Archibald Prize 2026: Portrait of Jewish Leader After Bondi Attack Wins People's Choice Award

A portrait of Jewish community leader Alex Ryvchin, painted by Michael Zavros shortly after the Bondi massacre, has claimed the Archibald Prize people's choice award. Zavros received the $5,000 prize, noting his deep respect for Ryvchin's leadership and an uncanny physical resemblance between them. This year saw a record 45,769 votes cast.

The painting was created after the two met at a Sydney beach in early January, just weeks after the Bondi attack. It depicts Ryvchin in the sea wearing a tefillin – a small black leather box containing Torah verses, a significant Jewish religious symbol. Ryvchin said the tefillin connects him to millennia-old traditions and to a friend killed at Bondi, with whom he used to pray using the object. Zavros recently discovered his own Ashkenazi Jewish heritage through a DNA test, a new aspect of his identity he is still exploring.

Richard Lewer won the main $100,000 Archibald Prize for his portrait of artist Iluwanti Ken. The $3,000 packing room prize went to Sean Layh for his portrait of actor Jacob Collins. The Wynne Prize for landscape painting was awarded to Gaypalani Waṉambi, and the Sulman Prize to Lucy Culliton. A record 2,524 entries were submitted across all three prizes. The exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales runs until 16 August, before touring regional Victoria and New South Wales.