Search / alan mitchell

Alan Mitchell is based in Melbourne and specialises in room set photography.

4 portraits in the collection

Portrait of John Flaus, 2022

Gift of the artist 2022

Neil Finn, 1987 (printed 2021)

Gift of the artist 2021

Neil Finn and Paul Hester, 1987 (printed 2021)

Gift of the artist 2021

Paul Hester, 1987 (printed 2021)

Portrait, inkjet print on canvas

Gift of the artist 2021

Sherbet, 1974 (printed 2002)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Sherbet, 1974

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

Tony Mitchell

Tony Mitchell was in a band called Wheelbarrow, who released a single, 'Dame Zara' before Mitchell left to join Harry Young and Sabbath.

3 portraits in the collection

Harold Mitchell AC

Harold Mitchell AC (1942-2024), businessman and philanthropist, left his home town of Stawell at seventeen to become an office boy in a Melbourne advertising agency.

1 portrait in the collection

Alex Mitchell

Alexander George Mitchell (1911-1997), academic, studied English literature and language at the University of Sydney and the University of London before joining the English department of the University of Sydney, where he assumed the McCaughey Chair of Early English Literature and Language in 1947.

1 portrait in the collection

David Mitchell

David Mitchell (1829-1916), builder, contractor and businessman, arrived in Melbourne in mid-1852 in the Anna.

1 portrait in the collection

Second thoughts, 2008

by Brad Mitchell

Portrait, watercolour on ivory

David Mitchell, 1903 (later reworked)

Ada Whiting

Gift of the Mitchell Family 2012

The Hon. Dame Roma Mitchell AC DBE CVO QC

The Hon. Dame Roma Mitchell AC DBE CVO QC (1913–2000) was the first Australian woman to be a Queen's Counsel, Supreme Court judge, Acting Chief Justice, Deputy University Chancellor, Chancellor and State Governor.

2 portraits in the collection

Andrew Mitchell Ramsay

Andrew Mitchell Ramsay (1809-1869), clergyman, was Melbourne's first Presbyterian minister.

1 portrait in the collection

Roma Mitchell

In their own words

Recorded 1978

Lindy Lee - Birth and Death, 2006

by Robert Scott-Mitchell

Tony Mitchell, 1975 (printed 2001)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Harold Mitchell, 2001 (printed 2011)

Lorrie Graham

Portrait, pastel on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Portrait of Dame Roma Mitchell, 1940s

Geoffrey Mainwaring

Gift of friends of Dame Roma Mitchell 2018

Dame Roma Mitchell, 1998

Jessica Hromas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Hammond Care Group 1999

Rev. Andrew Mitchell Ramsay, 1865

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on paper laid on cardboard

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2009

Alan Goldberg AO QC

Alan Goldberg AO QC (1940-2016), Federal Court judge, was born into a pioneering Jewish Melbourne family and graduated from the University of Melbourne law school in the early 1960s.

1 portrait in the collection

Alan Marshall AM OBE

Alan Marshall AM OBE (1902-1984), writer, began life in Victoria’s Western District.

4 portraits in the collection

Alan Sandow

Alan Sandow (b. 1952), drummer, joined Clive Shakespeare in the initial Sherbet lineup in 1969, before Daryl Braithwaite joined the band.

3 portraits in the collection

Alan Sumner MBE

Alan Sumner MBE (1911-1994) was a painter, printmaker, teacher and stained glass designer.

1 portrait in the collection

Alan Jessop

Alan Jessop OAM (b. 1930) is known to Canberrans as the Salvo Man, having collected donations for the Salvation Army in the city for over 30 years.

1 portrait in the collection

Alan Jones

Alan Jones (b. 1977), artist, completed an advanced diploma of fine arts at the National Art School, Sydney, in 1997.

1 portrait in the collection

Alan Alder

Alan Alder (1937–2019), dancer and ballet teacher, began his career studying tap and Scottish highland dancing in Canberra.

2 portraits in the collection

Alan Bond

Born in London, Alan Bond (1938–2015) emigrated with his family in 1950 and began his working life as a signwriter.

2 portraits in the collection

Alan Marshall

In their own words

Recorded 1964

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Alan Bishop Stretton AO OBE LLB

Alan Bishop Stretton AO OBE LLB (1922-2012) enlisted in the Australian Army in 1940 as a private and retired as a Major-General in 1978 being one of the few Australian generals to rise from the ranks.

