Richard Lewer has been awarded the 2026 Archibald Prize for his portrait of Pitjantjatjara elder, traditional healer and senior artist Iluwanti Ken. The New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based artist, a six-time Archibald finalist, received the $100,000 prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales on Friday. The judging panel, comprised of the gallery's trustees, selected the work unanimously from a field of 59 finalists reduced from 1,034 entries.
In his acceptance speech, Lewer joked, "The best thing about winning this award is I'll never be referred to as 'Richard Lewer, the six- or seven-time finalist of the Archibald,' which is good because I was getting kind of sick of it." He added, "I think this is the right time, the right painting."
Gallery director Maud Page praised the winning work: "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."
In his artist statement, Lewer described spending time with Iluwanti 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 person, Iluwanti is a small woman but she carries immense, quiet authority. I painted her life-size, so her presence meets the viewer directly. The yellow ochre background holds the intensity of the heat and light we were working in."
Lewer noted that Ken, who is also a finalist in this year's Wynne Prize, joked about wanting to look good and a bit younger. "So she put the pressure back on to me. I was happy that she was happy with the painting."
Michael Rose, director of the AGNSW board of trustees, said all judges were "immediately drawn" to the winning work. "It's a powerful and energetic portrait by an accomplished artist and has captured the energy of another artist that he admires and respects greatly."
The Archibald Prize, Australia's most prestigious portraiture award, has been running since 1921. In 2026, artists painting themselves or other artists outnumber other subject categories. Other finalists 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. Sanné Mestrom was highly commended for What the body knows. The $40,000 Sulman Prize for genre painting was won by Lucy Culliton for Toolah, a portrait of her greyhound. Culliton said she had been entering the Archibald "since I was a puppy" and initially thought to donate the prize money to Greyhound rescue.
The selection process saw high engagement with 2,524 entries across the three prizes. Adrian Jangala Robertson became a finalist in all three categories. The Packing Room prize was won by first-time finalist Sean Layh for his portrait of actor Jacob Collins.
The Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes 2026 exhibition opens to the public on Saturday 9 May and runs until 16 August, followed by a regional tour across Victoria and New South Wales.
