Melbourne-based artist Richard Lewer has been awarded the prestigious $100,000 Archibald Prize in 2026 for his striking portrait of Pitjantjatjara Elder and artist Iluwanti Ken. The life-sized artwork, created using pigments on an unprimed canvas, captures Ken's powerful presence.
About Iluwanti Ken
Ken, who is also a finalist in this year's Wynne Prize, works from her studio at Tjala Arts in Amata, located in the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands of South Australia. She is renowned for her large-scale, monochromatic ink drawings depicting mother eagles (Tjukurpa) hunting.
Artist's Connection to Subject
Lewer spoke about his experience painting Ken, describing her as having an "immense, quiet authority." He said, "I spent time with Iluwanti at Tjala Arts in Amata, in the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands of South Australia. Although we have known one another for several years through shared exhibitions, being on Country together deepened my understanding of her presence and the responsibilities she carries."
"In person, Iluwanti is a small woman, but she carries immense, quiet authority. I painted her life-size, so her presence meets the viewer directly. The yellow ochre background holds the intensity of the heat and light we were working in. She loves bright clothing, which feels inseparable from her spirit, and the traces of paint on her arm acknowledge her as a working artist, as if she has just stepped out of the studio."
Exhibition Details
All 59 finalists and winners of the 2026 Archibald Prize will be exhibited from May 9 to August 16 at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The Archibald Prize is awarded annually to the best portrait, "preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in art, letters, science or politics, painted by any artist resident in Australasia."
