Bill Henson rarely does commissions – and certainly not for media organisations. But Australia's most renowned contemporary photographer made an exception when he was asked to photograph Nick Mitzevich, incoming director of the National Gallery of Australia, for the cover of today's Good Weekend.

"I don't know Nick well but I watched his approach when he was running the Art Gallery of South Australia," says the artist, who took the portraits on film in his Melbourne studio.

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"I have a good feeling about him, he seems adept at building bridges. In any large public institution, when bureaucratic and political expediency overtake key responsibilities it always ends in tears. He knows you have to put art at the centre of everything you do."

Henson asked Mitzevich to wear a suit and tie, to give the picture a sense of formality, but to recline on one arm, adding an entirely different feel, the juxtaposition helping to give the portrait its power.