Archie 100 Tour to Come to QVMAG Launceston in October 2022

 

Media release – Issued Wednesday 23 December 2020

The Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (QVMAG) is delighted to announce that Archie 100: A Century of the Archibald Prize will tour to the Queen Victoria Museum at Inveresk from 22 October 2022 to 8 January 2023.

Australia’s oldest and most prestigious portrait award, the Archibald Prize, celebrates its centenary in 2021. To mark the occasion, QVMAG is one of eight regional galleries across 2021-23 to host the celebratory national touring exhibition.

Archie 100 presents the controversies and the commonplace, and above all, the artists who have made the Archibald Prize the most sought-after accolade in the Australian art world today.

This landmark exhibition explores the prize across its history, revealing the many fascinating stories behind the faces. It uncovers changes in society in engaging ways, enabling people to experience how artistic styles and approaches to portraiture have changed over a century.

Resulting from many years of searching for lost portraits, Archie 100 will feature works from the Art Gallery of New South Wale's collection as well as works from libraries, galleries and museums across Australia and New Zealand, and private Australian and international collections. The exhibition will tour nationally with QVMAG the only Tasmanian venue to host the exhibition.

General Manager of Creative Arts and Cultural Services, Tracy Puklowski, said "The Archibald Prize has long been Australia’s favourite annual portrait prize, eagerly anticipated by artists and audiences alike. We are thrilled to be the only Tasmanian venue to host Archie 100. QVMAG is proud to be working collaboratively with the Art Gallery of New South Wales to share the Archibald Prize's rich history with our community."

First awarded in 1921, the Archibald Prize is one of Australia’s oldest and most prestigious art awards. Judged by the trustees of the Art Gallery of NSW and awarded to the best portrait painting, the Archibald Prize exhibition is a who’s who of Australian culture – from politicians to celebrities, cultural icons, sporting heroes to artists.

The touring exhibition will be hosted in the Temporary Exhibition Gallery at the Queen Victoria Museum at Inveresk.

For the latest updates regarding the Archie 100 touring exhibition in Launceston, keep an eye on the QVMAG website and social pages. 

 

Artwork Credit: Left to right: Max Meldrum Self-portrait at 75, Archibald Prize 1949 finalist. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Marshall Bequest Fund 1977 © Estate of Max Meldrum; Wendy Sharpe Self-portrait as Diana of Erskineville, Archibald Prize 1996 winner. Private collection © Wendy Sharpe.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Visions of Australia program.