Richard Lewer has won the 2026 Archibald Prize for his portrait of Iluwanti Ken, a Pitjantjatjara artist, elder and ngangkari (traditional healer). Announced on 8 May by the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the $100,000 award places Lewer among the most prominent recipients of Australia’s longstanding portraiture prize.
Born in New Zealand and based in Melbourne, Lewer spent a week with Ken, her family and community at Tjala Arts in Amata, on the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands of South Australia. Rather than treating portraiture as an encounter confined to the studio, the process developed through time spent together on Country.
“Being on Country together deepened my understanding of her presence and the responsibilities she carries,” Lewer wrote in an artist statement.
The portrait presents Ken as a working artist, bringing attention to a practice that includes large-scale, monochromatic ink drawings of Tjilpul (eagles). Lewer has spoken of his desire to make her work and presence better known, describing the opportunity to paint her as a privilege.
The win is also significant within the Archibald Prize’s history: Ken becomes the fifth First Nations sitter to feature in a winning portrait. In a prize often shaped by the public visibility of its subjects, Lewer’s portrait foregrounds an artist whose own practice and cultural responsibilities extend well beyond the frame.
