Archibald Prize runner-up Nigel Thomas Milsom guilty of armed robbery Artist Nigel Milsom is pictured leaving Downing Centre Courts in Sydney. Picture: Tim Hunter Source: The Sunday Telegraph A RESPECTED Sydney artist robbed a convenience store armed with an axe three weeks after winning one of Australia's most prestigious art prizes. Nigel Thomas Milsom, runner-up in the 2012 Archibald Prize and the winner of the $30,000 Sulman Prize, held-up the 7-Eleven store on Glebe Point Rd, Glebe, in the early hours of April 18, 2012. Milsom, 37, and his accomplice, James Eric Simon, 28, threatened to kill the shop assistant, holding him prisoner in the storeroom. Milsom admitted to his role in the robbery and pleaded guilty to robbery armed with an offensive weapon and wounding in the Downing Centre District Court on Friday. Simon will be sentenced for his role in the robbery next month. The incident marks a fall from grace for Milsom whose work has adorned the walls of the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Art Gallery of NSW. Three weeks before the robbery he won the Sulman Prize with his work, Judo House pt 4 (Golden Mud). His portrait of art dealer Kerry Crowley was a finalist in that year's Archibald Prize. Milsom and Simon stole $644, 18 packets of cigarettes and $918 worth of mobile phone credit during the raid, according to a set of agreed facts tendered to the court. Milsom entered the convenience store with a blue scarf covering his face and cornered the shop assistant before threatening him with the axe, the facts said. The two men then took the shop assistant into a storeroom where they punched him in the head and shoulders and demanded he open the safe, the facts said. One of the men said: "I will kill you if you don't give us the money," the court record said. The shop assistant received a deep cut on his hand when he grabbed the blade which Simon thrusted towards his face, the facts said. One of the men pointed a gun at the shopkeeper's face which was later found to be a toy, the facts said. When the shop assistant said "the money is at the front, I will take you there," Milsom swung the axe at his legs, forcing him to step back, the facts said. A witness walking past the shop said he heard a man yelling "open it up or we'll shoot you." The entire incident was captured on a CCTV camera and the two men fled when they heard police cars approaching. Milsom was arrested at the intersection of Francis St and Glebe Point Rd and Simon was arrested at gunpoint on Derwent Lane. Milsom was released on more than $200,000 bail after his arrest. Colleagues of the store worker told The Sunday Telegraph he quit his job after the incident. Milsom was also runner-up in the 2010 Archibald Prize for his portrait of artist Adam Cullen.