The Bathurst exhibition will feature 38 works, including the winner Del Kath Barton’s hugo, which claimed the $75,000 first prize.

Barton’s entry is a portrait of actor Hugo Weaving. There are plenty of celebrity depictions throughout the exhibition, including Vincent Fantauzzo’s portrait of actress Asher Keddie and Abdul Abdullah’s portait of boxer Anthony Mundine, but there are also plenty of self portraits and other lesser known subjects on display.

Bathurst Regional Art Gallery director Richard Perram is delighted to have the exhibition in the city.

“It’s very exciting for us to have the Archibald Prize back in Bathurst. Last time it was here was 2008 and in that year Del Kathryn Barton also won the Archibald Prize. Every time we have it in Bathurst, Del Kathryn Barton has to win,” he said. 

“That was also the year we had Vincent Fantauzzo’s famous portrait of Heath Ledger and this time we have his beautiful portrait of Asher Keddie.

“There are 38 works here and it is interesting how it shows the whole gamut of portraiture in Australia.”

To complement the Archibald Prize exhibition, a number of other exhibitions featuring portraiture will also be on display.

“We have a film by a young student from Sydney, Kim Ho, which is called The Language of Love. It has now been seen by almost a quarter of a million people around the world,” Mr Perram said.

“We have Deborah Kelly who has done a series of photographs called The Miracles. They are about various families, straight and gay families, and the use of assisted forms of conception.”

There are also displays involving local school children, including The Street Dreams Project, with three-minute videos from six Bathurst students, and the Bathurst School Archies which has 78 entries from 12 schools in the region.