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Edward Aaron Cohen (1822–1877), merchant, politician and community leader, came to Australia with his mother and nine siblings in 1833, his father, Henry, having been transported to New South Wales that year.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Edward Knox

Sir Edward Knox (1819-1901), businessman and banker, grew up in Denmark and as teenager joined his uncle's London mercantile firm as a clerk.

1 portrait in the collection

Edward Richards

Edward Richards, photographer, has lived and worked in Canberra for most of his life.

1 portrait in the collection

Dr Edward MacMahon CBE

Edward MacMahon CBE (1904–1987), surgeon, studied medicine at the University of Sydney and completed his residency at the Sydney Hospital.

1 portrait in the collection

Rev. Edward Puckle

The Reverend Edward Puckle (c. 1800-1898), Anglican clergyman, took holy orders in Exeter and officiated in Cornwall before sailing on the Randolph to Canterbury, NZ in 1850.

1 portrait in the collection

Edward Riou

Edward Riou (1762-1801), naval officer, began his career with the Royal Navy at the age of twelve.

2 portraits in the collection

The Sculling Match at Sydney for the Championship of the World

Edward Trickett

Edward 'Ned' Trickett (1851- 916), sculler and hotelier, was the best sculler in New South Wales by 1875.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Edward E. Williams

Sir Edward Eyre Williams (1813–1880), judge and barrister, arrived in Port Phillip in 1842 having been admitted to the Bar in London nine years earlier.

1 portrait in the collection

Edward Sawden

Eddie Sawden was a surfer and board manufacturer on the Gold and Tweed Coasts in the 1960s and 1970s, a regular on beaches such as Burleigh, Currumbin, Kirra and Greenmount.

1 portrait in the collection

Edward William Knox Jnr

Edward William Knox (1847-1933), industrialist, was the second of four surviving sons of Sir Edward Knox, founder of the Colonial Sugar Refining Co, and his wife Martha Rutledge (sister of merchant, banker and settler William Rutlege).

3 portraits in the collection

Edward Telford Simpson

Edward Telford Simpson (1889-1965), Alice's grandson, was born the only son of Edward Percy Simpson and his wife Anne.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Edward Wheewall Holden

Sir Edward Wheewall Holden (1885-1947), industrialist and politician, was the son of Henry Holden, industrialist and civic leader, and the grandson of James Alexander Holden, Adelaide leather and saddlery business owner.

1 portrait in the collection

Frank Edward Wootton

Francis Edward (Frank) Wootton (1893-1940), jockey, was born into the family of a Sydney horse trainer who is said to have been so determined that his sons would become jockeys that he denied them adequate meals.

1 portrait in the collection

Edward John Eyre

Edward John Eyre (1815-1901), explorer and administrator, emigrated to New South Wales from England when he was 17.

3 portraits in the collection

Richard Edward O'Connor

Richard Edward O'Connor (1851-1912), barrister and judge, was raised and educated in Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Sydney Edward Gregory

Sydney Edward Gregory (1870–1929) was born on the site of the Sydney Cricket Ground, the son of batsman Ned Gregory (1839–1899), who was one of five boys from the same family who all played cricket at national or international level.

1 portrait in the collection

William Edward Harney

William Edward (Bill) Harney (1895–1962), bushman and raconteur, spent his childhood in Charters Towers and Cairns and started working as a stockman and boundary rider at the age of twelve.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Charles Edward Merrett CBE

Sir Charles Edward Merrett CBE (1863-1948), merchant and agriculturalist, was a schoolboy at Melbourne Church of England Grammar School when his father was retrenched and died.

1 portrait in the collection

John Edward Thornett MBE

John Edward Thornett MBE (1935–2019), former rugby union international, grew up in Sydney and was educated at Sydney Boys’ High where, in addition to being school captain, he excelled at rugby, swimming and rowing.

1 portrait in the collection

Edward Hammond Hargraves

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Edward Hammond Hargraves (1816–1891), adventurer and speculator, claimed credit for the discovery of payable goldfields in New South Wales.

1 portrait in the collection

Catholic clergymen from the Diocese of Adelaide

Catholic clergymen from the Diocese of Adelaide, c. 1862

Stephen Edward Nixon

Purchased 2018

Edward Knox, c. 1927-1929

W B McInnes

Gift of Mrs Caroline Philippa Parker 2005. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Edward Henty, late 19th century

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Tim Clark 2018

Edward Knox, c. 1855

Portrait, daguerreotype

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Peter Halliday in memory of Norah Knox 2010

Dr Edward MacMahon, 1959

Sir William Dobell OBE

Gift of the MacMahon family in affectionate memory of Edward MacMahon and William Dobell 2015. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Captain Francis Edward de Groot

Francis Edward de Groot (1888-1969) was born in Dublin and came to Australia in 1910.

1 portrait in the collection

Colonel Edward (Weary) Dunlop AC CMG OBE

Sir Edward (‘Weary’) Dunlop AC CMG OBE (1907–1993) was a surgeon, who as a prisoner-of-war on the infamous Burma Railway used his medical skills to save the lives of a great number of allied POWs.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Edward John Lees Hallstrom

Portrait, carte de visite photograph, hand coloured on card

Sir Edward John Lees Hallstrom (1886–1970) manufacturer, philanthropist and zoo trustee, grew up with his eight siblings in Waterloo, Sydney, after the family left the failed family farm in Coonamble, New South Wales.

3 portraits in the collection

Reverend Edward Puckle, 1875

Perry, Kemp & Co

Purchased 2013

Edward 'Weary' Dunlop

In their own words

Recorded 1983

Wayne Lynch, 1968 (printed 2010)

Edward Sawden

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Enrico Taglietti, c. 1985

Edward Richards

Portrait, aquatint on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Part of the crew of His Majesty's Ship Guardian endeavouring to escape in the boats

Part of the crew of His Majesty's Ship Guardian endeavouring to escape in the boats, 1790

Robert Dodd

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Colonel Charles E. Merrett, 1925

A S. Peterson

Portrait, pen and ink on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Edward Paine Butler, c. 1845

Thomas Griffiths Wainewright

Portrait, watercolour, gouache and pencil on paper

Purchased 2009

A Commissioner of Customs "Faithful to Francis" [The Hon. Edward Cohen M.L.A.], 1874

Tom Durkin, The Weekly Times

Portrait, lithograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, c. 1863

John & Charles Watkins

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite photograph on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

Sir Edward Holden, 1945

Leslie Bowles

Portrait, cast bronze on granite base

Bequest of John J Holden 2005

Edward Hargraves, c. 1884

Henry King

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on cabinet card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Syd Gregory (Sydney Edward Gregory, member of the 1896 Australian Cricket Team), 1896

H Parker Rolfe

Portrait, albumen photograph on cabinet card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2014

Sir Edward Eyre Williams, 1872

Thomas Foster Chuck

Portrait, albumen silver photograph, hand coloured on paper

Gift of Ross and Judy O'Connell 2016

Edward Lloyd Jones, c. 1885

Herbert Beecroft

Gift of Susanna de Vienne, Sarah Wood and David Lloyd Jones 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Edward Lloyd Jones, c. 1920s

Arthur Murch

Gift of Charles E. Lloyd Jones and Kim Lloyd Jones 2019. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Sir Edward John Lees Hallstrom, n.d.

Max Dupain OBE

Gift of Danina Dupain Anderson 2017. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Willie Edward Harney, aged 18, c. 1913

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Willie Edward Harney, aged 18, c. 1913

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Sir Edward John Lees Hallstrom, n.d.

Max Dupain OBE

Gift of Danina Dupain Anderson 2017. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

John Thornett, 1966

Lesley Moline

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2006

Gift of John and Vivien Thornett 2014

Hearts of Darkness

The National Portrait Gallery's acquisition of the portrait of Edward John Eyre by pioneering English photographer Julia Margaret Cameron.

Harold Holt, 1969

Victor Greenhalgh

Portrait, cast bronze on granite base

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Paul and Wendy Greenhalgh 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

E. W. Knox, 1933

Lyndon Dadswell CMG

Portrait, cast plaster, painted

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter and Susan Dadswell 2015

Harold Holt, n.d.

Louis Kahan AO

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen and pen and ink on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mrs Lily Kahan 2017
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

President Johnson and Prime Minister Holt at Canberra Airport

President Johnson and Prime Minister Holt at Canberra Airport, 1966 (printed 2000)

David Moore

Portrait, graphite on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
The series 'David Moore: From Face to Face' was acquired as a gift of the artist and with financial assistance from Timothy Fairfax AC and L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2001.

Harold Holt, n.d.

Louis Kahan AO

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mrs Lily Kahan 2017
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Edward 'Weary' Dunlop, River Kwai, Thailand, c. 1987 (printed 2003)

Robert McFarlane

James Heath after Samuel Shelley

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2013. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Portrait of Captain Edward Riou, 1801

Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Edward John Eyre, 1867

Julia Margaret Cameron

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on paper

Presented by Sir Roy Strong and the late Dr Julia Trevelyan Oman in memory of their friendship with Gordon Darling and Marilyn Darling 2006

Sir Edward Hallstrom, c. 1960

Esme Bell

Portrait, etching on paper

Gift of the Musgrave Family 2018

Edward John Eyre, 1865

Ferdinand Jean Joubert

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Edward Telford Simpson, 1919

John St Helier Lander

Gift of the Simpson family in memory of Caroline Simpson OAM 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Sir Edward 'Weary' Dunlop, c. 1988

Louis Kahan AO

Gift of Mrs Lily Kahan 2017. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Captain Francis de Groot, 1932

Harold Cazneaux

an unknown artist, The Australasian Sketcher

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

The Sculling Match at Sydney for the Championship of the World, 1877

Portrait, wood engraving on paper

Purchased 2015

Promise Fulfilled

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

The life and achievements of Sir Edward Holden, who is represented in the portrait collection by a bust created by Leslie Bowles.

South-bound and down

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

Joanna Gilmour recounts the story of ill-fated sea voyages in the early stages of the Antipodean colony.

Frank Wootton, c. 1908

Sir Leslie Ward, Hentschel-Colourtype, Vanity Fair Magazine

Portrait, chromolithograph on paper

Gift of Ronald A Walker 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

First High Court of Australia, c. 1903

Portrait, albumen silver photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Rt. Honourable Lord Hawkesbury, 1808

Edward Scriven, J B Ball & J DeCamp after Sir Thomas Lawrence

Portrait, engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ted and Gina Gregg 2012

Edward Knox Jnr and Thomas Forster Knox.

