A noted artist, John Longstaff spent time in London where he established a reputation 'as a society portrait painter. He was appointed an official war artist during World War I, painting mainly prominent military figures. When he returned to Australia he was accepted as the nation's leading portrait painter, a position reinforced by his five prize-winning Archibald portraits.'
(Source: Kim Torney 'Longstaff, John Campbell' The Oxford Companion to Australian History. Ed. Graeme Davison, John Hirst and Stuart Macintyre. Oxford University Press, 2001.)