collection development
The policy guidelines can be viewed here or downloaded in the following formats :
POLICY GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THE PERMANENT COLLECTION
1. INTRODUCTION
A primary responsibility of the National Portrait Gallery Board is to create a permanent collection of the highest quality. The following are the criteria for evaluating portraits being considered for inclusion in the collection whether by purchase, commission, gift or bequest. The over-riding aim is to ensure that only the best portraits, regardless of media, enter the National Collection.
2. SELECTION CRITERIA
The following criteria are to be used by the Board when evaluating works for acceptance:-
* The subject must be either important in his or her field of endeavour or a known and named person whose life sets them apart as an individual of long-term public interest.
* The subject must be Australian, either by birth or by association. However, the Board should consider the occasional inclusion of other subjects when conditions of exceptional interest apply.
* Artistic merits of the portrait.
The Board should also take into consideration the provenance of the work and the justification of the price in market terms.
3. EXPLANATORY GUIDELINES
As noted, a primary task of the Board is to evaluate the eligibility of portraits under consideration for the permanent collection. The objective is to achieve the highest possible standard in all media and ensure that it is difficult, rather than easy, for a portrait to enter the National Collection. The following issues are presented to assist the Board in decision making.
3.1 ASSESSMENT OF SUBJECTS
In assessing the subjects of portraits (or multiple subjects in the case of a group portrait), the following questions should be addressed:-
Is the person important within his or her field (be it political, literary, religious, cultural, scientific, philanthropic) or are they part of the public, business, entertainment or sporting life of Australia?
If a person cannot be said to have either impacted, or made a major contribution to Australian life, they may still be eligible to be considered for the Permanent Collection providing they satisfy the following requirement:-
-The person being considered must be a known and named individual whose characteristics or the events which affected his or her life have set them apart so that they are likely to be a very interesting person to the public when their biographical details are fully known and recorded.
Note: This category of subject will seldom arise. However, it provides for the inclusion of portraits of the partner or family of a subject recognised as important in his or her own right.
* Is the profile of the subject one of either contemporary notoriety or short-term fashionable prestige?
* Will the subject be of public interest and importance in the long term?
* If deceased, is the subject listed in the Australian Dictionary of Biography?
3.2 CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF PORTRAITS
Once the suitability of a subject has been established consideration will be given to particular works on offer on the basis of answers to the following questions:-
* Is the portrait of sufficient artistic merit?
* Do other portraits exist of the subject? Have they been located? Are they likely to be offered to the National Portrait Gallery?
* If other portraits exist does the portrait on offer show the subject at an appropriate stage of his or her life?
* Is the portrait from life?
* Is the available provenance adequate?
* Is the work in a satisfactory condition?
* Are either copyright or reproduction rights available?
* If a purchase, is the portrait a priority for the allocation of funds? Can a donor be obtained?
* Has the work been conceived either as part of a pair or as part of a series (such as a sketchbook or album) which, if broken up, would compromise the integrity of the work?
