Archibald Prize Finalist – Portrait of Cortnee Vine
Owers’ portrait of Matilda’s star Cortnee Vine announced as 2024 Archibald Prize finalist.
Tim Owers recently had the honour of working with Cortnee Vine to create a painted portrait of the Matildas legend. It was announced today that the portrait, titled On the bench and on the cusp (portrait of Cortnee Vine), has been selected as a finalist in the 2024 Archibald Prize. The Archibald Prize is an annual competition for portraiture held by Sydney’s Art Gallery of NSW.
Tim’s concept for the work revolves around the Australia v. France quarterfinal during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, where Cortnee secured the team’s victory in a history-making penalty shoot-out. Cortnee began this game on the sidelines and was not expecting to be involved in the match. However, after 104 minutes on the bench, she was brought out onto the field and before long her life had been completely transformed.
“In conversation with Cortnee, she described the immediate impact this game had on her life. There was a tidal wave of attention that came in the form of media, advertising and new professional opportunities. But she also could no longer go to the shops, the beach or the cafe without being recognised. To me, the bench became a symbol of change – like a threshold or a cusp. I was interested in exploring how both her professional and personal life changed the moment she came off the bench.”
Cortnee visited Tim’s studio on the NSW Central Coast earlier in the year, where she sat for a number of drawings and the early stages of the oil painting. He asked her to sit on the garden bench at his studio for 104 minutes, where he captured her gazing out in anticipation, and perhaps in reflection too.
The Archibald Prize is on display at the Art Gallery of NSW from the 8th of June until the 8th of September, 2024. Please visit the Art Gallery of NSW website for more details and to view the complete list of finalists from this year’s competition.
