Think you have strong opinions about the 2026 Archibald prize? Check out the portraits that didn’t make the cut (opens in new tab)

The judges’ selections are, as always, bonkers – but there’s something beautifully daggy about the whole thing tooThe public loves to love it. The critics love to hate it. Journalists accept it as an historical inevitability. The Archibald prize, the face that stops the nation.Every year, I have the same WhatsApp chats with fellow arts writers: who we think will win, who we wish would win; snaps of the abominations, cry-laughing and face-melting emojis; haggling about whether this is in fact ...