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Brett Canét-Gibson (b. 1965) has a 25-year career as an image maker, Creative Director, writer and communicator in portrait, still life and landscape commercial and editorial photography, graphic design and visual arts.

3 portraits in the collection

Portrait photography, by definition, is a collaboration. It is also the grandest of lies masquerading as the ultimate truth.

Ian Thorpe, 1998 (printed 2019)

Brett Canét-Gibson

'My influence is around 1850'

Purchased 2019

Brett Canét-Gibson & Heath Bergersen

Portrait story

Brett Canét-Gibson on making a portrait with Heath Bergersen.

Trevor Jamieson, 2016 by Brett Canet-Gibson

Heath, 2020 (printed 2022)

Brett Canét-Gibson

Purchased 2022

Trevor Jamieson, 2016

Brett Canét-Gibson

Purchased 2018

Mel Gibson AO

Mel Gibson (b. 1956), actor, was born in New York state, the sixth of eleven children of a railroad brakeman and an Australian opera singer.

1 portrait in the collection

Me, alone

Azlin Gibson

Bessie Gibson

Bessie Gibson (1868-1961), like Harold Parker, studied under Godfrey Rivers at the Brisbane Central Technical College, where she developed an interest in miniature painting.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Robert Gibson

Sir Robert Gibson GBE (1863-1934) trained in design and drafting in Glasgow, where he began work as a designer at an iron company; he soon became manager of its London office.

1 portrait in the collection

Jezeril II, 2014

by Douglas Gibson

Harbour road, 2010

by Gibson Nolte

Mel Gibson, 1982

William Yang

Purchased 2003

Charles Gibson Millar

Charles Gibson Millar (1839–1900), entrepreneur, was engaged in a number of industrial and agricultural enterprises in Australia during the 1870s, 80s and 90s.

1 portrait in the collection

Lily Brett OAM

Lily Brett OAM (b. 1946) is a New York-based novelist, essayist and poet.

2 portraits in the collection

Brett Whiteley

Portrait, pencil on paper

Brett Whiteley AO, artist, displayed a brilliant talent for drawing as a Sydney private schoolboy.

11 portraits in the collection

Brett Whiteley

In their own words

Recorded 1970

Self portrait, Paris, 1989

Brett Whiteley

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2010. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Sir Robert Gibson, 1934

Paul Montford

Portrait, cast bronze on granite base

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of The Australian Industry Group 2012

Harold Parker, c. 1906

Bessie Gibson

Portrait, watercolour on ivory in locket frame

Gift of Rosamond Shepherd 2010. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

The black coat: Lily Brett, 1989

David Rankin OAM

Portrait, oil on canvas

Gift of Dr Gene Sherman AM and Brian Sherman AM 2012. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Lily Brett, n.d. (printed 2021)

Jacqueline Mitelman

Purchased with funds provided by Jillian Broadbent AC 2021

Brett Whiteley - portrait 1, 1975

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

Brett Whiteley, 1974

Lewis Morley

Gift of the artist 2003. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Brett Whiteley - portrait 2, 1975

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

Brett Whiteley, c. 1981

Jacqueline Mitelman

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2010. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Brett Whiteley, 1972

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

Brett Whiteley with binoculars, 1971

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

Brett Whiteley at Lavender Bay, 1976

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

Brett Whiteley with an umbrella in Paris, c. 1989

an unknown artist

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2010. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Brett Whiteley at Baudelaire's Grave, c. 1989

an unknown artist

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2010. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Brett Whiteley at Gas works studio, 1971

The portrait of Patrick White by Brett Whiteley

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

Patrick White at Centennial Park, 1979–1980

White Whiteley

Previous exhibition, 2012

Eleven works by Brett Whiteley, centred around his scintillating 'Patrick White at Centennial Park 1979-1980'.

Listomania

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

Sarah Engledow describes the fall-out once Brett Whiteley stuck Patrick White’s list of his loves and hates onto his great portrait of the writer.

Saide, R.Y.S. (Charles Gibson Millar), 1894

Sir Leslie Ward, Vanity Fair Magazine

Portrait, chromolithograph on paper

Purchased 2015

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017

Previous exhibition, 2017

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.

The Whiteleys: passion, creation, destruction

Lust

Sensuous symmetry

Untitled, 2013

by Brett Walker

Finalist, MDPA 2013

Wendy Whiteley OAM

Wendy Whiteley OAM (b. 1941) is recognised as cultural icon, gardener and activist, who first came to prominence as the wife of renowned Australian artist Brett Whiteley.

