Description Hide Description- Show Description+
When two artists enter the 1943 Archibald Prize, a scandal erupts that grips not only the art world, but the nation. A poignant love story with shattering consequences, inspired by real-life events.
'Is that what you want to do? Peer into my soul and capture my flaws, for all to see?'
As World War II draws to a close, Australian society is still deeply conservative. Homosexuality is illegal and the scourge of Modernism is infecting Australian art.
When William Dobell paints a portrait of lover and fellow artist Joshua Smith, he is awarded Australia's most prestigious art prize. However, Dobell's celebration is cut short after a protest is lodged by his competitors, who claim the painting is a caricature. Both artist and sitter soon find themselves in the glare of the spotlight when a court case to determine the matter turns into a public spectacle.
Bill and Joshua's relationship is put under pressure and at risk of being exposed as they are caught in a world where they must choose between love and art- between acceptance and exile.
Author: Kim E Anderson
Trade Paperback Published 4 April 2023 320 pages
"In 1943, artists William (or Bill, as he prefers) Dobell and Joshua Smith are friends and lovers, sharing intimacies at idyllic scenes on Lake Macquarie while working on their art. The Australian art scene is at a crossroads, torn between old-world traditions and new experimental styles found in London and Paris. Bill and Joshua personify these two streams: Joshua and his restrained, overbearing parents, painting in a traditional style, and Bill, freshly back from London with a more bohemian sensibility, carousing in delicatessens run and populated by immigrant communities. When both artists enter the Archibald Prize, they know only one can win, but no one expects the outrage and court battle that ensue. It is here that The Prize gets bogged down in the details of the trial and the book’s pacing flags, as the relationship between the two artists fades into the background of the broader cultural debate. The story is often disjointed as it follows the multiplying characters and motivations, but the cost to both men and the tragedy of lost love at the heart of the novel remain poignant. The Prize is an interesting portrait of Australia in the 1940s, shining a light on changing social mores and an artistic debate that has long since become moot but can be seen repeating through the ages in the cases of artists such as Bill Henson and Casey Jenkins. For fans of Emily Bitto’s The Strays." - Fay Helfenbaum Books+Publishing