1 portrait in the collection

Estate of Alan Boxer

Portrait, watercolour, coloured pencil, crayon and gouache on paper

Alan Boxer, public servant, academic and art collector, was schooled in Melbourne and gained his economic qualifications in Melbourne and Oxford.

Alan Bond,

Joe Greenberg

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001

Alan Marshall, 1984

Portrait, oil on cardboard

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Portrait of Alan Marshall, 1955

Lina Bryans

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Alan Goldberg, 2014

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2015

Alan Freeman, c. 1970 (printed 2002)

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen and pen and ink on paper laid down on cardboard

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

Alan Marshall, n.d.

Louis Kahan AO

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mrs Lily Kahan 2017
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Alan Bond, 1985

Rennie Ellis

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006

Alan Freeman MBE, c. 1970 (printed 2002)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Alan Sumner, 1993

Francis Reiss

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2004

Alan Sandow, 1975 (printed 2001)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Alan Alder, c. 1970 (printed 2012)

Janice McIllree

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Janice McIllree 2012

Alan Alder, c. 1970 (printed 2012)

Janice McIllree

Portrait, oil on masonite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Janice McIllree 2012

Alan Marshall, 1971

Noel Counihan

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Barrie and Jenny Hadlow 2015

Alan 'Salvo Man' Jessop, 2019 (printed 2022)

Gino Zardo

Portrait, gilcée print on paper

Purchased 2022

Adam (Adam Goodes), 2014

Alan Jones

Portrait, oil and synthetic polymer paint on linen

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2015. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Beyond the bow tie

Magazine article by Diana O'Neil, 2016

Nathan Faiman delves into the rich life story and legacy of Alan Goldberg.

Of jumpers and river gums, red

Diana O’Neil on Noel Counihan’s vivid 1971 portrait of Alan Marshall.

Painter John Brack with Professor Alex Mitchell and Sir Garfield Barwick, c. 1977

Jozef Vissel

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

Gift of the Jozef Vissel 2015

Major General Alan Stretton, 1987

Gwendolene Pratt

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Stretton family 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Queen's Birthday Weekend, 2013

by Alan Hill and Kelly Hussey-Smith

Alan Dowler and Dwayne Tickner, c. 2000

Penny Tweedie

Henry Samuel Sadd, Fergusson & Mitchell, Melbourne after Thomas Adams Hill

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004

Robert O'Hara Burke, Leader of the Victorian Expedition

Robert O'Hara Burke, Leader of the Victorian Expedition, 1860-1861

Portrait, mezzotint on paper

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2007

William John Wills, 2nd in command of the Victorian Expedition

William John Wills, 2nd in command of the Victorian Expedition, 1860-1861

Henry Samuel Sadd, Fergusson & Mitchell, Melbourne after Thomas Adams Hill

Portrait, mezzotint on paper

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2007

Judicial portraits

Magazine article by Leslie Moran, 2007

Leslie Moran investigates the portraits of judges in the National Portrait Gallery's collection.

Good, bad and the ugly

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2007

Michael Desmond explores what makes a portrait subject significant.

Piper, the native who accompanied Major Mitchell in his expedition to the interior of N.S.W.

Piper, the native who accompanied Major Mitchell in his expedition to the interior of N.S.W., 1836

William Fernyhough

Portrait, lithograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Robert Edwards AO 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Piper, the native who accompanied Major Mitchell in his expedition to the interior

Piper, the native who accompanied Major Mitchell in his expedition to the interior, c. 1836

William Fernyhough

Portrait, lithograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

Redfern, I love you - Alan, 2012

by Ben Lawrence

Joel, Mitchell Queensland, 2014

by Matthew Abbott

Clive Shakespeare

Clive Shakespeare formed the soul/Tamla Motown cover group the Downtown Roll Band in 1968.

3 portraits in the collection

William Fernyhough

William Henry Fernyhough (1809-1849) was a sketcher, silhouette artist, lithographer and draughtsman who immigrated to Sydney in 1836.

13 portraits in the collection

Donors

$10,000 - $49,999

Honour board

John Piper

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Piper (life dates unknown), also known as John Piper, was a Wiradjuri man who acted as a guide to Thomas Mitchell’s surveying expedition along the Murray and Darling Rivers into present-day Victoria in 1836.

