Search / arthur phillip

W Sherwin after Francis Wheatley

Arthur Phillip (1738–1814), first governor of New South Wales, began his career while a boy in London.

2 portraits in the collection

Arthur Phillip Esq., Captain General and Commander in Chief in & over the territory of New South Wales, 1789

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Sydney Cove medallion, 1789 by Josiah Wedgwood

The medallion

W Sherwin, John Stockdale after Francis Wheatley

In recent years I have become fascinated by the so-called Sydney Cove Medallion (1789), a work of art that bridges the 10,000-mile gap between the newly established penal settlement at Port Jackson and the beating heart of Enlightenment England.

Arthur Phillip Esq., Captain General and Commander in Chief in & over the territory of New South Wales, 1789

Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

Phillip Law AC AO CBE

Phillip Law AC AO CBE (1912–2010), scientist and Antarctic explorer, developed an interest in the frozen continent as a boy.

1 portrait in the collection

Phillip Noyce AO

Phillip Noyce AO (b. 1950), director, was part of the first student intake at the Australian Film and Television School in 1973.

2 portraits in the collection

Phillip Brophy

Maria Kozic (b. 1957), painter and sculptor, and Philip Brophy (b. 1959), film director, composer, performer and curator, collaborated in the avant-garde performance/happening group ??? (spoken as tsk tsk tsk) and other projects between 1977 and the mid-1980s.

1 portrait in the collection

Phillip Gudthaykudthay

Philip Gudthaykudthay (b. 1935) Liyagalawumirr (Yolgnu) bark painter, worked as a young man as a stockman, fencer and crocodile hunter around Milingimbi and Ramingining.

1 portrait in the collection

Dr Phillip Law, 1974

Dallas Hawes

Gift of Dr Phillip Law 2000. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Phillip Parker King

Portrait, inkjet print on rag paper

Phillip Parker King RN (1791–1856) has been described as the first Australian-born person to succeed in the world outside the colonies.

1 portrait in the collection

Phillip Gudthaykudthay, 1986

Martin van der Wal

Purchased 2005

Phillip Noyce, 2002 (printed 2004)

Karin Catt

Purchased 2005

In the Lounge, 2006

by North Sullivan

Philip Noyce on the set of 'Heatwave', Sydney

Philip Noyce on the set of 'Heatwave', Sydney, 1981 (printed 2000)

David Moore

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

Phillip Parker King, 1854

Thomas Woolner

Portrait, cast plaster

Purchased 2000

Maria Kozic and Philip Brophy 1, 1981, 1981 (printed 2012)

Robert Rooney

Archived media releases 2016

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Arthur Boyd’s Mysterious Eyes

6 May 2016

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

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.

New South Wales State Repatriation Board

Arthur Vernon

Arthur Vernon was the general secretary of the United Labourers’ Protective Society, a delegate to the Sydney Labour Council, a member of the Eight Hours committee, and a Labour alderman of the city for Cook ward.

1 portrait in the collection

Arthur Boyd AC OBE

Arthur Boyd AC OBE (1920–1999), painter, potter and printmaker, was one of Australia’s greatest artists.

14 portraits in the collection

Arthur Murch

Arthur Murch, artist, is best-known as a painter in a colourful cubistic style, but he was occupied with sculpture throughout his career.

8 portraits in the collection

Arthur Horner

Arthur Horner was born in Malvern, Victoria, and attended Sydney High School and the National Art School.

1 portrait in the collection

Arthur Summons

Arthur Summons (1935-2020), footballer, played fly-half in ten rugby union test matches for the Wallabies between 1956 and 1960 before joining rugby league's Western Suburbs Magpies in 1960.

1 portrait in the collection

Arthur Triggs

Arthur Triggs (1868-1936), pastoralist and collector, is sometimes referred to as the 'Kidman of the wool industry'.

1 portrait in the collection

Arthur T. Woodward

Arthur Thomas 'A T' Woodward (1865–1943), painter and art scholar, was born in Birmingham, England.

1 portrait in the collection

Arthur Boyd

Recorded 1965

Arthur Calwell part two

Recorded 1967

Arthur Calwell part one

Recorded 1967

Self portrait, 1945-1946

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family 2014

Self portrait, 1964

Gift of Denis Savill 2021. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Arthur William Burman

Arthur William Burman was one of the nine children of photographer William Insull Burman (1814-1890), who came to Victoria in 1853.

2 portraits in the collection

Arthur Beetson, 1968 (printed 2019)

Ern McQuillan OAM

Purchased 2019

Dr Arthur Martin a'Beckett

Dr Arthur Martin a’Beckett FRCS (1812-1871) surgeon and New South Wales parliamentarian studied at London University from 1831 before undertaking a residency in Paris, centre for innovation in the practice of hygiene, pathological anatomy and physiopathology.

2 portraits in the collection

Arthur Boyd, c. 1982

Wes Walters

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Joseph Brown AO OBE 2006
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Sir Arthur Coles, c. 1971

Sir William Dargie CBE

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

Arthur Boyd, 1962

Axel Poignant

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Arthur Boyd - Bundanon Studio II, 1993

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Alfred Arthur Greenwood Hales

Magazine article by Patrick McCaughey, 2015

Alfred Arthur Greenwood Hales (1860-1936), adventurer, writer and newspaper correspondent, left school and started writing short stories in his teens.

1 portrait in the collection

Self Portrait in red shirt, 1937 by Arthur Boyd

Arthur as Alyosha?

Patrick McCaughey explores a striking Boyd self portrait.

Arthur Streeton, c. 1890

H. Walter Barnett

Portrait, platinum photograph on original studio backing card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Arthur Boyd in his studio at Bundanon, 1993

Adam Knott

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Richard King 2008
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Arthur Boyd, Bundanon, New South Wales, 1995 (printed 2000)

David Moore

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

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), army officer and hero, was the prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1828 to 1830.

1 portrait in the collection

Arthur Murch, 1945

Margaret Michaelis

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Arthur Boyd, 1993

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite photograph on card

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

H.R.H. The Prince Arthur, 1860

John J. Mayall

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

Arthur Calwell, 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

Prince Arthur, 1860

John J. Mayall

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite photograph, hand coloured on card

Purchased 2020

Arthur Boyd - Bundanon Studio III, 1993

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Arthur Boyd with horse hair brush - Bundanon 1993

Arthur Boyd with horse hair brush - Bundanon 1993, 1993

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Carl Cooper, 1945-1946

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on masonite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Bequest of Alan Boxer 2014

Betty Burstall, 1945

Purchased 1998

Bernard Smith, n.d.

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on board

Gift of an anonymous donor 2002

Mawalan Marika, c. 1963

Portrait, oil on canvas on board

Purchased 2015

Sir Charles Mackerras, 1983

Arthur Fleischmann

Portrait, cast bronze on mosaic tile panel

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Sir Charles Mackerras 2009

Rupert C.W. Bunny, 1928

Arthur T. Woodward

Portrait, watercolour and gouache on strawboard

Gift of Ben Travers 2021. Donated through Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Chinese giant Chonkwicsee and companion, 1876

Arthur William Burman

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Dr. Arthur Martin a'Beckett, c. 1840

Portrait, pastel on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

Dr. Arthur Martin a'Beckett, 1845

Charles Abraham

Portrait, cast plaster

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

Archbishop Michael Kelly, c. 1924 (cast 2010)

Portrait, cast bronze on black granite plinth

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Anthony Dattilo Rubbo, 1935

Portrait, ciment fondu, patinated

Purchased 2000

Edward Lloyd Jones, c. 1920s

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Gift of Charles E. Lloyd Jones and Kim Lloyd Jones 2019. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Clara Crosbie, c. 1885

Arthur William Burman

Gift of John McPhee 2018

The sculptor (George Lambert and Arthur Murch)

The sculptor (George Lambert and Arthur Murch), c. 1929

Harold Cazneaux

Purchased 2015

Sidney Kidman and Arthur Triggs, c. 1914

Falk Studios

Purchased with funds provided by The Ian Potter Foundation 2007

The Gladiators (Norm Provan and Arthur Summons), 1963 (printed 1970s)

John O'Gready

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Duke of Wellington, 1841

John Lucas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

Jack Lang, life mask, n.d.

