Finalists in the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prize
30 Apr 2026
Congratulations to our artists Guido Maestri, Vincent Namatjira, Tom Polo, Kaylene Whiskey, Harriette Bryant, Abdul Abdullah, Sarah Drinan and Julia Trybala for being selected as finalists for the 2026 Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.
Six-time Archibald finalist Guido Maestri who won the prize in 2009 with a portrait of Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu has entered a self-portrait to the Archibald this year. Maestri describes it as a “psychological portrait,” first painted during a transitory period and then revisited several times after.
In 2020, Vincent Namatjira OAM became the first Aboriginal artist to win the Archibald Prize with a portrait of former AFL player Adam Goodes. This year, he is an Archibald Prize Finalist for The Dust Bowl, a self-portrait of him bowling, the pins replaced by landmarks from his travels.
Kaylene Whiskey is a four-time Archibald Prize finalist and in 2018 she was awarded the Sulman Prize. In 2026, Whiskey has painted herself flanked by performance artists The Huxleys.
Tom Polo has entered a portrait of Sydney gallerist Roslyn Oxley titled I thought you were still looking. The work builds on Polo’s artistic practice, lingering between presence and absence, drawing attention to the spaces in-between.
Multidisciplinary artist Hariette Bryant is a finalist for the Wynne Prize for Blow up (Maralinga), grounded in the lived reality of Anangu communities. Her work exposes the ongoing legacies of nuclear bomb tests carried out in remote South Australia in the 50’s and 60’s.
Abdul Abdullah and Fintan Magee are finalists for the Sulman Prize with their collaborative mural that draws on the history of the defacement of statues and monuments as a form of political protest. The title ‘Revisionist statue’ playfully imagines a historical symbol of “civilisation” coming to terms and interrogating its legacies.
Julia Trybala has been shortlisted for Sacred sovereign subject, considering balance as both a physical necessity and an emotional condition.
Sarah Drinan has been shortlisted for her work Anam Cara, drawing on an ancient Irish understanding of connection as a transformative bond that dissolves boundaries of the self.
All winning and finalist works will be shown at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from 9 May to 16 August 2026. Archibald Prize finalist works will then tour to New South Wales and Victoria until August 2027.
The Archibald Prize is awarded annually to the best portrait and was founded in 1921. The Wynne Prize is the oldest art prize in Australia, founded in 1897 and is awarded annually to the best landscape painting of Australian scenery in oils or watercolours or for the best example of figure sculpture. The Sulman Prize, founded in 1936 is awarded to the best subject painting, genre painting or mural project by an Australian artist.
Ames Yavuz looks forward to the announcement of the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prize winners on 8 May, at 12pm and wishes our artists the best of luck!
Image: (Top) Guido Maestri, Self-portrait, inside out (head in the clouds), 2026, oil on linen, 213 x 198 cm