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The National Portrait Gallery has quietly returned a gifted portrait of billionaire miner Gina Rinehart, ending protracted negotiations over how the artwork should be displayed.
The work, a 2018 portrait by Perth-based artist Alix Korte, was officially returned to Australia’s richest person without public fanfare from the gallery in August, after the parties failed to reach an agreement over the legal terms of the gift.
The gallery originally accepted Portrait of Gina Rinehart in 2019, the transfer of title conditional on Rinehart accepting the gallery’s standard terms outlined in its Deed of Gift.
A portrait of Gina Rinehart, from a series by WA artist Alix Korte, appears on the mining billionaire’s official website.ginarinehart.com.au
In 2024, gallery director Bree Pickering told Senate estimates the donor provided a “specific set of instructions” regarding the display of the piece.
Pickering did not reveal the specifics as they were then still under negotiation, but said, for most people, having a portrait in the institute’s collection was seen as an honour.
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“People tend to be happy to have their painting in the gallery,” she said, adding: “We don’t often accept gifts with conditions.”
This week, the gallery confirmed that “following discussions between the parties, the terms of the gallery’s standard Deed of Gift were not accepted by the donor”.
“Accordingly, the portrait was returned to the donor. The work of art was dispatched from the National Portrait Gallery on August 5, 2025. This matter is now resolved.
“The gallery recognises the generous offer of the gift by Mrs Rinehart who remains a subject of interest for the National Portrait Gallery of Australia Collection.”
Senator David Pocock said he believed the outcome would be warmly welcomed by many Canberrans.
“It’s great to see one of our much-loved national cultural institution, the National Portrait Gallery, not bending their rules for Australia’s wealthiest person.”
The portraits the billionaire miner sought to remove from public display.
The Korte portrait was widely seen as the “authorised” alternative to a far more contentious depiction of the mining magnate by Indigenous artist Vincent Namatjira.
That work – part of a series titled Australia in Colour which is currently on display at the National Gallery of Australia – depicts Rinehart with exaggerated features which her associates and supporters described as offensive and deeply disrespectful. The portrait was one of two she asked the gallery to “permanently dispose” of, according to emails obtained under freedom of information laws.
An Olympic gold medallist and one of the top officials in Australian swimming joined the magnate in calling for the portrait’s withdrawal from display. Namatjira defended the work, stating he “paints the world as he sees it” to highlight the equal standing of all Australians, regardless of wealth.
By contrast, the Korte portrait returned last August was one the billionaire thoroughly endorsed. Korte, who is married to Hancock Prospecting chief executive Garry Korte, painted the work as part of a series originally gifted to Rinehart for her birthday.
Hancock Prospecting did not respond to questions regarding the negotiations or the current location of the Korte portrait.
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