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ARCHIBALD EXHIBITION - June 2025
On a sunny, but cold and windy winter morning, 26 brave souls set out on 25th June 25 for the Art Gallery of NSW. After the traditional coffee (and blueberry muffin) at The Cat’s Pajamas in the Botanic Gardens, it was a quick walk to the gallery where, after being kitted out with headphones, we joined our guide, Patricia, for the tour of the 104th Archibalds.
The Archibald Prize has always created controversy and conversation. For over a century, artists from Australia and New Zealand have captured the spirit of their times through portraiture, reflecting the personalities and issues that define their communities. To qualify each artist must have had a ‘sitting’ with the subject and the art must have been completed in the past 12 months.
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Together with the Archibalds is both the Wynne Prize for landscape painting of Australian scenery, or figure sculpture, celebrating the diversity of representations of our country, and the Sulman Prize is for subject painting, genre painting or a mural project.
And not to be overlooked is the Young Archies display for kids aged 5 to 18, and the Packing Room Prize which is often more popular than the other awards.
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Our guide was very accomplished and made the event a lot of fun, despite having a struggle with her microphone for most of the time. The 60-minute tour lasted well beyond that, and it was a relief to finally take a seat in the café for lunch.
The Archibalds 2025 winner – Flagship Mother Multiverse (Justene) by Julie Fragar
Ken Done, internationally recognised artist for his paintings, textiles and design, by Fiona Lowry. Did you have a Ken Done bedspread? Portrait using an airbrush only - amazing!
A beautiful portrait of ceramic artist, Pippin Drysdale, by Yolande Gray, entitled ‘I won’t wish, I will’.
‘Pre-dawn sky over Port Botany container terminal’ by Jude Rae was the Wynne Prize winner
