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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.

Antonio van Diemen, Gouverneur Generaal van Nederlands Indiën
Antonio van Diemen, Gouverneur Generaal van Nederlands Indiën
Antonio van Diemen, Gouverneur Generaal van Nederlands Indiën

Antonio van Diemen, Gouverneur Generaal van Nederlands Indiën, c. 1725

Dirk Jongman after Matthys Balen
Portrait, engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ted and Gina Gregg 2012

The vigil, 2011 by Anthony Anderton

The vigil, 2011

by Anthony Anderton
Image
Assorted toppings, 2008 by Anthony Begovic

Assorted toppings, 2008

by Anthony Begovic
Image
Adrian and Caren at home, 2008 by Anthony Browell

Adrian and Caren at home, 2008

by Anthony Browell
Image
Lord George Stuart, 9th Seigneur of Aubigny, c. 1638 Sir Anthony van Dyck

Lord George Stuart, 9th Seigneur of Aubigny

Sir Anthony van Dyck
Image
Self portrait, c. 1640 Sir Anthony van Dyck

Self portrait

Sir Anthony van Dyck
Image
Don Dunstan
Don Dunstan
Don Dunstan

Don Dunstan, 1973-1975 (printed 2005)

Anthony Browell
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Anthony Mundine
Anthony Mundine
Anthony Mundine

Anthony Mundine, 1992 (printed 2008)

Mervyn Bishop
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Purchased 2008

Doug Anthony
Doug Anthony
Doug Anthony

Doug Anthony, n.d.

Louis Kahan AO
Portrait, fibre-tipped pen on paper

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

Doug Anthony
Doug Anthony
Doug Anthony

Doug Anthony, n.d.

Louis Kahan AO
Portrait, fibre-tipped pen on paper

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

Anthony Eden, London
Anthony Eden, London
Anthony Eden, London

Anthony Eden, London, 1956 (printed 2000)

David Moore
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

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.

Lloyd Rees
Lloyd Rees
Lloyd Rees

Lloyd Rees, 1970

Anthony Browell
Portrait, direct positive colour photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 1999

Gordon Andrews at Lovett Bay NSW
Gordon Andrews at Lovett Bay NSW
Gordon Andrews at Lovett Bay NSW

Gordon Andrews at Lovett Bay NSW, 1996

Anthony Browell
Portrait, type C photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Rose Lindsay
Rose Lindsay
Rose Lindsay

Rose Lindsay, 1970

Anthony Browell
Portrait, direct positive colour photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Glenn Murcutt
Glenn Murcutt
Glenn Murcutt

Glenn Murcutt, 2006

Anthony Browell
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Rosemary and Robert Walsh 2006

Nothing to hide, 2006 by Bindi Cole

Nothing to hide, 2006

by Bindi Cole
Image
Rose Lindsay

Charmed by the Rose

Magazine article by Anthony Browell, 2004

Anthony Browell reminisces about meeting Rose Lindsay, the wife of Australian artist Norman Lindsay.

Colleen McCullough
Colleen McCullough
Colleen McCullough

Colleen McCullough, 1992-1993 (printed 2005)

Anthony Browell
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Acacius (Stigmata) - Tony Carden
Acacius (Stigmata) - Tony Carden
Acacius (Stigmata) - Tony Carden

Acacius (Stigmata) - Tony Carden, 1991

AñA Wojak
Portrait, oil and gold leaf on cedar panel

Gift of Lesley Saddington 2015

image not online

Chips Rafferty, 1970

Anthony Browell
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

image not online

Mona Hessing, 1973

Anthony Browell
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Anthony Dattilo Rubbo
Anthony Dattilo Rubbo
Anthony Dattilo Rubbo

Anthony Dattilo Rubbo, 1935

Arthur Murch
Portrait, ciment fondu, patinated

Purchased 2000

Professor Leslie Wilkinson
Professor Leslie Wilkinson
Professor Leslie Wilkinson

Professor Leslie Wilkinson, 1970

Anthony Browell
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Lionel Rose, World Champion Bantam Weight Boxer before departing to the USA to defend his title

The champs

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2008

Two lively portrait photographs reflect the agility of their subjects: world champion Australian sportsmen Lionel Rose and Anthony Mundine.

