We acknowledge the Gadigal of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of the Country on which the Art Gallery of NSW stands.

Archibald Prize 1958

Entries: 134 (66 selected)
Exhibition dates: 12 December 1958 to 18 January 1959
Only selected works were exhibited; each artist could submit up to two works

William Pidgeon’s win was seen by some as breaking a monopoly in which one of a small cohort of artists was awarded the prize each year (although Pidgeon himself would go on to win twice more in the next decade).

However, attendances at the exhibition declined severely, which was put down to the changed timing for the exhibition initiated the previous year.