A painting of late actor Heath Ledger is in competition to land a prestigious Australian art prize. The portrait, titled Heath and painted by Ledger's friend Vincent Fantauzzo, is one of 249 entries to date for the Archibald Prize, the winner of which is to be decided on 7 March (08). Ledger, who was found dead in his New York apartment in January (08), signed a form to vouch for the painting's authenticity, but "signed it in the wrong spot", remembers Fantauzzo. The portrait features a bare-chested Ledger with two other whispering versions of the actor on each side of him. It had been hanging on a wall in Fantauzzo's Melbourne, Australia home until he heard the news of Ledger's passing. Fantauzzo says, "I just didn't believe it (that Ledger had died). When you paint someone, you meditate over them. I was painting Heath every day for 10 hours a day."