Bruno Jean Grasswill wins Packing Room Prize ahead of 2015 Archibald Prize

The Art Gallery of New South Wales announced Bruno Jean Grasswill’s portrait of actor Michael Caton as this year’s Packing Room Prize winner on Thursday.

Now in its 24th year, the $1500 Packing Room Prize was judged by Art Gallery NSW staff.

At the event that summoned art enthusiasts and media, also announced were the finalists of the Archibald Prize, finalists of the Young Archie competition and Wynne & Sulman Prize 2015 finalists.

The portraits by Nigel Milsom and Mitch Cairns are pitted to be frontrunners for this year’s winning entry of $100,000 Archibald Prize.

Media, art community and fan support proved the event to be Australia’s favorite art award, with the Archibald hashtag (#archibald2015) trending on Twitter on Thursday.

Awarded annually to a portraiture that is ‘preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in art, letters, science or politics, painted by any artist resident in Australasia’, this year’s Archibald Prize winner will compete with 46 other art pieces.

Even though the morning buzzed with talks of the Archibald Prize entries, it is saddening to know that in its 94 year history, only a small portion of portraits at the gallery are that of past winners.

The Archibald along with Wynne & Sulman Prize is to be announced on July 17.

By Joseph Rana