Search / dean home

Dean Home was born in Busselton, south-west Western Australia. He obtained a Bachelor of Art Degree from Curtin University in 1981, and a Diploma of Education some years later.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Gustav Nossal, 2004

Dean Home

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

James, 2010

by Dean McCartney

Dean Godfrey

Mervyn Godfrey OAM (1924-2013), Dean Godfrey (b. 1970), David Godfrey (b.

1 portrait in the collection

Dean Beletich

Dean Beletich (b. 1968), artist and photographer, studied at Newcastle Art School, the National Art School Sydney and the University of Newcastle from 1987 to 1991.

1 portrait in the collection

Gift of an anonymous donor 2010

Betty Churcher, 2008

by Dean Golja

Dean Dixon, Chatswood, Sydney, 1965 (printed 2000)

Magazine article by Tara James, 2022

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
The series 'David Moore: From Face to Face' was acquired as a gift of the artist and with financial assistance from Timothy Fairfax AC and L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2001.

Introversion from High Jinks in the Hydrangeas, 2020 Tamara Dean

In our nature

Tara James chats with award-winning artist Tamara Dean about portraiture prizes, the environment and the strength of women.

Kenneth Gillespie, 2005

Dean Beletich

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Purchased 2015

Mr Walford, 2006

by Dean Golja

Francis Reiss and June Orford, Tim Ainsworth

The Godfrey family of Melways guides, 2009

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Home

Malakaii Lewis

Bella in the window of her home school

Agi Davis

Adrian and Caren at home, 2008

by Anthony Browell

My home, 2014

by Peter Blakeman

Home 6, Hedy Zahalka, 2006

by Anne Zahalka

Melissa Madden Gray, at home

Pia Johnson

Mia at home, 2019

Megan Hales

Pictorial profiles of hearth and home

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, sepia toned on paper

Keep it in the family

Nora Heysen with her dog sitting outside her home, Hunters Hill, Sydney

Nora Heysen with her dog sitting outside her home, Hunters Hill, Sydney, 2000

Sage

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001

Nora Heysen with her dog standing outside her home, Hunters Hill, Sydney

Nora Heysen with her dog standing outside her home, Hunters Hill, Sydney, 2000

Sage

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, sepia toned on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001

Nora Heysen inside her home, Hunters Hill, Sydney

Nora Heysen inside her home, Hunters Hill, Sydney, 2000

Sage

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, sepia toned on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001

Jeanne Pratt at home, 2015

Alana Landsberry

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Alana Landsberry and Bauer Media Australia 2019

Staying home

True south #2

Joanna Gilmour brings a mindful Douglas Mawson’s perspective to bear on the concept of isolation.

Home and away

Sir William Dobell painted the portraits of Sir Charles Lloyd Jones and Sir Hudson Fysh, who did much to promote the image of Australia in this country and abroad.

Home is where the art is

Tedi Bills on how social media in the age of COVID-19 has fanned the flames of our portrait fascination.

Home truths

Despite once expressing a limited interest in the self portrait, the idea of it has figured strongly in much of Tracey Moffatt's work and has done so in some of her most distinctive and compelling images.

An evening at Yarra Cottage, Port Stephens

Home is where the heart is

For richer, for poorer

Bob Brown at his home in Liffey, 1988 (printed 2013)

Helga Leunig

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, black ink on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Helga Leunig 2013

My Family in Front of Our Old Home, 1992

William Yang

Purchased 2022

Welcome home, Captain Bligh

27 March 2015

The National Portrait Gallery will, next Tuesday, unveil an exciting new acquisition of irrefutable importance to all Australians. Portrait of William Bligh, in master’s uniform c. 1776, attributed to John Webber, is one of the earliest portraits of the contentious, historical figure, and extends the Gallery’s remarkable collection of early colonial portraits.

'New home new life' Arwin, 2017

by Zia Atahi

Bruce Beresford at home in Birchgrove, 2018

Zoe Young

Linda Burney MLA Canturbury and Rick Farley at home, Marrickville

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

Sir Douglas Mawson Kt OBE FRS, Heinemann, London

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

The Home of the Blizzard: being the story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914 (2 volumes), 1915

Portrait, two volumes illustrated with colour and black and white plates, three folding maps

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Darling Portrait Prize 2020

Previous exhibition, 2020

The Darling Prize is a new biennial prize for Australian portrait painters, painting Australian sitters. The winner receives a cash prize of $75,000.

Hugo at home (Hugo Weaving), 2011

Nicholas Harding

Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family 2012

David Godfrey

Mervyn Godfrey OAM (1924-2013), Dean Godfrey (b. 1970), David Godfrey (b.

1 portrait in the collection

Murray Godfrey

Mervyn Godfrey OAM (1924-2013), Dean Godfrey (b. 1970), David Godfrey (b.

1 portrait in the collection

Mervyn Godfrey OAM

In Galleries Four, Five and Six

Mervyn Godfrey OAM (1924-2013), Dean Godfrey (b. 1970), David Godfrey (b.

2 portraits in the collection

This is my place

Previous exhibition, 2021

An antidote to the months spent in isolation at home, This is my place brings a fresh, intimate focus to the places that define who we are – our spiritual homes, habitats and workspaces.

The hoodie

Jacob Nash

An Afternoon (Aunty Jenny Munro at the Redfern Aboriginal Tent Embassy)

This is my place

In Gallery Four

Current exhibition

We all have places where we feel at ease, a sense of belonging, of ownership, of relaxation, of self. Given the opportunity, portraitists love to place their sitters in an environment where they are most at home.

Betty Churcher

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

Portrait 66

Summer 2021/22

Magazine

The Huxleys, National Portrait Gallery London’s masterpieces, Jennifer Higgie on portraits of women by women, Tamara Dean, Bangarra, Glynis Jones on fashion photographers, and NPG/NGV collaboration.

Sean Hutton

Sean Hutton was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and lives and works in Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Angel of the Gap, 2009

by Sahlan Hayes

Tara Jade Samaya

Pippa Samaya

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2024

Upcoming exhibition

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.

Pride

Christopher Hopkins

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.

Leaving Melbourne (Battle wounds)

Tajette O'Halloran

Ethel Anderson and her daughter, Bethia, c. 1912

G.W. Lawrie

Gift of Mrs SM Asplin 2011

Mother's Day 2020

Kim Tonelli

Ahn & Pete, The Bus Stop Project, 2012

by Simone Darcy

Previous exhibition, 2001

Polly Borland

Australians

Polly Borland: Australians, is an exhibition of 54 new portraits of significant Australians who have made a contribution to British life and who have largely made their home or based their professional life in the UK

Cecil Beaton

Portraits

Previous exhibition, 2005

Accomplished illustrator, painter, writer and diarist, set designer and one of the most distinguished photographers of the twentieth century, Cecil Beaton is renowned for his portraits of well known faces from the worlds of fashion, literature, and film.