Portrait, fibreglass and resin

Purchased 2000

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.

Tea time, c.1898–1902 by Rupert Bunny (1864–1947)

Impressions

Painting light and life

Previous exhibition, 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.

Beguiling impressions

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2012

Sarah Engledow is seduced by the portraits and the connections between the artists and their subjects in the exhibition Impressions: Painting light and life.

New South Wales State Repatriation Board, c. 1920

Frank Neish

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on cardboard

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the family of FW Macpherson 2012

Peace and War (Mr A. G. Hales), 1908

Sir Leslie Ward, Vanity Fair Magazine

Portrait, chromolithograph on paper

Gift of Ronald A Walker 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Arthur and Yvonne, 1993

Portrait, platinum photograph on printed card

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Arthur Streeton, Nora Streeton (nee Clench) and Pat, the dog

Arthur Streeton, Nora Streeton (nee Clench) and Pat, the dog, c. 1909

H. Walter Barnett

Purchased 2001

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

Great stylists: Caruso, Melba, Pavarotti, Bonynge and Sutherland, 1983

Arthur Horner

Portrait, pencil on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Eric Harding and Athol Hawke 2002

Arthur and Ria Murch, 1945

Margaret Michaelis

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Duty bound

William Skelton after J. Wright

Joanna Gilmour explores the life of colonial women Lady Ellen Stirling, Eliza Darling, Lady Eliza Arthur, Elizabeth Macquarie and Lady Jane Franklin.

Lieutenant King, 1789

Purchased 2010

Philip Gidley King

Previous exhibition, 1999

Philip Gidley King (1758-1808), naval officer and governor, joined the navy in late 1770 and served in the East Indies and American waters.

1 portrait in the collection

Arthur Boyd Portraits

This is the first in a series of National Portrait Gallery exhibitions to survey the portraits painted by artists who are not thought of, primarily, as portrait painters

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema

Portrait of Bennilong, a Native of New Holland

Portrait of Bennilong, a Native of New Holland, c. 1810

John Young after Gilbert Stuart

Purchased 2014

Lord Viscount Sydney, c. 1790

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Portrait of Bennilong, Native of New Holland

Portrait of Bennilong, Native of New Holland, c. 1798

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

John Shortland

John Shortland (1739-1803), naval officer, was a member of a family of which six members were associated with the colonisation of Australia and New Zealand.

1 portrait in the collection

Jessie Robertson

Jessie Robertson (1835–1849) was the eldest of the seven children of pastoralist and businessman, William Robertson (1798–1874), and his wife Margaret (née Whyte, 1811–1866).

1 portrait in the collection

John Allen Manton

John Allen Manton (1807–1864), Wesleyan minister, arrived in Australia in 1831.

1 portrait in the collection

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Sir Thomas Lawrence

William Burman

Arthur Boyd portraits from 1945

William Insull Burman came to Victoria in 1853 and worked as a painter and decorator before establishing his own photography business in Carlton in about 1863.

1 portrait in the collection

Listen: Mysterious eyes

An open house, recollections of my early life: extracts from the reminiscences of David Boyd.

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

The Streetons’ rich serenade

Passion

If music be the food of love

Captain John Hunter

John Hunter (1737-1821), naval officer and governor, came to Sydney as second captain of the Sirius, the flagship of the First Fleet.

3 portraits in the collection

The Right Honourable Charles Lord Hawkesbury, Chancellor of the Duchy and County Palatine of Lancaster

Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool

Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool (1729–1808), statesman, was educated at Oxford and entered parliament in 1761.

1 portrait in the collection

The Iconoclasts

In Gallery Three

Current exhibition

Australian portraiture of the mid-twentieth century was rich with the influence of European modernism, exemplified by the work of artists including Arthur Boyd, Judy Cassab and Clifton Pugh.

David Collins

John Murphy after George Romney

David Collins (1756–1810), lieutenant-governor, began his career in the British Navy, rising to the rank of captain before being returning to dry land and being placed on half-pay in late 1783.

1 portrait in the collection

The Right Honourable Charles Lord Hawkesbury, Chancellor of the Duchy and County Palatine of Lancaster, 1788

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

Buckley discovering himself to the early settlers

William Buckley

S Calvert, Gibbs, Shallard and Co after O.R. Campbell

William Buckley (1780-1856), known as 'the wild white man', was transported for life in 1802 for receiving stolen cloth.

1 portrait in the collection

Buckley discovering himself to the early settlers, 1869

Portrait, colour wood engraving on paper

Purchased 2009

'Timbere sauvage de la nouvelle galles du sud en grand costume (Relache au Port Jackson)'

'Timbere sauvage de la nouvelle galles du sud en grand costume (Relache au Port Jackson)', 1822

Pierre Langlume after Jacques Etienne Victor Arago

Portrait, lithograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Ria Murch

Ria Murch (1918-2014), writer and muse, was brought up in King’s Cross and attended the Thosophist school in Mosman before acquiring secretarial skills at Miss Hales Business College.

1 portrait in the collection

William Robertson, c. 1852

Portrait, 1/6 plate daguerreotype, hand coloured with case

Gift of Fiona Turner (née Robertson) and John Robertson 2011. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

William Robertson

Jean Coutant after Jacques Etienne Victor Arago

William Robertson (1798-1874), pastoralist and entrepreneur, was a key player in the settlement of Victoria in the 1830s.

3 portraits in the collection

Nlle. Holland Port Jackson: Sauvages des environs de Sydney: Nani, Taran, Abinghou, Broten, Timbere

Nlle. Holland Port Jackson: Sauvages des environs de Sydney: Nani, Taran, Abinghou, Broten, Timbere, 1825

Portrait, line engraving on paper

Purchased 2015

David Collins Esq, 1804

Anthony Cardon after John T. Barber

Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Wes Walters

Now on display in Gallery Three

Wes Walters (1928-2014), painter, studied architecture in Geelong and art at the Ballarat School of Mines before embarking on a successful career as a freelance commercial artist in 1950.

3 portraits in the collection

Portrait 49

Winter 2015

Magazine

This issue features Jude Rae, Arthur Boyd, Darren McDonald, John Singer Sargent, Tom Wills the 'inventor' of Australian Rules Football and more.

The Iconoclasts

Archived media releases 2015

Australian portraiture of the mid-twentieth century was rich with the influence of European modernism, exemplified by the work of artists including Arthur Boyd, Judy Cassab and Clifton Pugh.

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.

The Capel Family

Cornelius Johnson

Robert W. Pohlman

Robert Williams Pohlman (1811–1877), judge, arrived in Melbourne in 1840 and with his brother acquired a sheep station, Darlington (later Glenhope), near Kyneton.

