Skip to main content
Menu

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

The Gallery’s Acknowledgement of Country, and information on culturally sensitive and restricted content and the use of historic language in the collection can be found here.

Sketch for portrait of Bart Cummings

1986
Bryan Westwood

oil on canvas (frame: 46.0 cm x 46.0 cm, support: 38.0 cm x 38.0 cm)

James Bartholomew (Bart) Cummings OAM (1927-2015), thoroughbred racehorse trainer, was the son of an Adelaide trainer. He began his involvement with the Melbourne Cup as strapper for winner Comic Court in 1950. Having gained his own trainer’s licence in 1953, he went on to earn the sobriquet ‘the Cups King’ by taking out the Melbourne Cup twelve times: with Light Fingers (1965), Galilee (1966), Red Handed (1967) Think Big (1974 and 1975), Gold and Black (1977), Hyperno (1979), Kingston Rule (1990) Let’s Elope (1991), Saintly (1996), Rogan Josh (1999) and Viewed (2008). He celebrated nearly 7000 wins that included five Cox Plates, seven Caulfield Cups and four Golden Slippers. In 1974 he became the first trainer whose horses won a million dollars in a season. The ABC Sportsman of the Year in 1975, Cummings was designated a National Living Treasure in 1988.

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2002
© Bryan Westwood/Copyright Agency, 2024

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.

Artist and subject

Bryan Westwood (age 56 in 1986)

Bart Cummings AM (age 59 in 1986)

Subject professions

Sports and recreation

© National Portrait Gallery 2024
King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia

Phone +61 2 6102 7000
ABN: 54 74 277 1196

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. Copyright in all materials and/or works comprising or contained within this website remains with the National Portrait Gallery and other copyright owners as specified.

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Requests for a reproduction of a work of art or other content can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

The National Portrait Gallery is an Australian Government Agency