All that fall

Sacrifice, life and loss in the First World War

Previous exhibition, 2015

Focussing on the wide-ranging theme of loss and absence, this exhibition provides a moving ‘portrait’ of loss during the First World War on the Australian home front. Powerful symbolic images, including contemporary works, evoke the emotional intensity of loss. All that fall: Sacrifice, life and loss in the First World War is the National Portrait Gallery’s contribution to the Anzac Centenary.

Katherine, NT / Harrietville, VIC, 2017

by Rhett Hammerton

Wik vs Queensland

Screening

Event, Sunday 2 June

This landmark feature documentary tracks the lead up to the 1996 High Court decision to grant native title to the Wik Peoples of Cape York, and the demonisation that followed at the hands of politicians and media.

Mum, 2017

by Joel Brian Pratley

The artist Marc Clark, 2019

Russell Shakespeare

Beau D. Smith

Beau Dean Riley Smith is a Wiradjuri and Gamillaraay man, born in Dubbo.

1 portrait in the collection

Thea Proctor, c. 1896

Gift of Thea Bryant (Proctor) 2005

Last day lockdown

Klint Collier

Richard Neville, 2011

by Graham McCarter

My daddy has dementia, he rests a lot

Anna Macak

Rt Hon Sir Zelman Cowen AK GCMG GCVO QC DCL

The Rt Hon Sir Zelman Cowen AK GCMG GCVO QC DCL (1919-2011), academic, writer and former Governor-General, was educated at Scotch College and the University of Melbourne before serving in the navy in the Second World War.

3 portraits in the collection

Yumi on fire, one and a half hours before the eclipse of the moon, 2006

by Zorica Purlija

Gayili Marika - Galupa Safety House, 2016

by Peter McConchie

Lucy, 2006

by Sally McInerney

Lady Jessie and Sir Donald Bradman, Kensington Park, Adelaide, South Australia

A good innings

Devotion

Childhood sweethearts

Robert Kermode

Robert Quayle Kermode (1812-1870), politician, was born on the Isle of Man and educated at Castletown.

1 portrait in the collection

Ethel Anderson

Ethel Anderson (née Mason, 1883-1958), writer and artist, was an important figure in the Sydney modern art scene of the 1920s and 30s.

2 portraits in the collection

Arnold Haskell

Harold Cazneaux, Max Dupain OBE

Arnold Haskell (1903-1981) was an English ballet critic who became a passionate advocate for Australia.

2 portraits in the collection

William Hardy Wilson at Purulia, Warrawee

William Hardy Wilson at Purulia, Warrawee, 1921 (printed by Max Dupain 1981)

Gift of the Simpson Family in memory of Caroline Simpson OAM 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Bridget Elliot

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

1 portrait in the collection

Boxer, Blake Travers, 2017

by Patrick Bell

Finalist, DPA 2017
Single channel HD digital video

In the Lounge, 2006

by North Sullivan

John Cann and his father, 2007

by Hugh Stewart

Charles Perkins with Eileen Perkins, 1964 (printed 2021)

Robert McFarlane

Purchased with funds provided by Tim Bednall 2021

William Kelly OAM

William Kelly OAM (b. 1943) was born in Buffalo, New York and was a steelworker before becoming a student at the Philadelphia College of Art.

2 portraits in the collection

Dad at 93 years old, 2006

by Gary Heery

Celia inside a watchtower, 2018

by Wouter Van de Voorde

Barbara Robison, 1935

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

Eleanor Dark AO

Portrait, oil on cardboard

Eleanor Dark AO (1901-1985), writer, was born and educated in Sydney but moved to the Blue Mountains to live after her marriage in 1922.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Norman Lindsay as a student, c. 1896

George Coates

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Jack Mundey, 1974

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen, watercolour on paper

Gift of HOTA (Home of the Arts), Gold Coast 2019 with the encouragement of Patrick Corrigan AM

Claudio Alcorso, 1972

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen, pencil on paper

Gift of HOTA (Home of the Arts), Gold Coast 2019 with the encouragement of Patrick Corrigan AM

Mr Laurie Carmichael, 1973

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen, wash on paper

Gift of HOTA (Home of the Arts), Gold Coast 2019 with the encouragement of Patrick Corrigan AM

Sir Mark Oliphant, 1972

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen, wash on paper

Gift of HOTA (Home of the Arts), Gold Coast 2019 with the encouragement of Patrick Corrigan AM

Zelman Cowen, c. 1977

Ray Crooke AM

Portrait, pencil and oil on canvas laid on chipboard

Gift of David Crooke 2011. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Governor General Sir John Kerr, 1976

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen, watercolour, pencil on paper

Gift of HOTA (Home of the Arts), Gold Coast 2019 with the encouragement of Patrick Corrigan AM

Making Sense of Place #4 (Portrait of Professor George Seddon)

George Seddon AM

George Seddon AM (1927-2007), scholar and academic, studied English at Melbourne University before spending several years abroad, travelling and teaching at universities in Europe and North America.

1 portrait in the collection

Lockdown bubble

Nick Stubbings

Portrait, pencil, brush and ink on paper

Sir Zelman Cowen, 1982

Andrew Sibley

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

All that fall

25 March 2015

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2010

Focusing on the wide-ranging themes of loss and absence, All that fall: Sacrifice, life and loss in the First World War creates a moving portrait of mourning and sacrifice as experienced on the Australian home front during the First World War.

Glamour vs grunge

Christopher Chapman examines the battle of glamour vs. grunge which played out in the fashion and advertising of the 1990s.

Ninety-nine-and-three-quarters, 2016

by Nic Duncan

Shirley and the Kookaburras, 2012

by Heather Fernon

Rosemary, 2006

by Petrina Hicks

Sunbath under the lockdown

Franky Tsang

Norman Lindsay, 1921

Gift of Richard King 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Neil Murray

Neil Murray (b. 1956), singer/songwriter, grew up in country Victoria, studied art and became a teacher.

2 portraits in the collection

The Reservoir 2, 2016

by Stephanie Rose Simcox

Wombat and goats

Victoria Baker

Portrait, pastel on paper

Robert Klippel, c. 1990

Rosemary Madigan

Purchased 2020

Dallas Hawes

Dallas Hawes was about 18 years old when he painted this portrait of Dr Law.

1 portrait in the collection

Surrounded by music, 2008

by Heide Smith

Norman Lindsay

Norman Lindsay (1879-1969), artist, cartoonist, and writer, came from a family that produced five artists.

14 portraits in the collection

William Barak

The Perch Creek Family Jugband, 2008

by John Van-Den-Broeke

Adam Ferguson

The portrait I made is of a woman called Olha and she works for Ukrainian Railways.

Frances Perry

Frances Perry (1815-1892) met Charles Perry through her brother, a student at Cambridge, and after they married, the couple lived at St Paul’s Cambridge, where he was vicar, for six years.

1 portrait in the collection

Lady Flo, 2011

by Russell Shakespeare

Ernest Hutcheson

Ernest Hutcheson (1871-1951), pianist, composer and music teacher, started performing at the age of five.

