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Charles Warman Roberts married Annie Edensor Marsden (1824-1895) in Sydney in June 1845.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Reg, Lesley, Glen and Paul Thoms 2011
Purchased with the assistance of funds provided by the Circle of Friends 2013
Annie May Moore (1881-1931) was born in New Zealand and studied at the Elam School of Art and Design in Auckland.
5 portraits in the collection
Purchased 2019
Kathleen Best OBE RRC (1910–1957), nurse and officer, grew up in Sydney where she completed nursing and midwifery training.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012
Purchased 2014
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015
Dame Annie Florence Cardell-Oliver DBE (1876–1965), politician, grew up in Melbourne before marrying David Sykes Boyd, a wool buyer, and returning with him to England.
1 portrait in the collection
Purchased 2019
Gift of Chris Nielsen 2016
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010
Gift of Catherine Dwyer 2021
Tom Roberts (1856–1931), artist, came to Australia from England at the age of 13, but returned eight years later to study art in London.
9 portraits in the collection
Ben Roberts-Smith VC MG (b. 1978), former Australian Army soldier, is the recipient of the Medal for Gallantry in 2006, the Victoria Cross in 2011 and the Commendation for Distinguished Service in 2013.In 2017, Roberts-Smith’s military service came under scrutiny as a result of an inquiry – commonly known as the Brereton Report – into questions of unlawful conduct on the part of Australian military personnel in Afghanistan.
1 portrait in the collection
Hera Roberts (1892-1969) was a painter, illustrator, designer, commercial artist and milliner.
1 portrait in the collection
Elizabeth Roberts (1812–1833) was the daughter of Warwickshire-born William Roberts (1754–1819) and his wife, Jane (née Longhurst, c.
1 portrait in the collection
Melbourne-based photographer David Roberts was born in Forest City, Iowa, and graduated from Iowa State University with an honours degree in philosophy.
4 portraits in the collection
Rhoda Roberts AO (b. 1960) is a Bundjalung woman from northern New South Wales, and a producer, director, writer, broadcaster, performer and arts executive.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Penny Amberg and Andrew Bond 2001
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Charles Warman Roberts (1821–1894), publican, was born in Sydney, the eldest son of free settler parents who emigrated to Australia in 1821.
1 portrait in the collection
Elizabeth Sarah (Lillie) Roberts (née Williamson, 1860–1928), artist, was born in Launceston, the daughter of Caleb Williamson, a successful merchant, and his wife, Elizabeth.
1 portrait in the collection
Gift of Rex Dupain 2003. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Gift of the artist 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Gift of Gerard Vaughan 2001
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2006
Purchased with funds provided by the Ian Potter Foundation 2008
Gift of the family of Sir Victor and Lady Windeyer 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Claire Roberts interviews Swiss art collector Uli Sigg.
Purchased 2015
Commissioned in 2018 with funds raised through the 2020 project
Purchased 2013
Gift of the artist 2004
Purchased 2012
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012
Gift of John Fairfax Holdings Ltd 2002. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012
Purchased with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy 2004
The portrait of Ian Roberts by Ross Watson.
Commissioned 2015
Dr. Sarah Engledow discovers the amazing life of Ms. Hilda Spong, little remembered star of the stage, who was captured in a portrait by Tom Roberts.
This edited version of a speech by Andrew Sayers examines some of the antecedents of the National Portrait Gallery and set out the ideas behind the modern Gallery and its collection.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Thoms family 2011
Impressions: Painting light and life presents portraits by, and of, artists at the heart of Australian impressionism including Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Frederick McCubbin.
Sarah Engledow is seduced by the portraits and the connections between the artists and their subjects in the exhibition Impressions: Painting light and life.
Purchased 2017
Explore Thom Roberts' portraiture techniques and ignite your creativity with hands-on activities and follow Thom’s steps to make funny face portraits!
A free exhibition of over 100 works by contemporary Australian artist Thom Roberts. Step into his world and experience bold paintings, animation and installation works where people and places intertwine.
Drop into the Gallery any time for free creative activities inspired by artist Thom Roberts and his exhibition, The Immersive World of Thom Roberts.
Talented wife for a talented husband
The first solo exhibition for this multidisciplinary, contemporary Australian artist, The Immersive World of Thom Roberts opens at the National Portrait Gallery on 12 April.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017
Commissioned in 2018 with funds raised through the 2020 project
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008
Gino Zardo (b. 1968) is a Queanbeyan-born photographer who moved to New York in the 1990s, where he lived and worked for twenty years.
2 portraits in the collection
Boz is the pen name of Irish born Annie Hope Campbell, who completed a Masters Certificate in Art from the Royal College of Art, London, before coming to Australia.
