The Archibald Finalists at the Geelong Art Gallery
The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor of The Bulletin who died in 1919. It is administered by the trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales and awarded for “the best portrait, preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in Art, Letters, Science or Politics, painted by an artist resident in Australia during the twelve months preceding the date fixed by the trustees for sending in the pictures“.
Our Visit to the Geelong Art Gallery
We had a group of our members attend the 2025 Archibald Exhibition at the Geelong Gallery in late September. It was well reviewed by everyone, although some of the artwork did raise some questions? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, just as Art is appreciated by each and every one of us, but obviously in a very different way. One of the common choices for the People’s award was “Sisters”, painted by Jaq Grantford, below left.
There were a number of exhibits that were painted so well, including the winning portrait by Julie Fragar on the right. You would think they seemed more like a photograph than a painting.
The artwork was exceptional, with a couple of pieces, including an exhibit by the great-grandson of Albert Namatjira in Vincent Namatjira. Also a piece by Robert Fielding, improved the further back in the room that you viewed them from. These pieces changed from “oh, that’s ok”, to “Wow, that is indeed very good”! Vincent’s is below left.
Time for Lunch
After carefully pondering whether we should submit our own portraits next year. We decided our time would be much better spent enjoying a beautiful lunch at the Malt Shovel Taphouse, which did not disappoint.
Meals were enjoyed by everyone that attended, with not a single complaint, reinforcing our decision of location.