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

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.

Experience the very best new portrait paintings and photographs from across Australia.

Using ochres collected on her country in Western Australia’s East Kimberley, Shirley Purdie’s self-portrait is a kaleidoscope of traditional Gija stories and Ngarranggarni (Dreaming) passed down to her.

Celebrate the people, places and sounds of Australian pub rock and its enduring impact on our nation’s identity.

The collection display includes a wide selection of portraits that tell extraordinary stories of encounter, exploration, independence, individuality and achievement in Australia.

Revealing the backstories behind the NPG collection, Before hand features interviews with artists and sitters as well as working drawings, scrapbooks, sketches and footage taken in artists’ studios and out on location.

Reconnect and reflect with our new major exhibition, Australian Love Stories (in real life!) as we explore love, affection and connection in all its guises.

That’s a different name? Yep! Acknowledging how extraordinary 2020 has been, we've decided to mix it up a little and title the exhibition, ‘Living Memory: National Photographic Portrait Prize’.

An educational and fun 14-day adults’ introduction to portraiture.

All visitors must pre-book for one of the daily sessions. Each day will have a limited number of people allowed.

Massage your grey matter with a peek inside the mind and brain as we look at portraits about consciousness, neurotechnology and dementia.

Stand tall and be intrigued and inspired by the achievements of some remarkable women from the collection who exude strength, ambition and creativity.

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

Join us for stories of humour, love, sadness and hope as we explore portraits of our history, identity and the complexities of what it means to be Australian.

Take a breath and enter a quieter state as we explore portraits where the sitter appears to drift off, lower their guard and give more away.

Join us for a live and interactive video tour through the Shirley Purdie exhibition, Ngalim-Ngalimbooroo Ngagenybe.

Lust and longing, drama and devotion, seduction and scandal! Delve into an enticing array of tales of the heart.

Grab your paddles and join us on an adventure as we look at three artworks that inspired and recorded the roots of Australia’s environmental movement.

Join Darling Portrait Prize winner Anthea da Silva as she shares her passion for life drawing and portraiture and experiments with a range of drawing and painting styles.

Get all Sherlock Holmes and discover how artists accidentally (or on purpose) reveal their own character and world when they’re creating a portrait.

There’s nothing quite like Storytime! Snuggle up with your favourite small person and join us for a live-streamed reading of Shaun Tan’s ‘The Lost Thing.’

It’s like Oxford St online! Join us for an exploration of gender, performance and queerness as we take a look at three provocative, and sometimes transgressive, Australian icons.

Be the first to view our new exhibition. Join members of our team for a special tour and see the people, places and sounds that defined Australian pub rock in the 70s and 80s.

Learning Facilitator Carolyn Eccles will take us on a gentle wander through the National Portrait Gallery's collection, as we re-examine the meanings of the word 'home' and how we define ourselves in the places and contexts that we find it in.

Music and art share many attributes – line, rhythm, dynamics, mood and storytelling, to name a few. This tour will explore some portraits that link these two art forms.

Be the first to view our new exhibition. Join members of our team for a special tour and see the people, places and sounds that defined Australian pub rock in the 70s and 80s.

Be the first to view our new exhibition. Join members of our team for a special tour and see the people, places and sounds that defined Australian pub rock in the 70s and 80s.

Learning Facilitator Carolyn Eccles will take us on a gentle wander through the National Portrait Gallery's collection, as we re-examine the meanings of the word 'home' and how we define ourselves in the places and contexts that we find it in.

Crowd surf to get up front with curator Jo “Frock on” Gilmour and exhibition manager Sheridan “The Flame” Burnett as they take you backstage on Australia’s Pub Rock scene.

Dancers Tammi Gissell, Natasha Lee Rogers and Emma Laverty join to present a performance of unity and celebration of culture on Ngunnawal land. Accompanied by violinist Michael Liu.

Layne Beachley, Jim Conway and Gurrumul Yunupingu’s portraits evoke both the visible and the invisible. Through the portraits and life experience of both subjects and artists in the collection, this tour will consider what is ‘invisible disability’.

The aspect of someone's character that is perceived by others is made richer when we consider that it also refers to a role or character inhabited by an actor. We look at three performing artists' portraits in three contrasting media.

Your backstage pass to sensational stories about Canberra’s Pub Rock scene with Chris Shakallis (Young Docteurs), Julia Ford (The Framed) and Fiona Edge (keeper of the ‘Pling archive)

Pack your snacks and get prepped for a highlights tour as we explore the idea of adventure! Along the way we’ll meet some amazing faces and journey to different times and places.

There’s nothing quite like Storytime! Snuggle up with your favourite small person and join us for a live-streamed reading of Shaun Tan’s ‘The Lost Thing.’

Explore the different ways people connect to the land and to each other.

Join us online for a bilingual reading of My Story, Ngaginybe Jarragbe by Shirley Purdie.

Join us for a bout of FREE pub trivia – all online and live-streamed of course! There’ll be an hour of music mayhem and prizes to be won.

It’s like an after party, but waaay after. Join Greg Appel (Lighthouse Keepers), Robina Gugler (co-writer of Head Full of Flames) and Fiona Edge (Keeper of the ‘Pling archive).

A veritable treasure trove of extraordinary artists and their creative spaces.

