Archibald Prize In 1975, when Gough Whitlam was dismissed as Prime Minister, he refused to sit for the Prime

Minister paintings. Whitlam insisted that the 1972 Archibald Prize portrait of him was to be used instead. I think that the Archibald prize is Australias most prestigious and most valued art prize. Australia has made quite an impact on the art world but the Archibald prize would have to be the biggest. Artists from all over the world submit their works, hoping to win the Archibald prize. People young and old turn up to see the magnificent artworks painted by skilled artists from across the globe. The 2012 Archibald Prize was awarded to Tim Sorrier, the painter of The Histronic Wayfarer. It is a self-portrait of himself and his dog, however he has no face. Under close inspection, you can actually see his face sketched on a piece of paper floating in the breeze. I think that it is based in the Australian outback/desert. It appears that he is making a decision. At first sight, I thought that this was a very weird painting because of the fact that Tim Sorrier had painted himself without a face. However, after a while, I started to realise that painting it required a lot of imagination and skill. The way the meaning of the painting is conveyed is unique. The opinion of the public is varied. Most people think it is a great work but some say it is unoriginal and vague. Marcus Callums self-portrait is a traditional style of painting. It has been used by artists since the 15th century. I personally find this artwork magnificent. The background is a bit blurry unable to be defined, however this is what makes the artwork so great. Callum has sort of highlighted his dark coloured clothes and merged it into the background. This can be done because he is using oil paints. His facial expression is serious. On close inspection, you can see a paint brush in his right hand which shows how much he loves art. I think Callum has put a lot of attention to small details like the shadow and the veins on his hands. Robin Eleys artowork Bibliography is a self-portrait. It is the contemporary artwork I have selected. Finding a contemporary artwork was very hard. I didnt really know what to choose and where to look, however after a bit of help, I chose Bibliography. It was painted on oil on linenbound hard cover books. The reason why this piece stood out to me is because of the colours of the painting. Also, it made on many different shapes, 13 to be exact. This puts a new meaning to the work imagination. According to him, the books he used to paint on represented both his Australian side and his Chinese background. History of the Archibald Prize The tradition of the Archibald Prize began in 1921, after J.F Archibald requested it in his will in 1919. The winner of the first Archibald Prize was W B Mcinnes in 1921, who later won it in 1922, 1923 and 1924, 1926, 1930 and 1936. At that time, the prize money was 400. The prize has caused a lot of controversy and even a few court cases. A good example of this was in 1943, when William Dobells winning painting of Joshua Smith was challenged because critics and other artists claimed that it wasnt a portrait but a caricature. After going to one of the Archibald prize exhibitions, I can understand why it is Australias most significant art award. I thought that all the artworks were magnificent, some more so than others. While I was there, I heard other visitors talking about how great the paintings were. Since then, I have read what the critics think of some of the artworks. Most critics agreed that the artworks stunning but others said that the winning prize The Histronic Wayfarer was unoriginal and that the idea of the painting was taken off a 17th century piece. In 1975, when Gough Whitlam was dismissed as Prime Minister, he refused to sit for the Prime Minister paintings. Whitlam insisted that the 1972 Archibald Prize portrait of him was to be used instead. After seeing the paintings this year, I cannot wait to see the ones that will be exhibited next year.