Wee Waa High graduate Julie Fragar wins Australia’s prestigious Archibald Prize

Wee Waa High School graduate Julie Fragar has won Australia’s most prestigious art prize for her portrait of fellow artist and colleague Justene Williams, titled Flagship Mother Multiverse (Justene), which depicts Williams as an ‘active master of a multiverse of characters and events’.

The Narrabri Shire has been bursting with pride since Julie was announced as the winner of the 2025 Archibald Prize on Friday.

“Another amazing former student from Wee Waa High School,” said former teacher and principal Peter Carrett.

“Julie showed great ability and aptitude for art at school.

“Her teachers would be very proud of their former student.

“Just goes to show that you can grow up anywhere and still reach the top of the tree in your chosen profession.”

The number four proved to be a charm for Julie, with the four-time Archibald Prize finalist breaking into tears when Art Gallery of NSW director Maud Page phoned her to deliver the incredible and life-changing news that her painting had been selected as the winner from 57 finalist works.

As well as the iconic and deserving art accolades that come with being the Archibald prize winner, she also receives $100,000.

Responding to the announcement through a AGNSW statement, Julie said: “You work your whole career imagining this might happen one day.

“Thinking back to myself as a 17 year old showing up at the Sydney College of the Arts – a kid from country NSW – it’s incredible to think I have won the Archibald Prize.

“Portrait painting wasn’t taken as seriously in the 1990s as it is today.

“I have always regarded the Archibald Prize as a place that understood the value of portraiture.

‘To be the winner of the Archibald Prize is a point of validation.

“It means so much to have the respect of my colleagues at the Art Gallery. It doesn’t get better than that.”

Speaking of her sitter, she said: “Justene is incredible. I feel very fortunate that she allowed me to do this portrait. There is nobody like her. The work is a reflection on the experience of making art to deadlines, and the labour and love of being a mother.”

‘Flagship Mother’ in the title comes from Justene’s recent endurance performance in New Zealand titled Making do rhymes with poo, which was about the labour of ‘getting by’, stated the media release.

Julie and Justene work together at the Queensland College of Art and Design, where Fragar is the head of painting and Williams is the head of sculpture.

This is the 15th time the Archibald Prize has been awarded to a woman, and Fragar is the 13th woman to win since its inception in 1921.

Speaking of the winning work, Art Gallery director Maud Page said: “Here are two of Australia’s great artists in conversation about what matters most to them.

“Julie Fragar has a sumptuous ability to transcend reality and depict her subjects technically but also psychologically.

“Justene Williams is a larger-than-life character, a performer – cacophonous and joyous.

“In this work, she is surrounded by her own artworks and, most important of all, her daughter Honore as a tiny figure atop a sculpture.

“It speaks to me as a powerful rendition of the juggle some of us perform as mothers and professionals.”

The Archibald Prize and the Wynne Prize winners are decided by the Art Gallery’s Board of Trustees.

Board president Michael Rose congratulated all the finalists in the 2025 Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes and commended the high standard of work this year.

“Julie Fragar’s work is a portrait for our time. It’s a highly accomplished formal painting that is also incredibly contemporary.

“The work is vibrant, outward-facing and optimistic, and we were captivated by its energy,” said Mr Rose.

In a previous article featured in the Wee Waa News/The Courier and a WWHS newsletter in 2020, Julie said spending long hours in the WWHS art room collaborating with her friend and classmate, Phoebe Powell remains one of her happiest high school memories.

“I could not overstate the impact that growing up in Wee Waa and going to Wee Waa High School has had on my life,” she said.

Julie’s parents (Tim and Sue) still live in Wee Waa, having moved from the Central Coast when Julie and her brother, Ben were quite young, said the 2020 newsletter.

“We had a great childhood. It was one of horses, motorbikes and lots of hours exploring the bush. I’m very grateful for that. My parents are pretty courageous people and I’ve always had a lot of respect for what a bold move that was. I think my brother and I benefited a lot because of it.

“Growing up in Wee Waa taught me how to relate to an incredibly broad range of people. In a small town there are not enough people to section yourself off to only people whose values and background are exactly like yours.”

At high school, Julie’s love of art and English was further cultivated by her two favourite teachers, Jacqui Harrison and Wayne Eade, Julie recalls Wee Waa High being ‘a good school with lots of really dedicated, smart and valuable teachers.’

“From about Year 10 I spent a lot of time daydreaming about the next chapter of my life beyond high school. That said, my favourite part of high school was the art room where I could get lost in making things,” she said.

Graduating in Year 12 in 1994, as a result of her dedication and determination, Julie was offered and accepted a place at Sydney College of the Arts (SCA), University of Sydney.

“It was a competitive process to get in to SCA, but I think they liked that I was from a small country town and genuinely wanted to be there. It was a challenge at first, but very quickly I grew to love art school and Sydney.”