1 portrait in the collection

Shirley Hazzard

A Century of the Archibald Prize

Shirley Hazzard (1931-2016) writer, spent her childhood in Sydney but left with her parents at the age of sixteen for South East Asia and New Zealand.

1 portrait in the collection

Archie 100

This major exhibition celebrates 100 years of Australia’s oldest and most-loved portrait award and reflects upon the changing face of our nation.

Yellow portrait (portrait of Alex Jelinek)

The choices of a modern woman

It's Complicated

When opposites attract

Elizabeth Sarah Ellen Carter

Elizabeth Sarah Ellen Carter (née Hill, 1845-1927) was one of the eight children born to Sydney cabinetmaker and undertaker John Hill jnr and his wife Elizabeth - the step-daughter of ex-convict boatman, John Cadman.

1 portrait in the collection

Junior Maggie, 2009

by Warwick Baker

The Duots: a family portrait, 2009

by Lee Grant

Jeremiah Ware, c. 1854

Robert Dowling

Purchased with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy and Rosalind Blair Murphy 2014

No junk mail, 2011

by Juli Balla

Taylor, Shorncliffe, 2008

by Bradley Wagner

Mr Keating, former Labor Minister, 1975

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen on paper

Gift of HOTA (Home of the Arts), Gold Coast 2019 with the encouragement of Patrick Corrigan AM

Norman Lindsay, 1936

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Timothy Fairfax AC 2003

Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBE

Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBE (1909–2012), philanthropist, was the widow of Sir Keith Murdoch and mother of the publisher, Rupert Murdoch.

1 portrait in the collection

William Hardy Wilson

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

A Trip to Mayfield Garden

Angie Xu

Sir Zelman Cowen, 2000

Wes Walters

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

Jack Charles

Recorded 2022

Self Portrait in a Brown Coat, 1936

Christine A. Pecket

Purchased 2020

The shield, 2009

by James Geer

Keenan

Emma Pegrum

Lipstick, 2009

by John Sones

James Macarthur, c. 1836-1838

Portrait, black and bronze ink with white bodycolour highlight on buff board

Purchased 2019

Bruno and Batman, 2010

by Andrew Cowen

Tom E Lewis [Balang T E Lewis], n.d.

Purchased 2021

Ella in Callala Bay, 2018

by Aletheia Casey

Christopher Bassi

Artists and Collectives

Known for his representational painting, Meriam and Yupungathi man Christopher Bassi, based in Meanjin/Brisbane, addresses issues surrounding cultural identity, alternative genealogies and colonial legacies.

Troy Cassar-Daley, Brisbane, 2004

John Elliott

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

William - Aspendale, 1966 (printed 2015)

Lazar Krum

Gift of the artist 2015

Sixteen, 2010

by Janet Tavener

The arrival, 2017

by Renée Stamatova

Alexis Wright, 2009

by Ingvar Kenne

Portraiture. Power. Influence.

Ralph Heimans

Current exhibition

The exhibition will feature some of the most significant portraits in the artist’s career to date, from early major works such as his painting of HM Queen Mary of Denmark through to his most recent.

The 2023 National Photographic Portrait Prize

16 June 2023

Media

Shea Kirk’s portrait of friend and fellow-artist Emma Armstrong-Porter has won the 2023 National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Marion

Glenn Homann

Peter Drewett

Peter G. Drewett is a Grafton craftsman. Drewett grew up in difficult economic circumstances in Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Refugee twins in limbo, 2013

by Jon Love

Sumbawa Pride - Life on a Boat With Eleven Kids, 2018

by Alex Vaughan

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

Sir Sidney Kidman

Portrait, photo screenprint with ballpoint pen framing lines on paper

Sir Sidney Kidman, pastoralist (1857-1935), is Australia's 'cattle king'.

2 portraits in the collection

Self portrait, c. 1982

Bea Maddock AM

Gift of David Archer 2016

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

Leon Gellert

Leon Gellert (1892-1977), poet and journalist, was a physical education teacher at Hindmarsh Public School in his native Adelaide in 1914.

1 portrait in the collection

Burnum Burnum, 1987 (printed 2010)

Bruce Postle

Purchased with funds provided by James Bain AM and Janette Bain 2010

Little family, 2019

Gene Hart-Smith

Francesco Bartolozzi after Nathaniel Dance

Omai, A Native of Ulaietea, 1774

Purchased with funds provided by Robert Oatley AO 2007

Lauren and Poppy

Lauren Sutton

Paper plane, 2019

Sarah Rhodes

Zara, 18, Babinda, FNQ. From the series 'The Land of Oz', 2018

by Lee Grant

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on studio mount

Mary Windeyer, c. 1891

Freeman Brothers

Gift of J.B. Windeyer 2018

Fred Hilmer AO

Fred Hilmer AO (b. 1945), economic policy and reform strategist, was the chief executive officer of John Fairfax Holdings from 1998 to 2005 and vice- chancellor of the University of New South Wales from 2006 to 2015.

1 portrait in the collection

I've been meaning to ...

Greg Adams

The vigil, 2011

by Anthony Anderton

Paddy Ellis - Lightning Ridge Opal Miner, 2013

by Adam Knott

Judy, 2012

by Sally Robinson

Tom Goldner

The portrait's of my mother, Catherine, and the photograph was taken in a family home that we had and my mother was relocating to Tasmania.

Eight (vi)

Brydie Piaf

My room, 2015

by Anna Sinclair

Blue light hypnosis

Jill Velinos

Jeffrey Smart, Tuscany, June 8, 2011

by Dave Tacon

Sophie at 17

Ilana Rose

Mary Windeyer on the verandah at Tomago, NSW

Mary Windeyer on the verandah at Tomago, NSW, c. 1880s

Portrait, glass plate negative

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Windeyer family 2012

Melodrama..., c. 1900

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Self portrait with Bottlebrush, 1991

Margaret Olley AC

Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC and the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2021

Ruby (left view)

Shea Kirk

Imelda Roche AO

Imelda Roche AO (b. 1934), with husband Bill, introduced the Nutri-Metics skin care range to Australia in 1968.

1 portrait in the collection

Fred Hilmer, 2018

Evert Ploeg

Commissioned with funds provided by Dr Helen Nugent AO 2018

Back to earth

Julian Dolman

Henry "Seaman" Dan, 2009

Nathan Kelly

Purchased 2010

Bill Henson AO

J B. Hunt after Antoine François Jean Claudet

Bill Henson AO was only 19 when his photographs were first exhibited at the National Gallery of Victoria in his home city of Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Caroline Chisholm, 1853

Portrait, steel engraving on paper

Purchased 2015

First Legislative Council of Victoria

The First Legislative Council of Victoria was formed following Victoria’s separation from New South Wales in July 1851.

