This is a list of finalists for the 2001 Archibald Prize for portraiture (listed is Artist – Title).

Finalists

• Bruce Armstrong – Peter Carey in Kelly country
• Michael Bell – Kingo and Boofhead, Lavendar Bay
• Danelle Bergstrom – The portrait and the painter (John Firth-Smith)
• David Bromley – Long Tom
• Tom Carment – John Gaden – summer portrait
• Brendon Ross Darby – Ian Parmenter
• Julie Dowling – Sister girl – Carol Dowling
• Geoffrey Dyer – The director John Clark
• Martine Emdur – Laughing on the inside – (Peter Berner)
• Paul Fairweather – Exhibitors of exuberance, Mostyn Bramley-Moore: a tribute to Michael Milburn
• Margarita Georgiadis – Excelle – Libbi Gorr
• Guo Hua Cai – Lee Lin Chin
• Robert Hannaford – Richard Maurovic
• Nicholas Harding – John Bell as King Lear (Winner: Archibald Prize 2001)
• Cherry Hood – Matthys
• Bill Leak – Robert Hughes – nothing if not critical
• Kerrie Lester – Contemplating the emperor's new clothes – (Akira Isogawa)
• Mathew Lynn – Hetti Perkins
• Lewis Miller – Self portrait
• Henry Mulholland – Michael Snape
• David Naseby – A blackguard rehearsing – Max Cullen
• Paul Newton – Roy and HG (John Doyle and Greig Pickhaver) (Winner: People's Choice 2001)
• Rodney Pople – Head study – Richard Goodwin
• Sally Robinson – Antony Walker
• Jenny Sages – Jackie and Kerryn
• Michael Snape – Paul Hopmeier and Ron Robertson-Swann
• Kim Spooner – and see the light surrounding you (Daniel Johns)
• Branca Uzur – Tetsuya Wakuda
• John R Walker – Portrait of Tony Bilson
• Greg Warburton – The Public Defender – portrait of John Nicholson S.C.
• Dick Watkins – Adam Cullen