1 portrait in the collection

Dale Hickey

Dale Hickey (b. 1937) studied design and illustration at Swinburne Technical College, Melbourne, between 1954 and 1957.

1 portrait in the collection

Francis Tuckfield

Portrait, black conte on paper

Francis Tuckfield (1808-1865), Wesleyan missionary, was eighteen years old when, having worked as a miner and a fisherman, he decided to become a preacher.

1 portrait in the collection

John Perceval, 1985

Rick Amor

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

John Perceval, 1985

Rick Amor

Portrait, black conte on paper

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

'Night studio No. 2'

Cynthia Breusch

The Right Honourable William Pitt

William Pitt the Younger (1759-1806) was Tory prime minister of Great Britain from 1783 to 1801, and of United Kingdom from 1804 to 1806.

1 portrait in the collection

Sketch of Clifton Pugh painting John Perceval

John Perceval AO

John Perceval AO (1923-2000) was a painter and ceramic artist. Early on, along with Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd and Albert Tucker, he was part of a loose group of largely self-taught Australian artists, now known as the Angry Penguins, who rebelled against the conservatism of the art establishment.

10 portraits in the collection

Betty Churcher

Portrait, ink, coloured pencil, gouache, crayon and fibre-tipped pen on single mount board with gold coloured ink border

The National Portrait Gallery mourns the loss of our colleague and friend Betty Churcher, AO.

John Perceval, 1999

Thomas de Kessler

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Thomas de Kessler 2001

Boyd to man

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2016

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

Portrait of Dr Johann Reinhold Forster and his son George Forster

Portrait of Dr Johann Reinhold Forster and his son George Forster, c. 1780

Jean Francois Rigaud

Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family, the Ian Potter Foundation and John Schaeffer AO 2009

Dame Annie Florence Cardell-Oliver DBE

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

Captain W Kinghorne, 1834

Thomas James Lempriere

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by The Ian Potter Foundation 2007

Treaties for madmen only, 2008

by Matthew Regan

Reg Livermore, Pitt Street, Sydney, 1965 (printed 2020)

Robert McFarlane

Purchased 2020

Casey Stoner AM

Batchelder & Company Photo

Casey Stoner (b. 1985), the 2008 Young Australian of the Year, won the MotoGP World Championship motorcycle competition held at Phillip Island in 2007.

1 portrait in the collection

John Pascoe Fawkner, c. 1867

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Amandus Julius Fischer

Amandus Julius Fischer (1859-1948) began his art studies in Sydney before proceeding to the Westminster School of art in London, and the Académie Julian and the Atelier Colarossi in Paris.

1 portrait in the collection

Lieutenant John Watts

Lieutenant John Watts (1755-1801) joined the Navy in 1770 and embarked with James Cook in 1776 on the fatal voyage of the Resolution.

1 portrait in the collection

Andrew Mitchell Ramsay

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

1 portrait in the collection

Mr John Eason, 1838

W. B. Gould

Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family 2013

Sir Edgar Barton ‘EB’ Coles

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite

Sir Edgar Barton ‘EB’ Coles (1899-1981) was the longest-serving chief executive of the Coles retail group.

2 portraits in the collection

William Robertson, 1866

Thomas Adams Hill

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Malcolm Robertson in memory of William Thomas Robertson 2018
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

George A. Highland

Samuel Bellin after Francis Grant

George A Highland (1874-1954), theatrical producer, grew up in England, where, as a choirboy, he came to the attention of Arthur Sullivan.

1 portrait in the collection

Charles Joseph La Trobe, c. 1857

Purchased 2010

Alf Vincent

Alfred Vincent began working for the Bulletin in 1896, taking over from the renowned Phil May, his idol, with whom he was often - inevitably - unfavourably compared.

1 portrait in the collection

Tim Burstall

Tim Burstall (1927-2004) set up Eltham Films in the early 1950s, when the local film industry was moribund.

2 portraits in the collection

Chandler P. Coventry AM

Chandler Phillip Coventry AM (1924–1999), grazier, gallerist, art collector and arts patron, was born in Armidale, New South Wales to an established New England grazing family.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait 53

Winter 2016

Magazine

Experience the art of rock music; attend to the neglected aspects of Lord Kitchener's work; and say farewell to the inimitable Bob Ellis.

Joy Hester

Joy Hester (1920-1960) was the only female member of the Angry Penguin movement, which included artists Tucker, Sidney Nolan and Arthur Boyd.

1 portrait in the collection

Karl Duldig

Karl Duldig (1902-1986) studied art in Vienna between 1923 to 1933, interrupted by his success in sport, first as a soccer international, then as a tennis player and finally as a table-tennis title holder.

1 portrait in the collection

John Perceval painting 'Veronica and the Conspirators'

John Perceval painting 'Veronica and the Conspirators', 1967

Mark Strizic

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Henry Wade

Henry Wade (1810–1854), surveyor, was trained in surveying at Dublin College before being employed as a civilian assistant by the Royal Engineers Corps.

1 portrait in the collection

Opening of the First Legislative Council of Victoria by Governor Charles Joseph LaTrobe at St Patrick's Hall, Bourke Street West, Melbourne November 13th 1851

John Pascoe Fawkner

John Pascoe Fawkner (1792-1869), sometimes called the 'Founder of Melbourne', was a pioneer and adventurer.

2 portraits in the collection

William Henry Harvey

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

Carl Cooper

Carl Cooper (1912-1966), ceramic decorator, contracted poliomyelitis in his twenties.

1 portrait in the collection

John Lort Stokes

Portrait, pencil, pen and ink on paper

John Lort Stokes (1812–1885), explorer, naval officer and surveyor, joined the navy at age twelve and age thirteen was assigned to HMS Beagle as a midshipman.

1 portrait in the collection

Bob Croll of the AAA Vic., 1916

David Low

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Achille Simonetti

Achilles Simonetti (1838-1900) was a sculptor. Born in Rome, the son of sculptor Louis Simonetti, he trained as a religious sculptor.

1 portrait in the collection

Charles Joseph La Trobe

Charles Joseph La Trobe (1801-1875), colonial administrator, travelled widely in Europe and America before beginning his colonial career in the West Indies in 1837.

3 portraits in the collection

Tiga Bayles

Magazine article by Kate Fullagar, 2019

Harold James Phillip 'Tiga' Bayles (1953–2016), a Birri Gubba Gungalu man, was a broadcaster and Aboriginal rights activist.

1 portrait in the collection

Rethinking foundational histories

A focus on Indigenous-European relationships underpins Facing New Worlds. By Kate Fullagar.

Ursula Hoff AO OBE

Portrait, cast plaster, painted

Ursula Hoff AO OBE (1909–2005) was a curator, art historian and academic.

1 portrait in the collection

Trucaninny [Trukanini], wife of Woureddy [Wurati]

Trucaninny [Trukanini], wife of Woureddy [Wurati], 1836

Benjamin Law

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

The Colonel (Portrait of Walter Withers)

The Colonel (Portrait of Walter Withers), 1896

David Davies

Portrait, pastel on paper

Purchased 2009

Rudy Komon

Rudy Komon (1908-1982) was an art dealer and gallery director. After working as a journalist in Czechoslovakia, where he served with the Czech resistance during the war, he emigrated to Sydney and opened an antique store.

3 portraits in the collection

Fanny Jane Marlay

Fanny Jane Marlay (1819–1848), was the second-eldest daughter of military officer, Edward Marlay (1792–1839).

