Yvette Coppersmith's Jacinda Ardern-inspired portrait wins prestigious Archibald Art Prize

Jacinda Ardern wasn't available so Archibald Prize winner Yvette Coppersmith painted her own portrait. Photo / Supplied

Melbourne artist Yvette Coppersmith has won Australia's prestigious Archibald Prize for her self-portrait in which she channels Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

"I would like to start by saying I want to channel the original inspiration for this portrait, which was the Right Honourable New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. I think she would have worn this colour," Coppersmith said at a ceremony at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney today.

Coppersmith said she had asked to paint Ardern's portrait.

"Ardern wasn't available but I thought I might channel something of her in my self-portrait,' Coppersmith said.

"I had several reasons for asking Jacinda Ardern, but through her role she expands what an image of a young woman can signify – inspiring others to think beyond any perceived limits of their own image in relation to the contemporary political landscape," the Daily Review reported.

Coppersmith won $A100,000 ($108,000) for her oil and acrylic on linen self-portrait, which was chosen from 794 entries and 57 finalists.

The realist style of Coppersmith's self-portrait was inspired by another Australian artist, George Lambert.

Lambert was himself a winner of the Archibald Prize in 1927.

The Archibald Prize is Australia's most celebrated portraiture prize. The exhibition of finalists is a highly anticipated highlight of the art calendar and often features figures from popular culture and current affairs.

Coppersmith's entry was the fifth painting she has entered in the Archibalds.