Archibald prize 2026: Jacob Collins portrait wins the Packing Room prize as finalists revealed

A portrait of actor Jacob Collins by Sean Layh has won the favour of Art Gallery of NSW staff, who awarded it the Packing Room prize on Thursday, ahead of the Archibald prize’s main announcement on 8 May. Layh, a self-taught painter who has exhibited in Australia and abroad, said winning the prize for his work – an oil painting titled The tragicall historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke – was “one of the great honours of my professional life”. Based in Melbourne, he said much of his technical skill was forged through visiting the National Gallery of Victoria’s permanent collection. This is the first time he has been a finalist in the Archibald prize. “Sean’s entry was an instant standout for the packing room crew. It’s a dark, complex and beautiful double portrait – a tormented Hamlet portrayed by actor Jacob Collins,” senior installation officer William Newell said. “We couldn’t stop looking a the painting; the work feels alive, as if the exchange between artist, character and actor continues to unfold.” Sean Layh said winning the prize was ‘one of the great honours of my professional life’. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP Collins, formerly Collins-Levy, has appeared in Doctor Who and True History of the Kelly Gang. He played Hamlet in a 2024 production for Melbourne Shakespeare Company, in a performance that inspired the artist. The pair jointly agreed on the title of the portrait, which retains the Elizabethan spelling of the earliest printed editions of the play. …