Peace, the Man and Hope
Peace, the Man and Hope
Peace, the Man and Hope

Peace, the Man and Hope, 2005

Brook Andrew, Larry Rawling
Portrait, screenprint on five sheets of paper

Gift of Brook Andrew in memory of Emmaline Rose Charnock 2012. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

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Portrait photograph of David McNicoll, 1987

Anthony Buckley & Constantine Ltd
Portrait, photograph on canvas lining

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2001

David Collins Esq
David Collins Esq
David Collins Esq

David Collins Esq, 1804

Anthony Cardon after John T. Barber
Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Aden Ridgeway & pallbearers entering Sydney Town Hall, State Funeral for Kwementyaye Perkins AO, 25th October 2000
Aden Ridgeway & pallbearers entering Sydney Town Hall, State Funeral for Kwementyaye Perkins AO, 25th October 2000
Aden Ridgeway & pallbearers entering Sydney Town Hall, State Funeral for Kwementyaye Perkins AO, 25th October 2000

Aden Ridgeway & pallbearers entering Sydney Town Hall, State Funeral for Kwementyaye Perkins AO, 25th October 2000, 2000

Mervyn Bishop
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Purchased 2001

Professor Anthony Milner
Professor Anthony Milner
Professor Anthony Milner

Professor Anthony Milner, 1996

Robin Wallace-Crabbe, Dianne Fogwell
Portrait, etching

Gift of the artist 2000. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Peace, the Man and Hope (Anthony Mundine), 2005 by Brook Andrew and Larry Rawling (printer)

In focus

Magazine article, 2017

Brook Andrew, Marcia Langton and Anthony Mundine.

Miss Evelyn Chapman, 1918

Lovers of light

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

Dr Sarah Engledow traces the significant links between Antonio Dattilo-Rubbo and Evelyn Chapman through their portraits.

Sir Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks

Sir Joseph Banks, 1810

William Evans, Anthony Cardon after Sir Thomas Lawrence
Portrait, engraving on paper

Purchased with funds provided by the Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Society Canberra 2000

Sidney Myer

Four from the 30s

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

Australia's tradition of sculpted portraits stretches back to the early decades of the nineteenth century and continues to sustain a group of dedicated sculptors.

Sylvia Davis-Patricelli and Anthony Patricelli
Sylvia Davis-Patricelli and Anthony Patricelli
Sylvia Davis-Patricelli and Anthony Patricelli

Sylvia Davis-Patricelli and Anthony Patricelli, c. 1944

Max Dupain OBE
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on laid down on cardboard mount

Gift of Danina Dupain Anderson 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Woureddy [Wurati], an Aboriginal Chief of Van Diemen's Land
Woureddy [Wurati], an Aboriginal Chief of Van Diemen's Land
Woureddy [Wurati], an Aboriginal Chief of Van Diemen's Land

Woureddy [Wurati], an Aboriginal Chief of Van Diemen's Land, 1835

Benjamin Law
Portrait, cast plaster, painted

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

The vigil, 2011 by Anthony Anderton

Anthony Anderton

NPPP 2012 learning resource

An interview with the photographer.

My Two Sides, 2016 by David Anthony Knight

My Two Sides, 2016

by David Anthony Knight
Image
Mr Zee (Wet plate collodion image), 2017 by Scott Anthony Andrews

Mr Zee (Wet plate collodion image), 2017

by Scott Anthony Andrews
Image
The Lambert

The Lambert

Beards

Barbering manuals of the turn of the century might describe this style as a ‘Van Dyck’, named after the Dutch painter Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641) who is known to have adopted this look.

