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A potpourri of portraits

Archie 100 curator (and detective) Natalie Wilson’s nationwide search for Archibald portraits unearthed the fascinating stories behind some long-lost treasures.

Inner Worlds, Outer Selves

Within a person’s psyche live memories, dreams, instincts, fears and fantasies. On the outside, although our identities may appear far less complicated, we are able to choose which parts of ourselves we wish to project.

Miscellaneous obsessions

William Yang shares the stories behind his autobiographical self portraits that celebrate his cultural heritage and identity.

Take thy face hence

Joanna Gilmour travels through time to explore the National Portrait Gallery London’s masterpieces in Shakespeare to Winehouse.

Shiny, happy people

Glynis Jones on the Powerhouse’s retrospective of one of Australia’s foremost fashion reportage and social photographers.

Man with two lives

Alter ego

Tom Fryer surveys the twentieth-century architectural project, and finds representation and the portrait were integral elements.

Radclyffe Hall

Sir Isaac Newton

Self portrait

Primed

Seventeen of Australia’s thirty prime ministers to date are represented in the contrasting sizes, moods and mediums of these portraits.

A spectral sentience

Aimee Board reveals method, motivation and mortality in the portraiture of Rod McNicol.

Off grid

Aimee Board ventures within and beyond to consider two remarkable new Gallery acquisitions.

The Royal she

Traversing paint and pixels, Inga Walton examines portraits of select women in Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits.

Dupain detective

Johanna McMahon revels in history and mystery in pursuit of a suite of unknown portrait subjects.

Mrs Woods and ‘Ere, 2013

Purchased 2019

Mrs Woods, 2013

Gift of the artist 2019. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Christmas Island

This is my last Trumbology before, in a little more than a week from now, I pass to my successor Karen Quinlan the precious baton of the Directorship of the National Portrait Gallery.

Carte-o-mania!

Drawn from the NPG’s burgeoning collection of cartes de visite, Carte-o-mania! celebrates the wit, style and substance of the pocket-sized portraits that were taken and collected like crazy in post-goldrush Australia.

Gail Kelly, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by Westpac Group and Optus 2018

Material culture

The Rajah Quilt’s narrative promptings are as intriguing as the textile is intricate.

Study of Louis Nowra, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Bednall, Jillian Broadbent AO, John Kaldor AO and Naomi Milgrom AO 2018

Rock star

Jennifer Coombes explores the lush images of Picnic at Hanging Rock, featuring Anne-Louise Lambert’s Miranda, the face of the film. 

Study of Louis Nowra, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Bednall, Jillian Broadbent AC, John Kaldor AO and Naomi Milgrom AO 2018

David Clarke, 1995 (printed 2018)

Purchased 2018

The Saints, 1978 (printed 2018)

Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2018

The alchemist’s profile

John Zubrzycki meets Australian paint pioneer Jim Cobb.

In and out of focus

Gael Newton looks at Australian photography, film and the sixties through the novel lens of Mark Strizic.

Queen Victoria

Last Sunday I had the privilege of appearing at the Canberra Writers’ Festival in conversation with Julia Baird. The subject of our session was Julia’s recent biography, Victoria the Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman who Ruled an Empire.

Nicholas Harding: 28 Portraits

Sarah Engledow looks at three decades of Nicholas Harding's portraiture.

Portraiture in a Bleak House

It may seem an odd thing to do at one’s leisure on a beautiful tropical island, but I spent much of my midwinter break a few weeks ago re-reading Bleak House.

Natural born stiller

Penelope Grist speaks to Robert McFarlane about shooting for the stars.

A bear of great substance

Just in time for Christmas, Angus reflects on the most special present he has ever received.

Look who's coming to dinner

Michael Wardell’s personal insight into Jacques van der Merwe’s New Arrivals.

Apollo's breath

Christopher Chapman delights in the intimacy of Robert Mapplethorpe's photography

Very fine and very like

When did notions of very fine and very like become separate qualities of a portrait? And what happens to 'very like' in the age of photographic portraiture?

Augustus serendipitous

The London-born son of an American painter, Augustus Earle ended up in Australia by accident in January 1825. 

The portrait writ large

Karen Vickery on Chang the Chinese giant in Australia.

The Freak Show

Many performers availed themselves of the services of photographic studios, posing for carte de visite portraits that served as souvenirs and as instruments in the making of renown and notoriety.       

The Bare story

Curator, Penny Grist, reveals how this exhibition came to be

Trumble's way

At the end of a summer break one is tempted to say that there is nothing much to report. Isn’t one restful holiday very much like another?

Jack Thompson, 2013

Purchased 2015

Rick Amor: 21 Portraits

Sarah Engledow chronicles Rick Amor's work and accomplishments in this extensive essay in conjunction with the exhibition Rick Amor: 21 Portraits.

Masters of Modern Indonesian Portraiture

Press releases for media

Terrace Room Two

The eastern side of the Terrace Room is perfect for a breakfast or lunch, workshop or planning day.

Terrace Room One

The western side of the Terrace Room is perfect for a breakfast or lunch, a workshop or planning day.

Terrace Room

The Terrace Room opens onto a north facing, outdoor heated terrace with lovely views.

Remembering Ursula

I first knew Dr. Hoff when in 1986, long after retiring from the National Gallery of Victoria, she taught a graduate seminar on Rembrandt.

