Portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark
The National Portrait Gallery is pleased to announce the unveiling of its newest commission, a portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.
The portrait has been painted by the Sydney-based artist Jiawei Shen. The Princess sat for Mr Shen in March this year during her visit to Australia. The full-length portrait depicts the Princess in a long blue dress with pale blue sash and Order of the Elephant. The background includes references to the Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen and to Danish architect Jørn Utzon’s Sydney Opera House, which could be seen from the window of the Sydney hotel in which the portrait sitting took place.
The commission is part of the National Portrait Gallery’s on-going program of portrait commissions. It has been made possible by the generosity of one of the Gallery’s benefactors Mrs Mary Isabel Murphy.
"We are thrilled to have the portrait of Princess Mary in our permanent collection; a portrait that so gracefully fuses Danish and Australian cultural iconography"
Andrew Sayers
Director, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra
After its unveiling the portrait will remain on display at the National Portrait Gallery. In April 2006 it will be part of an exhibition of portraits from the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra to be shown at the Danish Museum of National History in Frederiksborg in Denmark.
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