2 portraits in the collection

Emily Kame Kngwarreye, 1995

Jenny Sages

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Bequest of Alan Boxer 2014

Youthful intrigue, 2014

by Stuart Elwin

Archived media releases 2015

Portrait Gallery benefits from generous Boxer bequest

8 April 2015

Canberran and modernist art collector Alan Boxer has generously bequeathed two works by artists Arthur Boyd and Jenny Sages to the National Portrait Gallery.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2007

Previous exhibition, 2007

Photography is the most pervasive and popular medium for portraiture and makes a natural fit with the Gallery, being a natural extension of the Gallery's longstanding commitment to photography as a contemporary portrait medium.

John Davis

Australia's America's Cup challengers

Alan Davies' and Peter Stanbury's The Mechanical Eye in Australia lists Sydney photographer John Davis (life dates unknown) as having a carte-de visite studio on King Street, and as working from addresses on Pitt and George Streets between 1870 and 1873..

1 portrait in the collection

A magnificent rivalry

Previous exhibition, 2003

Alexander (Jock) Sturrock and Alan Bond

POL

Portrait of a Generation

POL was a magazine that ran from 1969 to 1986

Study for the portrait of Aldo Giurgola, 2005

Mandy Martin

Portrait, gouache, fibre tip pen and natural pigment on colour photocopy

Gift of the artist 2005

Kel, 2018

Tom Farrell

Freeman Brothers

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2002

James Freeman, who is credited with bringing the wet-plate photographic process to New South Wales, arrived in Sydney in 1854 to join his brother William, who had arrived the year before.

9 portraits in the collection

Little treasures

The acquisition of the ivory miniatures of Mortimer and Mrs Lewis.

Tom Glover

English-born Thomas Ellis Glover moved to New Zealand as a child and by his early twenties was working as a cartoonist, court reporter and journalist.

10 portraits in the collection

Slow Motion @ 300kms per hour Mark ‘Sparky’ Webber, Formula 1 Driver, 2016

by Gino Zardo

Sir Charles Mackerras AC KT CBE

Sir (Alan) Charles Mackerras AC CBE (1925-2010) was chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra from 1982 to 1985.

1 portrait in the collection

Slow Motion @ 300kms per hour Mark 'Sparky'™ Webber, Formula 1 Driver

Slow Motion @ 300kms per hour Mark 'Sparky'™ Webber, Formula 1 Driver, 2016

Gino Zardo

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2019

John Button

John Button (1933-2008), Labor politician, studied arts and law at the University of Melbourne and made his name as a barrister in Melbourne before becoming involved in the Victorian branch of the Labor Party in the late 1950s.

2 portraits in the collection

John Marsden

John Marsden (b. 1950), children's writer and social commentator, grew up in country Victoria and Tasmania and then attended the Kings School in Parramatta.

1 portrait in the collection

The silent spectre of motion (Le spectre silencieux du movement), 2012

by Bridget Walker

Finalist, iD2012

Elizabeth Lewis

Mortimer Lewis (1796–1879), surveyor and architect, and his wife Elizabeth (née Clements, c.

1 portrait in the collection

Mortimer Lewis

Mortimer Lewis (1796–1879), surveyor and architect, and his wife Elizabeth (née Clements, c.

1 portrait in the collection

Romaldo Giurgola AO

Portrait, cast bronze on mosaic tile panel

Romaldo Giurgola AO (1920–2016), architect, was a founding partner of the firm that won the international design competition for Australia’s New Parliament House in 1980.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Charles Mackerras, 1983

Arthur Fleischmann

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Sir Charles Mackerras 2009

Mrs Elizabeth Lewis, c. 1830

Portrait, watercolour on ivory

Gift of Leo Schofield AM 2002. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

David Brooks

Portrait, pencil on paper

David Brooks, poet, literary critic and academic, studied in the early 1970s at the Australian National University, where he fell in with a group of Canberra writers including AD Hope, Rosemary Dobson, David Campbell and Judith Wright and co-founded Open Door Press with Alan Gould.

