<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="http://www.9news.com.au/melbourne" rel="" target="" title="Melbourne"><span>Melbourne</span></a><span>-based artist Richard Lewer has won the Archibald Prize 2026 for his portrait of Pitjantjatjara Elder, senior artist and ngangkari (traditional healer) Iluwanti Ken.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The work was selected from 1034 entries, whittled down to 59 finalists, which are on display at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The life-size portrait shows Ken, an artist herself and Wynne Prize finalist, in bright colours with flecks of paint on her arms, against a yellow ochre ground.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/canva-artificial-intelligence-discovery-week-thousands-of-staff-stop-work/fa1afd48-3768-42db-8a6b-743d55da82c7"><strong><span>Thousands of staff at $60bn Aussie company suddenly stop working</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A New Zealand-born artist, Lewer is a six-time Archibald finalist.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>'I am really proud, both for Iluwanti and for myself," Lewer said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I feel deeply humbled to have won the Archibald Prize, and especially happy that this recognition brings a spotlight to Iluwanti, which was always my intention with this portrait. Iluwanti is the most beautiful woman, and it was a complete treat to spend time with her and to be able to paint her on Country.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/archibald-prize-2026-winner-richard-lewer-iluwanti-ken/c8f359c1-8d31-4c33-82c6-97f3ff96cb28" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I hope this work recognises her role as a healer, artist and custodian of the knowledge she carries and so generously shares."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Art Gallery director Maud Page lauded Lewer's "masterful control of paint".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"He presents Iluwanti Ken as if she's emerging out of the ochre, with no conventional perspective, yet her presence as both an artist, healer and matriarch is powerfully realised.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Her eyes are particularly striking – her gaze is direct and conveys her strength and warmth."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Archibald Prize is Australia's most prestigious art prize and is awarded annually to the best portrait of a person distinguished in art, letters, science or politics painted by any artist resident Australasia.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The winners of the Wynne Prize 2026 for landscape painting and Sulman Prize 2026 for subject or genre painting were also announced.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Yolŋu artist Gaypalani Waṉambi won the Wynne Prize 2026 and $50,000 for her etching on metal, The Waṉambi tree, depicting Wuyal, an important ancestor of the Marrakulu clan.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Lucy Culliton won the Sir John Sulman Prize 2026 and $40,000 for her work Toolah, artist model, an intricately detailed painting of Toolah, one of her beloved rescue greyhounds.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This is Culliton's seventh time as a Sulman Prize finalist, with her 2026 winning work selected from 26 finalists.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>First-time Archibald finalist Sean Layh won the Packing Room Prize for his portrait of actor Jacob Collins.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Layh saw Collins in the title role of Iain Sinclair's 2024 production of Shakespeare's </span><em><span>Hamlet</span></em><span> at Melbourne's fortyfivedownstairs theatre and reached out to Collins to see if he would reprise the role for a portrait.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It was performed by candlelight in a tight physical setting and blended Hamlet's dark introspection with the plot's spooky supernatural undercurrent," Layh said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Below is a selection of the 59 Archibald Prize finalists currently on display at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=9news.com.au" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>