Australia’s oldest and most prestigious portrait prize has a little brother, Archie. Now in its 12th year, the Young Archie competition runs alongside the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW).
This year, over 4000 artworks were submitted by young artists aged between five and 18. It was the largest pool of submissions yet and just 70 finalists were chosen to be hung in the exhibit.
On Saturday July 27, two judges – Meriam Mer artist Grace Lillian Lee and AGNSW family programs manager Victoria Collings – named four winners from the portraits exhibited.
The winner in the five-to-eight-year-old category was six-year-old Ella Lee Fowler from Melbourne for her portrait of her best friend Avelyn under the sea. In her artist statement Fowler said she chose her subject “because she is so nice”.
In the nine-to-12-year-old category, 10-year-old Hollie Au from Northmead in NSW won for her portrait of her art teacher who “is really nice and [teaches] very well”.
Fourteen-year-old Leon Do, the son of artist Anh Do, won the 13-to-15-year-old category for Xavier on a Tuesday, a portrait of his older brother. Do said “sometimes Xavier is up, sometimes he’s down; on this day he was in the middle. In my painting, I have attempted to portray my brother’s slightly melancholic mood. I have chosen to paint my brother because he is always there for me, no matter what.”
Leah Blatchford, aged 18, won the 16-to-18-year-old category for her portrait of her mother, who teaches art to children.
The Archibald’s grown-up winners – artist Laura Jones, who won the 2024 Archibald for her portrait of Tim Winton, and Matt Adnate, who won the packing room prize for his portrait of Baker Boy – won $100,000 and $3000 respectively. Meanwhile, the four Young Archie winners will each pocket a $200 cash prize, an art hamper, some gallery tickets and a free catalogue.
The Young Archibald will be displayed until September 8, 2024. All 70 finalists’ artworks are available online.
