Portrait Artist of the Year judges Abdul Abdullah, Bree Pickering, Robert Wellington, and hosts Miranda Tapsell and Luke McGregor. Photo: ABC.
Fifty-four Aussie artists have battled it out in the nation’s biggest live art showdown – and the winner will soon have their creation displayed at the National Portrait Gallery.
Hosted by Miranda Tapsell and Luke McGregor, Portrait Artist of the Year is a new show now airing on ABC iView, inviting artists to create a portrait in just four hours.
Across six heats — each featuring nine artists — a semi-final and a final, artists will create portraits of beloved figures, from the ineffable Maggie Beer AO to pop culture idol Courtney Act, comedian Rhys Nicholson to Yellow Wiggle Tsehay Hawkins. The prize? A commission to create a piece that will hang in the National Portrait Gallery over the summer.
Among the three esteemed judges is National Portrait Gallery Director Bree Pickering, who says the show will crack open the world of art creation to a much wider mainstream audience.
“The fun competition format really pulls the curtain back, and gives people the chance to see not just the result, but the process, how ideas manifest and what it takes to get that onto a canvas,” she says.
All contestants are talented art makers, but not all are professional artists. From baristas to schoolteachers, truck drivers to social media influencers, they come from a diverse range of backgrounds.
But Bree says the time crunch is the great leveller, making it anyone’s competition.
“Four hours is brutal, and they only get one shot. There’s no time for mistakes; they have to go with their gut in the moment,” she says.
“Sometimes something goes wrong, they get in their head, or it’s just not their day. Other times, they adapt their style to something suitable for that high-pressure environment. What results is some amazing work.”
ANU Art Historian and author of Versailles Mirrored, Robert Wellington, who is also a judge, said viewers will begin to understand aspects of the art world that are normally kept behind studio doors.
His background in art history and teaching enables him to analyse the works and share insights into the merits that are otherwise unseen.
“For instance, when a portrait doesn’t look exactly like the sitter, if it’s more impressionistic or even abstract, what are we looking for instead? What sits behind the colours, form and technique? What makes it good?” he says.
“Each sitter brings a special item with them, which artists can choose to incorporate into their work or not. That is even more material to explore with the sitter, and invariably, there are revelations, so the artists and audiences get unique insights into these public figures.”
The show is geared to deliver surprises. For starters, the artists don’t know who their sitter is until they are seated in front of them.
But Robert says the most surprising thing about the show is how touching it is.
“There’s a moment in every episode where the portrait is revealed to the sitter and their reaction is always very moving,” he says.
“There are quite a few tears from us, and I think there will be tears among viewers as well.”
Bree says the prize — a commission for an artwork that will hang in the National Portrait Gallery itself — is a career-defining moment for contestants.
“It’s an opportunity to have their work shown among works by some of our most renowned artists,” she says. “For an artist, it’s a life-changing experience, and we get to watch it all unfold on TV.”
All episodes of Portrait Artist of the Year – including the grand final – are now available to stream on ABC iview, and the winner’s final commission will be on view at the Portrait Gallery from 22 December.
