Sean Layh's portrait of actor Jacob Collins has won the Packing Room prize, chosen by Art Gallery of New South Wales staff who hang the finalists for the Archibald Prize exhibition. The announcement was made on Thursday, ahead of the main prize announcement scheduled for 8 May.
The Winning Portrait
Layh, a self-taught painter who has exhibited in Australia and abroad, described winning the prize for his oil painting titled The tragicall historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke as 'one of the great honours of my professional life'. This marks the first time he has been a finalist in the Archibald Prize.
Senior installation officer William Newell said: 'Sean's entry was an instant standout for the packing room crew. It's a dark, complex and beautiful double portrait – a tormented Hamlet portrayed by actor Jacob Collins.' He added: 'We couldn't stop looking at the painting; the work feels alive, as if the exchange between artist, character and actor continues to unfold.'
The Artist's Journey
Layh has only painted full-time for five years. The Covid-19 pandemic served as a final catalyst, prompting him to leave his career in biological science at Monash University to pursue his craft. Despite learning foundational skills from his high school art teachers, a formal art education wasn't for him. He completed a year at the Victorian College of the Arts but left painting at that point.
After pursuing a career in science, Layh returned to the easel 15 years later. While drawing came back easily, mastering oil paint required study. He spent lunch breaks painting in Melbourne's Nicholas Building and closely examined works from the National Gallery of Victoria's permanent collection.
'During lunch I could just put paintbrushes down, walk five minutes down the road, and then basically enter the 19th-century salon,' Layh said. 'I would just study the paintings to see, to try to figure out how those painters of that period worked, which really is what this type of painting is trying to emulate.'
Inspiration from Hamlet
Layh was inspired to paint Collins after seeing him perform as Hamlet at Melbourne's fortyfivedownstairs theatre in 2024. Collins, formerly Collins-Levy, has appeared in Doctor Who and True History of the Kelly Gang. The pair jointly agreed on the title of the portrait, which retains the Elizabethan spelling of the earliest printed editions of the play.
'Jacob really brought it home with his beautiful performance,' Layh said. 'While Jacob and I are modern artists, we are both continuing artistic traditions that have a strong history in our culture – theatre and painting.'
The Packing Room Prize
The $3,000 Packing Room prize is chosen by the Art Gallery of New South Wales staff who unpack and hang the Archibald Prize exhibition. This year, the exhibition received more than 1,000 entries, whittled down to 59 finalists. Portraits of Bondi shooting hero Ahmed al-Ahmed, journalists Virginia Trioli and Jan Fran, surfer Layne Beachley, and artist Khaled Sabsabi are among this year's finalists, alongside paintings by artists Kaylene Whiskey, Richard Lewer, Vincent Namatjira, Tsering Hannaford, and Michael Zavros.
Upcoming Announcements
The main Archibald Prize, worth $100,000, will be awarded on 8 May to the best portrait of 'some man or woman distinguished in art, letters, science or politics, painted by any artist resident in Australasia', as judged by the trustees of the gallery. The $50,000 Wynne Prize for landscape painting and $40,000 Sulman Prize for subject painting, genre painting, or mural project will also be announced on 8 May. All finalists will be on show from 9 May at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
