Shakespeare to Winehouse open 9:00am–7:00pm on Thu, Fri, Sat from 7 July
Alex Miller (b. 1936), novelist, was born in London to an Irish mother and Scottish father. He left school at 15 and worked as a farm labourer before emigrating to Australia, alone, at the age of 17. After working as an itinerant stockman in Queensland he moved to Victoria, taking a degree in History and English at the University of Melbourne in 1965. He later taught writing at Brunswick Technical School and worked as a public servant in Canberra. His earliest success as a writer came with the publication of short stories and the production of several of his plays. In 1993 his third novel, The Ancestor Game, received the Miles Franklin Award. He received a second Miles Franklin Award in 2003 for his sixth novel, Journey to the Stone Country.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
© Rick Amor/Copyright Agency, 2022
Rick Amor (20 portraits)
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves: who we read, who we watch, who we listen to, who we cheer for, who we aspire to be, and who we'll never forget. The Companion is available to buy online and in the Portrait Gallery Store.
Australian author David Malouf discusses the creation of his portrait by artist Rick Amor.
Artist Rick Amor and author Shane Maloney relate divergent experiences of the creation of Shane's portrait.