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Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
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Search / leigh bowery
Robyn Beeche
Leigh Bowery, 1984
Portrait, type C photograph on paper
Gift of Claudia Hyles, Dr Christiane Lawin-Bruessel, Gwenda Matthews, Gael Newton, Anne O'Hehir, Susan Smith and Dominic Thomas in memory of our friend, Robyn Beeche 2016
David Gwinnutt
Leigh Bowery in Fur Coat, c. 1983 (printed 2005)
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005
Leigh Bowery
Biography
Leigh Bowery (1961-1994), London-based designer and nightclub performer, was born in the Melbourne suburb of Sunshine, and attended school in Melbourne before briefly studying fashion design at RMIT.
2 portraits in the collection
Francis Reiss
Leigh Hobbs, 1993
Portrait, inkjet print on paper
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009
De Gruchy & Leigh
R O'Hara Burke, c. 1861
Portrait, lithograph on paper
Purchased 2009
De Gruchy & Leigh
William John Wills, c. 1861
Portrait, lithograph on paper
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009
Hyperversity
Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006
Dr Sarah Engledow writes about the larger-than-life Australian performance artist, Leigh Bowery.
De Gruchy & Leigh
Biography
De Gruchy & Leigh was a publishing and printing firm operating in Melbourne and regional Victoria from the late 1850s until the mid 1860s.
2 portraits in the collection
The Huxleys
Smalltown Boy (Surfers Paradise), 2018
Portrait, gilcée print on paper
Purchased 2021
The Huxleys
Smalltown Boy (Perth), 2018
Portrait, gilcée print on paper
Purchased 2021
Michel Lawrence
Athol Shmith, 1985
Portrait, type C photograph on paper
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999
Jon Waddy
Mr King (Bernard King), c. 1979
Portrait, type C photograph on paper
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005
Gervaise Purcell
William Dakin, c. 1943
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Leigh Purcell 2012
Every flap, fold and bulge
Magazine article by Starr Figura, 2008
Lucian Freud's unflinching realism is on display in the first solo exhibition of his paintings and etchings at The Museum of Modern Art, New York. 
The Dipper
Moustaches
One of the versions of thick, macho moustache strongly associated in the Australian visual lexicon with sportsmen of the 1970s and 80s.
Judges statements
General content
The judges for the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2025 are Benjamin Law, Serena Bentley and Leigh Robb.