1 portrait in the collection

Study for portrait of Senator John Button, 1992

Andrew Sibley

Gift of the artist 2002. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Enrico Taglietti AO

Enrico Taglietti (1926-2019), architect, spent his early childhood in Milan, moving to Eritrea in the year leading up to World War 2.

1 portrait in the collection

Senator John Button, 1987

Andrew Sibley

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Daphne Mayo MBE

Daphne Mayo MBE (1895–1982), sculptor, was born in Sydney and moved to Brisbane as a child.

1 portrait in the collection

Francis Reiss

Francis Reiss (1917-2017), portrait photographer and photojournalist, was born in Hamburg and educated in Germany, England and the USA before joining London's Picture Post as a staff photographer.

11 portraits in the collection

William Griffith

William Griffith (c. 1808-1870) emigrated to Australia around 1840 and moved to Parramatta with his wife, Susan, whom he had married ten days after landing in Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of a beautiful mind - Adam Cullen, Blue Mountains

Portrait of a beautiful mind - Adam Cullen, Blue Mountains, 2005 (printed 2019)

George Fetting

Purchased with funds provided by Alan Dodge AM & Neil Archibald 2019

George Baird Shaw

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on masonite

George Baird Shaw (1812-1883), painter and printmaker, arrived in Australia in 1856.

2 portraits in the collection

Carl Cooper, 1945-1946

Arthur Boyd AC OBE

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Bequest of Alan Boxer 2014

William Nicholas

William Nicholas was born near London and is believed to have trained with English printmaker A.M Huffam.

2 portraits in the collection

John Schaeffer AO - art collector and philanthropist

John Schaeffer AO - art collector and philanthropist, 2014

Evert Ploeg

Purchased with funds provided by Harold Mitchell AC

Raelene Sharp

Raelene Sharp (b. 1957), artist, was born in Melbourne and began her career as a graphic artist in advertising.

2 portraits in the collection

Andrew Sibley

A Portrait of Colonial Australia

Andrew Sibley (1933–2015), painter and teacher, is known for his figurative paintings, landscapes and abstract works.

20 portraits in the collection

Bungaree, late chief of the Broken Bay tribe, Sydney

Heads of the People

Previous exhibition, 2000

For Tom Roberts - Australia's best nineteenth-century portrait painter - neither a proto-national portrait gallery nor more popular collections of portrait heads, were sufficient public celebrations for the notables of Australian history

Aldo Giurgola, 2005

Mandy Martin

Portrait, ochre, pigment and oil on canvas (triptych)

Gift of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects 2005

Malcolm Fraser, Randwick Racecourse, 1975 (printed 2002)

Roger Scott

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Purchased 2012

Madame Melba, 1922

Harold Cazneaux

Purchased 2015

Enrico Taglietti, c. 1985

Edward Richards

Portrait, cast metal with gold finish

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Bert Hinkler, 1930s

Nison Tregor

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Alan Foulkes in memory of Mark Graham Cleghorn 2012

Sir John Cornforth, 1993 (printed 2003)

Nick Sinclair

Portrait, bromide print on photographic paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2004

Janet Holmes a Court AC

Janet Holmes à Court AC (b. 1943), businesswoman and philanthropist, graduated in science and worked as a teacher before marrying young Perth lawyer Robert Holmes à Court in 1966.

1 portrait in the collection

Two grounps of three people standing in a studio with walls and shelves filled with artworks

Arts Project Australia

Artists and Collectives

Arts Project Australia is a creative social enterprise based in Naarm/Melbourne that supports neurodiverse artists, promoting their work and advocating for inclusion within contemporary arts practice.

Jon Lewis

Jon Lewis (1950-2020) was born in Maryland, USA, and came to Australia in 1951.

3 portraits in the collection

Portrait sketch of Nellie Melba, 1902

Hugh Ramsay

Gift of the Mitchell Family and the Fullerton Family 2000

Charles Summers

Charles Summers (1825-1878) was an English born sculptor, who came to Australia in 1852.

2 portraits in the collection

Cocky McGrath

The long life and few words of a vice-regal cockatoo

John Passmore

John Passmore (1904-1984), painter, studied with Julian Ashton in Sydney between the ages of fourteen and twenty-nine, and took some instruction from George Lambert.

