Open Air

Portraits in the Landscape

Wednesday 3 December 2008 until Sunday 1 March 2009

Open Air is an exhibition of portraits of Australians in environments of particular significance to them.

Margaret Whitlam, 2005 by Sahlan Hayes

The exhibition extends the notion of portraiture beyond the simple definition of 'pictures with faces' to embrace deeply-rooted visual expressions of identity in which various artists have engaged with different kinds of ancestral history. Inclusive, lyrical and strongly Australian in character.

The crime writer Shane Maloney, 2004 by Rick Amor

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Jeffrey Smart, 1992 by Greg Weight

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Joshua Ross, 2006 by Sahlan Hayes

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Peter Carey in Kelly country, 2000 by Bruce Armstrong
Currently on display

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Sidney Nolan, Western Australia, 1962 (printed 2000) by David Moore

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Arthur Boyd, Bundanon, New South Wales, 1995 (printed 2000) by David Moore

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View the full set of images

Related people

Dr Sarah Engledow (curator)

Andrew Sayers AM

Magazine article, Portrait 51

At easel

Tim Bonyhady recalls his experience as sitter for his close friend and former National Portrait Gallery Director, the late Andrew Sayers.

Interview with Andrew Sayers video: 2 minutes

Portrait story

Sir Henry Barkly

An interview with former National Portrait Gallery Director, Andrew Sayers, who describes the portrait of Sir Henry Barkly by Thomas Clark.

Portrait story

Kym Bonython

'The man and his cap'

Former National Portrait Gallery Director, Andrew Sayers, describes John Brack's portrait of Kym Bonython.

Magazine article, Portrait 30

Through blue eyes

Works by Arthur Boyd and Sidney Nolan bring the desert, the misty seashore and the hot Monaro plains to exhibition Open Air: Portraits in the landscape.