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Details
- Date
- 1981
- Media category
- Painting
- Materials used
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 184.1 x 172.4 x 3.9 cm
- Signature & date
Signed and dated top c. verso on frame, black fibre-tipped pen "... 1981 ERIC SMITH ...".
- Credit
- Purchased 1982
- Location
- Not on display
- Accession number
- 237.1982
- Copyright
- © Estate of Eric Smith
- Archibald Prize
- Winner - 1981
- Artist information
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Eric John Smith
Works in the collection
- Share
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About
Eric Smith's portrait of his dealer, gallery owner Rudy Komon won the Archibald Prize for 1981. When it was discovered that there were similarities between the winning portrait and a photograph of Komon dating from 1974, artist John Bloomfield, whose 1975 award had been withdrawn on the grounds that his portrait of Tim Burstall was painted directly from a magazine photograph, subsequently sued for the return of the prize. The case was dismissed on 23 September 1983.
Peter Ross, 'Let's Face It: The history of the Archibald Prize' 2005, pg. 147.
This work was acquired by the Gallery in 1982.
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Exhibition history
Shown in 2 exhibitions
Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes 1981, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 19 Dec 1981–30 Jan 1982
Archie 100: A century of the Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 05 Jun 2021–26 Sep 2021
Archie 100: A century of the Archibald Prize, Geelong Gallery, Geelong, 06 Nov 2021–20 Feb 2022
Archie 100: A century of the Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 09 Jul 2022–03 Oct 2022
Archie 100: A century of the Archibald Prize, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, Launceston, 22 Oct 2022–08 Jan 2023
Archie 100: A century of the Archibald Prize, Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, Bathurst, 26 Jan 2023–26 Mar 2023
Archie 100: A century of the Archibald Prize, Home of the Arts, Surfers Paradise, 15 Jul 2023–02 Oct 2023
Archie 100: A century of the Archibald Prize, National Portrait Gallery [Parliamentary Zone], Canberra, 21 Oct 2023–28 Jan 2024
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Bibliography
Referenced in 6 publications
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Anna Waldmann, The Archibald Prize: an illustrated history 1921-1981, Sydney, 1981, 236 (colour illus.).
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Susan Hunt, The Archibald Prize 1921-1993, Sydney, 1993, 26 (colour illus.).
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Robert Raymond, 52 views of Rudy Komon, Sydney, 1999, 59 (illus.), 60 (illus.), 73 (colour illus.). NOTE: black and white photograph on page 59 and 60 of Komon during 1974 Anniversary Show is similar pose.
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Peter Ross, Let's face it: the history of the Archibald Prize, ‘Chapter 4: Into the 1970s’, pg. 61-85, Sydney, 2005, 79, 80 (colour illus.) 81, 82, 147 (colour illus.).
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Peter Ross, Let's face it: the history of the Archibald Prize, 'Into the 1970s', pg. 63-87, Sydney, 1999, 82 (colour illus.), 137 (colour illus.).
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Anna Waldmann, Art and Australia (Vol. 20, No. 2), 'The Archibald Prize', pg. 213-236, Sydney, Summer 1982, 236 (colour illus.).
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