When award-winning portrait artist Jaq Grantford was asked to paint the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) immediate past-president Professor Owen Ung, one detail stood out: he was a breast surgeon. 

As a breast cancer survivor, Ms Grantford felt an immediate personal connection and set out to create a portrait that honoured both Owen's leadership of the College and his lifelong contribution to surgical care and breast cancer treatment.

The commission brought together two people from different worlds united by a terrible disease. Professor Ung is a breast and endocrine surgeon whose four-decade-long career has advanced breast cancer treatment, reconstruction and surgical innovation, including 3D-printed bio-fabricated scaffolds to support breast reconstruction. As president of RACS, he also led a period of significant reform that will help shape the College's governance, education and leadership for many years to come.

Jaq Grantford is an award-winning Melbourne-based artist whose work has received national recognition, including the 2023 Archibald People's Choice Award. With works featured in the National Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection, Ms Grantford’s portraiture is known for exploring the character, humanity and personal stories behind her subjects rather than simply capturing their likeness.

"When I saw what the commission was about and what Owen's specialty was, that felt very personal to me because this is life-saving work," she said. 

“What these surgeons do matters. I would be dead if it wasn't for good surgery and good care because my breast cancer was caught at stage three," she said.

"I felt like it was the universe saying this is really a way for me to show my respect for all the care that I got.”

Throughout the portrait process, Ms Grantford sought to understand the person behind the professional achievements. While her initial research revealed an internationally respected surgeon, researcher and former RACS president, her conversations with Professor Ung revealed the qualities she believed had shaped his career. 

"He's very humble," she said. "Very gentle and [he has] a kindness about him that I think, to be a good surgeon, is a prerequisite." 

Ms Grantford discovered that surgery was about more than technical skill. 

"It's not just about the operation. It's about the care beforehand and the care afterwards. It's the humanity involved."

It was these qualities that became central features of the portrait Ms Grantford ultimately created.

The portrait 
The portrait was unveiled at the RACS head office in Melbourne, where current RACS president Dr Phillip Morreau reflected on its significance. He pointed out that each former presidents’ portraits have a tangible connection to RACS' past, present and future and speaks to their contribution to the College's ongoing story.

The portrait depicts Professor Ung seated in his presidential robes against a neutral background presenting values of humility, persistence, family values and kindness.

One of the portrait's most significant details is the abacus in his hands. Once used by his father in the family’s fruit shop, the object was chosen as a symbol of family, heritage and the journey that’s shaped the College's first Asian Australian president. 

For Professor Ung, the portrait represents the people who had supported him throughout more than 20 years of service to the College.

For Ms Grantford, the portrait represents more than a former president or a surgical leader. It’s a recognition of the surgeons, healthcare teams and researchers whose work changes lives every day.

"A hundred years from now, young surgeons will walk past that portrait and ask, 'Who was this man?'" she said. 

"Hopefully people will be inspired by his work, achievements and innovations."
For a breast cancer survivor who credits surgery and cancer care with helping save her life, that legacy extends far beyond the walls of the College.