Gordon Darling talks about how Jiawei Shen came to paint his portrait.
This video was produced with funds donated by Tim Fairfax AC.
Video credits: music by Kai Engel
Gordon Darling interview. Video length: 2 minutes
Video transcript
Jiawei Shen was born in Manchuria and he ended up when he came to Australia, in Sydney sitting on Circular Quay doing sketches of passers-by and selling them. Fast foward about 15 years, he has painted me, he has painted the Princess of Denmark. Marilyn and I went out to his home in Bundoora, and he gave me a chair and said “I’ve got to get ready, you sit in the chair”. So I sat in the chair and crossed my legs, and when he came back he siad “hold that, I’ll paint you like that”. He was always someone who you felt you were never at a distance from. I’ve always loved the painting because it’s got that personal feel about it. It was a great experience, and whenever I go back to the Portrait Gallery it gives me a lot of pleasure to see his work on the wall in the Gordon Darling Hall.
2 portraits
1 L. Gordon Darling AC CMG, 2006. © Jiawei Shen, Currently on display. 2 Portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, 2005. © Commonwealth of Australia. Both Jiawei Shen.
Related information
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Faces and fables: Portraits that tell stories
11:00am, Mon 6 Jan – Fri 31 Jan
This summer, join us on an adventure through the galleries as we make, move and explore, connecting with our own stories and discovering the ones waiting for us on the walls.
Little Faces
10:30am, Wed 15 Jan – Fri 7 Feb
Do we have a treat for the smaller humans in your life! Little Faces is for babies and toddlers (with their grown up) to play, sing and have fun discovering a portrait together.
Princess Mary
Portrait storyArtist Jiawei Shen describes the symbolism in his portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.