1 portrait in the collection

Janet Holmes á Court, 2001 (printed 2011)

Lorrie Graham

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Basil Hetzel AC

Basil Hetzel AC (1922-2017), medical scientist, came to South Australia as a three year old and was educated - like Nobel Prize winners William Lawrence Bragg, Howard Florey and Robin Warren - at St Peter's College and the University of Adelaide.

1 portrait in the collection

Charles Abraham

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint and red ochre on canvas

Charles Abraham, son of a London architect, trained at the Royal Academy schools under the sculptor Sierier, and for a further three years in Paris and Rome.

1 portrait in the collection

Richard Walley, 2015

Dr Julie Dowling

Commissioned with funds provided by Neil Archibald and Alan R. Dodge AM, Brandon and Angela Munro, Dr Walter Ong and Graeme Marshall 2015

Allan Lowe, c. 1955

Reshid Bey

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Alan Lowe and Marian Lowe 2000

Edward Henty, late 19th century

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Tim Clark 2018

Julian Burnside AO KC

Julian Burnside AO (b. 1949), barrister, grew up in Melbourne, attending Melbourne Grammar and studying economics and law at Monash in the late 1960s.

1 portrait in the collection

Linda Burney MLA Canturbury and Rick Farley at home, Marrickville

Linda Burney MLA Canturbury and Rick Farley at home, Marrickville, 2003

Juno Gemes

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Crowded House

Crowded House is a much-loved Australian-New Zealand rock band formed in Melbourne in 1985 by talented singer/songwriter Neil Finn OBE (b.

3 portraits in the collection

Neil Finn OBE

Magazine article by Barry York, 2018

Singer/songwriter and guitarist Neil Finn OBE (b. 1958) was born in Te Awamutu, Aotearoa New Zealand, a small town on the north island.

3 portraits in the collection

Star signs

Barry York charts the course from childhood request to autographed celebrity portrait anthology.

2023 Annual Appeal

Annual Appeal

In 2023 the Annual Appeal was focussed on a work by one of Australia's best loved and most successful portrait painters, Judy Cassab AO CBE, depicting model, entrepreneur and deportment icon, June Dally-Watkins OAM.

Great stylists: Caruso, Melba, Pavarotti, Bonynge and Sutherland

Dame Nellie Melba GBE

Dame Nellie Melba GBE (1861–1931), world-renowned soprano, was born Helen Porter Mitchell in Melbourne.

8 portraits in the collection

Glenn McGrath AM

Glenn McGrath AM (b. 1970), philanthropist and former Test cricketer, is one of international cricket's greatest ever fast bowlers.

1 portrait in the collection

Thomas Townshend, Lord Viscount Sydney

Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney PC (1733-1800) was British Home Secretary in the Pitt Government, given responsibility for devising a plan to settle convicts at Botany Bay.

1 portrait in the collection

Basil Hetzel, 2007-2008

Mark Kimber

Commissioned with funds provided by Mrs Diana Ramsay AO 2008

Jon Lewis, 1990 (printed 2002)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Anna F. Walker

Anna Frances Walker (1830–1913), botanical artist and collector, was one of the thirteen children of Thomas Walker, a high-ranking colonial public servant, and his wife Anna Elizabeth, the daughter of merchant and landowner John Blaxland.

1 portrait in the collection

Lina Bryans

Lina Bryans OAM (1909-2000), artist, was born into a prosperous Melbourne family and grew up moving freely between Toorak and Europe.

3 portraits in the collection

Wesley Enoch and David McAllister, 2020

Peter Brew-Bevan

Purchased with funds provided by Alan Dodge AM and Neil Archibald 2021

Maurice Felton

Maurice Appleby Felton (1803-1842) arrived in Sydney with his wife and four children in late 1839 as surgeon to the immigrant ship the Royal Admiral.

3 portraits in the collection

Heath Ledger, Prague, 2000 (printed 2009)

Bruce Weber

Purchased with the assistance of Alan Dodge AM 2009

Dame Nellie Melba,

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on cabinet card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2007

Mal Meninga, 2018

by Peter Hudson

Commissioned with funds provided by Maliganis Edwards Johnson and Alan Dodge AM 2018

John Gollings

John Gollings made his first photographs and received darkroom tuition at age eleven; he later studied Arts/Architecture at Melbourne University, supporting himself through architectural and wedding photography.

