Updated April 30, 2026 — 3:02pm , first published 11:35am

A series of pivotal moments paved the way for Melbourne artist Sean Layh’s Packing Room Prize win on Thursday with a brooding, epically staged portrait of British-Australian actor Jacob Collins performing Hamlet .

The self-taught artist was 18 years old when he first encountered Paul Newton’s portrait of comedians Roy and H.G. at the Art Gallery of NSW, where it was a finalist for the 2001 Archibald Prize.

Winning artist of the Archibald Packing Room Prize 2026, Sean Layh, with his work, an in-performance portrait of actor Jacob Collins as Hamlet. Steven Siewert

“That really instructed me on what representational painting could be for an artist like myself who has a bit more of a traditional bent to his work,” he recounts. “It won the Packing Room Prize and the People’s Choice that year.…