Mark Ella AM (b. 1959) was one of four Australians named among the eleven 'legends' of the International Rugby Board Hall of Fame in 2013. From a family of twelve children, Mark, his twin Glen and brother Gary all represented the Australian Schoolboys in 1976, and played for the side in Britain in 1977–1978. From 1979, Mark was five-eighth for Randwick, playing in eight grand finals. He made his Test debut as part of the Bledisloe Cup-winning side in New Zealand in 1980. In all, he played 26 Tests for Australia, captaining the side in ten. A founding director of the communications, marketing and events management company Horton Ella, he is now the executive producer of NITV Sport at SBS Australia, and is chairman of the NSW and ACT Indigenous Cricket Advisory Committee.
Nikki Toole's portraits are driven by the desire to understand her subjects. To prepare for her portrait of Ella, she read his autobiography and was impressed by his energy, willingness to take risks and his thoughtfulness. For this photo, Toole asked Ella not to think about her taking his photograph. She took about three shots, and she knew the second one was 'the one'.
Commissioned with funds from the Patrick Corrigan Portrait Commission Series 2015
© Nikki Toole
The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. Works of art from the collection are reproduced as per the
Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). The use of images of works from the collection may be restricted under the Act. Requests for a reproduction of a work of art can be made through a
Reproduction request. For further information please contact
NPG Copyright.