Edward Knox Jnr and Thomas Forster Knox., c. 1855

Portrait, daguerreotype

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Peter Halliday in memory of Norah Knox 2010

Ted Dyson, Bill Dyson (with pipe) and Percy

Ted Dyson, Bill Dyson (with pipe) and Percy, c. 1899

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Percy, Ted Dyson and Bill Dyson, c. 1899

Portrait, engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Edward John Eyre, Late Governor of Jamaica

Edward John Eyre, Late Governor of Jamaica, 1867

John Brown

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Karen McLeod Adair and Anthony Adair 2003

William Robertson and Martha Mary Robertson

William Robertson and Martha Mary Robertson, 1863

William Edward Kilburn

Portrait, carte de visite photograph on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Malcolm Robertson in memory of William Thomas Robertson 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Opening of the First Legislative Council of Victoria by Governor Charles Joseph LaTrobe at St Patrick's Hall, Bourke Street West, Melbourne November 13th 1851

Opening of the First Legislative Council of Victoria by Governor Charles Joseph LaTrobe at St Patrick's Hall, Bourke Street West, Melbourne November 13th 1851, 1883

John Noone after William Strutt

Portrait, photolithograph on paper

Purchased 2013

Melodrama..., c. 1900

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Ed Murrow, New York, 1956 (printed 2000)

David Moore

King Edward Terrace

Behind the street name

Visiting the gallery

King Edward Terrace was named in honour of King Edward VII (1841-1910)

Her Majesty seated, 1860

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite photograph on card

Purchased 2020

Heath Ledger, 1998 (printed 2017)

Tony Amos

Gift of the artist 2020

Prince Albert, 1860

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite photograph on card

Purchased 2020

H.M. King George V at his desk, c. 1921

E.O. Hoppé, Raphael Tuck and Sons Ltd

Portrait, postcard print on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

Art Handlers' Award 2020

James & Jessica

The Art Handlers' Award for 2020 went to Gemma Baxter (right view), 2019 by Shea Kirk.

Prince Arthur, 1860

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite photograph, hand coloured on card

Purchased 2020

Queen Victoria, 1860-1865

Post Office Photographic Studio, Melbourne after John J. Mayall

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite photograph on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

A nation mourns the loss, c. 1861

Portrait, lithograph in carte de visite format on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

Fuzzy Leo (Leo Schofield), c. 2000

Martin Wilson

Portrait, woven shag pile rug

Gift of Nell Schofield 2020. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020

Google Arts and Culture

Learning resources

Exploring select works from the NPPP 2020. For secondary students.

H.R.H. The Prince Arthur, 1860

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite photograph on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

Heath Ledger, 1998 (printed 2017)

Tony Amos

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2020

H.R.H. The Prince Alfred, 1860

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite photograph on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

Princess Alice, 1860

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite photograph on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

Prince Alfred, 1860

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite photograph on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

John Bertrand, 2019

Betina Fauvel-Ogden

Portrait, oil on linen

Purchased with funds provided by Dr Helen Nugent AO 2020

Leo McKern as Dad Rudd, 1994 (printed 2020)

Robert McFarlane

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

Rachel Ward and Bryan Brown, 2006 (printed 2020)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

Queen Victoria in mourning, with a portrait of Prince Albert

Queen Victoria in mourning, with a portrait of Prince Albert, c. 1862

Portrait, lithograph in carte de visite format on paper on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

Winner announcement

NPPP 2020

Portrait, albumen silver cabinet card photograph on card

Karen Quinlan AM, Director, National Portrait Gallery announces the Winner and Highly Commended Award for the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020.

The latest portrait of Her Majesty Queen Victoria

The latest portrait of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, c. 1896

John Thomson

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh and Suite in Mining Costume after descending the Band of Hope Gold Mine, Ballarat, Australia

H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh and Suite in Mining Costume after descending the Band of Hope Gold Mine, Ballarat, Australia, 1867

Roberts Brothers, Ballarat

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite photograph on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

Princess Alexandra of Denmark (later Queen Alexandra)

Princess Alexandra of Denmark (later Queen Alexandra), c. 1862

an unknown artist after Georg Emil Hansen

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

Elizabeth, 2019

Anthea da Silva

Portrait, charcoal and oil on canvas

Gift of the artist 2020

Kylie Minogue 1, 2018 (printed 2020)

Nicole Bentley

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2020

Kylie Minogue 2, 2018 (printed 2020)

Nicole Bentley

Previous exhibition, 2020

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2020

Darling Portrait Prize 2020

The Darling Prize is a new biennial prize for Australian portrait painters, painting Australian sitters. The winner receives a cash prize of $75,000.

George Tjungurrayi, 2007

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2020. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Tim Winton, 2019

Sally Robinson

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal 2020

The Hon. Alex Chernov AC KC, 2019

Anne Middleton

Portrait, oil on linen

Gift of twenty members of the Victorian Bar 2020

Prince Charles Edward Stuart

Louis Gabriel Blanchet

Announcing... Pub Rock

11 August 2020

Portrait, pastel on paper

An exhibition that celebrates the people, places and sounds of Australian pub rock and its enduring impact on the nation’s identity, opens at the National Portrait Gallery on 5 September, 2020.

Robert Klippel, c. 1990

Rosemary Madigan

Purchased 2020

Justin Tjungurrayi, 2007

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2020. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Her Majesty, 1860

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite photograph on card

Purchased 2020

Self Portrait in a Brown Coat, 1936

Christine A. Pecket

Purchased 2020

Hugh Jackman, 2020

Vincent Fantauzzo

Portrait, oil and charcoal on canvas

Commissioned with funds provided by the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation and Paul Dainty AM and Donna Dainty 2020

Nell, 2008

Abbey McCulloch

Gift of Nell Schofield 2020. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Adut Akech, 2018 (printed 2020)

Brenda L Croft, Prue Hazelgrove, Richard Crampton

Gift of the artist 2020

Matilda (Ngambri), 2020

Portrait, inkjet print (from original tintype, wet plate collodion process) on paper

Purchased with funds provided by The Calvert-Jones Foundation 2020

Reko Rennie, 2014

Jasper Knight

Portrait, enamel, gloss acrylic, perspex, masonite and metal sign on board

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2020. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Eccleston Du Faur, 1911

Violet Teague

Gift of the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service 2020

Gaby Kennard, 2020

Portrait, archival pigment print on paper

Purchased with funds provided by Joan Connery OAM 2020

In the mirror: self portrait with Joy Hester

Spring exhibition program

18 August 2020

The following on-line and physical exhibitions are planned to open at the National Portrait Gallery in coming months. For those who can’t travel at present, selected works from all exhibitions will be included online

Adut Akech with brother Bior, 2018 (printed 2020)

Gift of the artist 2020

Betsy Napangardi Lewis, 2007

H. Walter Barnett, Falk Studios

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2020. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Portrait of Sarah Bernhardt as Marguerite Gautier in 'La Dame aux Camélias'

Portrait of Sarah Bernhardt as Marguerite Gautier in 'La Dame aux Camélias', 1891

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on cabinet card

Purchased 2020

Jacob Nash, 2017

Ingvar Kenne

Gift of the artist 2020. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Walala Tjapaltjarri, 2009

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2020. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Adut Akech with baby sister Akoul, 2018 (printed 2020)

Gift of the artist 2020

Adut Akech with siblings Kim, Yar, Bior and Alakiir

Adut Akech with siblings Kim, Yar, Bior and Alakiir, 2018 (printed 2020)

Gift of the artist 2020

Portrait of Philip Williams, 2019

Rick Amor

Gift of Rick Amor and Meg Williams in memory of Althea 'Bid' Williams 2020. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Dorothy Robinson Napangardi, 2010

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2020. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

The National Photographic Portrait Prize: 2021 Living Memory

1 September 2020

Previous exhibition, 2020

Director Karen Quinlan AM announces significant changes for 2021, including a larger, longer exhibition, themed to reflect our experience of events that have occurred in this historic year.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020

The exhibition is selected from a national field of entries, reflecting the distinctive vision of Australia's aspiring and professional portrait photographers and the unique nature of their subjects.

Reg Livermore, Pitt Street, Sydney, 1965 (printed 2020)

Robert McFarlane

Purchased 2020

The National Portrait Prizes

29 January 2020

Portrait, albumen photograph carte de visite

The National Portrait Gallery today announced finalists for the inaugural Darling Portrait Prize, a national new $75,000 prize for Australian portrait painting, and released selected images from the final prize pool for the popular National Photography Portrait Prize.

Chang the Chinese Giant with his wife Kin Foo and manager Edward Parlett

Chang the Chinese Giant with his wife Kin Foo and manager Edward Parlett, c. 1871

Archibald McDonald

Purchased 2010

2020 Annual Appeal

NPPP 2020 exhibition essay

In 2020 the Annual Appeal was focussed on Sally Robinson's remarkable portrait of author Tim Winton.

Writing on the Wall, 2019 Dr Christian Thompson AO

To arrive at hope

Penelope Grist, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2020 Prize.

The People’s Choice Awards

16 June 2020

The votes have been counted, and the winners of the National Portrait Gallery’s People’s Choice Awards for the Prize exhibitions are...

Presenting… Shirley Purdie’s Ngalim-Ngalimbooroo Ngagenybe

Wednesday 27 May 2020

The National Portrait Gallery this week launches an online exhibition of Shirley Purdie’s remarkable self-portrait Ngalim-Ngalimbooroo Ngagenybe to coincide with Reconciliation Week.

Marc Besen AC and Eva Besen AO
Featuring a favourite painting, Fred Williams ‘Wild Dog Creek’ 1977

Marc Besen AC and Eva Besen AO
Featuring a favourite painting, Fred Williams ‘Wild Dog Creek’ 1977, 2020

Raelene Sharp

Portrait, oil on linen

Commissioned with funds provided by Nigel Satterley AM and Denise Satterley 2020

Announcing.... In their own words

24 November 2020

Inspiring Australians tell their own stories in a unique new gallery audio tour, developed in collaboration with the National Library of Australia.

Martha Sarah Butler

Edward Paine Butler (1811-1849), lawyer, and his wife Martha Sarah Butler (née Asprey, 1811-1864), arrived in Van Diemen's Land in 1835.

1 portrait in the collection

Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC and the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2021

Mother's Day 2020

Kim Tonelli

Gifts and Benefits Register

Gifts register for previous years

My life la Gilbun, 2020

Shirley Purdie

Lovely Lillie and Dirty Bertie

Lust

Royal romps: illicit liaisons

Portrait of Lady Eyre Williams (Jessie Gibbon)

Lady Jessie Eyre Williams

Jessie, Lady Eyre Williams (neé Gibbon, 1815-1903), colonial spouse, was the daughter of an Aberdeenshire clergyman.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Lady Eyre Williams (Jessie Gibbon), 1833

Claude-Marie Dubufe

Purchased 2009

Drew, Deception Bay, Queensland, 3 March 2020

Kim Guthrie

Liam Nunan and Guy Simon, 31st July 2020

In Conversation

Karen Quinlan and Kim Sajet, 18th November 2020

Darling Portrait Prize finalist Liam Nunan and actor Guy Simon discuss their portrait, their friendship and the intensity of the acting life.

15 Minutes of Frame

Brenda L Croft and Dr Matilda House, 24th June 2020

Karen Quinlan AM, Director of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia, in conversation with Kim Sajet, Director of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.

In Conversation

Disability in the frame: Part one, 2nd December 2020

Brenda L Croft (Gurindji/Malngin/Mudburra peoples) talks with Ngambri/Ngunnawal/Wiradjuri elder, Dr Matilda House, about her photographic portrait.

Virtual collection tour

Join us as we reflect on how people with disability have been represented in portraiture, how this has changed over time and what comes next. Includes Auslan signing.

Martha Knox

Martha Knox (née Rutledge, d. 1903), was the sister of merchant, landowner and banker William Rutledge.

1 portrait in the collection

Wesley Enoch and David McAllister, 2020

Thomas Griffiths Wainewright

Purchased with funds provided by Alan Dodge AM and Neil Archibald 2021

Dr John Janson-Moore

Vox pops

The Zammitt Family is part of a massive series of mine that I've been doing since early 2020, documenting COVID in and around Sydney.

