Artist Jeremy Eden has won the Archibald Prize People’s Choice for his portrait of actor and philanthropist Samuel Johnson.
A record 35,268 gallery participants voted for the 2022 prize, the highest number since the award was first presented in 1988.
Eden said he is delighted to have won the popular vote for the second year in a row as an Archibald finalist.
Artist Jeremy Eden has won the Archibald Prize People’s Choice for his portrait of actor and philanthropist Samuel Johnson
“Life is changing… I just hope I can grow with it and be one of the people here every year,” he told AAP.
Even reaching the final round would mean more commissions, and he hopes Wednesday’s win will lead to representing the gallery.
‘I went from being an up-and-coming artist with nothing to support me, people kind of know who I am, that’s lovely.’
People look at Archibald’s portrait of a finalist at the announcement of the 2022 People’s Choice Archibald Prize winners at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney on Wednesday
The Sydney-born artist first met Johnson in 2021 when the actor was recovering from a near-fatal car crash.
He had a neck brace when they first spoke on a video call, and the pair bonded over their shared experience of losing family members to cancer.
Eden’s mother died of illness in 2008, while Johnson founded the cancer charity Love Your Sister with his sister Connie before she passed away in 2017.
The winning portrait depicts Johnson holding a photo of Annette, Eden’s mother, after the actor encouraged Eden to include his personal story in the portrait.
The Sydney-based artist first met the Secret Life of Us star in 2021 while he was recovering from a near-fatal car accident. (Image: Portrait of Johnson in the Art Gallery of NSW)
The artist flew to Melbourne to sit face-to-face with Johnson, then worked six hours a day for 10 weeks to complete the portrait.
“People have spoken and they love Jeremy the most,” Johnson said in a statement.
‘He’s an extraordinary storyteller, has a big heart and he deserves this recognition in its entirety.’
Johnson (pictured with his sister Hilde Hinton) had his neck splinted when they first spoke on a video call and the pair bonded over their shared experience of losing their family to cancer
The announcement was made at the Art Gallery of NSW on Wednesday.
Love your Sister has raised more than $15 million for cancer research.
The Archibald, Wynne and Sulman awards will be on display at the gallery until August 28, and the Archibald finalists will tour regional Victoria and NSW until July 2023.
Johnson’s Love your Sister charity has raised over $15 million for cancer research
Source: | Dailymail.co.uk
