Old Collegian painting a finalist in prestigious Archibald Prize

A painting of Old Collegian Callum Linnane (SPC 2008, PY2013) was a finalist in this year’s prestigious Archibald Prize!

Callum was captured in an oil on linen, measuring 41 x 30.5cm, by painter Marcus Wills and the painting has been on show at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

This year’s Archibald Prize was later won Laura Jones with a painting of acclaimed author Tim Winton.

Callum Linnane is also a star on the rise.

Callum joined The Australian Ballet in 2015 and won the Telstra Ballet Dancer of the Year Award the following year. Callum was awarded St Patrick’s College’s Young Achiever Award in 2017 and has since then, quickly risen through the ranks to become a principal artist with the Australian Ballet company in 2022.

This is Marcus Wills’ eighth time in the Archibald Prize, which he won in 2006 with a portrait of sculptor Paul Juraszek.

“I’ve painted several Australian contemporary dancers over the years and decided to take a look at The Australian Ballet’s website. After seeing several photos and short videos featuring Callum, I had the idea for this painting and decided to contact him. Since Callum is originally from Ballarat, I thought that might be a good start as we both hail from regional Victoria,” says Wills in an interview on the Archibald Prize website.

From the start, Wills decided to focus on Linnane’s head.

“I think he has a particularly strong face. In all the paintings I’ve made of dancers – and I’ve made quite a few – they are never actually dancing, though you still get the sense that they are performing.”