The Singer, 2012 by Richard Payne

The Singer, 2012

by Richard Payne
Image
Martha Sarah Butler
Martha Sarah Butler
Martha Sarah Butler

Martha Sarah Butler, c. 1845

Thomas Griffiths Wainewright
Portrait, watercolour, gouache and pencil on paper

Purchased 2009

Bern Emmerichs video: 4 minutes

Bern Emmerichs

Contributing artists

Born: 1961, Melbourne
Works: Melbourne

Marcia Langton

Collection in focus: Brook Andrew

Previous exhibition, 2017

Experience the artistic clout of Brook Andrew’s portraits of Marcia Langton AM and Anthony Mundine.

Losing Faith, 2004 by Alexandra Cody

Headspace 5

Crystal Gazing
Previous exhibition, 2004

Crystal Gazing: Headspace V, the fifth in the National Portrait Gallery's program of secondary student portrait exhibitions, invites students from Canberra and the surrounding regions to explore the possibilities of portraiture

Jessie Whyte
Jessie Whyte
Jessie Whyte

Jessie Whyte, c. 1840

Thomas Bock
Portrait, pastel and chalk on paper laid down on cotton over Cedar strainer

Purchased 2017

Portrait of Harriet Swan
Portrait of Harriet Swan
Portrait of Harriet Swan

Portrait of Harriet Swan, c. 1842

an unknown artist
Portrait, watercolour on ivory

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG and Marilyn Darling AC 2013

Portrait of Julia Swan
Portrait of Julia Swan
Portrait of Julia Swan

Portrait of Julia Swan, c. 1842

an unknown artist
Portrait, watercolour on ivory

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG and Marilyn Darling AC 2013

Jane Franklin

Jane’s conviction

Devotion

Stand by your man

Y-erran-gou-la-ga
Y-erran-gou-la-ga
Y-erran-gou-la-ga

Y-erran-gou-la-ga, published 1807

Nicolas-Martin Petit after Barthélemy Roger
Portrait, engraving, hand coloured on paper

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel, 1629 Sir Peter Paul Rubens

Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel

Sir Peter Paul Rubens
Image
Portrait of Henry Hopkins
Portrait of Henry Hopkins
Portrait of Henry Hopkins

Portrait of Henry Hopkins, c. 1845

Thomas Griffiths Wainewright
Portrait, watercolour on paper

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2013

Oliver Cromwell, c. 1649 Robert Walker

Oliver Cromwell

Robert Walker
Image
Robert Brown
Robert Brown
Robert Brown

Robert Brown, c. 1835

Dario Castellini after Carlo Liverati
Portrait, lithograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

Bruny d'Entrecasteaux
Bruny d'Entrecasteaux
Bruny d'Entrecasteaux

Bruny d'Entrecasteaux, 1837

Antoine Maurin
Portrait, lithograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

image not online

Ben Roberts-Smith, 2017

Julian Kingma
Portrait, type C photograph on paper

Commissioned in 2018 with funds raised through the 2020 project

Study for portrait of Frank Fenner AC CMG MBE
Study for portrait of Frank Fenner AC CMG MBE
Study for portrait of Frank Fenner AC CMG MBE

Study for portrait of Frank Fenner AC CMG MBE, 2007

Jude Rae
Portrait, pencil on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by Mr Anthony Adair and Ms Karen MacLeod 2007

Study for portrait of Frank Fenner AC CMG MBE
Study for portrait of Frank Fenner AC CMG MBE
Study for portrait of Frank Fenner AC CMG MBE

Study for portrait of Frank Fenner AC CMG MBE, 2007

Jude Rae
Portrait, pencil on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by Mr Anthony Adair and Ms Karen MacLeod 2007

Study for portrait of Frank Fenner AC CMG MBE
Study for portrait of Frank Fenner AC CMG MBE
Study for portrait of Frank Fenner AC CMG MBE

Study for portrait of Frank Fenner AC CMG MBE, 2007

Jude Rae
Portrait, pencil on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by Mr Anthony Adair and Ms Karen MacLeod 2007

Reg Richardson AM

2015-17 Acquisition Fund

Annual Appeal

From 2015 to 2017 the Acquisition Fund was focussed on Reg Richardson AM by Mitch Cairns, a finalist in the Archibald Prize 2014, and a great example of minimalist portraiture.

