Australia’s richest woman is named Gina Rinehart. She made her billions after her father, a man with the ridiculous name Lang Hancock, created a mineral exploration and extraction company called Hancock Prospecting.
Given that Rinehart has a net worth of around $31 billion, one would think that there isn’t much that can get under her skin. However, there is one thing, and it’s currently hanging in a gallery in Canberra.
According to the BBC, Aboriginal artist Vincent Namatjira had painted a series of portraits of notable people in his traditional caricature style, which he says was done in part to “make the audience think about influence and privilege.”
Well, one person has begun thinking about that, and they don’t like it. That person is Gina Rinehart.
The portrait Australia’s richest woman wants removed from the National Gallery of Art
byu/CromwellsCrumb inpics
Per the BBC, “Upset at how she has been depicted, mining heiress and billionaire Gina Rinehart approached the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) to ask the portrait of her — and another by the same artist — be removed from public display, according to local media.”
No one knows exactly which part of the portrait she’s taking issue with. The misaligned eyes? The lack of a discernible jawline? The “melting candle” nature of the whole thing? Regardless, Rinehart seems pretty ticked off about the whole mess.
For the time being, it looks like the gallery and Namatjira are remaining strong, refusing to take down the “offending” picture. If I were Rinehart, I’d simply take it on the chin — just use some of your billions to create a bigger, more flattering portrait, if such a thing is even possible.
