Jonathan Dalton Angela

Jonathan Dalton has painted fellow artist Angela Tiatia, a former finalist in the Archibald and Sulman Prizes and former Sulman judge. Dalton says: ‘I first became aware of Angela from her beautiful self-portrait in the 2018 Archibald Prize. It was such a striking image and full of the wry invention I’ve come to associate with her work. We later spoke at length about the nature of the private self versus the public image and I proposed a portrait to that effect, although she’s since joked she only said yes because she liked my Irish accent.

‘Angela is holding a photograph of herself in classic model pose, a direct reference to that idea. I sought out the “peacock” chair as a further nod to how we present ourselves to the world, as it served as a quasi-throne. I painted the portrait at the height of the bushfires, referenced by the spilt water, fallen flowers and vase. The studio was often filled with smoke.’

Dalton was born in Dublin in 1977 and moved to Australia from Spain in 2013. This is his fourth consecutive year as an Archibald Prize finalist.