Death mask of George Melville courtesy of National Trust of Australia (Victoria), Old Melbourne Gaol Collection

A colourful story from Sideshow Alley

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait
About Face article

From infamous bushranger to oyster shop display, curator Jo Gilmour explores the life of George Melville.

Bill Dyson and Rose, Northwood

Norman and Rose: lifelong love

Lust

The ravishing muse

Edward John Eyre, Late Governor of Jamaica
Edward John Eyre, Late Governor of Jamaica
Edward John Eyre, Late Governor of Jamaica

Edward John Eyre, Late Governor of Jamaica, 1867

John Brown
Portrait, engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Karen McLeod Adair and Anthony Adair 2003

Sir Gustav Nossal
Sir Gustav Nossal
Sir Gustav Nossal

Sir Gustav Nossal, 2004

Dean Home
Portrait, oil on board

Purchased with funds provided by Karen McLeod Adair and Anthony Adair 2004

Professor Paul Korner
Professor Paul Korner
Professor Paul Korner

Professor Paul Korner, 2011

Andrew Sullivan
Portrait, oil on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ann Korner, Nicholas Korner, Anthony Korner and Harriet Bingham 2015

Alexander Pearce
executed for murder
July 19th 1824

Public hanging

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2008

As a convict Thomas Bock was required to sketch executed murders for science; as a free man, fashionable society portraits.

image not online

Icons Syndicate

Lists alphabetically
Honour board
image not online

Sir Gustav Nossal, 1999

Peter Churcher
Portrait, oil on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by Karen McLeod Adair and Anthony Adair 1999

image not online

Donors

$10,000 - $49,999
Honour board
Roi de Mestre (Roy de Maistre)
Roi de Mestre (Roy de Maistre)
Roi de Mestre (Roy de Maistre)

Roi de Mestre (Roy de Maistre), c. 1930

Jean Shepeard
Portrait, pastel on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2002

Captain W Kinghorne

The bright-eyed Mariner

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008
A new colonial portrait brings a zealous captain near.
Edward Paine Butler

Poison pen

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2010

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

Frank Fenner AC CMG MBE
Frank Fenner AC CMG MBE
Frank Fenner AC CMG MBE

Frank Fenner AC CMG MBE, 2007

Jude Rae
Portrait, oil on canvas

Commissioned with funds provided by Mr Anthony Adair and Ms Karen MacLeod 2007

James Mccabe Executed Jany. 6th 1826

The consolations of religion

A bushranger meets his maker, 6 January 1826
About Face article

James McCabe provides proof that hanging wasn’t necessarily a fate reserved for the perpetrators of murder and other deeds of darkest hue. 

Mel Gibson

POL

Portrait of a Generation
Previous exhibition, 2003

POL was a magazine that ran from 1969 to 1986

Mary Ann Lawrence, 1841

Fits of delicacy and despair

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

Henry Mundy's portraits flesh out notions of propriety and good taste in a convict colony.

Marilyn Ball, Albatross, 2018 (detail) by Linde Ivimey

So Fine

Contemporary women artists make Australian history
Previous exhibition, 2018

This exhibition features new works from ten women artists reinterpreting and reimagining elements of Australian history, enriching the contemporary narrative around Australia’s history and biography, reflecting the tradition of storytelling in our country.

Portrait of Truganini, daughter of the Chief of Bruny Island, Van Diemens Land, c. 1835

Black and white history

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2009

English artist Benjamin Duterrau took up the cause of the Indigenous peoples of Tasmania with his detailed and sympathetic renderings.

Cormac and Callum, 2008 by Ingvar Kenne

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009

Previous exhibition, 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.

The Conciliation, 1840 by Benjamin Duterrau

The art of conciliation

Magazine article by Gareth Knapman, 2017

Gareth Knapman explores the politics and opportunism behind the portraits of Tasmania’s Black War.

Self portrait

Elegance in exile

Portrait drawings from colonial Australia
Previous exhibition, 2012

Elegance in exile is an exhibition surveying the work of Richard Read senior, Thomas Bock, Thomas Griffiths Wainewright and Charles Rodius: four artists who, though exiled to Australia as convicts, created many of the most significant and elegant portraits of the colonial period.

