Archibald Prize 1997
Entries: 486 (31 selected)
Sponsor: Colonial Group
Exhibition dates: 22 March to 11 May 1997
Only selected works were exhibited; each artist could submit up to two works
While Nigel Thomson was awarded the Archibald, it was the runner up, Mathew Lynn, who won the People’s Choice.
This year, in addition to the annual official Salon des Refusés at the SH Ervin Gallery, a group of artists organised an exhibition of ‘Real Refusés’ to protest against the predominance of established regulars in the Archibald exhibition.
Winner: Packing Room Prize 1997
Bill Leak Tex (Perkins)
Winner: People's Choice 1997 Highly commended
Mathew Lynn Jeanne Ryckmans
- Rick Amor - Peter Carey at the VACB Studio, Soho, New York
- Tom Carment - Roger McDonald at work
- Judy Cassab - Elwyn Lynn
- Peter Churcher - Portrait of John S Levi, first Australian-born rabbi
- Fred Cress - David Williamson
- Adam Cullen - Portrait of Mikey Robins
- Elisabeth Cummings - Jean Appleton
- Merilyn Fairskye - Jackie 2
- Joe Furlonger - Self-portrait with model
- George Gittoes - John Olsen
- Robert Hannaford - Paul Davies
- Nicholas Harding - Portrait of Kevin Connor
- Bill Leak - Tex (Perkins) (Winner: Packing Room Prize 1997)
- Kerrie Lester - Janet Vernon in reflection
- Mathew Lynn - Jeanne Ryckmans (Winner: People's Choice 1997 Highly commended)
- Jocelyn Maughan - Dr John Yu
- Lewis Miller - Portrait of Allan Mitelman II
- Henry Mulholland - Dr Peter Elliott
- Paul Newton - Kate and Barbie (a portrait of Kate Fischer)
- Rodney Pople - (Galbraith)
- Jenny Sages - Greg Weight making a portrait of Tom Bass
- Timothy Schultz - Odalisque - portrait of Wendy Sharpe
- Martin Sharp - Tiny Tim, eternal troubadour
- Garry Shead - Carpe(t) Diem - Adam Rish
- Jiawei Shen - Seven self-portraits (Highly commended)
- Kim Spooner - (Barrie Kosky) Expecting each moment to be his next
- Nigel Thomson - Barbara Blackman (Winner: Archibald Prize 1997)
- Imants Tillers - Portrait of a chancellor (UTS)
- Greg Warburton - Genni Batterham OAM
- Dick Watkins - Des O'Brien
- Salvatore Zofrea - Summer of the seventeenth doll opera