Overview
- The Doyles committee says Jane Allan’s 2025 winning work Seaside Explorers is an imitation of Nicholas Harding’s 2011 Two Estuary Figures and the painting has been taken off public display.
- Organisers have contacted Allan and are consulting lawyers about whether they can reclaim the A$20,000 prize and whether to change last year’s placings.
- The Harding estate expressed disappointment and called the case a reminder of the need for stronger provenance checks and respect for artists’ intellectual property.
- Separate reporting this week has raised a fresh allegation that Allan’s 2022 portrait Weight of the Mind’s Periapt closely resembles a 1982 Jean‑Michel Basquiat work, prompting calls for the National Portrait Gallery to review the earlier prize decision.
- The volunteer-run Doyles committee says it will tighten entry rules and explore reverse-image searches and other screening technology to detect copies before judging and display.