1 portrait in the collection

POL

Portrait of a Generation

Archived media releases 2017

POL was a magazine that ran from 1969 to 1986

Portrait 43

June - August 2012

Magazine

This issue features Cindy Sherman, Tim Storrier, Brett Whiteley and Patrick White, contemporary Chinese portraiture, Charles Blackman and more.

Richard Morecroft & Alison Mackay, 2016 by Gary Grealy

Gary Grealy wins National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017

31 March 2017

After months of anticipation, the winner for the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017 has been announced with renowned Sydney portrait photographer Gary Grealy taking out the award. George Fetting, guest judge for the 2017 Prize, was entranced with the evocative nature of the winning portrait Richard Morecroft and Alison Mackay.

The Australian exploring expedition travelling through scrub (from the Illustrated London News 1879)

The Australian exploring expedition travelling through scrub (from the Illustrated London News 1879), 1876

The Illustrated London News after Jesse Young

Portrait, wood engraving on paper

Purchased 2010

My home, 2014

by Peter Blakeman

Ernest Giles

Ernest Giles (1835-1897), explorer, came to Australia at the age of fifteen, settling in Adelaide.

1 portrait in the collection

David Rankin OAM

Previous exhibition, 2009

David Rankin OAM (b. 1946) came to Australia with his English parents at the age of two in 1948.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Johnson Pilton Walker,
Inside the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra,
25 Hours 31 minutes, 22-23 May 2009 by Ingvar Kenne

Portraits + Architecture

This exhibition explores creative process and identity.

TERROIR

TERROIR directors Gerard Reinmuth, Scott Balmforth and Richard Blythe believe that the practice of architecture is the production of knowledge.

David Warren

Archived media releases 2015

David Warren graduated from RMIT in 1964, after which he taught for some twenty years at the Prahran School of Art, RMIT and Ballarat CAE.

1 portrait in the collection

Wendy Whiteley in conversation with Janet Hawley

19 October 2015

Wendy Whiteley in candid conversation with Janet Hawley to celebrate the release of the book Wendy Whiteley and The Secret Garden.

Barry Walsh

Barry Walsh (b. 1951) is a painter, photographer and printmaker who has studied in Italy and France and has exhibited since the early '80s in Europe as well as Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Stuart Campbell

Portraits by Stuart Campbell

Stuart Campbell, born in Ballarat, became interested in photography as a student at Swinburne Technical College in Melbourne.

10 portraits in the collection

Between Light and Shadow

Previous exhibition, 2011

The late Australian photographer Stuart Campbell produced superb photographs of Australian actors of stage and screen.

Andrew Southall, 1992

Rick Amor

Portrait, drypoint on wove paper

Gift of the artist 2005. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

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

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022

Learning resources

Let’s look closely at the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022 together! For students and family groups.

Nathan Kelly

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

Nathan Kelly (b. 1976), photographer, studied fine arts at the Sydney College of the Arts at the University of Sydney before being named as one of Australia’s top 30 photography graduates by Australian Commercial Photography magazine.

3 portraits in the collection

A very Australian place

The National Portrait Gallery's new building, opened on 3 December 2008, is a beautiful home for the national collection of portraits.

Mia Boe

Artists and Collectives

Mia Boe is a Narrm/Melbourne-based artist known for her haunting and evocative painting practice, informed by her Butchulla and Burmese ancestry.

Thomas Purves

Thomas Purves (1909-1969), known as Tam, founded the Australian Galleries in Smith Street, Collingwood, Melbourne with his wife Anne in 1956.

1 portrait in the collection

Tjayanka Woods

Tjayanka Woods (d. 2014) was a senior Pitjantjatjara artist and cultural custodian.

2 portraits in the collection

Gillian Armstrong AM

Archived media releases 2018

Gillian Armstrong (b. 1950) studied theatre and film-making at Swinburne Technical College and was a star student at the newly-established Australian Film and Television School in the early 70s.

2 portraits in the collection

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018

8 March 2018

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

Gillian Armstrong AM, 1973

Gordon Glenn

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

George Miller, 2002 (printed 2004)

Karin Catt

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Rudy Komon, c. 1970

Lewis Morley

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

Willow Legge

Willow Legge (b. 1934) is a British artist who studied sculpture at Chelsea School of Art from 1951 to 1956 under Willi Soukop and Bernard Meadows.

1 portrait in the collection

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

Alan Jones

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

1 portrait in the collection

Bridget Elliot

Bridget Elliot (b. 1958), photographer, is acknowledged for her significant portraits of Australian composers and musical performers.

1 portrait in the collection

Jon Lewis

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

3 portraits in the collection

Henry "Seaman" Dan, 2009

Nathan Kelly

Purchased 2010

John Bell, c. 1968

Magazine article by Tim Storrier, 2013

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

Observation point

Tim Storrier describes the influences on the development of his artistic style.