Martha Sarah Butler, c. 1845

Portrait, watercolour, gouache and pencil on paper

Purchased 2009

Martha Knox, c. 1855

Portrait, daguerreotype

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Peter Halliday in memory of Norah Knox 2010

Ben Roberts-Smith, 2018

by Julian Kingma

Commissioned in 2018 with funds raised through the 2020 project

Location

Plan your visit

We’re on King Edward Terrace in front of the High Court and next to the National Gallery of Australia. We are open every day of the year from 10am to 5pm, except 25 December.

Learning resource

Google Arts and Culture

A learning resource exploring select works from the NPPP 2020 for secondary students.

Marking the extraordinary

This edition of the prize incorporates a year like no other: 2020. Accordingly, the title - Living Memory - acknowledges the period's seismic events.

Prizes

Thanks to Canon Australia, the Winner of the NPPP 2020 will be awarded over $50,000 in prizes. Thanks to Eizo, the Highly Commended winner will receive a ColorEdge monitor, and the winner of the Art Handlers' Award will receive $2,000 thanks to IAS Fine Art Logistics.

Naomi Watts

Naomi Watts (b. 1968), actress, was born in England and came to Australia from Wales at the age of fourteen.

1 portrait in the collection

Gamaliel Butler

Gamaliel Butler (1783–1852), lawyer and free settler, emigrated to Van Diemen’s Land in 1824 with his wife, Sarah (née Paine, 1787–1870).

2 portraits in the collection

Jacob Nash

Jacob Nash (born 1982) is a Daly River artist and designer and was Head of Design at Bangarra Dance Theatre between 2010 and 2023, working on over 20 productions.

2 portraits in the collection

Gene Sherman with Family, After Tillers, After Freud, After Watteau

Ondine Sherman

Ondine Sherman (b. 1974), author and animal rights activist, grew up in Sydney and attained her undergraduate degree in communications from University of Technology Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Jacki Weaver AO

Jacki Weaver AO (b. 1947), actor, was a household name in Australia for 40 years before rising to international prominence.

1 portrait in the collection

Jeanne Little OAM

Australian entertainer Jeanne Little OAM (1938–2020) was known for her over-the-top personality and flamboyant outfits, greeting everyone with her catchphrase 'Daaahling'.

1 portrait in the collection

Tribute

Tom Uren AC

Magazine article, 2015

Edward Tom Uren AC (1921-2015), former Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party, was a major campaigner on environmental and urban-planning issues and rights for veterans.

Mask on inside

Clare M. Lapworth

In the mirror: self portrait with Joy Hester (detail), 1939 Albert Tucker

Australian Love Stories Online

John Morley, Madelin Bronar-Thomas and

The Australian Love Stories exhibition accompanies Australian Love Stories Online, the interactive amorous adventure launched in August 2020.

Lockdown dreaming II

Previous exhibition, 2001

The Hon. Edward Gough Whitlam by Martin Wilson

Fuzzy Prime Ministers of Australia

In the one hundred years since Federation, Australia has produced twenty-five Prime Ministers of all shapes, shades and sizes

Standing in the now and looking to the future

Laura Reid

Jeanne Little, 1994 (printed 2021)

Robin Sellick

Purchased 2021

Christine Rivett

Amy Christine Rivett (1891–1962), doctor, contributed greatly to medicine and women's health.

1 portrait in the collection

The Wobbly Wizard - Isolation Portrait

Suzanne Phoenix

Parking

Plan your visit

Parking is available in our underground car park every day of the week. Fees apply.

Alice Simpson

Alice Simpson, née Want was one of nine children of Randolph and Harriette Want, who married in Sydney in 1839.

1 portrait in the collection

Warwick Thornton, 2019 (printed 2022)

Susan Stitt ACS

Gift of the artist 2022

Olympian

James Brickwood

Sir Leslie Ward

Sir Leslie Ward (1851-1922), signing his work 'Spy', was the most famous of the stable of caricaturists, including Sir Max Beerbohm and Carlo Pellegrini, who worked for the weekly English magazine Vanity Fair from 1869 to 1914.

31 portraits in the collection

Blue light hypnosis

Jill Velinos

Tony Bilson, c. 2005

George Fetting

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Tony Bilson 2008

The Dance - David McAllister, 2016

Commissioned with funds provided by The Stuart Leslie Foundation 2016

Brad, Carlton North

Alan Weedon

Let them eat cake, by Zoom

Sarah Vandermark

Portrait, carte de visite photograph on card

Lillie Langtry, c. 1885

W & D Downey

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Malcolm Robertson in memory of William Thomas Robertson 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Emily and Effi

Bec Lorrimer

Sketchbook journal for the commission portrait

Sketchbook journal for the commission portrait "The Dance - David McAllister", 2016

Portrait, 48 page journal with 25 illustrated pages in pencil, pastel, ink and collage of printed images with masking tape

Commissioned with funds provided by The Stuart Leslie Foundation 2016

Jon Lewis, 1990 (printed 2002)

Lewis Morley

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Tony Bilson OAM

Tony Bilson, OAM (1944-2020), chef, grew up in Melbourne and was educated at Melbourne Grammar school before opening his first restaurant, La Pomme d'Or, in Camberwell in 1971.

1 portrait in the collection

David McAllister AC

David McAllister AC (b. 1963), dancer and former artistic director of the Australian Ballet, was born in Perth and began studying ballet in the early 1970s.

3 portraits in the collection

A Covid kind of day

Marzena Wasikowska

Artists in residence – Carlos, Jono and Lazy Susan

Suzanne Phoenix

'How many days?' Dr Bronwyn Wells

Tamas Wells

Darling Portrait Prize 2024

Upcoming exhibition

The Darling Portrait Prize is a biennial national prize for Australian portrait painting honouring the legacy of Mr L Gordon Darling AC CMG (1921-2015). The winner receives a cash prize of $75,000.

Self portrait

Rachael Robb

King George V

George Frederick Ernest Albert, The Duke of Cornwall and York and later King George V (1865-1936), was the son of Edward VII, the man for whom the Edwardian era was named.

4 portraits in the collection

Queen Mary

George Frederick Ernest Albert, The Duke of Cornwall and York and later King George V (1865-1936), was the son of Edward VII, the man for whom the Edwardian era was named.

3 portraits in the collection

Her whole world now

Alex Mattea

For a pittance, 2011

by Mine Konakci

Visiting the gallery

How to get here

Plan your visit

Maps and public transport information for your visit.

David McAllister

Leaving Melbourne (Battle wounds)

Tajette O'Halloran

Millie, 2012

by Phil Roubin

S Calvert

Samuel Calvert studied in his native London with his father, engraver Edward Calvert, before emigrating to Australia in 1848.

1 portrait in the collection

Surfer Rusty Miller

Francis Cloake

Anna

Matthew Newton

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2021

Living Memory

Previous exhibition, 2021

The exhibition is selected from a national field of entries, reflecting the distinctive vision of Australia's aspiring and professional portrait photographers and the unique nature of their subjects.

Graeme Murphy's Swan Lake: Ella Havelka, Beijing

Candidate for Chelsea (9th Earl of Kintore)

Algernon Hawkins Thomond Keith-Falconer

Algernon Hawkins Thomond Keith-Falconer, 9th Earl of Kintore (1852–1930) was governor of South Australia from 1889 to 1895.

1 portrait in the collection

Amanda McGuigan from the 'Sydney Opera House at Rest' series

Daniel Boud

Esme Bell

Esme Bell (1919-2018), daughter of inventor, animal fancier and philanthropist Sir Edward Hallstrom, wrote and illustrated a children’s book, The Rainbow Painter, which was published in 1939.

2 portraits in the collection

Karla Dickens

Karla Dickens (b. 1967), Wiradjuri artist, graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from the National Art School in Sydney in 2000 and has since built a diverse practice across the mediums of painting, photography, mixed media and installation.

2 portraits in the collection

Jane Barnes

Jane Barnes (b. 1958), musician, was born in Bangkok. After her parents' divorce, she spent her childhood travelling around the world with her diplomat stepfather, mother and two sisters, living in Australia, Italy, Russia, New Guinea, Kiribati, Malta and Malaysia.

1 portrait in the collection

Marty's living room

Benny Capp

Previous exhibition, 2022

Darling Portrait Prize 2022

The Darling Portrait Prize is a biennial national prize for Australian portrait painting honouring the legacy of Mr L Gordon Darling AC CMG (1921-2015). The winner receives a cash prize of $75,000.

Dr Elisa deCourcy

Dr Elisa deCourcy (b. 1986) is an art historian, specialising in the nineteenth-century history of photography.

1 portrait in the collection

Ned Kelly the Bushranger (from The Australasian Sketcher, 7 August 1880)

Ned Kelly the Bushranger (from The Australasian Sketcher, 7 August 1880), 1880

Portrait, wood engraving on paper

Purchased 2002

Brooke Lockett, Heidi Martin, Karen Nanasca and Halaina Hills, NYC

Dr B Marika AO

Mihail Tsikas

Nick Cave, Susie Bick and Luke Cave, 1998 (printed 2020) Dominique Issermann. Courtesy of the artist © Dominique Issermann

Stepping out

Devotion

Beautiful punk love

Frederick Woodhouse

Frederick Woodhouse Senior, painter, lithographer and engraver, arrived in Melbourne in 1858 in the Parsee to establish himself as a horse portraitist.

1 portrait in the collection

David Jones

David Jones (1793-1873), merchant, began his retail career in Pembrokeshire and London before emigrating to Sydney via Hobart.

1 portrait in the collection

Isabella Louisa Parry, c. 1826

Portrait, watercolour on ivory

Purchased 2014

Lady Edith Knox

Edith Knox (1855–1942), matriarch, was a daughter of Janet and Scottish-born merchant and businessman Joseph Scaife Willis, who was president of the Sydney Chamber of Commerce and a founding director of the Sydney Exchange Co.

1 portrait in the collection

Brenda L Croft and Dr Matilda House

In Conversation

Brenda L Croft (Gurindji/Malngin/Mudburra peoples) talks with Ngambri/Ngunnawal/Wiradjuri elder, Dr Matilda House, about her photographic portrait.

Dr B Marika AO, 2020

Mihail Tsikas

Gift of the artist 2022

Tish Linehan

UK-born, Brisbane-based artist Tish Linehan (b. 1983) gained her undergraduate degree in visual arts from the Australian National University and subsequently completed a teaching qualification.

1 portrait in the collection

Gough... maintain the rage!, 1976

Frank Hinder

Gift of Enid Hawkins 2003. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

William John Pickett Bedford

Tom Roberts, Goupil & Cie

William John Pickett Bedford (1805–1869) was the eldest of three children of Anglican clergyman, William Bedford (1781–1852), and his wife, Eleanor, and came to Van Diemen’s Land with his family in 1823 following the appointment of his father to a chaplaincy in the colony.

1 portrait in the collection

Opening of the first Parliament of the Australian Commonwealth, 9th May 1901

Opening of the first Parliament of the Australian Commonwealth, 9th May 1901, 1903

Portrait, photogravure on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Penny Amberg and Andrew Bond 2001
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Anne Hyde, Duchess of York and King James II

Sir Peter Lely

This airport’s gone to the dogs

Nearest & Dearest

Right-hound man

Lord Robert May OM KBE FRS FAA

Robert May, Baron May of Oxford OM AC (1936–2020), physicist, chemical engineer, chemist, ecologist and mathematician, once described himself as a ‘scientist with a short attention span.’ Born and educated in Sydney, where he received his PhD in experimental physics in 1959, he lectured at Harvard, Sydney and Princeton before taking up a joint professorship at Imperial College London and Oxford.

