I agree with you Kerry, it's an amazing portrait and I really hope it wins, but then I'm biased. It's beautiful, honest and revealing and under the circumstances, heartbreaking. A wonderful and unexpected gift, really, the artist is very talented. I just love it!
I wish I had the money to buy it. I would proudly hang it in my home.
Alas, I can't afford it. And besides it may not be for sale. Or, alternatively, it may have already been sold, given the circumstances surrounding the sitter.
The terms of the Archibald bequest are very strict and unless I'm mistaken (I could be wrong here), I think the subject of the painting should be a
living Australian who has distinguished his/herself in public life (the arts, letters, politics, academia, etc.) in the previous twelve months. The operative word here being "living." If this is the case, the painting will not be accepted for hanging by the Archibald committee. Sad but true.
I have entered portraits in the Archibald in the past. It is an open exhibition and anyone can do so, so long as you fulfill the requirements of the Archibald bequest. The Art Gallery of New South Wales usually gets several hundred entries each year and they ruthlessly cull them down to a couple of dozen paintings hung. Needless to say, I have always been culled in the past.
Whether or not it is chosen for hanging, I will still attend the Archibald this year, and dedicate my visit to Heath.
I do so hope his portrait will be there.
Post Script:
Just before posting this entry, I checked the Archibald conditions of entry and found that the exact requirements do not relate to the sitter having to be
alive. I was wrong there. Rather, they stipulate that the painting must be
painted from life ; i.e., the subject must physically sit for the painting - it cannot be painted from a photograph. So, fingers crossed that the Archibald committee will view it favourably and choose to hang it.
Here's the link:
http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:bAYvSotopw4J:www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/__data/page/133/Archibald_Prize_07_pages.pdf+archibald+prize+entry&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=au