Reg Richardson AM, charity fundraiser, grew up in Broken Hill, and left school at fifteen for an office job with the Zinc Corporation mine. Moving to Sydney, he owned and managed businesses in diverse fields. Having persuaded his friend Greg Poche AO to donate $40 million towards a facility for melanoma research, Richardson was appointed chairman of the Melanoma Institute Australia in 2007. Together the two men founded the Poche Indigenous Health Network, which aims to close the gap in life expectancy and achieve health equality for First Nations peoples. A notable art collector, Richardson's own charitable contributions combined with those he has coaxed from others amount to some $140 million.
Richardson began acquiring Mitch Cairns' work while Cairns was a student at the National Art School. Cairns said that in his portrait of Richardson – a 2014 Archibald Prize finalist – he aimed to capture 'the way Reg conducts himself. His manner is characterised by an air of casual distinction in which education, wit and anecdote sit comfortably without pretension. He is both affable and compelling … I hope this portrait, like Reg, is somewhat humble yet at the same time resonant with magnitude.' Richardson wears his trademark red and green glasses and socks in tribute to his beloved Sydney Rabbitohs.
Purchased with funds provided by the Circle of Friends 2015
© Mitch Cairns
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