Conference or seminar

We can tailor our spaces to suit your conference, seminar or forum.

The 'I' in Indigenous art

Jane Raffan examines unique styles of Indigenous portraiture that challenge traditional Western concepts of the artform.

Heather Corrigan

The lovely faces in my photograph are that of my best friends. Some I have only known for a couple of months, others for most of my life. For me, recreating a family portrait with individuals I love was supremely important. I was reconstructing a photo of people I cherish with people I adore.

A man of superior attainments

Joanna Gilmour explores the life of a colonial portrait artist, writer and rogue Thomas Griffiths Wainewright.

Alyssa, 2006

A non-material and non-physical portrait

Inner Worlds features the recently commissioned portrait of world-renowned philosopher of consciousness David Chalmers by Melbourne-based artist Nick Mourtzakis.

Cancellation Policy

Procedures and fees for cancelling bookings and programs.

Vivan Sundaram

Born in 1943 in Simla, Vivan Sundaram’s long career has given him opportunities to work in a range of mediums – painting, installation, assemblage, photography, digital media and film.

Alwin Reamillo

Alwin Reamillo was born in Manila, Philippines in 1964. He studied painting at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts, and began his career as a visual art teacher at the Philippine High School for the Arts.

Jose Legaspi

Jose Legaspi was born in 1959 in Manila. He achieved degrees in zoology and biology before turning to fine arts in the mid-1980s.

Venue hire

The National Portrait Gallery is the perfect place to host your event.

Robert Lowe (Viscount Sherbrooke), n.d.

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Royall Tyler, c. 1994 (printed 2012)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Malcolm Fraser, Randwick Racecourse, 1975 (printed 2002)

Purchased 2012

Harry Kewell, 2011

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Amy Castles, c. 1902

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Jim and Barbara Higgins 2012

The numbers man

Dr. Sarah Engledow tells the story of Australia's first Federal statistician, Sir George Knibbs.

Sketch portrait of David Aspden, 1975

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lyn Williams AM 2011
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Jenny Sages

The exhibition Sages examines the process of portrait making through four large-scale portraits of women by Jenny Sages, paired with intimate preparatory drawings.

A serious man

Alistair McGhie discusses Andrew MacColl's portrait photograph of Australian comedian Mick Molloy.

Poison pen

Michael Desmond examines the career of the eighteenth-century suspected poisoner and portrait artist Thomas Griffiths Wainewright.

Noah Taylor, 1994 (printed 2010)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2010

Cardinal Moran, 1886-1888

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Abstraction and figuration

James Angus discusses his major sculpture commission Geo Face Distributor with Christopher Chapman.

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.

Chance encounter

Joanna Gilmour explores the life and times of one of Melbourne's early socialites, Jessie Eyre Williams.

Major James Semple-Lisle, c. 1799

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Open Air

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

Form and reality

A photographic portrait by Kerry Dundas captures the contemplative mind of visionary painter Godfrey Miller.

One and all

The current exhibition of portraits at the National Gallery of Ireland Print Gallery investigates just how paper-thin ideas of likeness are.

The activist A-list

Dr Sarah Engledow examines a number of figures in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery who were pioneers or substantial supporters of the seminal Australian environmental campaigns of the early 1970s and 1980s.

Pop goes the preconception

A National Portrait Gallery, London exhibition redefines portraiture, shifting the focus towards a new perspective on Pop Art.

Studio

Studio: Australian Painters Photographed by R

Flash

Introduction The National Portrait Gallery’s photographic exhibition Flash: Australian Athletes in Focus explores various interpretations of Australian sporting men and women.

Hyperversity

Dr Sarah Engledow writes about the larger-than-life Australian performance artist, Leigh Bowery.

Joshua Ross, 2006

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006

Helen Garner, 2004

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

Sir Ian Potter, 1973

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lady Primrose Potter 2006
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Poets' Portraits

The Portrait Gallery's paintings of two poets, Les Murray and Peter Porter, demonstrate two very different artists' responses to the challenge of representing more than usually sensitive and imaginative men.

The world of Thea Proctor

The world of Thea Proctor was the National Portrait Gallery's second exhibition to follow the life of a single person, following Rarely Everage: The lives of Barry Humphries.

Cyril Henschke in his tasting room at Keyneton, 1968

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Canadian identities

An exploration of national identity in the Canadian context drawn from the symposium Face to Face at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in 2004.

Leah Purcell, c. 2000

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004

True Stories - Helen Garner, 2003

Gift of the artist 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Joan Kerr, 2004

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of James Semple Kerr 2004

Australians in Hollywood

The exhibition Australians in Hollywood celebrated the achievements of Australians in the highly competitive American film industry.

John Passmore AC, 1973

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mrs Doris Passmore 2003

Geoffrey Graham, 1941

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Rex Dupain 2003
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Semi self portrait, Hunter Valley, 1992 (printed 2000)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
The series 'David Moore: From Face to Face' was acquired as a gift of the artist and with financial assistance from Timothy Fairfax AC and L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2001

George Johnston, Fleet Street, London, c. 1952 (printed 2000)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
The series 'David Moore: From Face to Face' was acquired as a gift of the artist and with financial assistance from Timothy Fairfax AC and L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2001

Joel, Mitchell Queensland, 2014