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March 23, 2026 \u2014 12:03pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n They arrived in courier vans, in the back of cars, and wrapped in bubble wrap, curtains, and blankets; artists walked the works in accompanied by friends, partners, parents, and the occasional family dog.<\/p>\n Blue Mountains artist Richard Cutler arrived with his uncovered Archibald Prize entry\u2014a portrait of composer Constance Colley\u2014on the roof of his station wagon. It was still wet from a morning rain shower that had cast a vivid rainbow over the docks of the Art Gallery of NSW on the opening day of entries.<\/p>\n With friend and poet Brian Bell, Cutler removed his Archibald entry from the roof racks and wiped down the wet surface of his Sulman Prize entry, which sat underneath the Archibald during the drive to the gallery. In the boot, his Wynne entry lay on cushions amid paint cans, the odd suitcase, and his paint palette.<\/p>\n Cutler, 81, has been drawing weekly from a live model for more than 50 years. He has entered his huge, vibrantly coloured gestural works \u201cthree or four times before\u201d and hopes to be hung \u201cbecause paintings need to be seen\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s their reason for being. It\u2019s lovely when they are [seen],\u201d he says.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been an hour since the docks officially opened for the Archibald, Wynne, and Sulman Prize entries, and already 50 works have been registered in what could be a record year. By the end of the week, some 2,000 entries will have been accepted by the gallery\u2019s packers, ready to be judged across the three contemporary art prizes.<\/p>\n Under cover, Sydney College of the Fine Arts graduate Stella Janssens is putting together The Self, a ceramic replica of the female form modelled on her own body, for her entry to the Wynne Prize \u2014 awarded annually for the best landscape painting of Australian scenery or figure sculpture by an Australian artist.<\/p>\n The life-size sculpture is made of Raku clay and ball-jointed. Taking inspiration from ancient Greek and Roman marble statues found in archaeological sites, Janssen attacked its body parts with a piece of sandstone to simulate chips and weathering.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really about the connection between the metaphysical and the physical self. It\u2019s meant to be a relic, to be withered,\u201d says Janssens as she twiddles with the internal mechanism featuring bungee cords. From a distance, Janssens appears like a surgeon standing over a patient. \u201cIt\u2019s what\u2019s left over once the consciousness has passed. She\u2019s capable of all human movements, but she doesn\u2019t stand; she\u2019s too heavy,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Christopher Malouf entered the Archibald in 2024 with a portrait of Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers. This year, he has painted Australia\u2019s only Catholic Cardinal, Melbourne\u2019s Mykola Bychok, who was elevated by Pope Francis in 2024, making him the youngest cardinal in the global Catholic Church. He is captured in full regalia, sketched from a 10-minute sitting in Canberra last July.<\/p>\n \u201cThe rest of it I did back at my home studio. This one took 200 hours,\u201d Malouf said.<\/p>\n At the same time, artist David Lesslie \u201cis all abuzz\u201d as he drops off his first-ever entry to the Archibald: a portrait of Peter Pigott, founder of the Uncle Pete\u2019s Toys retail chain, who set up a sanctuary in the Blue Mountains to save the near-extinct parma wallaby.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d done artwork in a friendly fashion of his house and gardens in the past,\u201d Lesslie said. \u201cI\u2019ve been working on portraits the last few years, and he\u2019s seen those and was sufficiently impressed to ask me to paint him, probably because he\u2019s 89.\u201d<\/p>\n He painted his subject \u201cper request\u201d beside his favourite garden statue and foregrounded some of the wallabies Pigott has fed out of his own pocket for 60 years.<\/p>\n Pigott bestowed upon the portrait its ornate 16th-century frame. Asked to rate his chances in the portrait prize that captivates Australia, Lesslie says: \u201cI\u2019m hoping I\u2019ll be hung. I figure my chances are slim, but there you go. I only just found out that if I get chosen to be exhibited, I get $1,000 for selection. That\u2019s enough of a carrot to dangle for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Some 57 works were hung of the 903 portraits entered in the Archibald competition last year. Julie Fragar won the 2025 Archibald Prize with her portrait Flagship Mother Multiverse (Justene), depicting artist Justene Williams.<\/p>\n Related Article Abdul Abdullah won the Packing Room Prize for his portrait of artist Jason Phu, No mountain high enough.<\/p>\n Entries for the Archibald, Wynne, and Sulman prizes will be accepted all week.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s finalists will be announced on April 30, and the winners on May 8.<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Richard](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2b2c44fdaa8c141fabb4cad0f4584e1ef0fbd5a5.jpeg\")
Richard Cutler with his Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prize entries.Steven Siewert<\/p>\n![\"Stella](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/5a322119e13e810527f7096e3f3df62d9a3b883a.jpeg\")
Stella Janssens with her Wynne entry, The Self.Steven Siewert<\/p>\n![\"David](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/08a2344dbf45e7a0b8291426bf34ba521e5bce68.jpeg\")
David Lesslie with his portrait of Peter Piggott.Steven Siewert<\/p>\n![\"Christopher](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0181356da0467545cf3867ed60c13672f640c751.jpeg\")
Christopher Malouf\u2019s 2026 Archibald entry. Steven Siewert<\/p>\n![\"Takashi](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/e85e5014ab3be2fd2a2cd3a062d3f191d2831000.jpeg\")
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