3 portraits in the collection

Hon. Linda Jean Burney

Previous exhibition, 2023

The Hon. Linda Jean Burney MP (b. 1957), a Wiradjuri woman, is the first First Nations person elected to the New South Wales parliament, and the first First Nations woman to serve in the federal House of Representatives.

2 portraits in the collection

Little Darlings Youth Portrait Prize 2023

Little Darlings is for primary and secondary students, with four separate categories across Kindergarten to Year 12. Responding to the theme ‘Me and my place’, students painted, drew, photographed, printed or combined all of these to make their portrait.

Mysterious eyes

Arthur Boyd portraits from 1945

Previous exhibition, 2016

Boyd’s self-portrait at age 25 is joined by his equally emotive portraits of those around him.

Michael Leunig, 2004

Portrait, mixed media, fibre-tipped pen, pencil charcoal, pastel, gouache on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Portrait of Lin Bloomfield, 1992

Frank Hinder

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lin Bloomfield 2017

Little Darlings Youth Portrait Prize finalists

Little Darlings Youth Portrait Prize 2022

Previous exhibition, 2022

Little Darlings is for primary and secondary students, with four separate categories across Kindergarten to Year 12. Responding to the theme ‘identity’, students painted, drew, photographed, printed or combined all of these to make their portrait.

John Vickery

John Vickery (1906-1983), illustrator, designer and painter was the only Australian to be part of the New York School in 1960s which includes painters such as Jackson Pollock, Joan Mitchell and Willem de Kooning.

1 portrait in the collection

Supporters

$5,000 - $9,999

Honour board

John Sumner AO CBE

John Sumner AO CBE (1924–2013), described as the 'father of Australian drama', was born in England and trained and worked in repertory theatre there before World War 2.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir James Dowling

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

Sir James Dowling (1787-1844), judge, worked as a parliamentary reporter before he was called to the Bar in London in May 1815.

1 portrait in the collection

Mal Meninga, 2018

Peter Hudson

Commissioned with funds provided by Maliganis Edwards Johnson and Alan Dodge AM 2018

Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt

Archived media releases 2015

Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (1813-c. 1848) went to school and university in Germany but the range of his interests was such that he never actually graduated (he was later called Dr Leichhardt in recognition of his broad scholarship).

1 portrait in the collection

Richard Walley OAM honoured in new Portrait Gallery commission

2 September 2015

A new commissioned portrait funded by the Gallery’s Foundation will be launched at Murdoch University in Perth tonight, Wednesday 2 September.

Lt. Genrl. the Rt Honble. Sir George Murray G.C.B., G.C.H. &c.

Lt. Genrl. the Rt Honble. Sir George Murray G.C.B., G.C.H. &c., 1838

John Cochran after Sir Thomas Lawrence

Portrait, engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Australia and the Nobel Prize

Previous exhibition, 2003

This unique exhibition will give an insight into the private lives, pursuits and work of all the Nobel laureates associated with Australia

Sir Oswald Brierly

Sir Oswald Brierly (1817–1894), marine painter and adventurer, studied art, naval architecture and navigation in England before his fascination with seafaring caused him to sign up as staff artist on the Wanderer – a schooner owned by entrepreneur Benjamin Boyd, who was about to embark on a round-the-world trip.

1 portrait in the collection

David Unaipon

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

David Unaipon (1872-1967) writer, public speaker and inventor, was a Ngarrindjeri man, fourth of nine children of the evangelist James Ngunaitponi and his wife Nymbulda, both of whom were Yaraldi speakers.

1 portrait in the collection

Pretty in peach

It's remarkable that the inner Melbourne suburb of Richmond has produced two of Australia's most successful opera singers. Three decades apart, but within a short distance of each other, both Helen Porter Mitchell and Florence Wilson were born.

Nellie Melba, 1898

Ernest Walter Histed

Significant Australian Women 1913–2013

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

First Ladies

Previous exhibition, 2013

First Ladies profiles women who have achieved noteworthy firsts over the past 100 years.

Finalists announced for National Photographic Portrait Prize

14 November 2018

Archived media releases 2018

The National Portrait Gallery would like to congratulate the forty finalists for the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2019.

