A trio of Australia’s most prestigious art prizes are set to be awarded later this week, and we’re on the edge of our seats awaiting the impending announcements! In anticipation, today we’re showcasing some of the most remarkable landscape paintings from the 2018 Wynne Prize.
This year, 46 Wynne Prize finalists have been chosen from 695 entries, and are now in the running for the $50,000 award.
Though it’s a little less-hyped than The Archibald, The Wynne is actually Australia’s oldest art prize; established following a bequest by Richard Wynne, it was first awarded in 1897.
Like The Archibald, the Wynne is also judged by the trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, who will reveal their verdict on Friday, May 12th.
The Wynne is an open competition, and so makes for a richly varied line-up of artworks. This year there are canvases by prolific painters John Olsen and Ray Ken. You may also notice Ibizian bunker-based Aussie artist William Mackinnon’s name pops up again – he’s shortlisted for both The Wynne and Archibald this year, along with four other polymath painters: Robert Malherbe, Stephanie Monteith, James Powditch and Marcus Wills.
In 2018, there are also 17 works by Indigenous artists, following on from Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands artist Betty Kuntiwa Pumani’s ‘Antara’ taking out the prize in 2017, and the Amata-based Ken Family’s collaborative canvas ‘Seven Sisters’ winning in 2016.
You can view all finalists for the 2018 Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes at Artgallery.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/archibald-wynne-sulman-prizes-2018/
‘Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes 2018’
May 12th to September 19th
Major Exhibition Gallery, Art Gallery of NSW
Art Gallery Road, Domain, New South Wales.
