Jimmy Barnes Portrait Wins Archibald Packing Room Prize

Sydney painter Jamie Preisz' portrait of Jimmy Barnes has won the Archibald Packing Room Prize. 

As ABC reports, the portrait from the first-time finalist, entitled Jimmy (Title Fight), is featured in the 2018 finalists list revealed today, which also features works of notable names such as Courtney Barnett, Mental As Anything's Peter O'Doherty, Guy Pearce, David Wenham and Alison Whyte.

The Packing Room Prize is considered the "layperson's" perspective and the win sees Preisz awarded $1,500. 

(Pic via Art Gallery NSW website)

"Jimmy has never been afraid to stand up and fight; he’s fought for his career, his family and even his life," Priesz said.

"His dad, Jim Swan, was a prize-fighter in Glasgow and that formed part of my inspiration to depict him as a boxer.

"After losing my sister to suicide, I was touched deeply when I saw an interview with Jimmy speaking about his own suicide attempt. To me, he was fighting against the stigma of mental health issues by speaking so publicly about his own struggles, especially to generations of men who don’t feel that having emotional intelligence is a masculine quality.

"The red drapery in the background is a reference to Caravaggio’s Judith Beheading Holofernes, a painting often considered to represent triumph over tyranny. The drapery also suggests backstage – a place Jimmy knows well."

Check out all of this year's finalists here.