The Archibald Prize is, without a doubt, Australia’s most prestigious portrait painting award. Every year art-world figures wait for the winner with baited breath and as much anticipation as first place in the Melbourne Cup!

With 793 entries and 57 finalists this year,  the just-announced winner of the 2018 Archibald prize winner is Melbourne artist Yvette Coppersmith for work, Self-portrait after George Lambert.

In her acceptance speech, Yvette thanked the other artists and community for their support, emphatically enthusing that ‘the most important thing in the art world are the conversations you have with other artists’.

With the inaugural event held in 1921, The Archibald Prize was the first major award for portraiture in Australian art and these days includes a $100,000 prize for the winning artist. 

Previous winners of the award include Brett Whitley’s (1976) for his controversial self-portrait; Ben Quilty (2011) with his painterly depiction of artist Margaret Olley; Del Kathryn Barton (2008) for her mystical self-portrait with her son and daughter; and Lousie Hearman (2016) for a lifelike portrayal of a stripped back Barry Humphries.

CONGRATULATIONS YVETTE! We’re THRILLED for you!

Read more about this amazing artist in our 2016 profile here!