The devil is always in the details
You could say the devil is in the detail when it comes to this year’s Archibald portrait of Tony Abbott by Simon Fieldhouse — famous for hidden whimsical references.
A suited Abbott is sporting a blue tie (think Julia Gillard’s “men in blue ties” speech) and has rosary beads wrapped around his left hand. In the background are two framed pictures of Sydney University, where Abbott studied economics and law in the 1970s and 80s.
If you look closely, you might just see a mystery man who has been stabbed in the back, stumbling through the sandstone quadrangle — a not-so-subtle nod to Australia’s 28th prime minister, who lived and died by the political sword.
The artwork was commissioned as a gift to St John’s College, where Abbott lived during 1976, for the $100,000 portrait prize often referred to as a “blood sport” in sketchy circles.
How appropriate for the boxing Rhodes scholar. As an old boy who trained for three years as a priest, Abbott was the perfect subject for the Catholic college’s entry.
Coincidentally, Fieldhouse was also studying law at Sydney Uni during the era when activist Abbott earned his nickname “Mad Monk”. Decades before knights and dames, Abbott’s successful campaign for SRC included a promise to replace a portrait of Che Guevara with the Queen and the Pope.
The 63-year-old might need more than a wing and prayer if he wants to win the 2021 Archibald. He’s up against illustrations of veteran journo Kerry O’Brien, the man responsible for Abbott’s broadband confession “I’m not a tech-head”, and Chris “Pineapple” Hopper, the bloke who nearly did a Steven Bradbury into the Rockhampton mayoralty last year (were it not for a last-minute rule change to prevent him taking the job).
O’Brien has been lionised by James Powditch, the artist shortlisted for his musical take on Anthony Albanese last year. The winner will be announced by the Art Gallery of NSW on June 4.
Til death do us art
By Strewth’s draft calculations, Abbott, Scott Morrison and Kevin Rudd are the only prime ministers since Gough Whitlam who haven’t been the subject of an Archibald shortlisted portrait.
Clifton Pugh’s 1972 work of Whitlam took home the top gone, and is now a star attraction on the walls of Parliament House.
Bryan Westwood’s full-length Paul Keating also won in 1992 and Bill Leak’s T-shirt take on Malcolm Turnbull won the People’s Choice in 1994.
There’s a superstition in the art world about doing press before the finalists are announced. Many would rather follow Vincent van Gogh’s lead and cut their own ear off than kybosh their chances with an Instagram post.
Could that be why ScoMo (and Canberra artist Ross Townsend) received the brush off from drop cloth critics last year?
However, it’s not all bad news for Abbott — he’s already a two-time gold medallist in the $7500 Bald Archy Prize. Over the years, he has been caricatured as a ventriloquist doll on George Pell’s knee; framed by a bedpan; and criticised for his “bad hobbits” as Gollum from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.
Unrepresentative swill
“You know, I feel like I’m a Martian in the House of Representatives,” Bob Katter told the Senate inquiry into Christine Holgate’s departure from Australia Post.
peak Bob Katter pic.twitter.com/Nn2V3uzVTl
— Alice Workman (@workmanalice) April 28, 2021
Who’s on first?
Has Anthony Hopkins secured a courtroom drama role down under, following his second Oscars win for The Father?
“Dr Anthony Hopkins has been appointed as a Special Magistrate of the ACT Magistrates Court,” a press release from ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury announced on Wednesday.
We kid — our Dr Hopkins is much younger than the 83-year-old Welsh actor and an ANU associate professor to boot!
But this isn’t the first time Hollywood has rubbed shoulders with the Canberratti. Avid readers would recall Steve Martin’s blink and you’d miss it stint as a senator when Jacqui Lambie was booted for being a Brit. And let’s not forget the 15-year double act of Abbott and Costello (Tony and Peter, of course) on the Liberal lower house benches. BYO bat.
Keep it clean
Pop quiz! How many times did Employment Minister Stuart Robert utter the word “sexy” during his keynote speech to the Financial Review’s Government Summit?
Three (we’ll also accept three times too many).
“Me and my colleagues’ job is to not make government ‘sexy’, but to make government services simple, helpful, respectful and transparent,” Robert claimed.
He obviously didn’t consult fellow cabinet minister David Littleproud, who has been on a mission to make “agriculture sexy again” since 2019.
strewth@theaustralian.com.au
Libs should be-Ware what they say about JWH
Could things get any worse for the Liberals in Hughes? Well, strap in. Diary can reveal that Liberal candidate Jenny Ware once called John Winston Howard ‘out of touch’.
Believe in your selfie, Andrew
Kevin Rudd appears to have met his selfie match in Andrew Charlton.
You could say the devil is in the detail when it comes to this year’s Archibald entry of Tony Abbott. Painted by Sydney artist Simon Fieldhouse — famous for his intricate watercolours with hidden whimsical references — it does not disappoint.