1 portrait in the collection

Ingvar Kenne

Ingvar Kenne (b. 1965), photographer, was born in Sweden and is now based between Sydney and New York.

16 portraits in the collection

Peter Dombrovskis

First broadcast on Saturday 31 July

Peter Dombrovskis, photographer and environmental activist, was born of Latvian parents in a refugee camp in Wiesbaden at the end of World War 2.

1 portrait in the collection

Panel discussion

A dynamic panel discussion that interrogates some of the themes revealed in Living Memory.

L Gordon Darling AC CMG

L. Gordon Darling AC CMG (1921-2015), former company director, was the Founding Patron of the National Portrait Gallery.

2 portraits in the collection

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother (1900–2002) was born the Honourable Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon.

2 portraits in the collection

Fanny Jane Marlay

Thomas Griffiths Wainewright

Fanny Jane Marlay (1819–1848), was the second-eldest daughter of military officer, Edward Marlay (1792–1839).

1 portrait in the collection

Ryan Presley: Paradise won

Current exhibition

Marri Ngarr artist Ryan Presley's site-specific commission Paradise won is prominently positioned at the Gallery’s entrance. This ambitious new work invites conversations about the ongoing legacies of colonisation and celebrates First Nations survival and autonomy.

Reverend William Bedford junior, c. 1846

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2013

Queen Victoria

Victoria (1819–1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 until her death in 1901.

8 portraits in the collection

Arthur Summons

Arthur Summons (1935-2020), footballer, played fly-half in ten rugby union test matches for the Wallabies between 1956 and 1960 before joining rugby league's Western Suburbs Magpies in 1960.

1 portrait in the collection

George Richmond

George Richmond, son of the miniature painter Thomas Richmond, grew up in London, took early artistic instruction from his father and enrolled in the Royal Academy Schools in 1824.

1 portrait in the collection

Alex Frayne

London-born, Adelaide-based photographic artist and filmmaker Alex Frayne (b.

2 portraits in the collection

John Schaeffer AO

John Schaeffer AO (1940–2020), businessman, connoisseur and philanthropist, was a founding benefactor of the National Portrait Gallery.

1 portrait in the collection

John Longstaff

Sir John Longstaff, born in Clunes, Victoria, studied at the NGV school from 1883 to 1887 and thenceforth at Corman's in Paris.

1 portrait in the collection

Here’s looking at you, kid

Devotion

Is he thinking of me?

The Rt. Hon Sir Edmund Barton GCMG PC KC

Sir Edmund Barton GCMG PC KC (1849-1920), Australia’s first prime minister, was the youngest of nine children of a well-educated woman.

6 portraits in the collection

Justin O'Brien

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2010

Justin O'Brien (1917-1996) was one of the major Australian artists of his generation.

3 portraits in the collection

Poison pen

Michael Desmond examines the career of the eighteenth-century suspected poisoner and portrait artist Thomas Griffiths Wainewright.

Bruce Dawe

Bruce Dawe AO (1930-2020), poet and teacher, was born in Fitzroy and worked as a labourer, clerk, sawmill hand, farmhand and postman before joining the RAAF in 1959.

1 portrait in the collection

Richard Flanagan

Portrait drawings from colonial Australia

Richard Flanagan (b. 1961) was born in Longford in northern Tasmania, the second youngest of the six children of Archie Flanagan, a primary school principal, and his wife Helen.

1 portrait in the collection

Elegance in exile

Previous exhibition, 2012

Elegance in exile is an exhibition surveying the work of Richard Read senior, Thomas Bock, Thomas Griffiths Wainewright and Charles Rodius: four artists who, though exiled to Australia as convicts, created many of the most significant and elegant portraits of the colonial period.

15 minutes of frame

NPG Wellington, Edinburgh and Canberra, 10th March 2021

Delve into the lives, loves and labour of the world’s most prominent portrait galleries in this international conversation series.

Duchess of Cornwall and York (later Queen Mary), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V)

Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Duchess of Cornwall and York (later Queen Mary), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Duchess of Cornwall and York (later Queen Mary), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Anthea da Silva

Based in Griffith, New South Wales, artist Anthea da Silva's abiding interest in life drawing and portraiture is an underpinning theme throughout her practice.

1 portrait in the collection

Lady Knox, c. 1927-1929

W B McInnes

Archived media releases 2019

Gift of Mrs Caroline Philippa Parker 2005. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Update on Temporary Closure of the National Portrait Gallery

15 April 2019

The National Portrait Gallery will close its doors from Tuesday 23 April 2019, but the public are still able to experience the home of portraiture during the four-month closure.

Djon Mundine OAM

Djon Mundine OAM (b. 1951), a Bundjalung man, is a curator, writer, artist and activist.

1 portrait in the collection

Brook Andrew

Wiradjuri artist Brook Andrew (b. 1970) studied art at the University of Western Sydney and the University of New South Wales.

2 portraits in the collection

Nell

Artists and Collectives

Nell is a multidisciplinary artist based on Gadigal land in the Eora Nation, Sydney. Her work fuses mythological, spiritual and popular cultural iconography.

Henry Wade, c. 1841

Portrait, oil on paperboard

Gift of the Wade and Hannah families 2013

Dr Jill Orr

Dr Jill Orr (born 1952) is a Melbourne-born contemporary artist, whose performance-based practice has continued to interrogate the environmental concerns since the 1970s.

1 portrait in the collection

Don Burrows

Don Burrows AO MBE (1928-2020) is Australia’s best–known jazz musician.

2 portraits in the collection

Frank Watters OAM

Geoffrey Legge (b. 1935) and Frank Watters (1934–2020) ran Watters Gallery in Darlinghurst from 1964 to 2018.

3 portraits in the collection

Geoffrey Legge

Portrait, oil on composition board

Geoffrey Legge (b. 1935) and Frank Watters (1934–2020) ran Watters Gallery in Darlinghurst from 1964 to 2018.

3 portraits in the collection

Portrait of Mr Frank Packer, 1956

Judy Cassab AO CBE

Gift of the Packer family 2006

Edith Ellen Williams, c. 1871

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Portrait, albumen silver photograph, hand coloured on paper

Gift of Ross and Judy O'Connell 2016

Sir Hartley Williams, c. 1871

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Portrait, albumen silver photograph, hand coloured on paper

Gift of Ross and Judy O'Connell 2016

Mungo MacCallum

Mungo MacCallum (1941–2020) was one of Australia's best-known political journalists.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert W. Pohlman

Robert Williams Pohlman (1811–1877), judge, arrived in Melbourne in 1840 and with his brother acquired a sheep station, Darlington (later Glenhope), near Kyneton.

1 portrait in the collection

Andrew Steiner OAM

an unknown artist, The Australasian Sketcher

Holocaust survivor, sculptor and human rights advocate Andrew Steiner OAM (b.

1 portrait in the collection

The Bushranger Tragedy (from The Australasian Sketcher, 23 November 1878)

The Bushranger Tragedy (from The Australasian Sketcher, 23 November 1878), 1878

Portrait, wood engraving on paper

Purchased 2003

Erwin Fabian

Erwin Fabian (1915-2020) was a sculptor, industrial designer and graphic artist.

3 portraits in the collection

The Hon Gough Whitlam, Ossie Cruse and Michael Anderson

The Hon Gough Whitlam, Ossie Cruse and Michael Anderson, 1981 (printed 2003)

Juno Gemes

Gift of the artist 2005. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Don Burrows at work, 1998

Barry Walsh

Purchased with funds donated by Patrick Corrigan 2000

John Schaeffer AO - art collector and philanthropist, 2014

Evert Ploeg

Purchased with funds provided by Harold Mitchell AC

2019-20 Acquisition Fund

From 2019 to 2020 the Acquisition Fund was focussed on a large, vibrant portrait of Elena Kats-Chernin by Wendy Sharpe.

Elizabeth Barden

Portrait, coloured chalk on artist board

Elizabeth Barden (b. 1965) grew up in Brisbane and gained a diploma in art teaching from Queensland University of Technology in 1985.

1 portrait in the collection

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother), 1943-1944

Charles Wheeler

Purchased 2019

Theresa Byrnes

Theresa Byrnes (b. 1969) is a painter, writer and performance artist who first exhibited her paintings in 1986 at the age of sixteen.

1 portrait in the collection

Her Majesty, The Queen, Elizabeth II (Blue)

Her Majesty, The Queen, Elizabeth II (Blue), 2001

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Purchased 2021

Gough and John, 1981

Peter van der Veer

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Alan Jones

Alan Jones (b. 1977), artist, completed an advanced diploma of fine arts at the National Art School, Sydney, in 1997.

1 portrait in the collection

Lisa Tomasetti

Lisa Tomasetti (b. 1963) is a Sydney-based photographer and visual artist.

1 portrait in the collection

Jack Mundey AO

Portrait, painted wood, denim, wool, plastic and candles

Jack Mundey AO (1929–2020), union activist, is credited with preventing the demolition of much of inner Sydney’s built heritage in the 1970s and 1980s.

3 portraits in the collection

Two gentlemen celebrating a birthday (Frank Watters and Geoffrey Legge), 1974

Bob Jenyns

Gift of Frank Watters OAM 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Chang the Chinese giant in European dress with Chinese boy and three European men, one of whom is his manager

Chang the Chinese giant in European dress with Chinese boy and three European men, one of whom is his manager, c. 1871

Archibald McDonald

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Purchased 2010

Ben Roberts-Smith, 2017

Julian Kingma

Commissioned in 2018 with funds raised through the 2020 project

Carol Spencer AM

Carol Spencer AM (b. 1943), known as Carlotta, is a cabaret performer, television personality and LGBTIQ+ advocate.

1 portrait in the collection

John Nixon

John Nixon (1949–2020), installation artist and painter, studied at the Preston Institute of Technology and the National Gallery School in the late 1960s and 1970.

1 portrait in the collection

James Mollison, c. 1973 (printed 2004)

Wesley Stacey

Gift of James Mollison AO 2004

Catherine Hamlin AC

Catherine Hamlin AC (1924–2020), obstetrician and gynaecologist, graduated from the University of Sydney in 1946 and went to work at Crown Street Women’s Hospital, where she met fellow doctor Reginald Hamlin.

1 portrait in the collection

Whitlam & Snedden, 1974

Frank Hinder

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Enid Hawkins 2003
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Senator Nancy Buttfield, 1958

Sir Ivor Hele

Gift of Senator Dame Nancy Buttfield DBE 2003. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Samantha Cook

Samantha Cook is a Nyikina woman from the north-west Kimberley region of Western Australia who is based between Los Angeles and Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait bust of Dr Christine Rivett, c. 1950 (cast 1955-1956)

Daphne Mayo MBE

Portrait, cast bronze

Gift of Justice Ian Callinan 1999. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Dame Nancy Buttfield DBE

Dame Nancy Buttfield DBE (1912–2005) was the first South Australian woman member of Federal Parliament.

1 portrait in the collection

Harry Williams

Harry Williams (b. 1951) is a Wiradjuri man and the first Indigenous footballer to represent Australia at international level.

