Richard Lewer has won the 2026 Archibald Prize for his portrait of Pitjantjatjara elder, traditional healer and senior artist Iluwanti Ken. The announcement was made on Friday at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, where the finalist exhibition opens on Saturday. Lewer, a New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based artist and six-time Archibald finalist, receives the $100,000 prize. The judging panel, comprising the gallery's trustees, selected the work unanimously from 59 finalists, whittled down from 1,034 entries.
In his acceptance speech, Lewer joked that winning the award means he will no longer be referred to as a six- or seven-time finalist. Gallery director Maud Page praised the winning work, saying, 'You see the strength of it, you see the poise. You see all of the things that we know makes Australia unique in the world.'
Lewer spent time with Ken at Tjala Arts in Amata, in the APY lands of South Australia. 'Being on Country together deepened my understanding of her presence and the responsibilities she carries,' he said in his artist statement. He painted her life-size, with a yellow ochre background to convey the heat and light of their working environment. Ken, a finalist in this year's Wynne Prize, is described by Lewer as 'a healer' and 'an important elder' who 'cares so much'.
Michael Rose, director of the AGNSW board of trustees, said all judges were 'immediately drawn' to the portrait, describing it as 'powerful and energetic' and capturing the admiration Lewer holds for Ken. The Archibald Prize, Australia's most prestigious portraiture prize, has been awarded annually since 1921 to the best portrait of a person 'distinguished in art, letters, science or politics' by an Australian resident.
Among the 59 finalists, self-portraits and portraits of artists again dominated. Other notable subjects include musicians Daniel Johns and Jim Moginie, actor Marta Dusseldorp, and journalists Virginia Trioli and Jan Fran. Alongside the Archibald, the $50,000 Wynne Prize for landscape painting and figurative sculpture was awarded to Gaypalani Waṉambi for 'The Waṉambi tree', with Sanné Mestrom highly commended for her sculpture 'What the body knows'.
