The Archibald Prize

Ben Quilty
Magaret Olley
Winner: Archibald 2011

Vincent Fantauzzo
Matt Moran
Winner: Packing Room Prize 2011

Abdul Abdullah
Waleed Aly

Del Kathryn Barton
Mother (a portrait of Cate)

I thought I'd better do a post dedicated to one of Australia’s oldest and most prestigious art awards, The Archibald. The Atchibald is a art prize that is held every year at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, AGNSW. Over the years the Archibald has seen many outstanding paintings and has a lot of controversy over the years. The Prize was first awarded in 1921 and is now worth $50,000. Go here if you want to read a bit more about the history of the Archibald. 

This years exhibition is yet again filled with beautiful paintings by some of Australia's greatest painters. I was very happy to hear that this years winner was Ben Quilty for his painting Magaret Olley as he is one of my favourite Australian artists. Above I have put a few of the paintings that I love, including the winner of the Packing Room prize. They still have to announce the winner for the People's Choice, but that isn't till June. I hopefully will be going up within the next month to see the exhibition and cast my vote for People's Choice. Be sure to check the rest of the paintings for this years Archibald and if you leave near then make sure you go and see the magnificent exhibition. 

What are your thoughts on this years Archibald? Which one is your favourite and such? Love to hear people's thoughts on it :)