Trustees satisfy with choice more cozy than crazy. DEL KATHRYN BARTON won the Archibald Prize yesterday, for a self-portrait with her two children, but her two-year-old daughter, Arella, showed little reverence for her mother's work. When she saw the work hanging among the 40 finalists at the Art Gallery of NSW, she walked past and gave it a thump.

"Only she could get away with that," said Barton, who was also a finalist in last year's competition.

She painted You Are What Is Most Beautiful About Me, A Self Portrait With Kell And Arella, as an expression of love for her children.

The work, destined to hang in Barton's Sydney home, is her most personal yet. It shows the artist as a protective mother, cradling her children between her thighs. A forest full of flowers surrounds their large-eyed faces.

"I feel like I'm revealing something of myself and the two people in the world I care about most," she said. "It's not something I would ever show in a commercial context."

The prize money, which increased this year from $35,000 to $50,000, will go towards Barton's mortgage.

Source: SMH