1 portrait in the collection

Hal Hattam

Charles Turner after Sir Thomas Lawrence

Harold 'Hal' Hattam (1913-1994), doctor, artist and art collector, came to Australia from his native Scotland at the age of seven.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool

Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, 1827

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Betty Churcher, 2008

Adam Knott

Purchased 2013

George Finey

George Finey, one of Australia's best-known cartoonists, was born in Auckland and was selling drawings to local newspapers by the time he was 14.

1 portrait in the collection

Ursula Hoff, 1994

Francis Reiss

Purchased 2004

Tom Roberts, 1920

Alice Mills

Gift of Gerard Vaughan 2001

Portrait of Lady Eyre Williams (Jessie Gibbon)

Here’s looking at you, kid

Devotion

Is he thinking of me?

The Right Honourable Lord Viscount Melbourne

William Lamb

Portraits & Other Stories

William Lamb, second Viscount Melbourne (1779–1848), statesman, was Prime Minister of Britain in 1834 and from 1835 to 1841.

2 portraits in the collection

Sam Haskins

Previous exhibition, 2006

Haskins is known for his poetic combinations of images and this exhibition of 'extended' portraits builds on this approach.

Sarah Tuckfield, c. 1854

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Freer Tuckfield family 2010
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Francis Tuckfield, c. 1854

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Freer Tuckfield family 2010
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Robert Henderson Croll

Portrait, oil on masonite

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

Self portrait, 2006

Judy Cassab AO CBE

Portrait, oil on board

Gift of Dr Phillip Dutton and Valerie Dutton 2013. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Hal Hattam, 1960

Fred Williams

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Hattam family in memory of Hal and Kate Hattam 2006
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Opening of the First Legislative Council of Victoria by Governor Charles Joseph LaTrobe at St Patrick's Hall, Bourke Street West, Melbourne November 13th 1851, 1883

John Noone after William Strutt

Portrait, photolithograph on paper

Purchased 2013

The Right Honourable Lord Viscount Melbourne, 1839

Charles Turner after Sir George Hayter

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2013

Portrait of Ruth Cracknell as the Sibyl, 1995

Rosemary Valadon

Portrait, cast bronze relief medallion

Purchased 2000

Sir Charles Nicholson, 1854

Thomas Woolner

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased through the Foundation Acquisitions Fund 2015

Betty Churcher, 1994

Anne Zahalka

Portrait, ilfochrome photograph on paper

Gift of the artist 2021

William Lamb, Baron Melbourne, 1832

Samuel Freeman, Fisher, Son & Co London after Sir Thomas Lawrence

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

Henry Wade, c. 1841

Portrait, oil on paperboard

Gift of the Wade and Hannah families 2013

Captain John Hunter, Governor New South Wales, 1801

William Ridley

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

Toni Maticevski, 2009 (printed 2010)

Dave Tacon

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Kerrie Lester

Kerrie Lester (1953–2016) became well-known as a portraitist for her playful, textured, highly coloured works that appeared regularly in the Archibald and Portia Geach exhibitions of the late 1980s and the 1990s.

6 portraits in the collection

Tribute

Betty Churcher

Magazine article, 2015

Betty Churcher AO (1931–2015), gallery director, author, painter and lecturer, was educated in Brisbane before studying art in London.

John Shirlow, c. 1937

Julian Smith

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

David Davies

Dario Castellini after Carlo Liverati

David Davies began studying art at the School of Mines and Industries in his birthplace, Ballarat.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert Brown, c. 1835

Portrait, lithograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

Peter Dombrovskis, 1996

Liz Dombrovskis

Portrait, duo-tone print on photographic paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

George and Jemima Billet with family, c. 1852

C.H.T. Costantini

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Purchased 2016

The Merioola Group, 1940s

Alec Murray

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

William Robertson junior, c. 1857

Conway Hart

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Reg Livermore AO

Reg Livermore AO (b. 1938), stage and television entertainer, began performing as a teenager, hiring local venues to mount his own pantomimes.

2 portraits in the collection

William St Leonards Robertson, c. 1865

Portrait, ambrotype, hand coloured

Gift of Fiona Turner (née Robertson) and John Robertson 2011. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Rudy Komon, c. 1970

Lewis Morley

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

Hon. Les Bury CMG

Hon Les Bury CMG (1913-1986), politician, was member for Wentworth in Sydney’s eastern suburbs from 1956 to 1974.

1 portrait in the collection

Edward Henty, late 19th century

Portrait, platinum photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Tim Clark 2018

Charles Conder, Stella Maris Condor and Florence Humphrey at les Petites Dalles, Normandy

Charles Conder, Stella Maris Condor and Florence Humphrey at les Petites Dalles, Normandy, 1902

H. Walter Barnett

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

H. Walter Barnett

Frederick George Reynolds

H. Walter Barnett (1862-1934) was a leading portrait photographer of the late Victorian, Edwardian and interwar periods.

12 portraits in the collection

Robert Henderson Croll, 1927

Portrait, oil on canvas on board

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.

Rennie Ellis

A Portrait of Colonial Australia

Rennie Ellis (1940–2003), photographer and writer, began taking photographs while travelling around the world in the 1960s.

21 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

Peter Dombrovskis

Peter Dombrovskis, photographer and environmental activist, was born of Latvian parents in a refugee camp in Wiesbaden at the end of World War 2.

1 portrait in the collection

Ruth Cracknell

Ruth Cracknell AM (1925–2002), actor, became a household name through her character Maggie Beare in the ABC comedy Mother and Son, which ran from 1985 to 1994.

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait, 1948

Klaus Friedeberger

Gift of Julie Friedeberger 2021

Peter Allen

Peter Allen (1944–1992), singer/songwriter and entertainer, was born Peter Allen Woolnough in Tenterfield, NSW.

1 portrait in the collection

Wurati

More about In the flesh artists

Wurati (active 1830s, d. 1842), was a Nuennone man from Bruny Island, a skilled hunter, boat builder and renowned storyteller who spoke five dialects.

2 portraits in the collection

Jan Nelson

Jan Nelson was born in Melbourne. She graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts in 1983 and has been exhibited her work in both solo and group exhibitions throughout Australia since that time including at the MCA, Sydney, National Gallery of Victoria, Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane and the Experimental Art Foundation, Adelaide.

Portrait of Captain John Hunter, 1792

Daniel Orme after Robert Dighton

Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Society of Artists Selection Committee, 1907

Henry King

Purchased 2008

Sir Zelman Cowen, 2000

Wes Walters

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Marc Besen AO and Dr Joseph Brown AO OBE 2000

Jack Charles

Portrait, cast bronze relief medallion

Recorded 2022

Charles Joseph La Trobe, 1853

Thomas Woolner

Purchased 2006

George Rose, 1811

Giovanni Vendramini, T Cadell & W Davies after William Evans, Sir William Beechey

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

John Eason

Carlo Pellegrini, Vanity Fair Magazine

John Eason (1799–1858) was a shipwright who worked in Van Diemen’s Land during the 1830s, 1840s and 1850s.

1 portrait in the collection

Men of the Day No.19 "A great Med'cine-Man among the Inqui-ring Redskins" (Thomas Henry Huxley), 1871

Portrait, chromolithograph on paper

Purchased 2015

A Portrait (Kate Hattam), 1956

Clifton Pugh AO

Portrait, oil on board

Purchased 2006

Deidre But-Husaim

Deidre But-Husaim (b. 1959), based in Adelaide, South Australia, undertook her formative art study at the Adelaide Central School of Art, where she has since taught painting.

