Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Conversation
The Conversation
Lifestyle
Joanna Mendelssohn, Principal Fellow (Hon), Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne. Editor in Chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, The University of Melbourne

The Archibald 2022 finalists: sitters speaking up to power; artists speaking back to the canon

Archibald Prize 2022 finalist, Yoshio Honjo Yumi Stynes as onna-musha (female samurai), natural earth pigments on hand made washi paper, 97 x 66 cm © the artist, image © AGNSW, Mim Stirling

For those seeking refuge from the election, the 101st Archibald Prize is almost a politician-free zone. Unless you count Joanna Braithwaite’s amusingly titled McManusstan, a portrait of bird lover Sally McManus. Former Labor minister Peter Garrett painted by Anh Do is in the line up – but more accurately described as a rock star.

Braithwaite has painted McManus in a suit that I am guessing she doesn’t own, as it is covered in newspaper stories attacking unions.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.