Lewis Miller Deborah Conway

In late 2021, at a function in Melbourne, artist Lewis Miller and singer-songwriter Deborah Conway found themselves discussing portraiture.

‘She casually suggested that I might paint her for the Archibald Prize. Up to that point, I hadn’t seriously considered entering this year,’ says Miller, who has been an Archibald finalist on 17 previous occasions, and won the prize in 1998 with a portrait of artist Allan Mitelman.

‘Deborah is a talented, thoughtful and strong woman who continues her amazing career in Australian music. I knew she’d been the subject of three Archibald paintings in the past, but I said I’d do it on the condition that it be painted solely from live sittings. She kindly agreed and gave me four sittings, with a break of four weeks between the first and second because of her touring commitments.

‘I am never happy working from photographs or digital images, so I painted the portrait completely from life,’ says Lewis. ‘The pose was decided by Deborah, with me offering a green milk crate and a cushion as a seat. I was surprised at how architectural the milk crate turned out to be.’