2 portraits in the collection

Peter Wegner

Peter Wegner first participated in a group exhibition in 1977, when he had had no art training.

7 portraits in the collection

Sir Rupert Hamer AC KCMG ED

Sir Rupert ‘Dick’ Hamer AC KCMG (1916-2004) was premier of Victoria from 1972 to 1981.

1 portrait in the collection

Walter Withers

Portrait drawings from colonial Australia

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

Elegance in exile

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.

The Lawn at Flemington on Melbourne Cup Day

The Lawn at Flemington on Melbourne Cup Day, c. 1889

Goupil & Cie after Carl Kahler

Portrait, photogravure on paper

Purchased 2009

Tim Burstall, Andamooka (filming of the Last of the Knucklemen), c. 1979

Rennie Ellis

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006

Practising the Minuet (Miss Hilda Spong)

Practising the Minuet (Miss Hilda Spong), 1893

Tom Roberts

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Purchased with funds provided by the Ian Potter Foundation 2008

Girl (portrait of Barbara Blackman), 1969

Charles Blackman OBE

Purchased 2009

Richard Gardiner Casey KG GCMG CH

Portrait, oil on masonite

Richard Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey of Berwick, Victoria and the City of Westminster KG GCMG CH (1890-1976), politician and statesman, was born in Brisbane and educated in Melbourne and at Cambridge.

3 portraits in the collection

Self portrait, 1965

Jean Appleton

Gift of the Estate of Nicolaas van der Waarden 2013

Decorative portrait – Len Lye, c.1925 by Rayner Hoff (1894-1937)

Presence and Absence

Portrait Sculpture in Australia

Previous exhibition, 2003

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

Betty Churcher AO

(Elizabeth) Betty Churcher AO (1931–2015), gallery director, author, painter and lecturer, was educated in Brisbane before studying at the Royal College of Art in London.

3 portraits in the collection

Self portrait, 1900

Agnes Goodsir

Gift of Rosemary Neilson 2021

The Hon. John Howard OM AC

The Hon. John Howard OM AC (b. 1939) was Prime Minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007.

1 portrait in the collection

Olegas Truchanas, 1971

Ralph Hope-Johnstone

Purchased 2005

Trukanini

Trukanini (c. 1812–1876) is arguably nineteenth century Australia’s most celebrated Indigenous leader.

6 portraits in the collection

Klaus Friedeberger

Klaus Friedeberger (1922-2019) fled Germany for England at the age of sixteen, and the next year found himself on the Dunera bound for internment in Australia.

3 portraits in the collection

Grazia Gunn, 2014

Jacqueline Mitelman

Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2015

Kate Hattam

Kathleen 'Kate' Hattam (1923–2004), stylesetter and art collector, was born in London and served with the Women’s Royal Air Force during the Second World War, stationed in radar at Beachey Head.

1 portrait in the collection

Patrick Ryan

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

Sir Edward E. Williams

Sir Edward Eyre Williams (1813–1880), judge and barrister, arrived in Port Phillip in 1842 having been admitted to the Bar in London nine years earlier.

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

Wendy Sharpe, 2000

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Captain R.C. Morgan, Missionary ship 'John Williams'

Captain Robert Clark Morgan

Captain Robert Clark Morgan (1798-1864), Christian mariner, whaler and diarist, entered the Royal Navy at the age of eleven, leaving at sixteen for the merchant marine and beginning a career in whaling, a pursuit he relished.

1 portrait in the collection

Agnes Goodsir

Born in Portland in south-west Victoria, Agnes Goodsir (1864–1939) initially painted still life before applying herself to the challenge of portraiture.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert Rooney

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2011

Robert Rooney (1937-2017), painter, conceptual artist and photographer, studied at Swinburne Technical college from 1954 to 1957.

17 portraits in the collection

Omai, Sir Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander, 1775-76

First encounters

Representations of the inhabitants of the new world expose the complexities of the colonisers' intentions.

Jeremiah Ware

Jeremiah Ware (1792–1878) arrived in Van Diemen’s Land in 1822 with his wife, Mary (née Brooks, c.

1 portrait in the collection

Mary Ware

Jeremiah Ware (1792–1878) arrived in Van Diemen’s Land in 1822 with his wife, Mary (née Brooks, c.

1 portrait in the collection

Barbara Blackman, 2008

Gorgi Dimcevski

'Self Portrait with Gladioli'

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Barbara Blackman 2009

George Lambert

Portrait story

An examination of the life and times of George Lambert through the gesture and pose in his self portrait.

Dr Joan M Redshaw AM, 1982

Barbara Tribe

Portrait, terracotta

Purchased 2016

Wendy Sharpe

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

Wendy Sharpe undertook art studies in Sydney between 1978 and 1984 and held her first solo exhibition at the Nicholson Street Gallery in 1985.

3 portraits in the collection

Portrait of Brenda Niall, 1997

Judy Cassab AO CBE

Gift of Dr Brenda Niall AO 2019. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Who's that?

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

George Lambert

Percy Leason's Aboriginal Portraits

George Lambert (1873–1930), artist, was born in St Petersburg and lived in Germany and England before coming to Australia with his family at the age of fourteen.

7 portraits in the collection

William Johnson (1873—1948) by Percy Leason

Recognition

Previous exhibition, 1999

Originally conceived as an anthropological record, Percy Leason’s powerful 1934 portraits of Victorian Aboriginal people are today considered to be a highlight of 20th century Australian portraiture

Barbara Blackman AO

Barbara Blackman AO (b. 1928), writer, poet and arts patron, was only fifteen when the ABC Weekly published one of her poems.

5 portraits in the collection

Joan Redshaw AM

J.W. Beattie after Charles Woolley

Joan Redshaw AM (1921–1994), medical practitioner, chose her career in opposition to her father, a judge, who thought the University of Sydney medical school was a hotbed of women's activists.

1 portrait in the collection

Trukanini, n.d.

Portrait, albumen silver photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Allanah Dopson and Nicholas Heyward 2009

Dr Brenda Niall AO

Brenda Niall AO (b. 1930), writer, academic and reviewer, is one of Australia's foremost biographers.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert Rooney, self portrait December 1978, 1978 (printed 2012)

Robert Rooney

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Dr Sarah Engledow

Magazine article by Dimity Goldie, 2003

Dr Sarah Engledow was appointed Historian at the National Portrait Gallery in 1999.

Portrait of a Modernist

The National Portrait Gallery acquired the self-portrait by Grace Cossington Smith in 2003.

Hilda Spong

Previous exhibition, 2007

Hilda Spong (1875-1955), actress, came to Australia with her family when she was thirteen.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait Paintings by Matthew Perceval

From 1967 until 1981 Matthew Perceval lived and painted in France and during those years produced a large body of portrait paintings.

Harold Parker

Harold Parker (1873-1962), sculptor, came to Brisbane with his English parents as a three-year old.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Elliott AM

Peter Elliott AM (1927–2014) was an obstetrician, gynaecologist and gynaecological oncologist as well as a significant art collector and patron.

6 portraits in the collection

Charles Troedel

Portrait, pencil on paper

Charles Troedel (1835-1906), born in Hamburg, was working in Norway when he was headhunted by AW Schuhkrafft, a Melbourne printer who seeking European craftsmen.

1 portrait in the collection

John Perceval, 1985

Rick Amor

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

Maria Kozic

1 portrait in the collection

David Naseby

David Naseby (1937–2022) was born in England and studied in the United Kingdom before coming to Australia in 1953.

