In 2014, Adam Goodes broke the record for most games played by an Indigenous footballer in the Australian Football League (AFL). This honour was added to his long list of accolades as a dual Brownlow Medallist, dual premiership winner, four-time All-Australian, member of the Indigenous Team of the Century, and Australian representative in the International Rules Series.
The same year, he was named Australian of the Year for his community work and his advocacy against racism, and this dual portrait by artist Alan Jones - intended to convey the many facets of Goodes’ life - was a popular finalist in the 2014 Archibald Prize.
Says Jones: ‘I wanted to capture his warm, gentle nature quite separately to the footballer fans see each week. Adam is an amazing athlete but also so much more than that: he is a son, a brother, an extremely proud Indigenous Australian (Adnyamathanha and Narungga on his mother’s side), an active campaigner for constitutional recognition and a great role model in so many ways.’
Goodes retired from Aussie rules in 2015 after 17 seasons with the Sydney Swans.