3 portraits in the collection
Purchased 2001
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001
Broadway star Miss Hilda Spong was painted by Tom Roberts in 1893.
Explore Thom Roberts' portraiture techniques and ignite your creativity with hands-on activities.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015
Suzie Petyarre (also spelt Pitjara) Hunter (b. c. 1966), painter, is an Alyawarre woman who lives a traditional life in the bush at Irrultja, Utopia.
1 portrait in the collection
Join us for our annual family day inspired by our bold and dynamic exhibition The Immersive World of Thom Roberts.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015
Robert Henderson Croll (1869-1947), author, worked as a clerk in the Victorian public service for over 40 years, but is better remembered for his books and journalism.
2 portraits in the collection
Hilda Spong (1875-1955), actress, came to Australia with her family when she was thirteen.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001
Gift of Grietje Croll in memory of her late husband Robert Devereaux Croll and with the endorsement of his daughter Helen Croll 2013. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Born 1983, Chongqing, Sichuan Province. Lives and works in Beijing.
Born in Adelaide and raised in Darwin, Ben Baker currently resides in New York City and works internationally.
1 portrait in the collection
Ross Watson specialises in interpolating representations of lithe semi-naked men into copies of paintings by masters such as Vermeer, Ter Borsch, David and Bronzino.
2 portraits in the collection
Spanning the 1880s to the 1930s, this collection display celebrates the innovations in art – and life – introduced by the generation of Australians who travelled to London and Paris for experience and inspiration in the decades either side of 1900.
David Potts (1926-2012) was a documentary photographer with a career spanning more than fifty years.
3 portraits in the collection
Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Born 1965 in Beijing. Lives and works in Beijing.
New Jersey-born Jim Rolon (b. 1956) began working as a photographer for a family portrait company in his twenties.
6 portraits in the collection
Goupil & Cie was established in Paris in 1850, initially as a dealer in prints, paintings and sculptures.
4 portraits in the collection
This 1910 portrait of Elizabeth Sarah (Lillie) Roberts by Tom Roberts was brought into the Gallery's collection with the assistance of the Acquisition Fund in 2013.
This exhibition focuses on exploring national and communal identity through sculptural production in Australia, from the early decades of settlement through to the present day
Born Li Zhirong 1968, Zhangzhou, Fujian Province. Lives and works in Beijing.
This display celebrates 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection and its role in commissioning portraits of parliamentary and judicial figures in Australia.
German-born American photographer Martin Schoeller's first exhibition in Australia presents compelling large-scale portraits. The exhibition explores human identity through photographs of individuals accustomed and unaccustomed to the spotlight.
Purchased 2019
Artist Mandy Martin describes the creation of her portrait of Aldo Giurgola, principal architect of Australia's Parliament House.
Purchased 2018
Robin Sellick (b. 1967), photographer, is well known for his distinctive portraits of Australian actors, musicians, politicians and athletes.
17 portraits in the collection
Drop into the family space these school holidays for free creative activities to enjoy together.
Albert Henry Fullwood (1863-1930), artist, trained in art in his native Birmingham before moving to Sydney in 1883, aged 20.
1 portrait in the collection
Born 1963, Handan, Hebei Province China. Lives and works in Beijing.
Portraits from the Sigg collection, from 1979 to the present including painting, sculpture, photography, video and installation.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of John Fairfax Holdings Ltd 2002
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Gift of Denis Savill 2017. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey (1836–1918), politician and governor, studied law and modern history at Oxford, but abandoned law for a career in politics two years after being called to the Bar.
1 portrait in the collection
Born 1958, Kunming, Yunnan Province. Lives and works in Beijing.
The Portrait Gallery is calling for contributions to support in the acquisition of superb portraits for the national collection.
Purchased 2001
Thomas Clark, teacher and painter, arrived in Victoria from England in about 1852, having been anatomical draftsman at King's College London and headmaster of the Birmingham School of Design.
1 portrait in the collection
Headspace 7: Me and My Place, the seventh in the National Portrait Gallery's series of student exhibitions, will be presented at Commonwealth Place. Me and My Place is the curatorial theme for the 2006 exhibition.
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
Gift of the National Australia Bank 2002
Purchased 2009
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012
Born 1966 in Beijing, China. Lives and works in Beijing.
Percy Spence, born in Balmain, grew up in Fiji and began art classes in Sydney in about 1888.
1 portrait in the collection
Robyn Archer AO (b. 1948), performer, writer and director, began singing at four years old.
3 portraits in the collection
James Holloway describes the first portraits you encounter when entering the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
A short overview of modern Chinese art from 1949 to the present.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Rex Dupain 2003
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Vanity Fair Portraits traces the birth and evolution of photographic portraiture through the archives of Vanity Fair magazine.