The Textiles Scientist, 2018 by Kate Atkinson

Textiles Scientist Voted the People’s Favourite

27 March 2019

Archived media releases 2019

The black and white portrait of an elderly woman with sidelong glance and irreverent, contemplative smile has taken out the people’s choice award in this year’s National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa

Husbands and Wives

Photographic Portraits from 19th Century Australia

Previous exhibition, 2010

'I have just been to my dressing case to take a peep at you.

Australian of the Year

Inspiring a Nation

Previous exhibition, 2010

The Australian of the Year Awards have often provoked controversy about who is selected and whether their achievements are remarkable.

Arnold Shore

NPPP 2007 exhibition essay

Arnold Shore, a lifelong inhabitant of Melbourne, was apprenticed to a stained glass and leadlight company called Brooks, Robinson soon after leaving school at the age of twelve.

2 portraits in the collection

Seduce, Amuse, Entertain

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2007

Michael Desmond, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2007 Prize.

Seduce Amuse Entertain

Michael Desmond profiles a handful of the entrants in first National Photographic Portrait Prize and notes emerging themes and categories.

Patrick Corrigan AM

Patrick Corrigan AM (b. 1932), businessman, art collector and arts patron, was born in Hanghow (Hankou) in China.

3 portraits in the collection

William Henry Harvey

Previous exhibition, 2009

William Henry Harvey (1811-1866), botanist, formed a boyhood passion for natural history which was encouraged at Ballitore School, County Kildare.

1 portrait in the collection

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009

In its second year at the National Portrait Gallery, and for the first time touring to other venues, the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009 continues to present surprising perspectives on the nature of contemporary portrait photography.

Barry Humphries

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2008

Barry Humphries AO CBE (1934–2023), actor, writer and artist, was the world's all-time most successful solo theatrical performer.

12 portraits in the collection

Form and reality

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

Tiny Trace of a Colonial Giant

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2004

At just 7.8 x 6.2 cm, the daguerreotype of Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa is one of the smallest works in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery.

Vlase Zanalis

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2009

Palassis (Vlase, Vlazio or Vlasio) Zanalis (1902–1973) arrived in Western Australia as a twelve-year-old, accompanied by an uncle, from the Greek island of Kastellorizo in 1914.

1 portrait in the collection

The Gladiators (Norm Provan and Arthur Summons)

Who's that?

Michael Desmond discusses the iconic picture of two Rugby League players which became known as 'The Gladiators'.

Sir Les Patterson, 1999

Polly Borland

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Portrait of Professors Margaret Gardner and Glyn Davis

Portrait of Professors Margaret Gardner and Glyn Davis, 2017

Previous exhibition, 2022

Commissioned with funds provided by Jim and Barbara Higgins, Sir Roderick Carnegie AC, Rupert Myer AO and Annabel Myer, Louise and Martyn Myer Foundation, Peter and Ruth McMullin, Diana Carlton, Professor Derek Denton AC, Harold Mitchell AC, Peter Jopling AM KC, Andrew and Liz Mackenzie, Patricia Patten, Tamie Fraser AO, Bruce Parncutt and Robin Campbell, Lauraine Diggins, Steven Skala AO and Lousje Skala 2017

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022

The exhibition is selected from a national field of entries, reflecting the distinctive vision of Australia's aspiring and professional portrait photographers and the unique nature of their subjects.

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Honour board

Awesome Achievers

A cross-curriculum learning resource

Learning resource archive

What makes someone awesome? And how does a portrait tell a person's story? Bring your students up close and personal with some great Australians. For upper primary school students.

The fat of the land

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

Sir Sidney Kidman (1857-1935) is inscribed in Australian legend as the ‘Cattle King’.

Figurative foundation

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

Joanna Gilmour explores the life and art of the Australian artist Janet Dawson.

Australian Visit

Previous exhibition, 2006

The exhibition will include works of art from the NPG Canberra's permanent collection with some inward loans and aims to highlight the achievements of notable Australians.

Yellow portrait (portrait of Alex Jelinek)

Fugue in Yellow

Magazine article by Roger Benjamin, 2015

Roger Benjamin explores the intriguing union of Lina Bryans and Alex Jelinek.

Sideshow Alley

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

Previous exhibition, 2015

Death masks, post-mortem drawings and other spooky and disquieting portraits... Come and see how portraits of infamous Australians were used in the 19th century.

Primed

Some Prime Ministers

Previous exhibition, 2019

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

Self-portrait in white jacket , 1901-02 Hugh Ramsay

Wunderkind lost

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2021

Inga Walton on the brief but brilliant life of Hugh Ramsay.