1 portrait in the collection

Darby McCarthy, c. 1969 (printed 2019)

Ern McQuillan OAM

Sir Leslie Ward, Vanity Fair Magazine

Purchased 2019

Buoyant Brack brood breeds inspiration

Nearest & Dearest

Domesticity’s creative maelstrom

Australia (Sir Edmund Barton), 1902

Portrait, chromolithograph on paper

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Sir Robert May AC KT, 1999

Purchased 2001

2013-14 Acquisition Fund

NPG London, Scotland and Australia, 28 January 2021

This 1910 portrait of Elizabeth Sarah (Lillie) Roberts by Tom Roberts was brought into the Gallery's collection with the assistance of the Acquisition Fund in 2013.

15 minutes of frame

Delve into the lives, loves and labour of the world’s most prominent portrait galleries in this international conversation series.

Jon Lewis

Jon Lewis (1950-2020) was born in Maryland, USA, and came to Australia in 1951.

3 portraits in the collection

Geoffrey Legge and Frank Watters, 1999

Anne Zahalka

Portrait, cast bronze relief medallion

Purchased 2021

Charles Joseph La Trobe, 1853

Thomas Woolner

Purchased 2006

Helen Reddy, 1978

Rennie Ellis

Purchased 2006

Portrait of Professors Margaret Gardner and Glyn Davis

Margaret Gardner AC

Her Excellency Professor the Honourable Margaret Gardner AC is the 30th Governor of Victoria.

1 portrait in the collection

June Dally-Watkins, 1949 (printed 2008)

Max Dupain OBE

Purchased 2008

2012-13 Acquisition Fund

The Circle of Friends Acquisition Fund for 2012 was dedicated to purchasing a portrait of David Malouf by Rick Amor.

Peter Brew-Bevan

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on gessoboard

Peter Brew-Bevan (b. 1969) is a leading Australian portrait and fashion photographer.

25 portraits in the collection

Rachel, 2021

Thea Anamara Perkins

Purchased 2022

Julian Kingma

Portrait, inkjet print from 35mm film on paper

Julian Kingma (b. 1968), photographer, began his career in 1988 as a cadet for the Herald newspaper in Melbourne, and later worked for the Sunday Age as Head Features Photographer.

11 portraits in the collection

Andrew Steiner, 2020 (printed 2021)

Alex Frayne

Gift of the artist 2021

Ellie Cole, 2016 (printed 2021)

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2021

"Poet of the Hawkesbury" Robert Adamson, 2012

Geoffrey Dyer

Celebrating 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection

Gift of the artist 2013. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Of Kings and men

Previous exhibition, 2011

This display celebrates 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection and its role in commissioning portraits of parliamentary and judicial figures in Australia.

Thea Anamara Perkins

Thea Anamara Perkins (b. 1992) is an Arrernte/Kalkadoon artist whose practice incorporates portraiture and landscape to depict authentic representations of First Nations peoples and Country.

1 portrait in the collection

A man and his music: Peter Weiss and the Australian Chamber Orchestra

Peter Weiss AO

Peter Weiss AO (1935–2020), cultural benefactor, was born into a well-to-do family in Vienna, which they fled in the late 1930s.

1 portrait in the collection

June Dally-Watkins, 1959

Judy Cassab AO CBE

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal 2023

Greg Weight

Greg Weight is a Sydney-based photographer who grew up in Dee Why. He opened his own studio in 1968, taking advertising and magazine photographs and working with the Australian Opera and the Australian Ballet.

113 portraits in the collection

Christos Tsiolkas, 1998 (printed 2009)

John Tsiavis

Purchased 2009

Christos Tsiolkas, 1998 (printed 2009)

John Tsiavis

Purchased 2009

Inditchenous beestes of New Olland

A remarkable undated drawing by Edward Lear (1812–88) blends natural history and whimsy.

Jack Mundey, 1997

Lewis Morley

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2007

Kylie Minogue, 1999

Purchased 2000

James Mollison AO

phra ajahn ekaggata fka terry milligan

James Mollison AO (1931–2020) was the inaugural director of the National Gallery of Australia.

2 portraits in the collection

Jack Mundey, 1985

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2013

Petrina Hicks

Petrina Hicks (b. 1972) is a photographer whose work interrogates female identity and the representation of women throughout history.

3 portraits in the collection

Jacki Weaver, 2018

John Tsiavis

Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2018

David Rosetzky

David Rosetzky (b. 1970) is a Melbourne-based contemporary artist working across photography, video and installation.

2 portraits in the collection

Chris Hemsworth, 2016 (printed 2021)

Gift of the artist 2021

Saint Catherine (Catherine Hamlin), 2006

Nigel Brennan

Magazine article by Lauren Dalla, 2005

Purchased 2008

Kurt Baier, 1942

Erwin Fabian

Portrait, conte on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

A Pioneering Life

During her time in Australian politics, Dame Nancy Buttfield was an impressive advocate for equality for women and was responsible for ending the marriage bar for women in the Public Service.

Amrita Hepi

Artists and Collectives

Bundjulung/Ngapuhi woman Amrita Hepi’s work considers the body’s relationship to personal histories and archive, and investigates dance as social function.

2014-15 Acquisition Fund

Kristin Headlam's portrait of Chris Wallace-Crabbe was acquired with the support of the Circle of Friends in 2014.

Shahleena Musk

Shahleena Musk is Larrakia lawyer from Darwin. She was the first Aboriginal person to graduate from the Northern Territory University (now Charles Darwin University) and to be admitted to the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory.

1 portrait in the collection

Jack Charles, 2011

Rod McNicol

Purchased 2013

Helen Reddy

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, poly toned on paper

Helen Reddy (1941–2020), singer/songwriter, is best known for her anthem for women’s liberation, 'I am Woman', inspired by Australian feminist and rock journalist Lillian Roxon.

1 portrait in the collection

Cate Blanchett, 1998

Sage

Gift of the artist 1999

Jimmy Barnes AO

Jimmy Barnes AO (b. 1956), singer/songwriter, is a solo performer and the former lead singer of the quintessential Australian pub band, Cold Chisel.

3 portraits in the collection

Jack Thompson, 2019 (printed 2021)

Gift of the artist 2021

Risk Assessment for groups of students

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School visit information

Find out about our environment, security checks, potential hazards and more.

Shahleena Musk, c. 2000

Penny Tweedie

Gift of the artist 2004

Chris Hemsworth AM

Chris Hemsworth AM (b. 1983), one of Australia's best-known actors, appeared in a number of television shows including Neighbours, Saddle Club and Marshall Law before joining the cast of Home and Away in 2004.

1 portrait in the collection

Small Holdings (The Earl Carrington Baron Charles Robert Carrington)

Charles Robert Wynn-Carrington

Charles Robert Wynn-Carrington (1843–1928), 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire, landowner and Liberal politician, was governor of New South Wales in the late 1880s.

2 portraits in the collection

James Mollison, c. 1973 (printed 2004)

Wesley Stacey

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of James Mollison AO 2004

June Dally-Watkins OAM

Portrait, oil and hand-stitching on canvas

June Dally-Watkins OAM (1927–2020), model, deportment icon and entrepreneur, grew up on a property at Watsons Creek in the New England district of New South Wales.

3 portraits in the collection

A man and his music: Peter Weiss and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, 1995

Kerrie Lester

Gift of Peter Weiss AO 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Henry "Seaman" Dan, 2009

Nathan Kelly

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint and red ochre on canvas

Purchased 2010

Jack Thompson, 2013

Dr Julie Dowling

Purchased 2015

Naomi Watts, 2003

Gift of the artist 2004

The Gladiators (Norm Provan and Arthur Summons), 1963 (printed 1970s)

John O'Gready

Portrait, brush and ink, gouache on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Professor Geoffrey Burnstock, 1971

Andrew Sibley

Gift of the artist 2002. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

George Tjungurrayi

George Tjungurrayi (b. c. 1943–1947) is a highly respected senior Pintupi artist.

2 portraits in the collection

Geoffrey Burnstock AC

Geoffrey Burnstock AC (1929–2020), neuroscientist, played a key role in the discovery of the molecule ATP as neurotransmitter, with important implications for the treatment of conditions including cancer, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's.

2 portraits in the collection

John Bertrand

The Illustrated London News after Jean Joseph Benjamin-Constant

John Bertrand AO (b. 1946) is a successful yachtsman, Olympian, sports administrator, businessman and philanthropist.

1 portrait in the collection

Queen Victoria, 1901

Portrait, photogravure on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Professor Geoffrey Burnstock, 1971

Andrew Sibley

Portrait, brush and ink, gouache and watercolour on paper

Gift of the artist 2002. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Trevor Jamieson

Trevor Jamieson (b. 1975), Pitjantjatjara/Nyungar actor, didgeridoo player, guitarist, singer, dancer and storyteller, grew up in the Goldfields region of Western Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Lleyton Hewitt AM

At twenty years old, Lleyton Hewitt AM (b. 1981) was the youngest male tennis player ever to be ranked world number one.

1 portrait in the collection

Geoffrey Legge and Frank Watters, 2008

Gary Grealy

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2010

Christos Tsiolkas

Christos Tsiolkas (b. 1965) is a Melbourne-born writer of Greek descent, whose work deals uncompromisingly with sexuality, identity and politics.

2 portraits in the collection

Gideon Obarzanek, 2012

Dave Tacon

Purchased 2012

Akira Isogawa, 2001

Gift of the artist 2005

George Tjungurrayi, 2002

Matthÿs Gerber

Gift of Pamela Hansford 2007. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Djon, 1990 (printed 2013)

Michael Riley

Purchased 2013

Sir Laurence Hartnett

Sir Lawrence Hartnett (1898-1986), automotive engineer, was born in Woking, Surrey.

1 portrait in the collection

Dr Brenda Niall AO

Brenda Niall AO (b. 1930), writer, academic and reviewer, is one of Australia's foremost biographers.

1 portrait in the collection

Tim Flannery

Tim Flannery (b. 1956), scientist, explorer and conservationist, grew up in Melbourne, where he completed degrees in English and earth sciences.

1 portrait in the collection

Kerry Stokes AC

Kerry Stokes AC (b. 1940), businessman and philanthropist, was born John Patrick Alford in Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Mungo MacCallum, press gallery cricket, 1973

Frank Hinder

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Enid Hawkins 2003
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Robert Adamson

Robert Adamson (1943–2022), poet and publisher, divided his childhood between Neutral Bay and the Hawkesbury River, where his grandfather lived.

2 portraits in the collection

Warwick Thornton

Warwick Thornton (b. 1970) is a Kaytetye man, writer, director and cinematographer.

2 portraits in the collection

Kate Grenville AO

Kate Grenville AO (b. 1950), novelist, studied in Sydney and worked as a film editor before spending several years in the UK and Europe, where she began to write.

2 portraits in the collection

Jeffrey Samuels

Jeffrey Samuels (b. 1956), a Ngiyampaa/Ngemba painter, illustrator, designer, mixed-media artist and printmaker, is one of the Stolen Generations and seeks to affirm his Aboriginal identity and cultural heritage through his work.

2 portraits in the collection

Ellie Cole AM

Ellie Cole AM (b. 1991), swimming champion, is Australia's most decorated female Paralympian.

1 portrait in the collection

Evonne Goolagong (Cawley) AC MBE

Previous exhibition, 2022

Evonne Goolagong Cawley AC MBE (b. 1951), Wiradjuri tennis champion, was the number one women's tennis player in the world in 1971 and 1976.

3 portraits in the collection

Little Darlings Youth Portrait Prize finalists

Little Darlings Youth Portrait Prize 2022

Little Darlings is for primary and secondary students, with four separate categories across Kindergarten to Year 12. Responding to the theme ‘identity’, students painted, drew, photographed, printed or combined all of these to make their portrait.

