This is a list of finalists for the 1986 Archibald Prize for portraiture, listed by Artist and Title.[1] As the images are copyright, an external link to an image has been listed where available.
| Artist | Title | Subject | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Margaret Ackland | Beth Mayne | |||
| Davida Allen | Dr John Arthur McKelvie Shera | https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/prizes/archibald/1986/14517/ Winner: Archibald Prize 1986 | ||
| Naomi Berns | David Williamson (Playwright/Author) | |||
| Jonathan Bowden | Portrait of Robert Stonjek, Unpublished Poet | |||
| John Caldwell | John Brackenreg | |||
| Fred Cress | David Armstrong | |||
| William Dargie | Tony Rafty The Caricaturist | |||
| Robert Eadie | Portrait of Alex Trompf with Pauline Webber | |||
| David Fairbairn | Three portraits of WCF | my father | ||
| John Gillham | Vermeer, Van Meegeren and Van den Berg: portrait of Yelle | https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/prizes/archibald/1986/16043/ | ||
| Leeka Gruzdeff | Rita Hunter | https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/prizes/archibald/1986/16221/ | ||
| Christine Hiller | Homage to Van Gogh: self-portrait with peasants | |||
| Frank Hodgkinson | Donald Friend | |||
| Keith Looby | John Bloomfield's Arta Eaten | |||
| Vladas Meskenas | Desiderius Orban | |||
| Robert Morris | Ian Smith, artist and self-portrait 1986 | |||
| Aileen Rogers | Richard Mackay | |||
| Victor Rubin | Auto-mask | https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/prizes/archibald/1986/18398/ | ||
| Garry Shead | Martin Sharp | |||
| Eric John Smith | Richard Hall, Author and Journalist | |||
| Ian Smith | Portrait of Ray Hughes from life | with unreliable photography | ||
| Joshua Smith | Professor Fred Rost | |||
| Nigel Thomson | Kate Grenville | Writer/ Mother | ||
| Wes Walters | Portrait of William J. Hughes | |||
| Michael Winters | Urban forms, primitive forms and Jim McClelland | https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/prizes/archibald/1986/19348/ | ||
| Salvatore Zofrea | Eileen Chanin 1986 |