Assume ballet position one and join photographer Peter Brew Bevan – in conversation with Before hand exhibition curator, Penny Grist – as he provides insight into the private life of his portrait of dancer David McAllister.

Celebrate the urban environment and our interaction with it.

Grab your press pass and hold it tight as we dive camera-first into the mosh pit! Photographers Wendy McDougall and Stuart Spence have captured the likes of INXS, Cold Chisel, Paul Kelly, Tim Freedman and many more.

Remembering many of the exciting moments and extraordinary athletes of the Sydney Olympics.

The internet and digital apps have opened up the world of courtship. But has digital dating made it easier to find our own Australian Love Story?

It takes all sorts to create a national portrait collection – good, bad and ugly; meek and powerful; famous and utterly obscure.

In their own words is an audio-guide with a difference. We let the portraits of these remarkable Australians speak for themselves.

Help us celebrate diversity and the LGBTIQ+ community with a virtual tour and meet some exceptional queer icons.

In this hybrid tour and making experience we will take you on a behind-the-scenes journey through the portraits and the exhibition.

Celebrate our First Nations Identity for NAIDOC with the National Portrait Gallery collection from the comfort of your own home.

Join us for a conversation with NPPP 2020 finalist Sanjeev Singh and his subject Peter McEwan as we discuss the shameful history and ultimate triumph behind this striking portrait.

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

We will explore faces inspired by portraits from the collection using movement and music.

Celebrate the past as we chat all things love, intimacy and sex with Nick Henderson from the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives.

Artist Cherry Hood shows us her unique way of making large-scale watercolour portraits.

Working from a photograph of your choice, Cherry Hood will share her tips to help you hone your watercolour skills.

Join us for a virtual highlights tour that investigates the sometimes problematic portrayal of scientists in portraiture.

Join Sandra Bruce, Director Collection & Exhibitions at the National Portrait Gallery, as she explores the progressive and successful relationship of artists and couple Margel and Frank Hinder.

A selection of works composed during times of pandemics, epidemics, and highly contagious diseases that celebrate the beauty that can be created in, and despite, the darkest of times.

Ahead of International Day of People with Disability, 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.

Celebrate our four-legged family folk and join us for a furry tour of portraits with animals.

Join curator Penny Grist in conversation with Karen Vickery, Director Access and Learning and Louise Maher, journalist and researcher as they discuss the project and share some fascinating stories from the App.

Ever wondered how an artist’s choice of materials and technique can reveal their unique perspective?

We will explore faces inspired by portraits from the collection using movement and music.

In these uncertain times, with physical gatherings restricted, we can all still recall major events such as the bogong moth migration, and remain connected to each other through nature.

We will explore faces inspired by portraits from the collection using movement and music.

Take a 30 minute tour of the Portrait Gallery exploring the collection and the building.

Take a 30 minute tour of the exhibition.

A Christmas themed concert featuring the glorious sounds of the Clarion vocal ensemble, directed by Tobias Cole.

Progetti Chamber Choir invites you to share in this programme of Christmas music, and in the invocation of the dawning of a new day, where light and hope are reborn.

A Christmas themed concert featuring the glorious sounds of the Clarion vocal ensemble, directed by Tobias Cole.

A space for families to mimic, reflect and explore. For all ages and abilities.

Listen to the story Magic Beach by Alison Lester and create your own visual response.

Explore the main collection during our ‘quiet hours’ sessions, suitable for anyone who prefers a quieter visitor experience.

QL2 Director Ruth Osborne, working in close collaboration with seven recent tertiary dance graduates, brings you a performance that will move through the three themes to explore creative spaces, connection to landscape and their collective story.

Join us on online for a reading of Alison Lester’s Magic Beach followed by a chance to create your own visual response with items at home.

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

Join us as we chat with specialists (and no doubt patient humans) from Endangered Heritage to hear about the curious processes involved in restoring and conserving art objects.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that summer was all about cricket, so prepare to be bowled over as we celebrate our warmest season with a look at a variety of portraits from the most sun-baked to the cool and quirky.

Think you know your Aussie pub rock? Then join us in the Gallery for a night of music mayhem!

Ben Quilty talks about portraiture as ‘a recording of a moment that reflects the sharing of a story.’

Photo-media artist Anne Zahalka has been exhibiting since the early 80s. Join us (and Anne!) as we look at a few of her works in the collection and chat about her principles and practice.

Join Penny Grist, Curator Exhibitions in conversation with Evert Ploeg and eX de Medici, two of Australia’s best-loved artist.

Following on from our popular tour reflecting on how people with a disability have been represented in portraiture, join us as we look at works from the collection and contemplate inclusivity with a focus on the artists.

Can you believe there are over 100 portraits by photographer Greg Weight in the collection?! Join us as we talk all things portraiture with the prolific photographer himself.

Celebrate Norman Lindsay’s birthday with us as we explore the life and world behind the creator of this Australian children’s classic.

Join us in the Gallery for an intimate drawing workshop with British-Australian artist Nicholas Harding.

Join us from wherever you are for an intimate, online drawing workshop with British-Australian artist Nicholas Harding.

Discover some of the artists, architects, and activists who have travelled far and wide and yet call Canberra home.

Join us on the red carpet to meet some of Australia’s fashion stars, known not just for striking poses, but also for their striking stories. 

Join us as we navigate through portraits of those who’ve explored, adventured and endured the challenges of traversing on and off our planet.