1 portrait in the collection

Aunty Helen

Charlie Ford

Leon

Nick Moir

Tom at the drain

Julian Kingma

Imelda Roche, 2003

Paul Newton

Commissioned 2003

Cressida Campbell AM

Cressida Campbell AM (b. 1960), artist, has worked for decades in a studio at her home in Bronte, Sydney.

2 portraits in the collection

Ella B Rowe (right view)

Shea Kirk

Billy McMahon, 1972

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen, wash on paper

Gift of HOTA (Home of the Arts), Gold Coast 2019 with the encouragement of Patrick Corrigan AM

Lucinda, Tram Driver

Avraham Vofsi

Thea Proctor

Archived media releases 2013

Thea Proctor (1879–1966), artist and stylesetter, trained at the Julian Ashton School before leaving Australia for London in 1903.

3 portraits in the collection

On train from New York to Memphis, July 4, 1956 by Alfred Wertheimer

Elvis at 21 media information

25 October 2013

Press releases and images downloads for media.

Helena Rubinstein in a red brocade Balenciaga gown

Helena Rubinstein in a red brocade Balenciaga gown, 1957

Graham Sutherland

Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC, Tim Fairfax AC and the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2015

Emily and Effi

Bec Lorrimer

Burnum Burnum

Burnum Burnum (1936–1997), Woiworung/Yorta Yorta activist, actor and author, was born at Wallaga Lake and taken from his family at three months old after his mother died.

2 portraits in the collection

Little Darlings Youth Portrait Prize 2023

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

Alithia's tree, 2019

Maree Yoelu

Leon Gellert with mask, 1936

Gift of Danina Dupain Anderson 2017. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Margel and Tarquin, Canberra, c. 1945

Portrait, pen and ink, brush and ink and pencil on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by the Ross family in memory of Noel and Enid Eliot 2014

Rick Smolan

Rick Smolan (b. 1949) began his career as a photographer for Time, Life and National Geographic.

2 portraits in the collection

Fox Place, 2015

by Mikhaila Jurkiewicz

'awk' (Bob Hawke), 1972

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen on paper

Gift of HOTA (Home of the Arts), Gold Coast 2019 with the encouragement of Patrick Corrigan AM

Peter Allen, 1980

William Yang

Purchased 2003

The Zammitt Family

Dr John Janson-Moore

The Parlour

The Victorian era has been described as one wherein death was a part of everyday experience. People died at home having been nursed in their final illnesses by family members.

Mr. Zee

Luke Ray

Mary Windeyer, 1850s

Portrait, watercolour and gouache on ivory

Gift of the Windeyer family 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Caroline Chisholm

Caroline Chisholm (1808–1877), philanthropist and political agitator, spent almost two decades working to improve conditions for immigrants to Australia.

2 portraits in the collection

Mark and Saskia cool off

Jessica Hromas

Sydney Ure Smith

Sydney Ure Smith, publisher, was responsible for the establishment of Art in Australia in 1916-1942 and the journals The Home and Australian National Journal.

1 portrait in the collection

Rose Scott

Rose Scott (1847-1925), feminist and social reformer, devoted much of her life to campaigns that resulted in increased independence for Australian women.

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait

Rachael Robb

Mary Windeyer

Mary Windeyer (née Bolton, 1837-1912), women's rights campaigner, was one of the nine children of Robert Thorley Bolton, a clergyman who emigrated to New South Wales in 1839.

3 portraits in the collection

Alex Miller, novelist, 2022

Hong Fu

Gift of the artist 2022

Ruby Linsday, Will Dyson, Norman Lindsay

Ruby Lindsay

Photography and mortality

Ruby Lindsay (1885-1919), artist and illustrator, left home at 16 and went to Melbourne where she studied at the National Gallery School.

3 portraits in the collection

The Last Picture Show (Lewis Morley and Henry Talbot)

Reveries

Previous exhibition, 2007

Featuring works by Australian and New Zealand photographers from the late 1970s up to the present day Reveries focuses on images made in the presence of or consciousness of death.

Her whole world now

Alex Mattea

Phoebe turned one hundred, 2019

Chris Budgeon

Portrait of Caroline Chisholm, c. 1851

Previous exhibition, 2009

Purchased 2001

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009

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

Helga Leunig

Helga Leunig, née Salwe, was working as a professional photographer at the Age in the late 1980s when she met Michael Leunig, cartoonist.

4 portraits in the collection

Martha Singing

Michael Wolfe

Learning resource archive

Free Range Cousins, 2015 by Jennifer Stocks

Children of the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2016

Learning resource

Senses, movement and imagination in portraits of children from the 2016 Prize. For Year 1 - 3 students.

Jay Hynes

Dave has a brother Gavin and they live in the 'burbs and they went to school with a friend of mine.

Redfern, I love you - Alan, 2012

by Ben Lawrence

Fatima, 2016

by Anu Kumar

Inside: Tiggy

Louise Hawson

Eleanor Dark, c. 1935 (printed 1940)

Purchased with funds provided by Timothy Fairfax AC 2003

Surfer Rusty Miller

Francis Cloake

Previous exhibition, 2018

National Photographic Portrait Prize 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.

Jenny Watson 4, February 1979, 1979 (printed 2012)

Robert Rooney

Purchased 2012

Ada Jemima Crossley

Ada Jemima Crossley (1874–1929), singer, was one of several Australian-born divas to achieve an international reputation in the late nineteenth century.

2 portraits in the collection

On Albatross Island, 2015

by Matthew Newton

Cressida Campbell, 2001

Greg Weight

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

Anna

Matthew Newton

Michael Field, 2009

by Remi Chauvin

Sue Ford 1980-2006, 1980-2006 (printed 2013)

Ruth Maddison

Purchased 2013

Shining light, 2008

by Rick Carter

Mr M Walarmerpui, 2019

Ben Searcy

The cat's out of the bag

Kalyanii Holden

Yuge, 2019

Kathrin Longhurst

Grace Cossington Smith OBE

Grace Cossington Smith OBE (1892–1984) was a pioneer of modernist art in Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Little Darlings Youth Portrait Prize

Prizes and awards

The competition is for Australian school students and home-schooled students aged from 5-18 years.

Nancy Bird Walton AO OBE

Nancy Bird Walton AO OBE (1915–2009), aviatrix, decided she wanted to be a pilot when, at age eight, she saw a plane make an emergency landing on a beach near her home.

2 portraits in the collection

Mela

Bahram Mia

Alana Landsberry

Archived media releases 2019

Alana Landsberry (b. 1982) is a Sydney-based professional photographer who specialises in portrait, lifestyle, beauty and fashion photography.

2 portraits in the collection

Update on Temporary Closure of the National Portrait Gallery

15 April 2019

The National Portrait Gallery will close its doors from Tuesday 23 April 2019, but the public are still able to experience the home of portraiture during the four-month closure.

Call Me Daddy, 2014

by Claire Wilson

Arthur Boyd portraits from 1945

Mysterious eyes

Previous exhibition, 2016

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

Ngambri Woman

Narelle Zeller

Kayla, 2017

by Stuart Miller

Frank, 2007

by Simone Stabb

Harold Cazneaux

Harold Cazneaux came to Australia from his native New Zealand at the age of 11.