Prince William of Wales, by Mario Testino, 2003 publ. September 2003.
Credit: Mario Testino

Vanity Fair Portraits

Photographs 1913-2008

Previous exhibition, 2009

Vanity Fair Portraits traces the birth and evolution of photographic portraiture through the archives of Vanity Fair magazine.

Cate Blanchett AC

Cate Blanchett AC (b. 1969), actor and humanitarian, graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1992, joined the Sydney Theatre Company (STC) and soon received the Sydney Theatre Critics' Circle award for Best Newcomer for Kafka Dances (1993).

4 portraits in the collection

Untitled #15 (Kylie Minogue performs at Tour of Duty concert at Dili Stadium, East Timor, 21 December 1999)

Untitled #15 (Kylie Minogue performs at Tour of Duty concert at Dili Stadium, East Timor, 21 December 1999), 1999-2000

Matthew Sleeth

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2010. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Untitled #88 (Captain Brad Kilpatrick and Kylie Minogue, Balibo, East Timor, 20 December 1999)

Untitled #88 (Captain Brad Kilpatrick and Kylie Minogue, Balibo, East Timor, 20 December 1999), 1999

Matthew Sleeth

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2010. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Sir John Gorton GCMG AC CH

Photographic Portraits from 19th Century Australia

The Rt Hon Sir John Gorton GCMG AC CH (1911–2002) was the nineteenth prime minister of Australia and the only senator yet to have served in the office.

5 portraits in the collection

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa

Husbands and Wives

Previous exhibition, 2010

'I have just been to my dressing case to take a peep at you.

Jack Thompson AM

Jack Thompson AM (b. 1940) is an actor and the face of the 1970s Australian film renaissance.

3 portraits in the collection

Trevor Jamieson, 2016

Brett Canét-Gibson

Purchased 2018

Barbara McGrady

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on resin-coated paper

Barbara McGrady, born 1950 in Mungindi, New South Wales is a Gomeroi (Gamilaraay)/Murri/Yinah woman, and is recognised as Australia's first Indigenous photojournalist.

1 portrait in the collection

Harry Williams, 2005

Sahlan Hayes

Purchased 2006

Samantha Cook, c. 2000

Penny Tweedie

Gift of the artist 2004

Vincent Fantauzzo

Vincent Fantauzzo (b. 1977), award-winning portrait artist, was born in England and grew up in Melbourne's northern suburbs.

2 portraits in the collection

Thomas Foster Chuck

Previous exhibition, 2018

Thomas Foster Chuck (1826-1898), photographer and entrepreneur, was born in London and arrived in Victoria in 1861.

4 portraits in the collection

Collection: Icons

Volume One

When a portrait communicates determination and individuality as boldly as these do, it has the potential to become an iconic image. For the Gallery’s 20th birthday this display brings together a group contemporary photographic portraits of inspiring women and men.

Henry G. Dan AM

Henry Gibson Dan AM (1929–2020), universally known as Seaman Dan, was a Torres Strait Islander singer/songwriter who grew up on Thursday Island.

1 portrait in the collection

Wesley Enoch AM

Photographic Portraiture in Australia

Wesley Enoch AM (b. 1969) is a theatre director and playwright and was the director of the Sydney Festival from 2017 to 2021.

1 portrait in the collection

Mirror With A Memory

Previous exhibition, 2000

This is the first major exhibition to examine photographic portraiture in Australia, from its beginnings in the early 1840s to the present day

Icons

Parliament House

Touring exhibition, 2019

Jane Mander Jones, 1853

Henry Robinson Smith

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

Gift of Susanna de Vienne, Sarah Wood and David Lloyd Jones 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

David Jones, 1853

Henry Robinson Smith

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

Gift of Susanna de Vienne, Sarah Wood and David Lloyd Jones 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Geoffrey Dyer

Portrait, steel engraving with later hand-colouring on paper

Geoff Dyer (1947-2020) was renowned landscape and portrait painter whose practice depicted Tasmania and its people.

1 portrait in the collection

Wylie, 1840-1841

Robert Neill

Purchased 2018

J.C. Williamson, c. 1913

John Longstaff

Gift of the family of Aimée Viola Horsley, daughter of J.C. Williamson 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Nick Cave, 2001 (printed 2014)

Ingvar Kenne

Gift of the artist 2017. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Hon. Gough Whitlam AC QC

Edward Gough Whitlam AC QC (1916-2014) was prime minister from the end of 1972 to the end of 1975.

12 portraits in the collection

Contact us

Our team

Find a contact at the National Portrait Gallery.

Jason Yat-sen Li

Jason Yat-Sen Li (b. 1972) was born to parents who came to Australia from China in 1959.

1 portrait in the collection

Judy Davis

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on masonite

Judy Davis (b. 1955), actor, director and two-time Oscar nominee, has won many acting accolades, including eight AACTA awards, three Emmy awards, two BAFTAs and two Golden Globes.

3 portraits in the collection

The Hon E.G. Whitlam AC QC, 1980

Graeme Inson

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2002

Stan Grant

Portrait, type C Duraflex print on paper

Stan Grant (b. 1963), a proud Wiradjuri man born in Griffith, New South Wales, grew up wanting to be a journalist.

1 portrait in the collection

Dr B Marika AO, 1990

Anne Zahalka

Gift of Leo Christie 2003. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Sir Hartley Williams

Magazine article by Avraham Vofsi, 2022

Sir Hartley Williams (1843–1929), judge, was the third child and second son of Edward Eyre Williams and his wife, Jessie.

1 portrait in the collection

Lucinda, Tram Driver, 2021 Avraham Vofsi

Observation point

For me, portraiture is all about connection. If we can connect deeply to another person’s story, it can be a profoundly moving experience.

Peter Brew-Bevan Portraits

Previous exhibition, 2005

In this exhibition Sydney based photographer Peter Brew-Bevan brings together an intimate collection of works that highlight his passion for the genre of portraiture over the last 10 years

Portrait 50 hits the shelves

1 September 2015

Archived media releases 2015

With contributions from Julia Gillard, Fiona Gruber, and Dr Karl James, the National Portrait Gallery’s 50th edition of Portrait has something for everyone.

Sketch for portrait of Justin O'Brien, 1980

Bryan Westwood

Portrait, oil with fibre-tipped pen underdrawing on composition board

Gift of the Margaret Olley Art Trust 2002

Darby McCarthy OAM

Richard 'Darby' McCarthy OAM (1945–2020), former jockey who rode in three Melbourne Cups and won more than 1000 races, is a proud descendant of the Mithaka and Goongurri people of south-west and central Queensland.

1 portrait in the collection

Gideon Obarzanek

Gideon Obarzanek (b. 1966), choreographer, director and curator, spent his early life in Israel, attended school in Melbourne and won a place at the Australian Ballet School, choreographing his first piece there in 1987.

1 portrait in the collection

Patricia Piccinini

Previous exhibition, 2023

Patricia Piccinini (b. 1965) is an artist best known for her mutant life-like creatures rendered in silicone and her iconic hot-air balloons.

1 portrait in the collection

Gifts and Benefits Register

Public information

In accordance with the Australian Public Service Commission’s Guidance for Agency Heads on Gifts and Benefits, the National Portrait Gallery will maintain a register of gifts and benefits accepted by its Director and publicly disclose any that are over $100 in value.

Time and light

In Gallery Seven

This sample of 56 photographs takes in some of the smallest photographs we own and some of the largest, some of the earliest and some of the most recent, as well as multiple photographic processes from daguerreotypes to digital media.

George Pell AC

Portrait, coloured chalk on artist board

George Pell AC (1941–2023), former Roman Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney, was born and educated in Ballarat, Victoria.

1 portrait in the collection

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022)

9 September 2022

Media

The National Portrait Gallery is deeply saddened by the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history. Throughout her 70-year reign, Her Majesty represented graciousness, humanity and stability during times of enormous social change.

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary (future Queen Elizabeth II)

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary (future Queen Elizabeth II), 1942-1943

Charles Wheeler

Purchased 2019

Barry Tuckwell AC OBE

Barry Tuckwell AC OBE (1931-2020), horn soloist, conductor, teacher and author spent his early years in Melbourne, where he learned a variety of instruments including piano and violin.

1 portrait in the collection

Tan Le

Tan Le (b. 1977) is an innovator in the field of neurotechnology. Le arrived in Australia at age four with her mother, sister, grandmother, aunt and uncle, all refugees who had undertaken the perilous boat journey from Vietnam.

1 portrait in the collection

Elizabeth Lewis

Mortimer Lewis (1796–1879), surveyor and architect, and his wife Elizabeth (née Clements, c.

1 portrait in the collection

Mortimer Lewis

Mortimer Lewis (1796–1879), surveyor and architect, and his wife Elizabeth (née Clements, c.

1 portrait in the collection

Akira Isogawa

Akira Isogawa (b. 1964), fashion designer, was born in Kyoto, Japan, and first came to Australia on a working holiday at the age of 21.

2 portraits in the collection

Miss Frances Samuel, 1840

Maurice Felton

Portrait, gouache on paper

Purchased 2011

Fred Gruen, 1941

Erwin Fabian

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds donated by Andrew Sayers and from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2002

Kylie Minogue AO OBE

Percy Leason's Aboriginal Portraits

Kylie Minogue AO OBE (b. 1968), the 'Princess of Pop', is Australia's most successful female recording artist of all time, selling more than 80 million albums worldwide, and the first woman to have a UK number one album across five consecutive decades.

5 portraits in the collection

William Johnson (1873—1948) by Percy Leason

Recognition

Previous exhibition, 1999

Originally conceived as an anthropological record, Percy Leason’s powerful 1934 portraits of Victorian Aboriginal people are today considered to be a highlight of 20th century Australian portraiture

Cardinal George Pell, 2007 (printed 2012)

David Roberts

Previous exhibition, 2022

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022

The exhibition is selected from a national field of entries, reflecting the distinctive vision of Australia's aspiring and professional portrait photographers and the unique nature of their subjects.

Mrs Elizabeth Lewis, c. 1830

Portrait, watercolour on ivory

Gift of Leo Schofield AM 2002. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Jaq Grantford

Melbourne-born artist Jaq Grantford has been a finalist multiple times in portrait prizes such as the Black Swan Prize, the Shirley Hannan National Portrait Award, the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize and the Portia Geach Memorial Award.

1 portrait in the collection

Henry Wade

an unknown artist after Maximilian Kreitmayer

Henry Wade (1810–1854), surveyor, was trained in surveying at Dublin College before being employed as a civilian assistant by the Royal Engineers Corps.

1 portrait in the collection

Ned Kelly death mask, date unknown

Portrait, cast plaster

Collection: National Portrait Gallery Study Collection, Canberra
Gift of John Molony 2018

Portrait of Cate Blanchett, 2008

David Rosetzky

Portrait, single channel moving image, colour, sound, 9 minutes, 56 seconds

Commissioned with funds provided by Ian Darling 2008

John Lort Stokes

John Lort Stokes (1812–1885), explorer, naval officer and surveyor, joined the navy at age twelve and age thirteen was assigned to HMS Beagle as a midshipman.

1 portrait in the collection

Horatio S. Wills

Horatio Spencer Howe Wills (1811–1861), pastoralist, politician and newspaper proprietor, was born in Sydney, several months after the death of his father, Edward Spencer Wills, a merchant and shipowner who'd arrived in New South Wales under a life sentence for highway robbery in 1799.

