As it happened: Laura Jones wins Archibald Prize with portrait of author Tim Winton

Laura Jones has won the Archibald Prize with a portrait of Tim Winton.

Laura Jones’ Archibald Prize-winning painting ‘Tim Winton’.

Thanks for joining us for the 2024 Sulman, Wynne and Archibald prizes.

About six per cent of you, dear readers, tipped the Archibald winner in our poll. The portrait with the most votes was Angus McDonald’s painting of Professor Marcia Langton AO, followed by the Packing Room Prize winner – a portrait of rapper Baker Boy, by street artist Matt Adnate.

Laura Jones (right) was also a subject this year, in finalist Daniel Kim’s ‘Blue jeans and flowers’.

Archibald winner Laura Jones noted in her acceptance speech that she was only the 12th woman to win the prize that has been running for more than 100 years. This year, men still dominated the finalist field across the three prizes.

If you’re keen to see the paintings in person, the exhibition featuring artworks by the three art prize finalists opens at the Art Gallery of NSW on June 8 and continues until September 8.

It will then tour regional NSW and the Northern Territory.

Until next year, thanks for sharing the event with us.

“This is such an incredible thrill, I never expected to be the winner of the Archibald Prize,” Laura Jones said in accepting the prize for her portrait of author and environmental campaigner Tim Winton.

Laura Jones has won the Archibald Prize with a portrait of Tim Winton.Credit: Janie Barrett

“I was shocked I won the Archibald,” the Sydney-based artist, 42, said. “As a little girl in Kurrajong, I dreamt of winning the Archibald.

“I’m only the 12th woman to win the Archibald. I hope this inspires more young girls to paint … The Great Barrier Reef was the reason I met Tim … He rang me this morning to say he thought he looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, and he does. We do.”

Jones was a finalist last year with her portrait of actor Claudia Karvan: ‘Claudia (the GOAT)’.

Laura Jones has won the Archibald Prize with a portrait of Tim Winton.

Laura Jones’ Archibald Prize-winning painting ‘Tim Winton’.

Djakaŋu Yunupiŋu has won the $50,000 Wynne Prize with her work Nyalala gurmilili, made with natural pigments on bark.

Djakangu Yunupingu’s Nyalala gurmilili has won the 2004 Wynne Prize.

Naomi Kantjuriny has won the $40,000 Sulman Prize for her work Minyma mamu tjuta.

Naomi Kantjuriny’s ‘Minyma mamu tjuta’ has won the Sulman Prize.

Kantjuriny was unable to attend the ceremony in person.

She is a respected community elder and a leading presence at Tjala Arts in Amata on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY Lands), South Australia, where she has worked since 2001, according to information from the Art Gallery of NSW.

In this work, Minyma mamu tjuta, she depicts mamu (good and bad spirits). Mamu are mainly harmful – evil spirits, monsters or an illness. They come in different forms and with varying powers. They can also be good spirits, helping and looking after people, according to information from the gallery.

Winners of the Wynne, Sulman and Archibald prizes are due to be announced from noon. Watch it live here.

Trying to figure out the winner from where each work is placed is an annual – and generally fruitless – Archibald party game as we wait for the big announcement.

However, for what it’s worth, the five paintings behind the podium this year are by Thom Roberts (Ken Done), Mia Boe (Tony Armstrong), Paul de Zubicaray (Jaguar Jonze), Caroline Zilinsky (Jacob Elordi), Tim Owers (Cortnee Vine) and Natasha Bieniek (self-portrait).

We are now - to borrow the words of Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda in “the room where it happens”.

We have officialdom and media present and a smattering of artists in the room.

Refugee Mostafa Azimitabar (left) is a finalist with his portrait of Angus McDonald, also a finalist for his portrait of Marcia Langton.Credit: Helen Pitt

We’ve spied Digby Webster, an Archibald finalist, and the duo of Angus McDonald who has painted Indigenous academic Marcia Langton and his friend Mostafa Azimitabar, a former refugee who is a finalist with his portrait of McDonald.

The Art Gallery of NSW is sprucing itself up in readiness for one of the biggest events on its calendar, the launch party tonight for the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prize exhibition, which opens tomorrow.

An art gallery volunteer preps the roses for tonight.Credit: Helen Pitt

An art gallery volunteer is prepping some of the 120 long-stemmed Pink Floyd roses that have been flown in from Venezuela, for tonight’s VIP opening night party.

The roses will be distributed in the pools outside the Art Gallery of NSW, to welcome artists and their families, the sitters and other guests from the Australian art world.

The very best portraits go far beyond being merely a visual representation of the sitter, and on that basis alone, Jaq Grantford’s portrait of Ed Le Brocq may well have caught the judges’ eye this year.

Jaq Grantford’s ‘Ed Le Brocq: I am a centaur’.

Ed is a remarkable bloke. Formerly known as Emma Ayres, a musician, ABC broadcaster, adventurer and author, Ed transitioned in 2016 and asked Jaq to paint him as a centaur, a magical being that symbolises his journey. The result is stunning.

Grantford’s ‘Through the Window’, a portrait of Noni Hazlehurst, was the people’s choice in 2023.

Jaq was last year’s People’s Choice winner with her portrait of Noni Hazlehurst, and in 2022 won the Darling Portrait Prize with a whimsical yet touching self-portrait. This could be her year.

Darling Portrait Prize winner Jaq Grantford with her self-portrait in 2022.Credit: Terry Cunningham