And the Winner is…
Posted: April 16th, 2011 | Author: Verity Penfold | Filed under: Art News, Artist, Ben Quilty, Painter | Tags: 2011, Archibald Prize, Ben Quilty, Margaret Olley | Comments Off
Sydney: A portrait of the celebrated painter and one-time Dobell muse Margaret Olley by the artist Ben Quilty has won the $50,000 Archibald Prize. Quilty’s work was chosen from more than 800 entries and 41 finalists to win the coveted portrait prize, now in its 90th year.
The 88-year-old doyenne of Australian art, who was also the subject of an Archibald winner by William Dobell in 1948, said: “Ben’s been wanting to paint me for years. But I kept on saying no.
Born in Sydney in 1973, Quilty was named runner-up in the 2009 Archibald and has been a finalist six times.
He embraced Olley after he was awarded the prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney. Quilty said he first met the elderly artist when she was a guest judge for the 2002 Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship, which he won.
