King Barak last of the Yarra tribe, by Arthur Loureiro, 1900

The painting, by Portuguese born artist, Artur Jose Loureiro, is of William Barak, a renowned Australian artist and aboriginal leader. This painting of Barak is a later painting of the Heidelberg school and probably derived from an earlier, full-length painting Loureiro painted of Barak in 1893, titled ‘A Son of the Soil’. A leader of Coranderrk Aboriginal settlement, which was established in 1863, William Barak was an articulate and respected spokesperson for his people's culture and rights and liaised with government institutions and early anthropologists.