James Vincent Duhig (1889–1963), a Brisbane pathologist and medical professor, was a keen supporter of art and former president of the Royal Queensland Art Society. The portrait was funded by artists, interstate as well as local. Once completed, it was said to be ‘the dead spit’ of its sitter, capturing not only his sharp intellect but also his bulky form, clad here in a medical gown. Duhig was the nephew of Brisbane’s well-known Catholic Archbishop James Duhig.