19 portraits in the collection

Sir Robert Ponsonby Staples

Sir Robert Ponsonby Staples, third son of Sir Nathaniel Staples, Bt, was born in Northern Ireland, educated in Belgium, and studied architecture and art in Louvain, Dresden, Paris and London.

1 portrait in the collection

Paddy Dhathangu

Previous exhibition, 2022

Paddy Dhathangu (1914-1993), Liyagawumirr (Yolgnu) painter, was one of the Ramingining-based artists who contributed to the Aboriginal Memorial (1987-8), comprising two hundred painted burial poles now on permanent display in the National Gallery of Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Hugh Ramsay

'Letters from Paris'

Portrait story

Hugh Ramsay's letters were written while he was living in Paris to his family back in Australia.

Janet Tavener

Finalist interviews

Mikala is the eldest of my three daughters. I have photographed her on many an occasion. Needless to say we are both extremely at home with the practice.

Little Darlings Youth Portrait Prize finalists

Little Darlings Youth Portrait Prize 2022

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

Edmond John Hogan

Edmond John (Ned) Hogan (1883-1964), farmer and premier, left school early and engaged in road-making, timber-cutting, farm-labouring and rabbiting in addition to farm chores at home.

1 portrait in the collection

Ellyse Perry

Previous exhibition, 2022

Ellyse Perry (b.1990) has represented Australia in both cricket and soccer, making her the only current dual international in Australian women’s sport.

2 portraits in the collection

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022

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

Bruce Weber

Portrait, colour lithograph on paper

Bruce Weber, born 1946, is an internationally renowned American fashion photographer.

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait with goose feathers, 2004

William Robinson AO

Purchased 2022

Mary Elizabeth Maud Chomley OBE

Portrait Photography from the Collection

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

In the mirror: self portrait with Joy Hester

Depth of Field

Previous exhibition, 2006

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.

Rennie Ellis

Aussies All

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

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa, c. 1847

an unknown artist, Thomas Wharton

Portrait, daguerreotype in a pinchbeck case

Purchased 2001

Henry Meyer

Henry Hoppner Meyer, thought to be the son of an engraver, was a nephew of the painter John Hoppner.

2 portraits in the collection

Helmut Newton

Helmut Newton was born and grew up in Berlin, which he fled in 1938 to escape persecution as a Jew.

1 portrait in the collection

Long tables set for dinner in the Gordon Darling Hall

Venue hire

The Gallery

The National Portrait Gallery is the perfect place to host your event.

Egbert S. Wills

Emily Spencer Wills (1842–1925), Cedric Spencer Wills (1844–1914), Horace Spencer Wills (1847–1928), and Egbert Spencer Wills (1849–1931) the second, third, fourth, and fifth children of Horatio Wills and his wife Elizabeth, were all born at Lexington, spending their childhoods there and at Bellevue, the property acquired by Horatio Wills near Geelong in 1852.

1 portrait in the collection

Emily S. Wills

1 portrait in the collection

Horace Spencer Wills and Cedric Spencer Wills

Cedric S. Wills

1 portrait in the collection

Horace S. Wills

1 portrait in the collection

Ada E. Evans

Ada Emily Evans (1872–1947) was the first Australian woman to attain a law degree and the first woman admitted to the Bar in New South Wales.

1 portrait in the collection

John Knatchbull

John Knatchbull (c. 1792-1844), naval captain and convict, served in the British navy before being convicted of stealing and transported to New South Wales.

1 portrait in the collection

Paul Fitzgerald AM

Paul Fitzgerald AM, a Melbourne-based artist, made his career as a professional portraitist.

4 portraits in the collection

Self portrait, 1921

Thea Proctor

Purchased with funds provided by the Ross family in memory of Noel and Enid Eliot 2013

David Mitchell

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

1 portrait in the collection

Rose Lindsay in garden at Springwood with Peter the fox terrier

Rose Lindsay in garden at Springwood with Peter the fox terrier, c. 1924

Magazine article by Olivier Krischer, 2016

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Untitled from The Other Shore 2014-15, by Wei Leng Tay

Insight and identity

Olivier Krischer in conversation with photographer Wei Leng Tay.

Hera Roberts

Hera Roberts (1892-1969) was a painter, illustrator, designer, commercial artist and milliner.

1 portrait in the collection

This airport’s gone to the dogs

Previous exhibition, 2010

Right-hound man

Jenny Sages

Paths to Portraiture

The exhibition Sages examines the process of portrait making through four large-scale portraits of women by Jenny Sages, paired with intimate preparatory drawings.

Tough & Tender Media Release

14 July 2016

Archived media releases 2016

Photographs from internationally acclaimed artists Robert Mapplethorpe, Larry Clark, Nan Goldin, Collier Schorr and Chris Burden along with contemporary Australian artists, Rozalind Drummond and Warwick Baker will call the National Portrait Gallery home during our extraordinary winter exhibition Tough and Tender.

Max Dupain

The Vintage Years

Previous exhibition, 2003

During his long and distinguished career Max Dupain took thousands of photographs of people

Sydney Ure Smith, 1948

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, half tone on paper

Purchased 1999

True fella

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2011

Michael Desmond profiles the Australian songwriter and performer Neil Murray and his contribution to Australian music.

John Marsden

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

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait, 1937

Purchased 2015

Troy Cassar-Daley

Previous exhibition, 2009

Troy Cassar-Daley was born in Grafton, NSW. He first visited Australia's Country Music Festival at Tamworth as an 11-year-old boy, and was so captivated by the experience that he returned to the Festival a year later as a busker.

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.

Captain James King

James King (c. 1750-1784), naval officer, was born in Lancashire and educated at Clitheroe Grammar School before entering the navy in 1762.

1 portrait in the collection

Thomas Pennant

Thomas Pennant (1726-1798), Welsh traveller, antiquary, naturalist, and author, visited Joseph Banks in September 1771, shortly after Banks returned from his voyage with Cook on the Endeavour.

1 portrait in the collection

Adrian Lawlor

Adrian Lawlor, critic and artist, came to Australia from his native England at the age of about twenty.

2 portraits in the collection

Moving in creative circles

Harold Cazneaux's portraits of influential Sydneysiders included Margaret Preston and Ethel Turner, both important figures in the development of ideas about Australian identity and culture.

Edward John Eyre

Edward John Eyre (1815-1901), explorer and administrator, emigrated to New South Wales from England when he was 17.

3 portraits in the collection

Robert H. Black MD, c. 1950

Nora Heysen AM

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

2015-17 Acquisition Fund

Annual Appeal

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

Self portrait, 1945-1946

Arthur Boyd AC OBE

Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family 2014

Lost in thought, 2008

by Quentin Jones

Francis Lymburner, c. 1946

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Timothy Fairfax AC 2003

Tom Hughes AO KC

Hon Thomas Hughes AO KC (b. 1923), lawyer and former politician, was born in Sydney and educated at Riverview before serving in the RAAF during World War 2.

