW.

The judge of the Sulman Prize is an artist invited by the Trustees.

The judge of the Dobell Prize for Drawing is an expert in drawing invited by the Trustees.

How many times have sculptors won the Wynne Prize?

Eleven times to present (2011). The first sculptor to win the Wynne Prize, James S White, won with In defence of the flag, a statue of Boer War soldiers for Perth’s War Memorial in 1902. Since then the prize has been won by these sculptors: George WL Hirst in 1907 and 1923, John Christie Wright in 1915, G Rayner Hoff in 1927, Lyndon Dadswell in 1933, Rosemary Madigan in 1986, Peter Schipperheyn in 1992, John Dahlsen in 2000, Tim Kyle in 2003 and Richard Goodwin in 2011.

Who was the youngest person to enter the Archibald Prize?

The youngest known Archibald Prize entrant was a 15 year old Perth schoolboy, “R Harris”, who successfully entered a self portrait in the 1946 competition (the first where not all entries were exhibited).

This artist then successfully entered the 1948 Wynne Prize (age 17), as “Rolf Harris” (unfortunately mis-transcribed as “Ruth Harris”). In 1952, he went to London to study art, returned to Australia in 1960 to produce and star in children’s television, then returned to the UK in 1962, where he been based ever since.

Extra information:

The youngest known Sulman Prize winner was Tim Storrier, 1968 (age 18 when painted, 19 when awarded). No younger entrant is known, although art students have been exhibited at times.

The Archibald, Wynne, Sulman and Dobell Prize entry forms do not include an age requirement, so the ages of the majority of entrants would be nearly impossible to establish.

What is the Packing Room Prize?

The Packing Room Prize is a prize awarded to the work selected by the Gallery staff who are responsible for unpacking, sorting, storing and installing the works for the Archibald Prize.

Steve Peters is the Art Gallery’s head storeman and has been around to witness twenty Archibald Prize competitions. The Packing Room Prize started in 1992 and has since become an integral part of the Archibald Prize competition. The Packing Room Prize has not to this date coincided with the judges’ official decision.

Can you submit an artwork that has been selected for another art prize?

Yes, you can submit to any of the Art Gallery of NSW art prizes a work that has already been selected for an art prize exhibition by another institution.

How many Aboriginal artists have won the Archibald Prize?

There is no part on the Archibald Prize application form that asks for the artist’s (or subject’s) “Aboriginality”, so we can never know the answer to this question for sure. What follows is based only on known identifications and research:

No known Aboriginal artists have won the Archibald Prize, although there have been several finalists since at least 1989, when the late Robert Campbell Junior’s portrait, My Brother Mac Silva was exhibited. In 2006 the finalist Weaver Jack’s self-portrait Weaver Jack in Lungarung was apparently the first Archibald Prize entry to be done in a traditional yet non-figurative style.

Two Aboriginal subjects’ portraits have won the prize:

• 1956: William Dargie’s portrait, Mr Albert Namatjira (now in the collection of the Queensland Art Gallery)
• 2005: Craig Ruddy’s portrait, David Gulpilil – two worlds

The earliest known portrait of an Aboriginal subject to be entered (and exhibited) in the Archibald Prize was BE Minns’s Portrait in 1924, which was of David Unaipon. (This portrait, a watercolour, is now in the collection of the State Library of NSW.)