THE ARCHIBALD FRAUD

Unrecognised artists, it's time you know the truth. You have next to no chance of becoming a finalist in The Archibald Portrait Prize and you are wasting your time and money not to mention your hopes and aspirations. 

As usual, the 40 odd finalists came from the most successful practicing artists in Australia. 

This year, adding insult to injury, a finalist selected was a letter titled Dear Trustees (self-portrait) by artist Michael Linderman. (See attached image.) In a teenagers scrawl he implores the Trustees to select his work.

“Dear Trustees, How are you? I know you are a bit busy at present but I’m just wondering if you would consider selecting my portrait for the Archibald this year?”

He goes on with supplications, “Oh yeh, I could even pay my HECS debt, gee that really got away on me.”

The correspondence concludes with a rough sketch of himself!

Yes, Michael Lindeman is one of Sydney’s top artists having had many solo exhibitions, awards and in major collections. 

How can the Trustees describe this as a worthy entry and why are they promoting the most successful artists, rather than encouraging new and emerging ones. 

Although the will of J.F .Archibald dated 15 March 1916 stipulated  works to be “painted,”  in 2004 Craig Ruddy won with a work in charcoal and graphite. Last year the trustees accepted a work of stencil artist Luke Cornish’s portrait of Father Bob Maguire, done with aerosol sprays and 30 stencil cut-outs. With Michael Lineman's entry, the definition of “painted” has been tested yet again, this time to the ridiculous!!

Trustees, PLEASE EXPLAIN!! We all know that art is much a matter of opinion so that one mans masterpiece is another mans rubbish. But what are the criteria for judging such a prestigious competition? Are the vast number of hopeful artists wasting their time and money if they submit works?

Here is my question. Do the Trustees of the Art Gallery of NSW have a vested interest in promoting this countries most successful practicing artists on behalf of the many private galleries around the country, (perhaps with some bias as the majority of finalists are NSW artists). After all unless the public become familiar with their work the business of selling art would not be nearly as profitable.