3 portraits in the collection

Francis Lymburner

Francis Lymburner (1916-1972) was a Queensland-born artist who was educated at Brisbane Grammar and took art classes at Brisbane Technical College.

2 portraits in the collection

Georgie Swift

Georgie Swift (1920-2008), journalist, publicist and chatelaine, was born Georgette Marie Hiro Matsui to a French-born mother and Japanese father in Sydney after the First World War.

1 portrait in the collection

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2023

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.

Bringing down a kingdom

The king and the showgirl

Self portrait

Doris Zinkeisen

Romaldo Giurgola AO

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

2 portraits in the collection

Study for portrait of Helen Garner, 2003

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2007

David Lloyd Jones, 1944

Sir William Dobell OBE

Portrait, oil on masonite

Gift of David Lloyd Jones, in memory of his father, David Lloyd Jones 2021. Donated through Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Study for portrait of Helen Garner, 2003

Portrait, pastel over digital print on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

All together now, 2012

by Clare Thackway

Finalist, iD2012

Ethel Turner, 1928

Gift of Richard King 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Hera Roberts, 1936

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

Ern McQuillan Senior

Ern McQuillan (Senior) (1905-1988), boxing trainer, was born in Newtown, Sydney, and worked there all his life.

1 portrait in the collection

Mick Dodson

Michael (Mick) Dodson AM (b. 1950) is a Yawuru man from the southern Kimberley in Western Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Marlene Kong

Marlene Kong is a Worimi doctor who grew up in Port Stephens, New South Wales.

1 portrait in the collection

George Hoyningen-Huene

Florence Milson, Harold Cazneaux

Baron George Hoyningen-Huene (1900–1968) was a high-profile American fashion photographer and Hollywood figure.

1 portrait in the collection

Harold Cazneaux, 1919

Portrait, bromoil photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

John Knatchbull, Murderer of Mrs Ellen Jamieson, 1844

Charles Rodius, Hiberian Printing Office

Gift of Leo Schofield AM 2005. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Ina Gregory

Georgina ‘Ina’ Gregory (1874-1964) grew up with her sister Ada at Rosedale, her family home in East St Kilda.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool

Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl Liverpool, Lord Hawkesbury (1770–1828), statesman, was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827.

2 portraits in the collection

Isabella Louisa Parry, c. 1826

Purchased 2014

Adela R. Walker

Adela Russell Walker (1847–1932), the youngest of her parents' thirteen children, was born in Longford and was 22 when she married George Coleridge Nixon, who was the son of Francis Russell Nixon – an amateur artist and Anglican Bishop of Tasmania from 1843 to 1862.

1 portrait in the collection

Literary lovers’ life liaison

Desire drives forbidden love

Lady Edith Knox

Edith Knox (1855–1942), matriarch, was a daughter of Janet and Scottish-born merchant and businessman Joseph Scaife Willis, who was president of the Sydney Chamber of Commerce and a founding director of the Sydney Exchange Co.

1 portrait in the collection

John Lort Stokes

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

Shadows cast on fairy tale scene

Bea Maddock AM, Larry Rawlings

Bunny’s side-honey

Fleeing figure, 1988

Portrait, colour photo screenprint on paper

Gift of David Archer 2016

Gladys Hope Marks

Portrait drawings from colonial Australia

Gladys Hope Marks (1883–1970), university lecturer and women's rights activist, was born in Brisbane.

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.

James Guidney, ‘Jemmy the Rock Man’, Birmingham, c.1830 by John Dempsey

Old soldiers

Following the final defeat of Napoleon, the majority of Britain’s army and navy were gradually disbanded, with little work and few prospects, especially for the permanently incapacitated.

Heath Ledger

Heath Ledger was born on the fourth of April 1979, in Perth, Western Australia.

3 portraits in the collection

Arnold Haskell, 1937

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

Lady Packer, 1968

Cecil Beaton

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lady Florence Packer 2004

John Mawurndjul, 2005

R. Ian Lloyd

Previous exhibition, 2011

Gift of R Ian Lloyd 2010. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program.

Indecent exposure

Annette Kellerman

'Diving Venus' and 'the perfect woman' are two of the numerous descriptions applied to Annette Kellerman, who achieved international fame during the early decades of the twentieth century.

Peter Sculthorpe, c. 1969

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1998

Portrait of a Modernist

Magazine article by Dimity Goldie, 2003

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

Sid Myer AM in front of Helena Rubinstein in a red brocade Balenciaga gown 1957 by Graham Sutherland. Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC, Tim Fairfax AC and the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2015.

Foundation

Support your Portrait Gallery

The Foundation encourages gifts, donations, bequests and legacies in service of the Gallery's mission.

Study (c) for portrait of Helen Garner, 2003

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of J Sages Family Trust 2009
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Study (b) for portrait of Helen Garner, 2003

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of J Sages Family Trust 2009
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Study (a) for portrait of Helen Garner, 2003

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of J Sages Family Trust 2009
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Study (d) for portrait of Helen Garner, 2003

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of J Sages Family Trust 2009
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

William Mora

Portrait, oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas

William Mora (1953–2023), art dealer and gallerist, was the eldest son of artist Mirka Mora and restauranteur and gallery owner Georges Mora.

1 portrait in the collection

Me, 1992

Ken Done

Gift of the artist 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Norma Redpath, 1964

Mark Strizic

Magazine article by Sam Bowker, 2005

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2003

Reflections on a Hologram

Sam Bowker examines Paula Dawson's Mirror, Mirror - a holographic portrait of Graeme Murphy.

John Shortland

Previous exhibition, 2013

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

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.

David Williamson AO

David Williamson AO (b. 1942), playwright, studied and lectured in mechanical engineering and psychology before achieving success with his works for the stage.

4 portraits in the collection

The Capel Family

Cornelius Johnson

Tony Sowersby

Sabine's the sister-in-law of one of my oldest friends so I've known her for a while.

Portrait of Harriet Swan, c. 1842

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

Portrait of Julia Swan, c. 1842

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

William Robertson and Martha Mary Robertson

A charming prospect

Portrait, inkjet print on rag paper

Family fortunes

Paddy Dhathangu, 1986

Martin van der Wal

Purchased 2005

Henri van Raatle

Henri van Raalte (1881-1929), etcher and curator, moved to Western Australia in 1910 having trained in his home town of London and at schools in Belgium and Holland.

1 portrait in the collection

Kasey Chambers, Sydney, 2004

John Elliott

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Designing the modern world

Friendship, education, inspiration

The Pavlova

It is a painful truth, but one which must be faced up to, that the pavlova, that iconic Australian dessert, a staple since the 1930s, was actually invented in New Zealand.

Theresa Mort

Theresa Shepheard Mort (née Laidley, 1820-1869), colonial spouse, was one of eight children of civil servant James Laidley and his wife Eliza Jane (née Shepheard).

