King Street Gallery on William is thrilled to announce our finalists in the Archibald Prize 2025 and Wynne Prize 2025:
PETER WEGNER
Finalist | 2025 Archibald Prize
The $100,000 Archibald Prize is awarded to the best portrait ‘preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in art, letters, science or politics, painted by any artist resident in Australasia during the 12 months preceding the date fixed by the Trustees for sending in the pictures’.
Archibald Finalists are also eligible for the ANZ People’s Choice award. Entries close on 27 July.
Peter’s Artist Statement:
Sue Chrysanthou is a Sydney defamation barrister; a high-profile, formidable lawyer who has represented a number of prominent clients, gaining a reputation in her own right.
‘I recently watched a livestream of Sue in a defamation case and it was at that moment that l considered painting her portrait,’ says Peter Wegner, who won the 2021 Archibald Prize for his portrait of artist Guy Warren. ‘I was impressed by her energy and the complex ritual of her questioning.
‘I also warmed to the fact that she doesn’t wear make-up, never combs her hair, never wears jewellery (except for a bracelet given to her by her four children) and is not on social media. In a world dominated by social expectations, l found these qualities refreshing.
‘I was interested in trying to capture a certain casualness through the mark-making and fluidness of the paint. The painting reflects a professional moment, but I hope that Sue’s sideways glance takes the portrait beyond a senior counsel. In that time capsule, there is also a parent, pet owner, beekeeper, wildlife carer and alleged amateur breakdancer, with a huge enthusiasm for life.
LUCY CULLITON
Finalist | 2025 Wynne Prize
The $50,000 Wynne Prize is judged by the trustees of the Art Gallery and is awarded to the best landscape painting of Australian scenery or figurative sculpture.
Lucy’s Artist Statement:
The landscape along Cambalong Creek in Gunningrah, a property in the Monaro region of NSW, has been a recurring subject in Lucy Culliton’s paintings over the past ten years. The property belongs to her friend Charlie Maslin, a regenerative farmer who was also the subject of an Archibald Prize entry by Culliton in 2020.
Of the property, she says, ‘Livestock are rotated in cell paddocks so the grass has long breaks from the wear and tear of animals. Charlie has built leaky weirs on the creek so large ponds hold water longer in dry times. Grasses and reeds grow along the edges of the banks so erosion isn’t an issue. All good farming practices, in my mind’.
A nine-time Wynne Prize finalist, Culliton takes an expansive view of the undulating landscape but also dwells in detail on blades of grass and dimpled clouds. Based on a smaller study painted en plein air (outdoors), the full-scale painting is electrified by blue sky, reflected on the surface of Cambalong Creek
Wendy SHARPE was also featured in the this years Archibald Prize as the subject of Lucila Zetner’s finalist portrait titled ‘Wendy in the gallery’, 2025! Please see the image attached below. For more information, see the AGNSW website.
And finally, JUMAADI was selected as a Guest Judge of the 2025 Young Archie Prize, and below we have included some of our staff favourites from the installation at AGNSW.
