Former Archibald winners slam prize portrait

TWO of Australia’s most eminent artists have lambasted the trustees of the Art Gallery of NSW over their awarding of the Archibald Prize yesterday, accusing them of picking a “bland” winner, of not know- ing enough about art, and of using the prize to conform to a politically correct mindset.

John Olsen, a former trustee as well as the 2005 Archibald winner, labelled Mitch Cairns’ winning painting of his partner Agatha Gothe-Snape as “very bad”.

Tim Storrier, who won the Archibald in 2012 and is also a former trustee, said the current trustees would potentially damage the Archibald.

“If they continue this approach to the Archibald Prize, and the Wynne and the Sulman (the Archibald’s companion prizes), then they will irreparably damage the pres- tige of these prizes because the decision making process will be held in contempt by most artists,” Storrier said.

But AGNSW director Dr Michael Brand said Cairns’ painting was “terrific”. “I’m very, very happy by the selection of the winner,” he said.

He said the trustees had “looked to the future, to artists who are pushing through with the art of portraiture”.

But Olsen, 88, said he had never seen anything so superficial, claiming: “The thing is so totally bland.” He said the picture “lacked patina” and avoided any psychological analysis of its subject.