Doodles of the Diva

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

Three tiny sketches of Dame Nellie Melba in the NPG collection were created by the artist who was to go on to paint the most imposing representation of the singer: Rupert Bunny.

The artist and her family, c. 1854 by Martha Berkeley

Presence and absence

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2018

The art of Australia’s colonial women painters affords us an invaluable, alternative perspective on the nascent nation-building project.

Someone to watch over you

Magazine article by Carrie Kibbler, 2013

Carrie Kibbler looks at how portraiture fits into the Australian Artbank Collection.

Life class

Magazine article by Leonie Hellmers, 2004

Barbara Blackman reflects on her experiences as a life model.

Boyd to man

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2016

Christopher Chapman looks at influences and insight in the formative years of Arthur Boyd.

Sitter still

Magazine article by Emeritus Professor Jaynie Anderson AM, 2015

Jaynie Anderson reflects on her experience as sitter for Reshid Bey’s 1962 portrait.

Finest quality

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

Joanna Gilmour explores the life of Chinese-Australian businessman and philanthropist Quong Tart.

Generous Janice

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

Dr Sarah Engledow puts four gifts to the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection in context.

Regarding Henrys

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

Sarah Engledow ponders the divergent legacies of Messrs Kendall and Lawson.

Ms Anna Burke MP, Speaker of the House of Representatives 2015 by Jude Rae

Hired guns, bounty hunters and horse whisperers

Magazine article by Jude Rae, 2016

Jude Rae contemplates the portrait commission.

Self Portrait with Stetson, 2011 by Darren McDonald

Painting them gently

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2015

Penny Grist on motivation, method and melancholy in the portraiture of Darren McDonald.

Uncommon Australians

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

The portraiture of Kristin Headlam

Sarah Engledow writes about Gordon and Marilyn Darling and their support for the National Portrait Gallery throughout its evolution.

Confessional conversations

Magazine article by Fiona Gruber, 2015

Fiona Gruber investigates the work of Australian painter Kristin Headlam.

Revd Dr Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch, c.1795 by Sir Henry Raeburn

Great Scots

Magazine article by Diana O'Neil, 2017

Diana O’Neil samples the tartan treats on offer in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

Some women you may not know

Alison Alder

‘Everybody’s lives are built by so many influences, and for me, it is writers, artists and activists who have influenced how I think about the world.’

Friends and Acquaintances

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

Dr. Sarah Engledow discusses a collection of drawings and prints by the Victorian artist Rick Amor acquired in 2005.

Cover, first minute book of the Tasmanian Society of Natural History

Embrace your inner nerd

Magazine article by John Zubrzycki, 2016

The southern winter has arrived. For people in the northern hemisphere (the majority of humanity) the idea of snow and ice, freezing mist and fog in June, potentially continuing through to August and beyond, encapsulates the topsy-turvidom of our southern continent.

Murray frees himself from straightjacket in public, 1928 by Sam Hood

Risky business

John Zubrzycki lauds the characters of the Australian escapology trade.

First-Class Marksman, 1946 by Sidney Nolan

Money for Myth

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2015

Australian character on the market by Jane Raffan.

In a good paddock

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2011

Celebrating a new painted portrait of Joseph Banks, Sarah Engledow spins a yarn of the naturalist, the first kangaroo in France and Don, a Spanish ram.

More cash than dash

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2011

Joanna Gilmour describes how colonial portraitists found the perfect market among social status seeking Sydneysiders.

Woman with Fair Hair and Pink Cardigan, 1949 by John Perceval.

The family scene

Magazine article, 2016

Traudi Allen discovers sensitivity, humour and fine draughtsmanship in the portraiture of John Perceval.

Through blue eyes

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

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.

History

About us

How the National Portrait Gallery and its unique collection came to be

20/20 launch speech

Dr Helen Nugent AO, Chairman, National Portrait Gallery at the opening of 20/20: Celebrating twenty years with twenty new portrait commissions.

Rick Amor: 21 Portraits

NPPP 2014 exhibition essay

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

The Art Lovers - Megan, 2013 by Gary Grealy

Everybody, look serious

Dr Sarah Engledow, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2014 Prize.

Christmas Island