2 portraits in the collection

Dame Mary Gilmore, 1961

Brenda L Croft, Prue Hazelgrove, Richard Crampton

Purchased with funds provided by Timothy Fairfax AC 2003

blood/memory: Brenda & Christopher I (Gurindji/Malngin/Mudburra; Mara/Ngarrindjeri/Ritharrngu; Anglo-Australian/Chinese/German/Irish/Scottish) 2021

blood/memory: Brenda & Christopher I (Gurindji/Malngin/Mudburra; Mara/Ngarrindjeri/Ritharrngu; Anglo-Australian/Chinese/German/Irish/Scottish) 2021, 2022 (printed 2023)

Portrait, original wet plate collodion process tintype, digital scan to Ultrachrome pigment on paper

Purchased 2023

In the National Interest

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

In focussing on the importance of gifts in the building of the collection, prominence must be given to the most spectacular of the National Portrait Gallery's acquisitions; the portrait of Captain James Cook RN by John Webber R.A.

Julia Margaret Cameron

Julia Margaret Cameron was of the most important photographers of the nineteenth century.

1 portrait in the collection

Diana Pockley

Diana Pockley (née Longridge, 1913–2011), gardener, fundraiser and amateur historian, was born in Exeter, Devon, England and completed her secondary education in Brighton.

1 portrait in the collection

Fanny Jane Marlay, c. 1841

Purchased 2013

Eileen, 2017

by Sue Healey

Finalist, DPA 2017
Single channel HD digital video

Morris Lurie

Morris Lurie (b. 1938) is a Melbourne-based author of fiction. Born to Jewish parents who had fled Poland before World War 2, he studied architecture and worked in advertising before turning to writing full-time.

1 portrait in the collection

Buckley discovering himself to the early settlers

William Buckley

Portrait, watercolour and collage on paper

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

An evening at Yarra Cottage, Port Stephens, 1857

Maria Brownrigg

Purchased 2017

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

Portrait, platinum photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Very small business

Under the ‘Old Poor Law’, people begging on the streets could be arrested, so to avoid punishment, they often pretended to commerce, offering the most marginal of goods and services.

Anna Pavlova, 1926

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

I dream of Sam Neill when I go to bed, 1986 Davida Allen

The actor, the artist, her life and her fantasies

Feeling sexy

Bart Willoughby

Portrait, platinum photograph on printed card

Bart Willoughby (b. 1960) is a Pitjantjantjara and Mirning singer/songwriter who is one of the Stolen Generations.

2 portraits in the collection

Research library

The Gallery

A focused collection for researchers and scholars

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

Lauren Sutton and Poppy

My name's Lauren and this is Poppy, and this is obviously a self portrait of us taken last year in August when we sort of went into lockdown in Canberra.

Ed Sheeran

Colin Davidson

Goupil & Cie after Sir Robert Ponsonby Staples, George Barrable

The Streetons’ rich serenade

Passion

If music be the food of love

Australia v England, 1887

Portrait, photogravure on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Jean Bellette, 1937

Adrian Lawlor

Portrait, oil on composition board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Buckley discovering himself to the early settlers, 1869

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

Portrait, colour wood engraving on paper

Purchased 2009

H. Searle Professional Champion Sculler of the World (Henry Searle)

H. Searle Professional Champion Sculler of the World (Henry Searle), 1889

Purchased 2014

Angel Street (Adam Cullen), 2010

Darren McDonald

Purchased 2012

Eugene Goossens, c. 1954

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Timothy Fairfax AC 2003

Emily Fairfax

Emily Ross (née Fairfax) (1832-1871) was the eldest child of newspaper publisher John Fairfax - who founded the Fairfax news dynasty in Sydney in 1841 - and his wife Sarah.

1 portrait in the collection

John Schaeffer AO - art collector and philanthropist

John Schaeffer AO - art collector and philanthropist, 2014

Evert Ploeg

Edward Scriven, J B Ball & J DeCamp after Sir Thomas Lawrence

Purchased with funds provided by Harold Mitchell AC

Rt. Honourable Lord Hawkesbury, 1808

associated with John Taylor

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

William Shakespeare

associated with John Taylor

William Shakespeare

associated with John Taylor

William Shakespeare

Nicolas-Martin Petit after Barthélemy Roger

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

Portrait, engraving, hand coloured on paper

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Nicholas Harding

28 Portraits

Previous exhibition, 2017

Nicholas Harding: 28 portraits features paintings of Robert Drewe, John Bell and Hugo Weaving alongside gorgeously coloured recent oil portraits, delicate gouaches and bold ink and charcoal drawings.

Dymphna Clark, 1991

Heide Smith

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

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

Archived media releases 2018

Purchased 2015

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018

8 March 2018

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

David Walsh

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

David Walsh (b. 1961), professional gambler, art collector and gallerist, established Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA).

1 portrait in the collection

Aldo Giurgola, 2005

Mandy Martin

Gift of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects 2005

The Hinders: doyens of Australian modernism

Passion

Progressive partnership

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

Jørn Utzon, 2000

Ole Haupt

Purchased with the assistance of funds provided by the Circle of Friends 2004

Ninette Dutton OAM

Portrait, pokerwork on spotted gum

Ninette Dutton OAM (1923-2007), artist, broadcaster and author, was born in Adelaide and educated at Creveen and Woodlands before studying Social Science at the University of Adelaide.

1 portrait in the collection

Joan Kerr, 2004

Peter Drewett

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of James Semple Kerr 2004

Carl Cooper, 1945-1946

Arthur Boyd AC OBE

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on masonite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Bequest of Alan Boxer 2014

Jørn Utzon, 1965 (printed 2006)

Jozef Vissel

Magazine article by Michael Wardell, 2016

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

ORA - Homesickness Project 2015 by Chrys Zantis

Food for thought

Michael Wardell on Chrys Zantis’ Ora.

Husbands and Wives

Photographic Portraits from 19th Century Australia

Previous exhibition, 2010

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

Neil Murray, Bolac, VIC, 2004

John Elliott

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Jørn Utzon AC

Previous exhibition, 2005

Jørn Utzon AC (1918–2008), Danish architect, designed the Sydney Opera House.

3 portraits in the collection

The World of Thea Proctor

The World of Thea Proctor is the Portrait Gallery's second major biographical exhibition - that is, the second exhibition to focus exclusively on the life and work of a single individual

Study for portrait of Frank Fenner AC CMG MBE

Study for portrait of Frank Fenner AC CMG MBE, 2007

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

Study for portrait of Frank Fenner AC CMG MBE, 2007

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

Study for portrait of Frank Fenner AC CMG MBE, 2007

Charles Turner after Sir Thomas Lawrence

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

Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, 1827

Portrait, mezzotint on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

a Postmaster General (Sir James Fergusson)

a Postmaster General (Sir James Fergusson), 1892

Purchased 2014

Peter Allen

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

1 portrait in the collection

Warumpi Band

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

The Warumpi Band burst onto the Australian music scene in 1984 with the release of their first album Big Name, No Blankets.