2 portraits in the collection

HM Queen Elizabeth II, 2001

Previous exhibition, 2019

Purchased 2002

Primed

Some Prime Ministers

Seventeen of Australia’s thirty prime ministers to date are represented in the contrasting sizes, moods and mediums of these portraits.

Facing the inferno

Previous exhibition, 2013

Tara James speaks to Cam Neville about his portrait series, Firefighters.

Judy Cassab

The artist's diary

The artist's diary profiles six decades of Cassab's work, from the early portrait commissions of the 1950s to later paintings that have helped confirm her eminent place in the canon of Australian portraiture.

Archie Roach AC

Archived media releases 2013

Archie Roach AC (1956–2022), singer/songwriter and storyteller, has been described as the voice of the Stolen Generations.

2 portraits in the collection

Visiting the National Portrait Gallery

Visual Stories

Access support for a general visit to the Gallery.

Our only concern is the void, 2013 by Nik Lee, video: 12 minutes

Macquarie Digital Portraiture Award media information

28 August 2013

The National Portrait Gallery recently announced the finalists for the Macquarie Digital Portraiture Award 2013.

Archie Roach, 1992 (printed 2010)

Bill McAuley

Previous exhibition, 2003

Purchased 2010

Australians in Hollywood

Although perceived to be a recent phenomenon, the 'Aussie invasion' of Hollywood can actually be traced as far back as the early 1900s

Barry Tuckwell, 1991

June Mendoza

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of David Tuckwell 2018

Robert Fielding

Robert Fielding (b. 1969) is a contemporary artist of Pakistani, Afghan, Western Arrente and Yankunytjatjara descent, who lives in Mimili Community in the remote Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands.

24 portraits in the collection

Neale Daniher AO

Neale Daniher AO, Australian Football player, coach and general manager, was born in West Wyalong, New South Wales in 1961.

1 portrait in the collection

Lord Kitchener

Imperial strategist

Once central to military strategy and venerated in patriotic households, Lord Kitchener is now largely forgotten.

Emile Sherman

Emile Sherman (b. 1972), film producer, graduated from the University of New South Wales before beginning his career with a documentary about his great-great-uncle Chatzkel, a Lithuanian Jew who lived through both world wars and the Bolshevik revolution.

3 portraits in the collection

Australian Tapestry Workshop

Archived media releases 2013

The Australian Tapestry Workshop (formerly the Victorian Tapestry Workshop) was established in 1976, following two years of planning and research on the part of its founding patrons, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch and Lady Joyce Delacombe.

2 portraits in the collection

Dovima with elephants, evening dress by Dior, Cirque d'Hiver, Paris, August 1955 by Richard Avedon

Richard Avedon People media information

8 August 2013

Press releases and images downloads for media.

Sideshow Alley

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

Previous exhibition, 2015

Death masks, post-mortem drawings and other spooky and disquieting portraits... Come and see how portraits of infamous Australians were used in the 19th century.

Paul Kelly and The Portraits media information

18 June 2013

Archived media releases 2013

Paul Kelly & The Portraits presents a multifaceted image of the performer over the course of his career.

2015-17 Acquisition Fund

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2017

From 2015 to 2017 the Acquisition Fund was focussed on Reg Richardson AM by Mitch Cairns, a finalist in the Archibald Prize 2014, and a great example of minimalist portraiture.

Nocturnal animals

Joanna Gilmour explores the enticing urban shadows cast by artists Martin Lewis and Edward Hopper.

Behrouz Boochani

Kurdish-Iranian journalist, writer and filmmaker, Behrouz Boochani, was born in Iran in 1983.

1 portrait in the collection

Queen Elizabeth II

Thomas Woolner in Australia

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022) was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, who subsequently became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

4 portraits in the collection

Missing Persons

Desperately seeking Woolner medallions

Sir Charles Nicholson

Sir Charles Nicholson (1808-1903), statesman, landowner, businessman, connoisseur, scholar and physician, was born illegitimately into unpropitious circumstances in Yorkshire.

2 portraits in the collection

Dr B Marika AO

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Dr B Marika AO (1954–2021), Yolgnu leader, printmaker, arts administrator, environmentalist and cultural activist, was a member of the renowned Marika family of artists and activists.

2 portraits in the collection

Annual Appeal

Listed by year

Honour board

Nicholas Chevalier, c. 1867

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

The house, the horse, the wife and the offspring

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

Joanna Gilmour writes about the portraiture of the colonial artist William Nicholas.

Don Walker

Magazine article by Tara James, 2022

Don Walker (b. 1951) is considered one of Australia's best songwriters.

1 portrait in the collection

Introversion from High Jinks in the Hydrangeas, 2020 Tamara Dean

In our nature

Tara James chats with award-winning artist Tamara Dean about portraiture prizes, the environment and the strength of women.

Uncommon Australians

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Previous exhibition, 2015

This exhibition showcases portraits acquired through the generosity of the National Portrait Gallery’s Founding Patrons, L Gordon Darling AC CMG and Marilyn Darling AC.

Lady Isabella Louisa Parry

Self Portraits in Australia

Isabella Louisa Parry (née Stanley, 1801–1839), amateur artist, community worker and collector, was the daughter of Sir John Stanley, first Baron Stanley of Alderley, a Whig politician and member of the Royal Society.

1 portrait in the collection

To Look Within

Previous exhibition, 2004

This exhibition is the first comprehensive survey of self-portraits in Australia, from the colonial period to the present

History

About us

How the National Portrait Gallery and its unique collection came to be

Archie Roach, 2008

Peter Hudson

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

Gift of the artist 2010. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009

Previous exhibition, 2009

In its second year at the National Portrait Gallery, and for the first time touring to other venues, the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009 continues to present surprising perspectives on the nature of contemporary portrait photography.

Untitled #21/09 (after Ricci, 1700; featuring Matthew Mitcham)

Untitled #21/09 (after Ricci, 1700; featuring Matthew Mitcham), 2009

Ross Watson

Portrait, oil on board

Gift of the artist 2010. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

First Ladies

Significant Australian Women 1913–2013

Previous exhibition, 2013

First Ladies profiles women who have achieved noteworthy firsts over the past 100 years.

Living Memory – National Photographic Portrait Prize extended to January 2022

6 September 2021

Archived media releases 2021

In light of recent and ongoing gallery closures brought on by the COVID pandemic, the NPG’s 2021 National Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition season will be extended until 16 January next year.

The Textiles Scientist, 2018 by Kate Atkinson

Textiles Scientist Voted the People’s Favourite

27 March 2019

Archived media releases 2019

The black and white portrait of an elderly woman with sidelong glance and irreverent, contemplative smile has taken out the people’s choice award in this year’s National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Where we fit: social policy context

Disability Inclusion Action Plan 2023–25

There are a wide range of legislative requirements and strategies which have influenced the development of this DIAP.

Velasquez Touch

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2004

Former NPG Director, Andrew Sayers, explores the creative collaborations between four Australian artists living in Paris during the first years of the twentieth century.

Marlene Rubuntja

Previous exhibition, 2006

Born in Alice Springs, Arrernte/Western Arrarnta woman Marlene Panankga Rubunjta (b.

3 portraits in the collection

Australian Visit

The exhibition will include works of art from the NPG Canberra's permanent collection with some inward loans and aims to highlight the achievements of notable Australians.

John Flaus

John Flaus (b. 1934) is an Australian broadcaster, actor, script editor and lecturer, known for Mary and Max (2009), Trust Frank (2020) and Tracks (2013).

1 portrait in the collection

The play’s the thing

Archived media releases 2021

Penelope Grist charts an immersive path through Stuart Spence’s photography.

Australian Love Stories

4 January 2021

A major new exhibition celebrating love in all its guises. Opening 20 March 2021.

Worth her salt

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

Jerrold Nathan's portrait of Jessie Street shows the elegant side of a many-faceted lady.

Relaxed mornings

Visual Stories

Access support for a visiting the Gallery before the general 10:00am opening time.

Talma Studios, Sydney

Talma Studios opened in Sydney in March 1899 in a George Street premises next door to the GPO.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Professors Margaret Gardner and Glyn Davis, 2017

Jacqueline Mitelman

Magazine article by Sandra Bruce, 2022

Commissioned with funds provided by Jim and Barbara Higgins, Sir Roderick Carnegie AC, Rupert Myer AO and Annabel Myer, Louise and Martyn Myer Foundation, Peter and Ruth McMullin, Diana Carlton, Professor Derek Denton AC, Harold Mitchell AC, Peter Jopling AM KC, Andrew and Liz Mackenzie, Patricia Patten, Tamie Fraser AO, Bruce Parncutt and Robin Campbell, Lauraine Diggins, Steven Skala AO and Lousje Skala 2017

People are people

Sandra Bruce chats with seven-time NPPP finalist Chris Budgeon about photography, guitars and representing the human story.

The line of fire

Magazine article by Michelle Fracaro, 2005

Michelle Fracaro examines the life of World War II nurse Margaret Anderson, whose portrait by Napier Waller is in the NPG collection.

Dr Edward MacMahon, 1959 by William Dobell

Bill and Ted's excellent portrait.

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2016

Sarah Engledow on Messrs Dobell and MacMahon and the art of friendship.

Profile of a marriage

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

Dr Sarah Engledow explores the lives of Sir George Grey and his wife Eliza, the subjects of a pair of wax medallions in the National Portrait Gallery's collection.

Portrait of a patron

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2007

A new painting by Jiawei Shen captures the vision and resolve of the Gallery's founder, L. Gordon Darling AC CMG.

Wylie

Wylie (c. 1824–unknown) is thought to have been born near King George’s Sound in south-west Western Australia, which would make him a Noongar man.

1 portrait in the collection

References

Archived media releases 2021

About the exhibition curator Claire Roberts, and writers Eugene Wang and Zhang Letian.

Harriet Schwarzrock: spaces between movement and stillness

10 February 2021

To celebrate the new exhibition Australian Love Stories, renowned Australian glass artist Harriet Schwarzrock has been commissioned to make a large-scale installation reflecting on the role the heart plays as our emotional centre.

Self-nature is subtle and mysterious - Tree Woman / Woman Tree

Nell

Born in Maitland, New South Wales in 1975, Nell is a multidisciplinary artist working across painting, sculpture, video and performance.

3 portraits in the collection

Installation of ‘Face to Face: The New Normal’ at Wagga Wagga Regional Gallery, 2021 Vic McEwan

Facing the feeling

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

Penelope Grist explores the interplay between medicine and portraiture in Vic McEwan’s Face to Face: The New Normal.

Bon Scott & Angus Young, Atlanta, Georgia

No shirt, no service

Bon Scott and Angus Young photographed by Rennie Ellis are part of a display celebrating summer and images of the shirtless male.

Chance encounter

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

Joanna Gilmour explores the life and times of one of Melbourne's early socialites, Jessie Eyre Williams.

The eye and the heart

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

Nici Cumpston immerses herself in the collective vision of the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020.

The Cutmear sisters, Jane and Lucy, c. 1842

A man of superior attainments

Joanna Gilmour explores the life of a colonial portrait artist, writer and rogue Thomas Griffiths Wainewright.