Francis Russell Nixon

Sketches and sermons

Magazine article by Jessica Smith, 2009

Jessica Smith looks at the 'fetching' portrait of Tasmania's first Anglican Bishop, Francis Russell Nixon by George Richmond

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

Embrace your inner nerd

About Face article

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.

Marcia Langton

Powerful energy

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2010

Dr Christopher Chapman explores the symbolism in the portrait commission of Marcia Langton by Brook Andrew.

Charlie, 2017 by Lee Grant

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018

8 March 2018
Archived media releases 2018

Images for media use will be available from 8 March 2018.

Roy de Mastre, c. 1930

An Intimate Portrait of an Australian Artist in 1930

Magazine article by Lauren Dalla, 2003

Lauren Dalla examines the life of Australian painter Roy de Maistre and his portrait by Jean Shepeard.

Charlie, 2017 by Lee Grant

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018

Previous exhibition, 2018

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.

Self portrait, c.1900

Reflection

Magazine article by Michael Rosen, 2013

British novelist and poet, Michael Rosen, weaves a tale about his early encounters with creativity and the self-portrait of a childhood friend.

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.

Personal Hygiene, 2007

Shifting pixels

Magazine article by Gillian Raymond, 2007

In 2007 the National Portrait Gallery produced its first online exhibition featuring the animated self portraits created by some of Australia’s most innovative visual artists and animators.

Marilyn Ball, Albatross, 2018 (detail) by Linde Ivimey

So Fine

17 May 2018
Archived media releases 2018

The National Portrait Gallery is pleased to announce its winter exhibition is So Fine: Contemporary women artists make Australian history. It will open to the public from 29 June 2018.

The Cutmear sisters, Jane and Lucy, c. 1842

A man of superior attainments

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

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

Marilyn Ball, Albatross, 2018 (detail) by Linde Ivimey

So Fine

28 June 2018
Archived media releases 2018

Ten women artists explore the possibilities of portraiture as a contemporary art form; and reinterpret and reimagine Australian history in the Portrait Gallery’s new exhibition So Fine: Contemporary women artists make Australian history.

Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, 1824 by James Thomson

Audacity, audacity, audacity

About Face article

Angus delves into the biographies of two ambitious characters; Sir Stamford Raffles and Sir John Pope-Hennessy.

William Robertson

200 Years of Portraiture

About Face article

To celebrate his family bicentenary, Malcolm Robertson looks at the portraiture legacy left by his ancestors.

Shakespeare to Winehouse: Icons from the National Portrait Gallery, London

Announcing Shakespeare to Winehouse

24 November 2021
Archived media releases 2021

More than eighty treasures from the National Portrait Gallery London will travel to Canberra for a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from March 2022.

George and Jemima Billet with family

Costantini's convictions

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2017

Jo Gilmour uncovers endearing authenticity in the art of a twice-transported Tasmanian.

Head of a Naked Girl, 2000

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.
Waterfall in Australia, c. 1830 by Augustus Earle

Augustus serendipitous

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2016

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

Jack Charles

NPPP 2012 learning resource

Learning resource archive

Exploring select works from the NPPP 2012. For secondary students.

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Portrait Donors

Listed by year
Honour board
The Rajah quilt, 1841 by Kezia Hayter

Material culture

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2018

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

M H Wednesday 11.15am from the series Self-harm, 2004

Big it up

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2005

Former National Portrait Gallery Curator Magda Keaney was a member of the selection panel of the Schwepes Photographic Portrait Prize 2004 at the National Portrait Gallery London.

Mr John Eason

The shipwright's arms

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

Joanna Gilmour explores the life and times of convict-turned-artist William Buelow Gould.

The Jester (self portrait)

Bloodlines

Magazine article by Michelle Fracaro, 2004

Michelle Fracaro describes Lionel Lindsay's woodcut The Jester (self-portrait).

Tracey

Sophisticated and glamorous

Magazine article by Amanda Rowell, 2015

Michael Riley’s early portraits by Amanda Rowell.