8 portraits in the collection

Thomas Henry Huxley

Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–1895) travelled to Australia as a member of the expedition conducted by Owen Stanley on the Rattlesnake between 1846 and 1850.

2 portraits in the collection

Annie May Moore

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

James Robert M. Robertson

James Robert M. Robertson (1844-1932), mining engineer and coal magnate, was the son of a Scottish surgeon and colliery owner, and qualified in medicine himself before opting for a career in mining.

1 portrait in the collection

Philippe Mora

Philippe Mora (b. 1949), filmmaker, artist and writer, is the eldest son of artist Mirka Mora and restauranteur and gallery owner Georges Mora.

1 portrait in the collection

Wayne Blair, 2007 (printed 2014)

Ingvar Kenne

Portrait, cast plaster, painted

Gift of the artist 2017. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

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

Benjamin Law

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

National Youth Self Portrait Prize

NYSPP 2010

Previous exhibition, 2010

An annual event, the National Youth Self Portrait Prize seeks to encourage young people to embrace self portraiture and its expressive possibilities.

William Hardy Wilson

Magazine article by Malcolm Robertson, 2011

William Hardy Wilson (1881-1955) - or Hardy Wilson, as he styled himself - is regarded as one of the most significant and visionary Australian architects of the twentieth century.

1 portrait in the collection

Miss Robertson of Colac (Dolly), 1885-86

Brothers on farms

Malcolm Robertson tells the family history of one of Australia's earliest patrons of the arts, his Scottish born great great great grandfather, William Robertson.

hey, Betty (Portrait of Betty Churcher), 1990

Davida Allen

Portrait, oil on plywood

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

In the mirror: self portrait with Joy Hester, 1939

Albert Tucker

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Gift of the artist 1999. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Howard Taylor, 1988 (printed 2001)

John Austin

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Howard Taylor, 1988 (printed 2001)

John Austin

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Automatic for the people: Casey Stoner, 2008

Scott Redford

Portrait, Laser-cut vinyl and computer print on aluminium composite sheet, painted custom-wood frame

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2008

Rennie Ellis

Aussies All

Previous exhibition, 2006

Rennie Ellis: Aussies All is a celebration of the life and work of the late Australian photographer Rennie Ellis.

Margaret Robertson, c. 1863

Batchelder & O'Neill

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Malcolm Robertson in memory of William Thomas Robertson 2018
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Donald Friend

Portrait, pencil on paper

Donald Friend (1915-1989), painter, writer and diarist, studied at the RAS and Dattilo-Rubbo’s school in Sydney before spending 1935 and 1936 at the Westminster School in London.

2 portraits in the collection

Henry Fullwood (Uncle Remus), 1919

George Lambert

Gift of Denis Savill 2017. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Wayne Blair

Magazine article by Stuart Purves, 2016

Wayne Blair (b. 1971), director, actor and writer, became interested in acting and dance while a high school student in Rockhampton in the 1980s.

1 portrait in the collection

Bonfire of the vanities

Australian Galleries Director Stuart Purves tells the story of two portraits by John Brack.

Robert Neill

Previous exhibition, 2023

Robert Neill arrived in Van Diemen’s Land from Edinburgh in 1820 with his free-settler parents and two siblings.

1 portrait in the collection

Time and light

In Gallery Seven

This sample of 56 photographs takes in some of the smallest photographs we own and some of the largest, some of the earliest and some of the most recent, as well as multiple photographic processes from daguerreotypes to digital media.

Olegas Truchanas

Magazine article by Polly Borland, 2022

Olegas Truchanas (1923-1972) was born in 1923 in Siauliai, Lithuania.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait story

Photographer Polly Borland on capturing Queen Elizabeth II.

Tom Roberts

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

Angus Trumble with Self portrait at easel by Fred Williams

Autumn in Canberra

In Persuasion (1818), a long walk on a fine autumn day affords Anne Elliot an opportunity to ruminate wistfully and at great length upon declining happiness, youth and hope.

Mary Elizabeth Maud Chomley OBE

Mary Elizabeth Maud Chomley OBE (1872–1960) has been described as the 'divine angel of mercy' for Australian prisoners of war during the First World War.

1 portrait in the collection

The 1780s to the 1840s

Mo and beard timeline

Eighteenth century men differed from those of the preceding centuries in their preference for beardlessness.

Donald Friend, 1987

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Horatio S. Wills

Portrait, ink and charcoal on paper

Horatio Spencer Howe Wills (1811–1861), pastoralist, politician and newspaper proprietor, was born in Sydney, several months after the death of his father, Edward Spencer Wills, a merchant and shipowner who'd arrived in New South Wales under a life sentence for highway robbery in 1799.

2 portraits in the collection

Donald Friend at Owl Creek, 1983

Lawrence Daws

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lawrence Daws 2012
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Open Air

Portraits in the Landscape

Previous exhibition, 2008

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

Woburn Sheepshearing, 1811

Thomas Morris, M N. Bates, Joseph C. Stadler after George Garrard

Portrait, aquatint with stipple and etching and engraving, hand coloured on chine colle on paper laid down on cotton stretched over wooden strainer

Purchased 2018

Herbert John Louis Hinkler

Archived media releases 2016

Herbert John Louis (Bert) Hinkler (1892-1933), aviator, worked with a photographer and in sugar mills before joining the Queensland Aero club and taking a correspondence course in mechanics.

1 portrait in the collection

Gallery unveils Portrait of Mark Ella

12 May 2016

Last night in Sydney, the National Portrait Gallery unveiled a newly commissioned portrait of Australian sporting legend Mark Ella AM.

Remembering Ursula

Magazine article by Bradley Vincent, 2022

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

dumb & dumber from The Imponderable Archive, 2013 Samuel Hodge

Everything, everyqueer, all at once

Bradley Vincent considers Samuel Hodge’s use of the archive to create a queer vernacular of portraiture.

Thomas Wentworth Wills

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

Thomas Wentworth (Tom) Wills (1836–1880), is popularly thought of as the co-inventor of Australian Rules football.

2 portraits in the collection

Sideshow Alley

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.

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

Black and white history

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

Prime Ministers

Previous exhibition, 2013

On the day before the Hon. E. G. Whitlam, AC, QC, died last month, at the great age of 98, there were seven former prime ministers of Australia still living, plus the incumbent Mr. Abbott – eight in all.

Judy Cassab

The artist's diary

The artist's diary profiles six decades of Cassab's work, from the early portrait commissions of the 1950s to later paintings that have helped confirm her eminent place in the canon of Australian portraiture.

Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois, Governor of South Australia

Sir William F. Jervois

Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois (1821-1897), governor, attended the Royal Military Academy before being commissioned to the Royal Engineers in 1839.

1 portrait in the collection

W. B. Gould

Liverpool-born William Buelow Gould (1803-1853) had worked as a draftsman for the London printmaker, Rudolph Ackermann, and as a painter for a Staffordshire pottery before being transported to Van Diemen’s Land for theft in 1827.

1 portrait in the collection

Australian Tapestry Workshop

Photographic Portraits from 19th Century Australia

The Australian Tapestry Workshop (formerly the Victorian Tapestry Workshop) was established in 1976, following two years of planning and research on the part of its founding patrons, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch and Lady Joyce Delacombe.

