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Archie 100
A Century of the Archibald Prize
Tempe Manning 'Self-portrait' 1939 (detail), Art Gallery of New South Wales, purchased with funds provided by the Art Gallery Society of NSW 2021 © the artist's estate
And the winner is …
With these four words, every year the Archibald Prize captures the country’s imagination. For a century, audiences have flocked to see Australia’s longest running, most prestigious – and certainly most controversial – portrait prize.
Archie 100: A Century of the Archibald Prize presents a selection from some of the 6000-plus portraits and more than 1500 artists from Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand that have been in the prize so far. Arranged thematically, these works have been chosen not as ‘the best of the best’ but because of the stories they tell about the prize, the changing face of our society, and the power of portraiture to illuminate our collective humanity.
ARCHIE 100 TOUR
Geelong Gallery
6 November 2021 – 20 February 2022
Cairns Art Gallery
18 March – 12 June 2022
Art Gallery of South Australia
9 July – 3 October 2022
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston
22 October 2022 – 8 January 2023
Bathurst Regional Art Gallery
26 January – 26 March 2023
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
15 April – 25 June 2023
Home of the Arts, Gold Coast
15 July – 2 October 2023
National Portrait Gallery, Canberra
21 October 2023 – 28 January 2024
The development and tour of this project has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Visions of Australia program.
Stories behind the prize
Theme
How it all began
A look at the person behind the prize, JF Archibald, and the inaugural exhibition.
Theme
Wielding the brush
Over 900 of the works in the Archibald so far have been self-portraits.
Theme
The intimacy of familiarity
Parents, siblings, partners, children – even in-laws – have all featured as Archibald sitters.
Artists by artists
Who can relate better to the process of creating a portrait than a fellow artist?
Theme
Recasting the gaze
A celebration of female artists in the Archibald and the groundbreaking paths they forge.
Theme
The cult of celebrity
Celebrity has always cast its spell on the Archibald, with people jostling to experience a brush with fame.
Theme
Local heroes and national icons
Over the past century, artists have sought out many inspiring subjects for Archibald portraits.
Theme
War and its aftermath
From the battlefields of World War II to post-war immigration, the impact of war has left its mark on the Archibald.
Theme
Courting controversy
Whether with complaints of unsuitable sitters or allegations of ineligible artworks, the Archibald can certainly cause a stir.
