Jun 26, 2026 – 7.00amA portrait sat for by Queen Elizabeth I will enter an Australian public collection for the first time, after The Art Gallery Of SA acquired a 1565 painting of the self-styled ‘Virgin Queen’ holding a Protestant prayer book.Distinguished by an “engaged frame” – where the frame and painted surface are fashioned from the same piece of wood – the portrait was bought in the late 1980s by Lady Primrose Potter, a noted art collector and patron, and her late stockbroker husband, Ian Potter.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles
Australia-first painting is nearly 500 years old
A portrait of the ‘Virgin Queen’ from about 1565 was sold to the Art Gallery of South Australia by a surprise interstate vendor.
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