2 portraits in the collection

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa

Husbands and Wives

Previous exhibition, 2010

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

Tom Wills, c. 1857 (printed c. 1905-1910)

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on grey paper on card

Gift of T S Wills Cooke 2014. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Martha Mary Robertson, 1866

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Malcolm Robertson in memory of William Thomas Robertson 2018
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Sir Charles Nicholson

Previous exhibition, 2010

Sir Charles Nicholson (1808-1903), statesman, landowner, businessman, connoisseur, scholar and physician, was born illegitimately into unpropitious circumstances in Yorkshire.

2 portraits in the collection

Australian of the Year

Inspiring a Nation

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

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.

Andrew Sayers AM

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Andrew Sayers AM (1957–2015) was inaugural Director of the National Portrait Gallery.

1 portrait in the collection

Andrew Sayers, 2012

Mark Mohell

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2013

Mark Strizic

A Journey in Photography

Previous exhibition, 2004

This exhibition traces the creative output of nearly 50 years by one of Australia's landmark living photographers.

Gustavus Brooke, c. 1865

Burman and Son

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

To Look Within

Self Portraits in Australia

Previous exhibition, 2004

This exhibition is the first comprehensive survey of self-portraits in Australia, from the colonial period to the present

Marianne Egan

Mary Anne Egan (also Marianne or Marian, née Cheers, 1818–1857), was born in Sydney, the daughter of ex-convicts.

1 portrait in the collection

Barry Humphries

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

Robert Brown

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

Robert Brown (1773–1858) is considered ‘the father of Australian botany’.

2 portraits in the collection

The fat of the land

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

Marion Borgelt

Marion Borgelt (b. 1954) grew up on a farm in the Wimmera district in western Victoria and attained her Diploma in Fine Art, majoring in painting, from the South Australian School of Art in 1976.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Les Patterson, 1999

Polly Borland

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Martin Sharp, 1986

Garry Shead

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Henry Baynton Somer Gullett AM MC

Previous exhibition, 2005

Henry Baynton Somer ‘Jo’ Gullett AM MC (1914-1999), soldier, politician, ambassador, farmer and author, was the son of Sir Henry Gullett, who was one of the Australian official historians of the First World War.

1 portrait in the collection

Clifton Pugh

Australians

This exhibition offers a comprehensive display of Clifton Pugh's portraits revealing his development and growth from tonal paintings to a unique style that was in demand from politicians, artists, academics and Australian personalities.

Madame Sibly, Phrenologist and Mesmerist

Madame Sibly, Phrenologist and Mesmerist, c. 1870

James E. Bray

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite photograph

Purchased 2017

Thomas Pearce, c. 1878

The Photographic Society of Victoria, Melbourne

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite on card

Purchased 2010

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.

C.H.T. Costantini

Magazine article by Gavin Fry, 2010

Charles Henry Theodore Costantini (also Constantine, Constantini and Costantine) was a Paris-born surgeon of Italian descent who was twice transported to the Australian colonies in the 1820s.

1 portrait in the collection

Times like these

Gavin Fry examines the art and career of the Australian painter Rick Amor.

Start Your Engines...

Magazine article by Catherine McDonough, 2006

The bronze sculpture by Julie Edgar reflects through both the material and representation the determined and straight-forward nature of Brabham.

Queen Mary

George Frederick Ernest Albert, The Duke of Cornwall and York and later King George V (1865-1936), was the son of Edward VII, the man for whom the Edwardian era was named.

3 portraits in the collection

King George V

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2008

George Frederick Ernest Albert, The Duke of Cornwall and York and later King George V (1865-1936), was the son of Edward VII, the man for whom the Edwardian era was named.

4 portraits in the collection

Alexander Pearce
executed for murder
July 19th 1824

Public hanging

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

The bright-eyed Mariner

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

A new colonial portrait brings a zealous captain near.

No Laughing Matter

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2002

The biographical exhibition of Barry Humphries was the first display of its kind at the National Portrait Gallery.

Uncommon Australians

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Previous exhibition, 2015

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.

Fits of delicacy and despair

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

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

Lovers of light

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

Portrait of a Manchu Noblewoman, 18th-19th C.

Facing East

Magazine article, 2007

An exhibition at the Freer and Sackler Galleries in Washington DC showcases the art of portraiture in Asia over two thousand years.

Chance encounter

Magazine article by John McDonald, 2007

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

Artists' space

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.

The Writer: Peter Goldsworthy, 2018

by Deidre But-Husaim

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

Commissioned with funds provided by Jillian Broadbent AO and Dr Helen Nugent AO 2018.

Friends and Acquaintances

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

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.

I walk the line

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

Bruce Petty's animated self portrait captures a life's journey compressed into a few minutes.

Pre-Raphaelite Profile

In 2006 the National Portrait Gallery acquired a splendid portrait of Victoria's first governor, Lieutenant Governor Charles Joseph La Trobe by Thomas Woolner.

It's a Mora!

Magazine article by Tedi Bills, 2016

Select extracts from Mirka Mora's autobiography, Wicked but Virtuous, provide rich accompaniment to recent Gallery acquisitions.

In the round

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2009

Andrew Sayers outlines the highlights of the National Portrait Gallery's display of portrait sculpture.

Louis XVI giving final instructions to the Comte de La Perouse, c. 1785

Sea legged frogs

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2011

Joanna Gilmour describes some of the stories of the individuals and incidents that define French exploration of Australia and the Pacific.

Portrait of Kym Bonython/Portrait of Mr Bonython's speedway cap

Somewhere to hang your cap

Magazine article by Beatrice Thompson, 2007

A pair of portraits by John Brack; Portrait of Kym Bonython and Portrait of Mr Bonython's speedway cap combine to create a quirky depiction of their subject.

Past directors

History

Directors of the National Portrait Gallery from 1998 to today.

Bon Scott & Angus Young, Atlanta, Georgia

No shirt, no service

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

Bon Scott and Angus Young photographed by Rennie Ellis are part of a display celebrating summer and images of the shirtless male.

To the end of the earth

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

The portrait of Dr. Johann Reinhold Forster and his son George Forster from 1780, is one of the oldest in the NPG's collection.

Drawn from life

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2021

Penelope Grist discovers the rich narratives in Peter Wegner’s series of centenarian portraits.

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

Jozef Vissel

Gift of the Jozef Vissel 2015

Alison Rehfisch

Alison Baily Rehfisch (1900–1975) was born Alison Green in Woollahra, New South Wales, to parents who 'were very interested in painting – in all the arts: music, literature, everything'.

2 portraits in the collection

Goods and chattels

I have been reading systematically through the ads in the earliest issues of the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, such a rich vein of information about certain aspects of daily life in Regency Sydney.

The mystery of Enoch Arden

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2007

Tennyson's Enoch Arden was inspired by a story that Thomas Woolner passed on to him – but whose story and of whom?

Painters' paradise

Andrew Sayers feels the warmth in the paintings Matthew Perceval made while the sun shone in southern France.

Andrew Sayers AM FAHA

13 October 2015

Archived media releases 2015

The Chairman, Board, Director and staff mourn the loss of the National Portrait Gallery's inaugural director.

Diamond Doll

Magazine article by Karen Vickery, 2016

Karen Vickery delights in a thespian thread of the Australian yarn.

Facing Facts

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

Former NPG Director, Andrew Sayers describes the 1922 Self-portrait with Gladioli by George Lambert.

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.

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.

Their brilliant careers

Magazine article by Jenny Gall, 2017

Jenny Gall delves into Starstruck to celebrate some of Australian cinema’s iconic women.

