Australian artist faces imitation claims at two art
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- The National Portrait Gallery confirmed its art handlers noted Jane Allan's 2022 Darling portrait prize finalist work "Weight of the Mind's Periapt" was "clearly influenced" by Jean-Michel Basquiat's 1982 piece "Untitled (Two Heads on Gold)," which depicts two robot-like figures with spiky hair and spindly arms.
- The Doyles art award committee said Allan's winning landscape painting "Seaside Explorers" appears to be "an imitation" of the late Nicholas Harding's "Two Estuary Figures," with both works sharing impasto technique and brush stroke patterns in nearly identical beach-scene compositions.
- Gold Coast councillor Glenn Tozer told the ABC the Doyles committee had contacted Allan and lawyers were discussing possible recovery of the $20,000 prize money, nearly a year after the award was given — the committee said it was "taking this seriously" and pledged to investigate making the voluntary judging process more robust.
- Allan's Basquiat-influenced painting won the $2,000 Art Handler's award at the Darling portrait prize, and her artist notes described the work as a portrait of her "inspirational primary carer, Warren" who cared for her after a truck accident caused a spinal cord injury.
- The Doyles committee described the situation as "a threat from within our own art community" in a Facebook post, expressing anger that "no one noticed for a full year," while Harding — a nine-time Wynne prize finalist and Archibald prize winner — died in 2022.
Why it matters: For a small, voluntary-run regional art prize, the Doyles committee now faces the prospect of clawing back $20,000 in prize money from a winner it calls an insider threat, while the National Portrait Gallery has acknowledged its handlers flagged Basquiat-style influence in 2022 yet still awarded Allan. The case is forcing two prize bodies to publicly defend their judging integrity and may tighten how originality is verified at Australian portrait and landscape competitions.
