Ahead of the winner's announcement on Friday, 59 finalists have been on public display at the Art Gallery of NSW, with various critics weighing in.
"It's no surprise that the Archibald Prize is once again a chaotic collection of disparate pictures varying spectacularly in style as well as in quality," wrote The Australian's Christopher Allen.
The annual $100,000 contest has gone for sensation and controversy that will attract a mass audience, with too many works painted from photographs, he argued.
Critic John McDonald believes the award has put too much store in inclusivity rather than quality, with the Archibald treated as light entertainment.
"The result is outstandingly mediocre, a sideshow rather than an art show," he wrote.
And that's just their take on the finalists; the winner will ultimately be chosen from a crop of more than 1000 entries vying for Australia's premier portrait prize.
The portrait competition has been running for more than a century, and as has become tradition, a long list of famous Australians have posed as subjects for the 2026 edition.
They include Governor-General Sam Mostyn and actors Marta Dusseldorp, Susie Porter and Sheridan Harbridge.
There's also musician Mick Turner, surfer Layne Beachley, fashion designers Nicky and Simone Zimmermann, and Alemais founder Lesleigh Jermanus.
Artist Sean Layh has already won the $3000 Packing Room Prize with his portrait of actor Jacob Collins as Hamlet.
The winners and finalists in all prizes will be on show at the Art Gallery of NSW until August 16 before touring regional NSW and Victoria.
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