Portrait of Sir Donald Bradman Gifted to the Australian National Portrait Gallery Collection

Thursday, 28 August 2008 20:24

CANBERRA, AU - To coincide with the centenary of the birth of Sir Donald Bradman AC (27 August 1908), the National Portrait Gallery will receive a superb portrait of the Australian cricket legend painted by Bill Leak, as a gift to its collection. Painted from life in 1990, the portrait will be donated by Mr. L Gordon Darling AC CMG, the National Portrait Gallery’s Founding Patron, and has been on temporary loan to the Gallery since 1999.

Sir Donald George Bradman, AC (27 August 1908– 25 February 2001), often referred to as The Don, was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career batting average of 99.94 has been claimed to be statistically the greatest achievement in any major sport.

“27 August 2008 marks yet another century for ‘The Don’. For me, it’s the perfect time for my sporting hero to enter our national collection” said Mr. L Gordon Darling AC CMG.

“It is impossible to imagine an Australian National Portrait Gallery without a portrait of Bradman. Bill Leak painted the portrait from life in 1990 and included in it a subtle visual allusion to Bradman’s elegance and effectiveness with the bat during his playing career. Leak is one of our best political cartoonists, but in this portrait we see him in serious portrait mode, paying tribute to a towering figure in Australian sporting history”, said Mr. Andrew Sayers, Director, National Portrait Gallery.

Artist Bill Leak has written of this portrait “in a country where religion has largely been replaced by sport, it was easy to see my responsibility as capturing the likeness of the Almighty”. The portrait will feature in the Inaugural Hang in the new, purpose-built National Portrait Gallery building, opening 3 December 2008.