Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) head packer, Steve Peters will pack his bags and head into retirement at the end of the year but not before one last deciding vote for the Archibald’s Packing Room Prize. For 35 years Peters has maintained that the prize should be awarded to a portrait, “that’s good and looks just like the sitter” – and that’s just what by Central Coast artist Peter Smeeth delivered with his portrait of journalist and television personality Lisa Wilkinson AM.
“I looked at the painting and thought, that’s a great likeness. It’s how Lisa looks every morning on the telly. She looks like she’s laughing at something Karl said!” Peters said.
“Mind you, Lisa’s been in the wars recently, so I reckon the safest place for her to stay for a while is right on that couch – just like me in my comfy chair in my portrait by Lucy Culliton. That’s where I intend to spend lots of time too in the coming weeks,” Peters added.
Peter Smeeth, Lisa Wilkinson AM, oil on linen, 100 x 150cm © the artist. Photograph: Felicity Jenkins, AGNSW
Artist Peter Smeeth is a regular entrant to the Archibald Prize, submitting work for the past 34 years; becoming a three-time finalist as well as the winner of the Sulman Prize in 2011.
“I’ve always said g’day to Peter when he’s delivered his works to the Gallery. There should be more artists like him in the world,” Peters said.
Hearing he had won the Packing Room Prize was a bittersweet moment for the artist. “I so wanted to be at the Gallery to enjoy the fun. As fate would have it, my best friend’s funeral is also at 11am today, so I will be in Yass delivering the Eulogy. But I’d like to acknowledge Lisa’s contribution and sincerely thank her for agreeing to sit and for being such a good sport and a great subject,” Smeeth said.
“I thought I had a chance to win the Packing Room Prize with Fitzy – Peter FitzSimons – in 2010 but Steve went a bit arty that year and gave it to Nafisa Naomi’s portrait of Glen A Baker. Now, just as he seems to be getting better at judging, Steve is giving the game away!” he added.
Wilkson said she was thrilled to hear of Smeeth’s win, and humbled that she was the subject of his work; “I love the Art Gallery of New South Wales, adore the Archibald and as a big fan of portraiture I was taken with Peter’s portrayal. He got me.”
“Appearing on television every weekday morning makes Lisa one of the most recognisable people in Australia and an obvious choice for the Archibald Prize. Being such a high achiever and a great role model for women adds to her appeal as a subject,” says Smeeth. “Television brings its subjects into your living room – and here, I have done that literally as if Lisa is in the viewer’s space. Three important things in Lisa’s life are her family, television presenting and print journalism so I have placed her between a television and a magazine, while her family members are reflected on the screen. I wanted to convey the idea that when Lisa is not on television, her family is her focus.”
The $1,500 Packing Room Prize is awarded to the best entry in the Archibald Prize as judged by the Gallery staff who receive, unpack and hang the entries. In 2018 the mantle will be handed to installation officer Brett Cuthbertson who replaces Peters as head packer.
