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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.

Neville Jeffress

1987
Judy Cassab AO CBE

oil on canvas (frame: 125.0 cm x 110.0 cm depth 7.0 cm, support: 110.0 cm x 94.0 cm)

Neville Jeffress AM (1920-2007), advertising executive, founded the information search and collation service Media Monitors. Born at home in the working-class southern Sydney suburb of Kogarah, he joined the Sydney afternoon Sun as a clerk in 1936. After war service in the RAAF and a period working with advertising giant J Walter Thompson in London, he purchased a newsagency in Fairlight on Sydney’s northern beaches. There, he began selling classified advertisements. Throughout his career he was an early adopter of communications technology; his was the first ad agency in the world to take placements over the telephone. Neville Jeffress Advertising grew into the largest Australian-owned advertising agency with offices across Australia and in New York and London. In 1982, Jeffress bought the NSW Country Press and merged it with clipping agency Lynch Pidler Pty Ltd to create Neville Jeffress/Pidler Pty Ltd. The firm grew steadily through acquisitions over the next 10 years, picking up Australian Press Cutting Agency amongst other assets, before taking over Media Monitors Australia in 1993. His company changed its name to Media Monitors. Neville Jeffress Advertising, by that time one of the biggest classified advertising companies in the world, was sold in 1996. When Jeffress died at the age of 87, still with an active role in Media Monitors and looking forward to capitalising on the opportunities opened up by the internet, the company had more than 4 000 clients and more than 500 staff.

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Eileen M. Jeffress 2018
© Judy Cassab/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

Judy Cassab AO CBE (age 67 in 1987)

Neville Jeffress AM (age 67 in 1987)

Donated by

Eileen M. Jeffress (1 portrait)

© National Portrait Gallery 2024
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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