Thea Anamara Perkins

Thea Anamara Perkins (b. 1992) is an Arrernte/Kalkadoon artist whose practice incorporates portraiture and landscape to depict authentic representations of First Nations peoples and Country.

1 portrait in the collection

George Tjungurrayi

George Tjungurrayi (b. c. 1943–1947) is a highly respected senior Pintupi artist.

2 portraits in the collection

Greg Weight

Greg Weight is a Sydney-based photographer who grew up in Dee Why. He opened his own studio in 1968, taking advertising and magazine photographs and working with the Australian Opera and the Australian Ballet.

113 portraits in the collection

Mrs Woods and ‘Ere, 2013

Karla Dickens

Purchased 2019

George Tjungurrayi, 2002

Matthÿs Gerber

Portrait, oil on canvas

Gift of Pamela Hansford 2007. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

2013-14 Acquisition Fund

Magazine article by Michelle Fracaro, 2004

This 1910 portrait of Elizabeth Sarah (Lillie) Roberts by Tom Roberts was brought into the Gallery's collection with the assistance of the Acquisition Fund in 2013.

101 photographic portraits

Pat Corrigan's generous gift of 100 photographic portraits by Greg Weight.

Mrs Woods, 2013

Karla Dickens

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

Lewis Morley

Myself and Eye

Lewis Morley has a great eye for a shot and a sharp ear for a pun

John Passmore

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

1 portrait in the collection

George Tjungurrayi, 2007

Portrait, inkjet print on cotton rag paper

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2020. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Mitch Cairns

Mitch Cairns (b. 1984), painter and cartoonist, won the 2017 Archibald Prize with a portrait of his partner, artist Agatha Gothe-Snape.

1 portrait in the collection

Henry G. Dan AM

Henry Gibson Dan AM (1929–2020), universally known as Seaman Dan, was a Torres Strait Islander singer/songwriter who grew up on Thursday Island.

1 portrait in the collection

Lewis Morley

Lewis Morley (1925–2013) established his reputation as one of the key British photographers of the 1960s and is known for his iconic image of a nude Christine Keeler straddling an Arne Jacobsen chair.

50 portraits in the collection

Heath Ledger, Prague, 2000 (printed 2009)

Bruce Weber

Purchased with the assistance of Alan Dodge AM 2009

David Wenham AM

Previous exhibition, 2009

David Wenham AM (b. 1965), actor, studied drama at the Nepean College of Advanced Education (now the University of Western Sydney), graduating with a BA in Performing Arts in 1987.

1 portrait in the collection

Wendy drunk 11pm, 1983 by Brett Whiteley

Idle Hours

Idle hours is an exhibition of luxurious beauty. Paintings, prints and drawings represent subjects in quiet moods and situations arranged according to the time of day they depict - reading, drawing, snoozing, bathing, sewing, gardening, sitting, looking, making love and spending tranquil time with companions. Works in the exhibition range from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present.

Matthew Burnett

Matthew Burnett (1839–1896), the ‘Yorkshire Evangelist’, spent more than twenty years denouncing alcohol in the Australian colonies.

1 portrait in the collection

Headspace 4

Facing Memory

Archived media releases 2019

Facing Memory: Headspace 4 provides us with valuable insights into the thoughts, creative processes and art-making practices of secondary students from Year 7 to Year 12 from sixty-two schools in the Australian Capital Territory, regional New South Wales and Victoria

National Portrait Gallery takes out top gong in MAPDA awards

16 May 2019

The National Portrait Gallery is thrilled to be named the winner of the Museums Australasia Multimedia and Publication Design Awards in the category of exhibition major catalogue level B, for our publication So Fine: Contemporary women artists make Australian history.

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.

Ben Quilty

Australian Painters Photographed by R. Ian Lloyd

Ben Quilty (b. 1973), painter, gained bachelor’s degrees in painting and visual communication at Sydney College of the Arts and the University of Western Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Studio

Previous exhibition, 2007

Studio: Australian Painters Photographed by R

Triumphant weekend for Gallery at MAPDAs

25 May 2015

Archived media releases 2015

The National Portrait Gallery has had its most successful Multimedia and Publication Design Awards (MAPDAs) ever, winning four awards across multiple categories. The awards were presented at a ceremony at the Australian Maritime Museum last Friday night.

Portraits for Posterity

Previous exhibition, 2006

Drawn from some of the many donations made to the Gallery's collection, the exhibition Portraits for Posterity pays homage both to the remarkable (and varied) group of Australians who are portrayed in the portraits and the generosity of the many donors who have presented them to the Gallery.

Graeme Murphy, n.d.

