Above : Lewis Miller. Self portrait. Oil on Belgian linen
The Salon des Refusés was initiated by the S.H. Ervin Gallery in 1992 in response to the large number of works entered in the Archibald Prize that were not selected for display in the official exhibition. The Salon – which takes its name from the renegade French Impressionists of the 1860s who held a breakaway exhibition from the French Academy – is the ‘alternative’ selection to the official Archibald and Wynne Prize selections at the Art Gallery of NSW. This alternative exhibition, (featuring portraits that didn’t make the final cut at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, has become a much loved exhibition amongst the Sydney arts community.
In 2025, 54 works were selected for the ‘alternative’ exhibition, with 32 from the Archibald Prize & 22 from the Wynne Prize by selectors Katrina Cashman, manager, National Art School Gallery & Jane Watters, director, S.H. Ervin Gallery.
The Salon des Refusés follows the tradition made famous by Napoleon lll in Paris who insisted that the huge number of works which had been rejected by the Academy for that year’s Salon, be displayed for the public to view and judge. The first Salon des Refusés included works by Manet and Pissarro.
Identically to the set-up at the Art Gallery Of New South Wales, visitors to the annual Salon des Refusés exhibition can vote for their favourite artwork in theHolding Redlich People’s Choice Award, the winner of this much anticipated award will be announced on Thursday 24th July.
I visited the exhibition during last week and was very impressed. I did wonder why some of the paintings did not make the finals.
Definitely an exhibition worth seeing. The Gallery is set in a National Trust building, and has the added advantage of having a quaint cafe on site which has been run by the same lady for the last 49 years. Now in her early eighties, and still looking very sprightly, she advised that she has no intention of retiring!
The Gallery is open Tuesdays to Sundays between 11am and 5pm.
The current exhibition will run till the 27th July 2025.
www.shervingallery@nationaltrust.com.au
