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Archibald Prize 2010

It’s that time of year again, when the Art Gallery of New South Wales buzzes with crowds keen to offer their opinions on Australia’s finest portraiture. Yes, the Archibald Prize 2010 has been hung and won and now the gallery is at its busiest. Sam Leach scored the $50,000 prize with his full-length impression of comedian Tim Minchin. In a rare twist he also took out honours in the simultaneous but lower-profile Wynne prize (that’s an extra $25,000 thank you very much) with his dreamy landscape Proposal for landscaped cosmos. Leach joins Brett Whiteley and William Dobell as only the third artist to win both awards in the same year. We’re hardly art critics, but we’re quite taken with Bill Wright AM by Jasper Knight and the jaunty rendering of prolific contemporary painter Tim Storrier by McLean Edwards as well. But where are the female subjects this year? Kate Ceberano is one of only four women. There are way too many blokes on canvasses and only one of them is Michael Zavros. Yes, the artist became the muse in former Archibald Prize winner Cherry Hood’s portrait of a friend. A finalist in the “Archis” for the previous four years, Zavros didn’t enter the 2010 awards but still managed to nab prime wall space with this handsome portrait by Hood. True, Scout is an unabashed fan of Zavros. Can you blame us? Finalists are on show until 30 May.

www.thearchibaldprize.com.au

by Alicia Pyke