Governor-General Peter Cosgrove portrait unveiled at Parliament House

Unveiling his portrait, outgoing Governor-General Peter Cosgrove saw the artist had pulled off a rare feat.

“Caught me with my mouth closed”, said Sir Peter Cosgrove as he unveiled the portrait of himself. Picture: Lukas Coch/AAP

The first time Sir Peter Cosgrove was painted, his face was smeared with streaks of camouflage paint in the midst of the Vietnam War.

But the outgoing governor-general’s wartime experience was a far cry from his last official visit to Parliament House this morning where he unveiled a portrait of himself by renowned artist Jiawei Shen.

As the black sheet concealing the painting fell away, revealing a striking image of Sir Peter standing at a lectern, he said there was a “minor miracle at work here”: Shen had captured him with his mouth closed.

Sir Peter told the crowd — which included his wife, Lynne, Speaker Tony Smith and Senate president Scott Ryan — when his successor David Hurley is sworn in next Monday, he would be watching the ceremony from afar at Sydney’s Admiralty House.

“The moment David is sworn in we will have a few tears and a round of applause and quietly walk up to the main gate of Admiralty House and begin our retirement,” he said.

“It’s been five wonderful years and to me emblematic of the honour and privilege we’ve both enjoyed by being in this position.”

Award-winning artist Jiawei Shen with the portrait he painted of the GG. Picture: Gary Ramage

Sir Peter also noted he felt a strong link to a parliamentary tradition.

When a new Speaker is elected in the House of Representatives, two other MPs escort them to the chair while they act like they’re dissatisfied with the prospect.

“I believe this dates back to when the steward of England beheaded the speaker of the day in the House of Commons, and after that, it’s been a reluctant person in the chair,” he said. “Well, I’m the governor-general, I’ve returned here to be hung.”

The portrait of Sir Peter, who is the 26th Governor-general of Australia, is Shen’s fourth commission for the Historic Memorials Collection.

He has previously painted the portraits of former Speaker of the House of Representatives David Hawker in 2007, former prime minister John Howard in 2010 and in November last year, former speaker Bronwyn Bishop.

Founded by Prime Minister Andrew Fisher in 1911, the collection is Australia’s longest-running art commissioning program.

Sir Peter, who led the task force to rebuild Queensland communities affected by Cyclone Larry in 2006, is stepping down from the post on July 1 after five years in the role.

Sir Cosgrove’s replacement General Hurley is also steeped in military tradition, having served as chief of the Australian ­Defence Force from 2011-14 and most recently as the NSW governor.

A portrait of Sir Peter Cosgrove by renowned artist Jiawei Shen has been unveiled today at Parliament House. “It’s a minor miracle he caught me with my mouth closed.” pic.twitter.com/9vNuhJouuS

— Olivia Caisley (@livcaisley) June 20, 2019