Audience in the Palace Theater c1943

Exposed: Voyeurism Surveillance and the camera since 1870

Magazine article by Sandra Phillips, 2010

The Tate/SFMOMA exhibition Exposed examined the role of photography in voyeurism and how it challenges ideas of privacy and propriety.

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.

Mary (or Diana) Croker, mat woman, Colchester, 1823 by John Dempsey

Unknown drawer

Magazine article by Dr David Hansen, 2017

Dempsey’s People curator David Hansen chronicles a research tale replete with serendipity, adventure and Tasmanian tigers.

Leigh Bowery in Fur Coat

Hyperversity

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

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

Forest Creek, Mount Alexander Diggings, 1852 by S. T. Gill

The Rothschilds, the Montefiores, and the Victorian Gold Rush

About Face article

Some years ago my colleague Andrea Wolk Rager and I spent several days in the darkened basement of a Rothschild Bank, inspecting every one of the nearly 700 autochromes created immediately before World War I by the youthful Lionel de Rothschild.

Self portrait, 1786 by John Kay

Alternative virtue

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

Joanna Gilmour presents John Kay’s portraits of a more infamous side of Edinburgh.

Untitled, 2020 Steph Fuller

The look and the feel

Living Memory exhibition essay
General content

Editor Stephen Phillips looks at the finalists' photographs through a judge's lens.

Self portrait

Fine and dandy

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

Whether the result of misadventure or misdemeanour, many accomplished artists were transported to Australia where they ultimately left a positive mark on the history of art in this country.

A Family Being Served with Tea, ca. 1745 by an unknown artist

A reflection on conversation pieces

About Face article

There is in the collection of the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut, an English painting, datable on the basis of costume to about 1745, that has for many years exercised my imagination.

Bee Miles

Good, bad and the ugly

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2007

Michael Desmond explores what makes a portrait subject significant.

William Charles Wentworth -The Australian Patriot

The Wentworths – Hidden in Plain Sight

Magazine article by Dr Grace Blakeley-Carroll, 2015

Grace Carroll on the gendered world of the Wentworths.

Sydney Ure Smith

Dupain detective

Magazine article by Johanna McMahon, 2019

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

The Window Seat, 1907 by Frances Hodgkins

Kiwi magpie

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2018

Penelope Grist finds inspiration in pioneering New Zealand artist, Frances Hodgkins.

William Shakespeare, c. 1600-1610  associated with John Taylor

Take thy face hence

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

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

NPPP finalists

20 20

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2017

Sarah Engledow picks some favourites from a decade of the National Photographic Portrait Prize.

A woman of New South Wales, c. 1840

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.

Self portrait

In good company

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

Jean Appleton’s 1965 self portrait makes a fine addition to the National Portrait Gallery’s collection writes Joanna Gilmour.

Madame du Barry, 1791 by Richard Cosway

Little women

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

Joanna Gilmour looks beyond the ivory face of select portrait miniatures to reveal their sitters’ true grit.

Untitled #21/09 (after Ricci, 1700; featuring Matthew Mitcham)

Getting bare

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2015

How seven portraits within Bare reveal in a public portrait parts of the body and elements of life usually located in the private sphere.

Portrait of a Pioneer , 1917 
Violet Teague

Off her own bat

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

Joanna Gilmour profiles Violet Teague, whose sophisticated works hid her originality and non-conformity in plain sight.

Dave Graney

Naked nostalgia

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2016

Penelope Grist reminisces about the halcyon days of a print icon, before the infusion of the internet’s shades of grey.

Sunset in the drawing room at Chesney Wold by Hablot Knight Brown

Portraiture in a Bleak House

About Face article

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.

The Right Honourable Sir Ninian Stephen KGAK GCMG GCVO KBE QC, 2006 by Rick Amor

Prima facie

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

Sarah Engledow casts a judicious eye over portraits in the Victorian Bar’s Peter O’Callaghan QC Portrait Gallery.

George Reid paperweight

Some prime ministers

General content

Sarah Engledow explores the history of the prime ministers and artists featured in the exhibition.

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