About the exhibition curator Claire Roberts, and writers Eugene Wang and Zhang Letian.
David Davies began studying art at the School of Mines and Industries in his birthplace, Ballarat.
1 portrait in the collection
Spanning the 1880s to the 1930s, this collection display celebrates the innovations in art – and life – introduced by the generation of Australians who travelled to London and Paris for experience and inspiration in the decades either side of 1900.
H. Walter Barnett (1862-1934) was a leading portrait photographer of the late Victorian, Edwardian and interwar periods.
12 portraits in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
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.
Gift of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects 2005
Purchased 2008
Celebrates the centenary of the first national art collection, the Historic Memorials Collection, housed at Australia's Parliament House.
Born: 1961, Hastings, New Zealand
Works: Brisbane
Walter Withers (1854-1914), painter, interior designer and teacher, trained at the Royal Academy in London before coming to Australia at the end of 1882.
1 portrait in the collection
It’s often thought that foremost among portraiture’s many functions is the documentation of individuals who are celebrated and familiar, or who best exemplify the temper and identity of a certain place at a certain time.
Patrick Ryan (d. 1990) and Tim Burstall set up Eltham Films in the early 1950s, when the local film industry was moribund.
1 portrait in the collection
For students - explore and connect with Australian stories through the art of portraiture.
Robert Hannaford AM (b. 1944), a largely self-taught artist, grew up on his family farm near the small South Australian town of Riverton before working as political cartoonist for the Adelaide Advertiser from 1964 to 1967.
6 portraits in the collection
It was definitely a candid encounter as was the expression on the face. It was constructed insofar as the image was deliberately taken from a distance so as to minimize intrusion and to magnify the effect of the image.
Thomas Joseph Carr (1839–1917) was the second Catholic archbishop of Melbourne, the successor to James Alipius Goold.
2 portraits in the collection
Andrew Sayers asks whether a portrait can truly be the examination of a life.
Dr Christopher Chapman looks at the life of Wurundjeri elder William Barak through the portrait painted by Victor de Pury in 1899.
Michael Desmond looks at the history of the Vanity Fair magazine in conjunction with the exhibition Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008
I think the most important thing in capturing candid shots is to never take the photo when people are expecting you to press the shutter. The more poignant moments are not the stock standard images of people looking at the camera smiling but after or before when they are really interacting with each other.
Tara James shares the joy of dance and its power to connect in the National Portrait Gallery’s touring exhibition Dancer.
An interview with the photographer.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
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.
Robin Sellick captured a rare moment of quietude from the late conservation star Steve Irwin.
During his long and distinguished career Max Dupain took thousands of photographs of people
An interview with the photographer.
'I have just been to my dressing case to take a peep at you.
Gift of the Karmel family in memory of Lena and Peter Karmel 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Magda Keaney on entwining the work of Francesca Woodman and Julia Margaret Cameron, two photographers working a century apart.
The acquisition of David Moore's archive of portrait photographs for the National Portrait Gallery's collection.
The first collaborative commission has arrived. It's a self portrait, it's ceramic and it's from Hermannsburg.
Tim Burstall (1927-2004) set up Eltham Films in the early 1950s, when the local film industry was moribund.
2 portraits in the collection
Vanity Fair Editor David Friend describes how the rebirth of the magazine sated our desire for access into the lives of celebrities and set the standard for the new era of portrait photography.
The National Portrait Gallery has unveiled twenty new portrait commissions of Australian leaders and individualists as part of its twentieth birthday celebrations in a new exhibition, 20/20: Celebrating twenty years with twenty new portrait commissions.
Dr Anne Sanders NPG Curatorial Researcher investigated the lives of the pioneering psychologists whose portraits are featured in Inner Worlds.
Exhibited simultaneously at the two locations, Go Figure! is drawn from the Sigg Collection, the largest and most significant collection of contemporary Chinese art anywhere in the world.
Once central to military strategy and venerated in patriotic households, Lord Kitchener is now largely forgotten.
This article examines the portraits gifted to the National Portrait Gallery by Fairfax Holdings in 2003.
This exhibition showcases portraits acquired through the generosity of the National Portrait Gallery’s Founding Patrons, L Gordon Darling AC CMG and Marilyn Darling AC.
This exhibition is the first comprehensive survey of self-portraits in Australia, from the colonial period to the present
The death of a gentlewoman is shrouded in mystery, a well-liked governor finds love after sorrow, and two upright men become entangled in the historical record.
The Chairman, Board, Director and all the staff of the National Portrait Gallery mourn the loss of our Benefactor, Mary Isabel Murphy.
Exploring the photographs of Martin Schoeller, Michael Desmond delves into the uneasy pact that exists between celebrity and the camera.
A major new exhibition celebrating love in all its guises. Opening 20 March 2021.
