Orange Regional Gallery and Museum director Bradley Hammond said more people than usual attended the launch, which coincided with the launch of the Margaret Loy Pula exhibition and saw people mingle between both events.

He said there were many more self-portraits entered in the Archibald last year, including the winning artwork by Yvette Coppersmith.

Before the opening, Mr Hammond said the Archibald exhibition draws a big crowd because people are interested in people and they’re interested in celebrities.

He said even those pieces which aren’t strictly self-portraits reveal a lot about the artist.

“A portrait is always a portrait of the artist even when it’s of someone else. The way the subject is portrayed says a lot about the artist and the way they see people,” he said.

The 2018 Archibald Prize will be on display at the gallery until April 10.