--- title: "Billionaire Mining Magnate Not Happy With Her Portrait Hanging in Museum" description: "A powerful Australian mining magnate has been trying to get an unflattering portrait of her removed from a museum." date: "2024-05-17" modified: "2024-05-17" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/mining-magnate-painting" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "art" - "australia" - "Mining" - "the digest" --- # Billionaire Mining Magnate Not Happy With Her Portrait Hanging in Museum ![A powerful Australian mining magnate has been trying to get an unflattering portrait of her removed from a museum.]() *\Image: Wantja Arts/Vincent Namatjira / Quinn Rooney via Getty\* ## Brush Strokes In a shining example of the [Streisand Effect](), [*CNN* reports]() that a powerful mining magnate has been trying to get an unflattering portrait of her removed from a museum — driving more attention to the painting than it ever would have picked up otherwise. The tycoon in question, Gine Rinehart, is the executive chairman of Hancock Prospecting — an outfit her father started — and currently the richest person in Australia, with an estimated net worth north of $30 billion. Important context here: Rinehart's dad was an outspoken racist about Australia's indigenous population, who he suggested [sterilizing and forcibly relocating](). Then, back in 2022, the younger Rinehart [declined to apologize]() for those appalling remarks. So it's worth pointing out that the portrait in question is by Vincent Namatjira, an indigenous artist who included Rinehart's likeness in a collection now on display at the National Gallery of Australia. "I paint the world as I see it," he said in a statement. "People don’t have to like my paintings, but I hope they take the time to look and think, ‘why has this Aboriginal bloke painted these powerful people? What is he trying to say?’" https://twitter.com/Billablog/status/1791362069427884131 ## Art Pop The museum and art advocacy organizations are also pushing back against Rinehart's attempts to get the painting removed. "Since 1973, when the National Gallery acquired Jackson Pollocks’ Blue Poles, there has been a dynamic discussion on the artistic merits of works in the national collection, and/or on display at the Gallery," the National Gallery said. "We present works of art to the Australian public to inspire people to explore, experience and learn about art." "While Rinehart has the right to express her opinions about the work, she does not have the authority to pressure the gallery into withdrawing the painting simply because she dislikes it," National Association for the Visual Arts executive director Penelope Benton told Australia's *9News*. "Freedom of expression is a universal human right highly valued by artists." **More on mining:** [*Experts Warn Against Strip Mining the Moon*]() ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()