Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/05/16/billionaire-gina-rinehart-demands-national-gallery-of-australia-remove-portrait-of-her.html
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Not everyone appreciates photorealism.
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Paging Saint Babs!
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“The Coal Face”, that would be a perfect title for this painting.
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Man, the modern billionaire is a very delicate flower.
Although, it’s gotta be tough for her. Betrayed by the organization to whom she gave ten-whole-thousand dollars. Poor, poor billionaire.
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The artist with his work
Following bit via:
… Rinehart earned her fortune in the mining business and is currently chairwoman of Hancock Prospecting. She has periodically made national headlines in Australia for a string of controversies, most notably her decision in 2022 to stop funding a netball team after an Indigenous player asked not to have the Hancock Prospecting logo featured on her uniform. …
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Vincent Namatjira is the great grandson of Albert Namatjira, who originated the Hemannsburg school. The elder Namatjira is referenced in the Midnight Oil song Truganini.
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You’d think that a billionaire would have someone who would discreetly dangle a donation in front of the museum board with a minor request.
She must not be very bright.
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So an ecocidal mining billionaire, whose profit-making schemes disproportionately impact indigenous peoples, had a portrait done by an indigenous artist, and it looks like that? Frankly, she’s damned lucky it’s as (un)flattering as it is, because I would reasonably expect it to look a hell of a lot worse.
Apparently she had at least previously given money to the museum* and thought that gave her perpetual rights to dictate their collection content, but also she’s just a deranged asshole:
Hancock Prospecting associates had complained that the museum was “doing the bidding of the Chinese Communist Party.” Rinehart, for her part, has spoken highly of the Chinese government.
*Which means it’s likely she threatened the withholding of future donations, which the directors ignored. Good on them. (Although it seems like the donations were less than $10k AUS, which is petty cash for the richest woman in Australia, and not even remotely enough to buy any kind of influence, even if the directors were so inclined.)
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Eh, I don’t really like this style of art. But, looking at the body of work I’d hardly feel singled out. And I guess if it was me, I’d feel flattered being considered important enough to have a painting done.
Complaining about it just means millions of more people saw it than probably the few thousands who would have attending the gallery.
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I suppose it’s the “in the national gallery” part that’s winding her up. There seems to be plenty worse out there. This one is blatantly fatphobic but you really get an idea of where she rests in the Australian public imagination.
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Hopefully millions more now know what rapacious, racist scum she is.
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You have to know when go with it.
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What a soul-baring likeness. I hope the artist does Elon Muck next. (that was a typo, but you know what, just gonna leave it)
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She inherited it.
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You think that’s bad - wait til you see the one Gina keeps in her attic.
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Yeah, so I assumed. Nice bit of “journalism” there.
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We have a mural representing two Olympians who done good, a dozen Gold, Silver and Bronze between them. It got fixed up a little in recent years but still… yikes.
There were honest intentions behind it but end result was not complimentary to the ladies involved. 20 years later, still cringe factor when driving by.
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