Jerrold Nathan's portrait of Jessie Street shows the elegant side of a many-faceted lady.
"Coo-ey, Coo-ey, Coo-ey, Coo-ey—Love has caught the strain, Coo-ey, Coo-ey, Coo-ey, Coo-ey—it whispers back again." The “Australian lady” who composed these fruity lyrics was none other than Desda— Jane Davies, sometime Messiter (née Price) of Leddicott, Lavender Bay.
In 2021 the Annual Appeal was focussed on Peter Brew-Bevan's portraits of athletes Turia Pitt, Leisel Jones OAM and Ellie Cole OAM.
Gift of the artist 2024. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program.
In his speech launching the new National Portrait Gallery building on 3 December 2008, then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd set the Gallery in a national and historical context.
To celebrate the new exhibition Australian Love Stories, renowned Australian glass artist Harriet Schwarzrock has been commissioned to make a large-scale installation reflecting on the role the heart plays as our emotional centre.
Studio: Australian Painters Photographed by R. Ian Lloyd presents 61 of some of Australia’s most respected and significant painters working in the studio environment.
Talma Studios opened in Sydney in March 1899 in a George Street premises next door to the GPO.
1 portrait in the collection
Joanna Gilmour reflects on 25 years of collecting at the National Portrait Gallery.
Christopher Chapman highlights the inaugural hang of the new National Portrait Gallery building which opened in December 2008.
Jane Raffan asks do clothes make the portrait, and can the same work with a new title fetch a better price?
Family affections are preserved in a fine selection of intimate portraits.
Penelope Grist finds inspiration in pioneering New Zealand artist, Frances Hodgkins.
Close encounters are the genesis for Graeme Drendel’s enticing portraiture.
At first glance, this small watercolour group portrait of her two sons and four daughters by Maria Caroline Brownrigg (d. 1880) may seem prosaic, even hesitant
Michael Desmond explores the complex portrait of Dr Bob Brown by Harold 'The Kangaroo' Thornton.
Portraits of philanthropists in the collection honour their contributions to Australia and acknowledge their support of the National Portrait Gallery.
Leslie Moran investigates the portraits of judges in the National Portrait Gallery's collection.
Michael Desmond reveals the origins of composite portraits and their evolution in the pursuit of the ideal.
Gael Newton delves into the life and art of renowned Australian photographer, Max Dupain.
Emma Kindred examines fashion as a representation of self and social ritual in 19th-century portraiture.
Andrew Mayo talks to three of Australia’s most prominent and prolific music photographers — Martin Philbey, Kane Hibberd and Daniel Boud — about the challenges and inspiration behind their craft.
Jennifer Higgie reveals how Alice Neel reinvigorated 20th century portraiture with her honest and perceptive depictions of the human experience.
Bess Norriss Tait created miniature watercolour portraits full of character and life.
One night in the spring of 1970 in an old house in Whale Beach, north of Sydney, John Witzig, Albe Falzon and David Elfick put together the first issue of Tracks, playing Neil Young’s album Harvest over and over again as they pasted up galleys of type.
Andrew Sayers discusses the real cost of George Lambert's Self portrait with gladioli 1922.
George Selth Coppin (1819-1906) comedian, impresario and entrepreneur, was a driving force of the early Australian theatre.
Sarah Engledow lauds the very civil service of Dame Helen Blaxland.
Joanna Gilmour reflects on merging collections and challenging traditional assumptions around portraiture in WHO ARE YOU.
Sandra Bruce gazes on love and the portrait through Australian Love Stories’ multi-faceted prism.
Dr Sarah Engledow, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2014 Prize.
Karl James gives short shrift to doubts about the profile of General Sir John Monash.
Australian character on the market by Jane Raffan.
Joanna Gilmour profiles the life and times of the shutter sisters May and Mina Moore.
How the National Portrait Gallery and its unique collection came to be
Inga Walton delves into the bohemian group of artists and writers who used each other as muses and transformed British culture.
Dr Helen Nugent AO, Chairman, National Portrait Gallery at the opening of 20/20: Celebrating twenty years with twenty new portrait commissions.
Sarah Engledow ponders the divergent legacies of Messrs Kendall and Lawson.
One half of the team that was Eltham Films left scarcely a trace in the written historical record, but survives in a vivid portrait.
Sarah Engledow bristles at the biographers’ neglect of Kitchener’s antipodean intervention.
Sarah Engledow writes about Gordon and Marilyn Darling and their support for the National Portrait Gallery throughout its evolution.
Sarah Engledow chronicles Rick Amor's work and accomplishments in this extensive essay in conjunction with the exhibition Rick Amor: 21 Portraits.
Sarah Engledow explores the history of the prime ministers and artists featured in the exhibition.