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.

Blue Mountain, Owner, Trainer, Jockey, James Scobie

Sure thing

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2016

Blue Mountain, Owner, Trainer, Jockey, James Scobie 1887 by Frederick Woodhouse Snr. is a portrait of James Scobie, well known jockey and eminent horse trainer.

Apollo's breath

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

Poets' Portraits

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

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.

Unheroic Materialism: little harmless fragments of memory and association: a portrait of Angus Trumble, 2019 Evert Ploeg

The last word

Magazine article by Dr David Hansen, 2022

David Hansen’s tribute to his close friend, prince of words and former National Portrait Gallery director, the late Angus Trumble.

Arianne McNaught

NPPP 2012 learning resource

An interview with the photographer.

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.

Seduce, Amuse, Entertain

NPPP 2007 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Karl James, 2015

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

Lauded legacy

Karl James gives short shrift to doubts about the profile of General Sir John Monash.

Seduce Amuse Entertain

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2007

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

Aretha Brown

In conversation

Magazine article by Rebecca Ray, 2023

Gumbaynggirr artist Aretha Brown talks street art, collaboration and ghost stories with First Nations Curator and Meriam woman, Rebecca Ray.

Wicked but Virtuous

Faith Stellmaker shares pioneering artist and restaurateur Mirka Mora’s lasting legacy on Melbourne’s art, dining and culture.

International issue

Disability Inclusion Action Plan 2023–25

Michael Desmond looks at the history of the Vanity Fair magazine in conjunction with the exhibition Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008

National Portrait Gallery and Access2Arts staff presenting on audio description at the Australian Museums and Galleries Association National Conference

Our achievements to date

During the period 2018–20, the Gallery implemented our first Access Action Plan.

Top shot that

Magazine article by Gideon Haigh, 2009

Gideon Haigh discusses portraits of Australian cricketers from the early 20th century

Part of the crew of His Majesty's Ship Guardian endeavouring to escape in the boats

South-bound and down

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

Joanna Gilmour recounts the story of ill-fated sea voyages in the early stages of the Antipodean colony.

Portraits and other stories

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2006

As the National Portrait Gallery opens its exhibition of portrait and figurative work by veteran photographer Sam Haskins, the artist reflects on the highlights of his fifty-year career so far.

Painting mates

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2011

Michael Desmond discusses Fred Williams' portraits of friends, artist Clifton Pugh, David Aspden and writer Stephen Murray-Smith, and the stylistic connections between his portraits and landscapes.

Australians in Hollywood

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2003

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

The silent partner

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

One half of the team that was Eltham Films left scarcely a trace in the written historical record, but survives in a vivid portrait.

Aussies all

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2006

The exhibition Aussies all features the ecclectic portrait photography of Rennie Ellis which captures Australian life during the 70s and 80s.

The personal and the historical

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2007

Where do we draw a line between the personal and the historical? Although she died in Melbourne in 1975, when I was not quite eleven years old, I have the vividest memories of my maternal grandmother Helen Borthwick.

Melbourne experience

Diana Warnes explores the lives of Hal and Katherine 'Kate' Hattam through their portraits painted by Fred Williams and Clifton Pugh.

Penny Fowler AM, John Barrington AM, Heidi Victoria, Elizabeth Dibbs, Tom Mosby, Hayley Baillie, Hugo Michell, Elizabeth Pakchung, Valerie Tam

The Board

Governance & Board

The Board oversees the Gallery's strategic directions, objectives and governance.

Vincent Brady leading anti Bicentenary Protest, Brisbane, 1987 Michael Aird

Activating the space

Magazine article by Sandra Phillips, 2020

Sandra Phillips on portraits of Indigenous activism from Cairns Art Gallery’s 2019 Queen’s Land Blak Portraiture exhibition.

Virginia Woolf, 1902 George Charles Beresford

Love my way

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2022

Inga Walton delves into the bohemian group of artists and writers who used each other as muses and transformed British culture.

Thomas Mathewson (inset) and his studio on Queen Street, c. 1908 by Thomas Mathewson & Co

Northern exposure

Magazine article by Phil Manning, 2017

Phil Manning celebrates a century of Brisbane photographic portraiture.

Small worlds

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

Bess Norriss Tait created miniature watercolour portraits full of character and life.

Girl with Cigarette, c. 1925 by Agnes Goodsir

Agnes enigma

Magazine article by Karen Quinlan AM, 2019

Karen Quinlan considers the case of Agnes Goodsir, whose low profile in Australia belies her overseas acclaim.

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.

An actress and her fans

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

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.

Forum participants

Magazine article by Annette Twyman, 2021

Biographies of participants in the Writing lives, revealing lives forum.

Portrait of Elizabeth Gould with a raptor, possibly a red-footed falcon (Falco vespertinus), painted in her lifetime Artist unknown

Birds of a feather

Charting a path from cockatiel to finch, Annette Twyman explores her family portraits and stories.

A real Pratt

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

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.

Rock Island Bend. Franklin River, South West Tasmania, 1979 by Peter Dombrovskis

Written in Water

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

Olegas Truchanas and Peter Dombrovskis, photographers and conservationists, shared a love of photography and exploring wilderness areas of Tasmania.

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.

An Australian story

Magazine article by The Hon. Dr Kevin Rudd, 2009

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.

Giving a dam

True south #1

Ensconced and meditative in crisp Tasmania, Joanna Gilmour pays tribute to passionate green advocate and photographer Olegas Truchanas.

Naked ambition

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2016

Joanna Gilmour dives into the life of Australian swimming legend Annette Kellerman.

Dr Edward MacMahon, 1959 by William Dobell

Bill and Ted's excellent portrait.

Sarah Engledow on Messrs Dobell and MacMahon and the art of friendship.

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.

Less than six degrees of separation

Lecture, 28 May 2011

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2011

Dr Anne Sanders NPG Curatorial Researcher investigated the lives of the pioneering psychologists whose portraits are featured in Inner Worlds.

More cash than dash

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

Costantini's convictions

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2017

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

A spectral sentience

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2019

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

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.

The numbers man

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2011

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

First-Class Marksman, 1946 by Sidney Nolan

Money for Myth

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2015

Australian character on the market by Jane Raffan.

What price self?

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2013

Jane Raffan investigates auction sales of self portraits nationally and internationally.

Secure the shadow ere the substance fade

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

The tragic tale of Tom Wills, the ‘inventor’ of Australian Rules Football.

Progressive pictures

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2017

Athol Shmith’s photographs contributed to the emergence of a new vision of Australian womanhood.

Rick Amor: 21 Portraits

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

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

Portfolio of 54 portraits compiled by Queen Victoria, 1859–1861 by John Jabez Edwin Mayall, Camille Silvy, Frances Day and William Bambridge

Queen of cartes

Joanna Gilmour discusses the role of the carte de visite in portraiture’s democratisation, and its harnessing by Victoria, the world’s first media monarch.

Regarding Henrys

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

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

Faces of war

Lecture, 14 May 2011

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2018

Lesley Harding, Curator, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne explores Albert Tucker’s experience of World War II, his interests in the intersection between psychology and creativity, and their influence on his portrait making.

Material culture

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

The shipwright's arms

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

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

Studio portrait of Lord Kitchener, British Secretary of State for War, 1914 by J Russell & Sons

All the way with K of K

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2016

Sarah Engledow bristles at the biographers’ neglect of Kitchener’s antipodean intervention.

The art of Inner Worlds

Lecture, 7 May 2011