Fiona Lowry Glenn Murcutt

Fiona Lowry won the 2014 Archibald with a portrait of architect Penelope Seidler.

Lowry’s fifth work in the Archibald features another architect, Glenn Murcutt, whose motto ‘touch the earth lightly’ has seen him design environmentally sensitive, distinctively Australian buildings. In 2002, he was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize – the only Australian to win the highly prestigious honour.

‘I recently had the chance to meet Glenn at a dinner party. I have admired him since I first stood in the Arthur and Yvonne Boyd Education Centre at Riversdale in NSW, which he designed with Wendy Lewin and Reg Lark. The building sits serenely in the landscape and allows you to contemplate the Shoalhaven countryside that Arthur Boyd loved. It was a transformative experience,’ says Lowry.

The artist went to Murcutt’s home in Kempsey, NSW, to work on the painting. ‘We spent the day chatting and wandering around the extensive property, and I understood what a deeply thoughtful person he is.

‘This portrait is of Glenn at his desk. He was describing projects he was working on. He has paused here, waiting for the thought to crystallise into speech.’