Stuart Campbell

Gift of the Estate of Stuart Campbell 2012

Gillian Armstrong, 1985

Stuart Campbell

Portrait Photography from the Collection

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Estate of Stuart Campbell 2012

In the mirror: self portrait with Joy Hester

Depth of Field

Previous exhibition, 2004

Over the last five years the National Portrait Gallery has developed a collection of portrait photographs that reflects both the strength and diversity of Australian achievement as well as the talents of our photographers.

Time and light

In Gallery Seven

Previous exhibition, 2023

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.

Annual Appeal

Listed by year

Honour board

2015-17 Acquisition Fund

Archived media releases 2013

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.

Our only concern is the void, 2013 by Nik Lee, video: 12 minutes

Macquarie Digital Portraiture Award media information

28 August 2013

The National Portrait Gallery recently announced the finalists for the Macquarie Digital Portraiture Award 2013.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022

Previous exhibition, 2022

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

The more things change...

NPPP 2017 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Lee Tulloch, 2011

Dr Sarah Engledow, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2017 Prize.

Self Portrait, Stuart Campbell by Stuart Campbell

The essence of you

Lee Tulloch remembers her great friend NIDA-trained actor turned photographer Stuart Campbell.

People are people

Magazine article by Sandra Bruce, 2022

Sandra Bruce chats with seven-time NPPP finalist Chris Budgeon about photography, guitars and representing the human story.

Australians in Hollywood

Although perceived to be a recent phenomenon, the 'Aussie invasion' of Hollywood can actually be traced as far back as the early 1900s

2021 Annual Appeal

Previous exhibition, 2006

In 2021 the Annual Appeal was focussed on Peter Brew-Bevan's portraits of athletes Turia Pitt, Leisel Jones OAM and Ellie Cole OAM.

Australian Visit

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

Small worlds

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

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

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.

William Yang

Self Portraits in Australia

William Yang (b. 1943) is a pre-eminent Australian photographer known for an intensely sustained body of work that examines issues of cultural and sexual identity, and which unflinchingly documents the lives of his friends and community and his own lived experience with curiosity, sensitivity and humour.

15 portraits in the collection

To Look Within

Previous exhibition, 2004

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

Good, bad and the ugly

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2007

Michael Desmond explores what makes a portrait subject significant.

Benny (42nd Street Series), 1979–80 by Larry Clark

City boys

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2016

Christopher Chapman immerses himself in Larry Clark’s field of vision.

2022 Annual Appeal

In 2022 the Annual Appeal was focussed on Mayatjara by Robert Fielding, a series of 24 photographs of Elders of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara community.

NPPP 2016 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

Penny Grist, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2016 Prize.

Giving and getting

The exhibition Portraits for Posterity celebrates gifts to the Gallery, of purchases made with donated funds, and testifies to the generosity and community spirit of Australians.

Two painters

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2007

Chris Chapman explains how Matthys Gerber bridges the gap between abstraction and portraiture.

Depth of Field

Magazine article by Lauren Dalla, 2004

The exhibition Depth of Field displays a selection of portrait photographs that reflect the strength and diversity of Australian achievement.

The more things change

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2011

National Photographic Portrait Prize curator, Sarah Engledow, finds reward in a difficult task and ultimately uncovers the essence of portraiture.

Vanity fair

Magazine article by Ashleigh Wadman, 2012

Ashleigh Wadman rediscovers the Australian characters represented with a kindly touch by the British portrait artist Leslie Ward for the society magazine Vanity Fair.

A surface against which we can move, 2014 by Sam Leach

No small wonder

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

Joanna Gilmour describes how artist Sam Leach works on a small scale to grand effect.

Thinking about architecture and portraiture

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

Dr Christopher Chapman describes the experimental exhibition Portraits + Architecture

20 20

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2017

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

Judy Davis and Sam Neill in ‘My Brilliant Career’, 1979 David Kynoch

Moving still

Magazine article by Anne O'Hehir, 2022

Anne O’Hehir on the seductive power of the film still to reflect and shape ourselves and our cultural landscape.

The Mutineers turning Lieut Bligh and part of the Officers and Crew adrift from His Majesty's Ship the Bounty

High & Bligh

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

Joanna Gilmour explores the 1790 portrait of William Bligh by Robert Dodd.

A potpourri of portraits

Magazine article by Natalie Wilson, 2023

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

My father-in-law watering his garden, 1986 by Davida Allen

Lovingly observed

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

Sarah Engledow previews the beguiling summer exhibition, Idle hours.

First-Class Marksman, 1946 by Sidney Nolan

Money for Myth

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2015

Australian character on the market by Jane Raffan.

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.

Rick Amor: 21 Portraits