‘There are no ugly women, only lazy ones’ was Helena Rubinstein’s attitude to personal allure, and her mantra has been a source of hope and steely resolve to the millions of customers who have bought her cosmetics and unguents over the past century.

Although she died in 1965, the Rubinstein name is still familiar to many; her brand is now owned by L’Oréal. But most will be unaware that Rubinstein’s business empire did not spring to life fully formed in London, Paris, or New York but was developed and nurtured in Melbourne.

This is why – although it might initially seem odd that the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra should have shown such determination in acquiring a portrait of her by the famed British artist Graham Sutherland – it is fitting that this superb image of one of Australia’s great female entrepreneurs should find a home here and not in Europe or America.