Establishing identity: Tim Storrier's The histrionic wayfarer (after Bosch), acrylic on canvas.
Local flavour: John Wood and artist Raelene Sharp in front of her Packing Room Prize-winning work A Strength of Character, at the official opening of the the exhibition at TarraWarra Museum of Art.
THE TarraWarra Museum of Art in Healesville is inviting residents to spend a winter's day in the Yarra Valley with people they may already know.
Portraits by the 41 finalists in this year's Archibald Prize are on show until July 8.
The prize is awarded each year for the best portrait, preferably "of some man or woman distinguished in art, letters, science or politics" by an Australian artist.
This is the second year TarraWarra has exhibited the finalists' works.
There's a strong local flavour. Yarra Glen artist Raelene Sharp's painting of actor and Healesville resident John Wood has won the Packing Room Prize.
While the Archibald Prize has never failed to stimulate debate, controversy loomed yet again this year when Tim Storrier was named the winner for his self-portrait The histrionic wayfarer (after Bosch), which shows a man without a face.
But Storrier believes that identity is made clear by the clothes and the equipment carried.
He has included a drawing of himself in the painting, scribbled on a piece of paper being blown away by the wind.
The prize's founder, Jules Francois Archibald, aimed to foster portraiture through the award and at the same time support artists and perpetuate the memory of great Australians.
The exhibition at TarraWarra Museum of Art, at 311 Healesville-Yarra Glen Road in Healesville, is open 9.30am-5pm, Tuesday to Sunday. Details: 59573100 or twma.com.au/exhibitions.