Gina Rinehart, an heiress and mining magnate worth a staggering £23billion, has urged the National Gallery of Australia take down a new portrait of her which many have branded “unflattering”
Australia’s richest woman has demanded the National Gallery remove her “unflattering” portrait after she took issue with the bizarre image.
Gina Rinehart, an heiress and mining magnate worth a staggering £23 billion, has urged the National Gallery of Australia take down a new portrait of her. The National Gallery has so far refused the 70-year-old’s attempts to get the picture taken down and said in a statement it welcomed the discussion around her portrait.
“Since 1973, when the National Gallery acquired Jackson Pollock’s Blue Poles, there has been a dynamic discussion on the artistic merits of works in the national collection, and/or on display at the gallery,” it said. “We present works of art to the Australian public to inspire people to explore, experience and learn about art.”
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The portrait is part of Vincent Namatjira’s series Australia in Colour, which also includes famous musicians, the King and the late Queen Elizabeth, politicians, sportspeople, and the artist’s family. It is on display until July 21.
Namatjira, 40, is a famous artist who in 2020 became the first indigenous Australian artist to win the nation’s most prestigious portrait honour, the Archibald Prize. His previous work saw King Charles III standing in his regalia in the central desert looking rather bewildered. This was to show the royal family out of their power and entitlement, the artist said.
The gallery has said the show takes a “wry look at the politics of history, power and leadership from a contemporary Aboriginal perspective”. However, there have been more than a dozen complaints, mainly from Rinehart’s friends, who accused the gallery of “doing the bidding of the Chinese Communist Party” by continuing to display the unflattering image.
An Olympic gold medallist and one of the top officials in Australian swimming was at the forefront of the fight to have the portrait removed, labelling the artwork “offensive to a great Australian”. Rio Olympic gold medallist Kyle Chalmers and Swimming Queensland chief Kevin Hasemann brought together a group of 20 elite Australian swimmers to campaign against Rinehart’s portrait.
The billionaire has paid more than £21 billion in sponsorship to Australian swimmers through Swimming Queensland and her company’s Hancock Prospecting Swimmer Support Scheme, which helps pay their wages. Swimming Queensland’s support comes after the mining mogul split from Swimming Australia last year over a funding argument that included not getting a seat on the national body’s board.
Mr Hasemann said he did not see an issue with Swimming Queensland and the country’s top swimmers intervening on behalf of Rinehart at a national institution. He accused critics on Thursday of “throwing rocks at her” and vowed to support Australia’s richest person if “she’s being denigrated in any way.”
Chalmers, the 100m shortcourse world record holder, said the campaign came to a head at the National Championships in April. He said: “Being on the pool deck at the national championships it was definitely the talk of the swimming pool and everyone throwing their support behind our patron that makes everything possible for us.
“I think she deserves to be praised and looked upon definitely a lot better than what the portraits have made her out to be. Without her sponsorship, we would actually have nothing.”
The demands to have the portrait pulled down have been rejected on the basis that the gallery’s artistic vision should not be influenced by public opinion. The gallery did not directly address Rinehart’s request in a statement it issued on Wednesday but said it welcomed a public discussion.
Rinehart, who is listed as a friend of the National Gallery, has previously donated between £3,000 and £8,999 to the institution. Australia’s richest woman Rinehart inherited the mining wealth from her dad, Lang Hancock, who had a contentious relationship with indigenous Australians.
He once suggested in the 1980s that chemicals should be put into drinking water in the outback so indigenous Australians would be unable to breed. His daughter has refused to apologise for the comments which were broadcast on television.