Yanyuwa young men, The Song Peoples Sessions CD Launch Rehearsals, Yanyuwa Country, 2012 Benjamin Warlngundu Ellis

Us being ourselves

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2022

Penelope Grist talks to photographer Benjamin Warlngundu Ellis about capturing moments, telling stories and keeping Culture strong.

Chairman Sid Myer AM, Hayley Baillie, Tim Bednall, Jillian Broadbent AC, Patrick Corrigan AM, Marilyn Darling AC, Tim Fairfax AC, Penny Fowler AM, John Liangis, Dr Helen Nugent AC and Nigel Satterley AM

Foundation Members

Foundation

Chairman Sid Myer AM, Hayley Baillie, Tim Bednall, Jillian Broadbent AC, Patrick Corrigan AM, Marilyn Darling AC, Tim Fairfax AC, Penny Fowler AM, John Liangis, Dr Helen Nugent AC and Nigel Satterley AM.

2023 Annual Appeal

Magazine article by Gillian Raymond, 2022

In 2023 the Annual Appeal was focussed on a work by one of Australia's best loved and most successful portrait painters, Judy Cassab AO CBE, depicting model, entrepreneur and deportment icon, June Dally-Watkins OAM.

Virtually yours

Gill Raymond on creating thought-provoking, interactive content to connect to our online community through portraiture.

Blue Mountain, Owner, Trainer, Jockey, James Scobie

Sure thing

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2009

Blue Mountain, Owner, Trainer, Jockey, James Scobie 1887 by Frederick Woodhouse Snr. is a portrait of James Scobie, well known jockey and eminent horse trainer.

Sir Thomas Gore-Browne, 1864

J Walch & Sons

Portrait, tinted lithograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Thilin-Thilin Gooragall Nyajaringil Garnkiny-nu (white gum tree, mother for the moon), 2018 by Shirley Purdie

Storytelling

Magazine article by Emma Batchelor, 2022

The fourth row of paintings interweave Ngarranggarni, memories, relationships and Country.

Australian Dance Party and Catapult Dance performing Connecting Stories: Innovations at the National Portrait Gallery, 2022 Lorna Sim

Let’s dance

Emma Batchelor uncovers the compelling contemporary dance made in response to the works in Shakespeare to Winehouse.

Giving a dam

True south #1

Magazine article by Rebecca Ray, 2022

Ensconced and meditative in crisp Tasmania, Joanna Gilmour pays tribute to passionate green advocate and photographer Olegas Truchanas.

Yanyangkari Roma Butler and Yangi Yangi Fox from Irrunyju (Wingellina), Western Australia, 2017 Rhett Hammerton

Weaving identity

Rebecca Ray explores the way identity, belonging and connectedness are translated through materiality in First Nations portraiture.

Everybody's heard about the bird

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

Two professionals; Australian surfer Layne Beachley and photographer Petrina Hicks, combine their strengths to achieve a remarkable portrait.

Goollabal (Rainbow Serpent), 2018 by Shirley Purdie

Memories

The second row of paintings recall stories relating to specific sites, experiences and activities.

Nambin (black headed python), 2018 by Shirley Purdie

Skin names

Disability Inclusion Action Plan 2023–25

The first row of paintings depict stories relating to kinship, introducing significant women relatives.

Our Disability Action Plan

We need to ensure that our attitudes are inclusive, our environments accessible, our workforces diverse and our processes user friendly so that everyone can benefit.

Portfolio of 54 portraits compiled by Queen Victoria, 1859–1861 by John Jabez Edwin Mayall, Camille Silvy, Frances Day and William Bambridge

Queen of cartes

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

Joanna Gilmour discusses the role of the carte de visite in portraiture’s democratisation, and its harnessing by Victoria, the world’s first media monarch.

Portrait of an English Woman c. 1532-5 (detail)

A new perspective

Magazine article by Celina Fox, 2006

An exhibition devoted to Hans Holbein's English commissions shows the portraitist bringing across the Channel new technical developments in art - with a dazzling facility.

Ngarranggarni

The third row of paintings come from Ngarranggarni (Dreaming).

Self-portrait with guardian spirits, 2009-2010 Kate Beynon

Kate Beynon’s transcultural life and art

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2007

Phoebe Lupton profiles artist Kate Beynon, whose contemplative self portrait features in Archie 100: A Century of the Archibald Prize.

Sydney city (Patrick White and Tom Uren, Hiroshima Day demonstration), 1984

The activist A-list

Dr Sarah Engledow examines a number of figures in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery who were pioneers or substantial supporters of the seminal Australian environmental campaigns of the early 1970s and 1980s.

International issue

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2009

Michael Desmond looks at the history of the Vanity Fair magazine in conjunction with the exhibition Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008

The Right Honourable Sir Ninian Stephen KGAK GCMG GCVO KBE QC, 2006 by Rick Amor

Prima facie

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

Sarah Engledow casts a judicious eye over portraits in the Victorian Bar’s Peter O’Callaghan QC Portrait Gallery.

Getting a head

Magazine article by Alexandra Roginski, 2015

Alexandra Roginski gets a feel for phrenology’s fundamentals.

Layla 2020 Veronica Watson, pencil on paper. Layla 2020 Sarah McEwan, fabric, acrylic on MDF. Self portrait 2020 Layla Bacayo, drypoint on paper. Image: Sarah McEwan

Mash-up

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2022

Penelope Grist delves into an insightful portraiture exhibition that asks: How do three artists see the same sitter?

Being Cate

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

A moving portrait of Cate Blanchett unfolds as an inspired pairing of medium and subject.

Mick Jagger, Madonna and Tony Curtis, 1997

The Vanity model

Magazine article by David Friend, 2009

Vanity Fair Editor David Friend describes how the rebirth of the magazine sated our desire for access into the lives of celebrities and set the standard for the new era of portrait photography.

Untitled, Conductors, Tramways series, 1990 © Matt Nettheim

Back track

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2022

Penelope Grist finds photographer Matt Nettheim re-visiting a formative and fulfilling career tram stop.

Virginia Woolf, 1902 George Charles Beresford

Love my way

Inga Walton delves into the bohemian group of artists and writers who used each other as muses and transformed British culture.

The fat of the land

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

Sir Sidney Kidman (1857-1935) is inscribed in Australian legend as the ‘Cattle King’.

The story of us

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2022

Gallery directors Karen Quinlan and Tony Ellwood talk to Penelope Grist about the NPG and NGV collaborative exhibition, Who Are You: Australian Portraiture.

Lady Jane Grey, c.1590-1600 (also known as The ‘Streatham’ portrait) Artist unknown

The Royal she

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2019

Traversing paint and pixels, Inga Walton examines portraits of select women in Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits.

Kyoto Temple Enlists Android Buddhist Deity to Help People, 23 February 2019 The Asahi Shimbun.

More than human

Magazine article by Gillian Raymond, 2023

Gillian Raymond investigates the history of humanoid robots and asks, is this the future of portraiture?

General Birdwood, the Idol of Anzac, taking a dip in the sea after a hard days work 1915

In the thick of it

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

Projecting the splendour of the empire, and the resolve of its subjects, the bust of William Birdwood keeps a stiff upper lip in the National Portrait Gallery.

Venetia, Lady Digby, circa 1633-1634 by Sir Anthony van Dyck

Love in the extreme

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2020

Joanna Gilmour reveals love’s more intense manifestations in the tale of Lord Kenelm and Venetia Digby.

Brooke Lockett, Heidi Martin, Karen Nanasca, Halaina Hills; New York, 2012 Lisa Tomasetti

Dance like everyone’s watching

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2018

Penelope Grist’s spirits soar with Lisa Tomasetti’s Dancers in the Streets series.

Helena Rubinstein in a red brocade Balenciaga gown

Study in scarlet

Angus Trumble reflects on the force of nature that was Helena Rubinstein.

In the galleries

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

Christopher Chapman highlights the inaugural hang of the new National Portrait Gallery building which opened in December 2008.

Mural of Italian/Roman actress Anna Magnani (1908–1973) with face mask, April 2020 Unknown artist

Of plague and portraits

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

Corinna Cullen on the symbolic power of pandemic-related imagery over the ages.

Fine and dandy

Whether the result of misadventure or misdemeanour, many accomplished artists were transported to Australia where they ultimately left a positive mark on the history of art in this country.

Doodles of the Diva

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

Three tiny sketches of Dame Nellie Melba in the NPG collection were created by the artist who was to go on to paint the most imposing representation of the singer: Rupert Bunny.

The look and the feel

Living Memory exhibition essay

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2013

Editor Stephen Phillips looks at the finalists' photographs through a judge's lens.

All dressed up

Jane Raffan asks do clothes make the portrait, and can the same work with a new title fetch a better price?

Studio portrait of servicewoman Lance Corporal Kathleen Jean Mary (Kath) Walker, c.1942

Past present

Magazine article by Krysia Kitch, 2016

Krysia Kitch celebrates Oodgeroo Noonuccal.

Marian Anderson, contralto, New York, June 30, 1955 Richard Avedon

The right note

Magazine article by Leslie Ureña, 2020

Marian Anderson’s glorious voice thrust her into stardom, and a more reluctant role as American civil rights pioneer.

Yellow portrait (portrait of Alex Jelinek)

Fugue in Yellow

Magazine article by Roger Benjamin, 2015

Roger Benjamin explores the intriguing union of Lina Bryans and Alex Jelinek.

Twin chics

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2021

Joanna Gilmour on the exuberant union of fashion pioneers Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson, captured in luminescent splendour by artist Carla Fletcher.

The portrait writ large

Magazine article by Karen Vickery, 2015

Karen Vickery on Chang the Chinese giant in Australia.

Australia’s great internationalists

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2016

Penelope Grist explores the United Nations stories in the Gallery’s collection.

Miles from nowhere, 2008 (printed 2014) from the Games of consequence series 2008 Polixeni Papapetrou

Mother’s muse

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2020

Inga Walton traces the poignant path of photographer Polixeni Papapetrou, revealed in the NGV’s summer retrospective.

Cultural kaleidoscope

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

The complex connections between four creative Australians; Patrick White, Sidney Nolan, Robert Helpmann and Peter Sculthorpe.

The Dissecting Room

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

Joanna Gilmour accounts for Australia’s deliciously ghoulish nineteenth century criminal portraiture.

A potpourri of portraits

Magazine article by Natalie Wilson, 2023

Archie 100 curator (and detective) Natalie Wilson’s nationwide search for Archibald portraits unearthed the fascinating stories behind some long-lost treasures.

Progressive pictures

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2017

Athol Shmith’s photographs contributed to the emergence of a new vision of Australian womanhood.

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, 1885-86 by
John Singer Sargent

A feast of friends

Magazine article by Richard Ormond, 2015

John Singer Sargent: a painter at the vanguard of contemporary movements in music, literature and theatre.

Secure the shadow ere the substance fade

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

The tragic tale of Tom Wills, the ‘inventor’ of Australian Rules Football.

Nannultera, a young cricketer of the Natives' Training Institution, Poonindie , 1854 John Michael Crossland

The catechist and the cricketer

Magazine article by Stephen Valambras Graham, 2021

Stephen Valambras Graham traverses the intriguing socio-political terrain behind two iconic First Nations portraits of the 1850s.

The personal and the historical

Where do we draw a line between the personal and the historical? Although she died in Melbourne in 1975, when I was not quite eleven years old, I have the vividest memories of my maternal grandmother Helen Borthwick.

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Honour board

Some prime ministers

Sarah Engledow explores the history of the prime ministers and artists featured in the exhibition.

Christmas Island