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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

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General information

Les Darcy

American dream leads to tragic end

Young love lost, treasured

Billy Mann 1963 by Larry Clark

Larry Clark

General content

Larry Clark's black-and-white documentary images of young outsiders reveal raw feelings.

Treading Water, 2017 by Josh Owen, video: 5 minutes

Treading Water, 2017

General content

Finalist, DPA 2017
Single channel digital video

The Murdoch

The Murdoch

Sport was a potent means by which, in the lead up to Federation, Australians began to assert a sense of themselves as youthful, manly and athletic – the products of an equally young and virile new nation.

Bon Scott & Angus Young, Atlanta, Georgia

Backstage on the way to the top

Living for the moment

Margel and Tarquin, Canberra

The Hinders: doyens of Australian modernism

Progressive partnership

Convict love token from J. Waldon, 1832

To coin a (farewell) phrase

A penny for their thoughts

Guthugga Pipeline, Christmas Show, upstairs, The (old) Griffin Centre, Civic, 22 December 1979. Crowd, L-R : Ben Donaldson, Anne Redmond, Nick Vollis, Esa Makela, Megan Woodrow (Mohawk), Andy Hall (scarf) 'pling

Capital Cool

Stop in all the byways, playin' rock 'n roll

General content

Outsiders tend to give Canberra a bad rap: sterile, plagued by politicians, a comatose capital for professionals and academics. Nick Cave once said he didn’t like the city because there were too many punks.

Shirley Purdie

Contributing artists

Born: 1947, Gilbun – Mabel Downs Station, WA
Works: Warmun, WA

Angus Young, AC/DC, LA

Oz Rock

Gettin’ robbed, gettin’ stoned, gettin’ beat up, broken boned

General content

Two of the music industry’s highest-selling performers originated in suburban Australia. The Bee Gees started out in Brisbane, for instance, and AC/DC played their first gigs at a nightclub in inner Sydney.

Blek Bala MJ, 2017 by Timothy Hillier, video: 6 minutes

Blek Bala MJ, 2017

by Timothy Hillier

General content

Finalist, DPA 2017
Single channel HD digital video

Self portrait

Arthur Boyd’s Mysterious Eyes

Archived media releases 2016

The National Portrait Gallery has unveiled a focus exhibition of captivating portraits by renowned artist Arthur Boyd, titled Mysterious eyes: Arthur Boyd portraits from 1945.

The 70 year old jetty jumper, 2011 by Alex Frayne

Alex Frayne

NPPP 2012 learning resource

An interview with the photographer.

To Look Away – Tilda, 2015 by Sophie Hyde, video: 18 minutes

To Look Away – Tilda, 2015

General content

Finalist, DPA 2016

Jaq Grantford

Jaq Grantford

A self-portrait from a different time, feels like a different time, even though it's only a couple of years ago or one and a half years, if that, and it was my commentary on COVID and how I was feeling about it at the time.

Cat Leedon

Cat Leedon

This was taken as part of a series, documenting my, I call it my shit show roller coaster.

© National Portrait Gallery 2024
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Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
Phone +61 2 6102 7000
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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. Copyright in all materials and/or works comprising or contained within this website remains with the National Portrait Gallery and other copyright owners as specified.

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Requests for a reproduction of a work of art or other content can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

The National Portrait Gallery is an Australian Government Agency