2 portraits in the collection

Catholic clergymen from the Diocese of Adelaide

Catholic clergymen from the Diocese of Adelaide, c. 1862

Stephen Edward Nixon

Purchased 2018

Dymphna Clark

Dymphna Clark (1916-2000), linguist, translator, chatelaine and matriarch, was born Hilma Dymphna Lodewyckx.

1 portrait in the collection

Ern McQuillan Senior, c. 1980s

Ern McQuillan OAM

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Eugene Goossens, c. 1954

Gift of Danina Dupain Anderson 2017. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Vali Myers, 2001

Eva Collins

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2003

Atong Atem

Artists and Collectives

Atong Atem is an Ethiopian-born, South Sudanese artist and writer living in Narrm/Melbourne. Her work explores migrant narratives and postcolonial practices in the African diaspora.

John Tebbutt

John Tebbutt (1834-1916), astronomer, was born into a family of pioneering free settlers and was well educated.

1 portrait in the collection

Marianne Egan and her children Gertrude Evans Cahuac and Henry William Cahuac

Maritime disaster leaves poignant picture

Devotion

Absence rends the heart asunder

Designing the ideal marriage

Devotion

Deep foundations, shared vision

Malcolm McCusker AC CVO KC, 2022

Vincent Fantauzzo

Gift of Nigel Satterley AM and Denise Satterley 2022

Julia Swan

Harriet and Julia Swan were daughters of the successful Hobart merchant John Swan (1796–1858), who emigrated to Van Diemen’s Land in 1823 with his wife and first four daughters.

1 portrait in the collection

Harriet Swan

Harriet and Julia Swan were daughters of the successful Hobart merchant John Swan (1796–1858), who emigrated to Van Diemen’s Land in 1823 with his wife and first four daughters.

1 portrait in the collection

Helen Edwards

Recorded 2013

King Henry VIII

Unknown artist

Christine Anu

Christine Anu (b. 1970), singer/songwriter and actor, was born in Cairns, Queensland.

1 portrait in the collection

Joseph Benedict "Ben" Chifley

Ben Chifley was Australia’s 16th Prime Minister. A railway engine driver in his home town of Bathurst, New South Wales, Ben Chifley became one of the most highly regarded of Australia’s Prime Ministers.

2 portraits in the collection

Self portrait (Full Length in front of Easel)

Self portrait (Full Length in front of Easel), 1901-1902

Hugh Ramsay

Gift of the Estate of John Oswald Wicking 2003

All that fall artist interviews

Portrait, oil and egg tempera on canvas

Lawrence English, Ellis Hutch and Lee Grant talk about the works they created for All that fall.

Portrait of Jill Neville, 1967 (completed 1997)

Reginald Gray

Gift of the artist 2002

A Portrait (Kate Hattam), 1956

Clifton Pugh AO

an unknown artist after George Richmond

Purchased 2006

Francis Russell Nixon, c. 1845-1855

Portrait, copperplate engraving, heightened with China white on buff paper

Purchased 2009

The Right Honourable Lord Viscount Melbourne

William Lamb

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

Sir William John Lyne

Sir William John Lyne (1844-1913), politician, was a Premier of New South Wales and a minister in the first Australian parliament.

1 portrait in the collection

Martha Sarah Butler

Portrait, oil on composition board

Edward Paine Butler (1811-1849), lawyer, and his wife Martha Sarah Butler (née Asprey, 1811-1864), arrived in Van Diemen's Land in 1835.

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait, 1988

Sidney Nolan

Gift of Hon RL Hunter KC 2006. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Rosemary Madigan, 1992

Greg Weight

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

Bangarra brothers: songman, storyteller, dancer

Passion

Creative kin

The Rt. Hon Sir Edmund Barton GCMG PC KC

Sir Edmund Barton GCMG PC KC (1849-1920), Australia’s first prime minister, was the youngest of nine children of a well-educated woman.

6 portraits in the collection

Darrell Sibosado

Photographic Portraiture in Australia

Darrell Sibosado is a Bard man of the Lombadina Community, in the West Kimberley region of Western Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Mirror With A Memory

Previous exhibition, 2000

This is the first major exhibition to examine photographic portraiture in Australia, from its beginnings in the early 1840s to the present day

Rosie Batty AO

Rosie Batty AO (b. 1962), campaigner against family violence, became well known to the Australian public in early 2014, when her eleven-year-old son Luke was murdered by his father as she stood waiting to take him home from cricket practice.

1 portrait in the collection

Ola Cohn, c. 1934

Purchased 2011

Helen Reddy, 1978

Rennie Ellis

Purchased 2006

Chandler Coventry, 1999

Anne Zahalka

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

Purchased 2021

Study for the portrait of Aldo Giurgola, 2005

Mandy Martin

Gift of the artist 2005

Mark Ella, 2015

Nikki Toole

Commissioned with funds from the Patrick Corrigan Portrait Commission Series 2015

Professor Germaine Greer, 1999

Polly Borland

Purchased 2001

Sir Ernest Fisk

Portrait, watercolour and gouache on ivory

Sir Ernest Fisk (1886-1965), radio pioneer and businessman, began his career as one of the earliest wireless telegraphists in the British Post Office.

2 portraits in the collection

Dame Enid Lyons, c. 1943

Justine Kong Sing

Purchased 2016

George Brown

George Brown (1835-1917), clergyman, established numerous Methodist missions in the Pacific from the late 1880s.

1 portrait in the collection

Henri van Raatle, c. 1910

Portrait, direct positive colour photograph on paper

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2009

Cathy Freeman, 1995

Montalbetti + Campbell

Gift of the artists 2003

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

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

W Sherwin after Francis Wheatley

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Terry Clune

Terry Clune (b. 1932), gallerist, established Terry Clune Galleries with Frank MacDonald at 59 McLeay Street Potts Point in 1957.

1 portrait in the collection

Mirka and Philippe - 9 Collins Street, c. 1966 (printed 2015)

Lazar Krum

Portrait, ink, charcoal and conté on paper

Gift of the artist 2015

Study for John Bell as King Lear, 1998-2001

Nicholas Harding

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

Lleyton Hewitt, 1998

Robin Sellick

Gift of the artist 2004

Ian Frazer, 2007

Marian Drew

Commissioned 2007

Bonita Mabo

Bonita Mabo AO (c. 1943–2018), South Sea Islander reconciliation activist, was the widow of Torres Strait Islander land claimant Eddie Mabo.

1 portrait in the collection

Drusilla Modjeska

Drusilla Modjeska (b. 1946), writer, feminist and academic, was born in England and moved to Australia in 1971 after several years in Papua New Guinea.

1 portrait in the collection

Jeanne Little, 1994 (printed 2021)

Robin Sellick

Purchased 2021

Portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark

Tribute: Mary Isabel Murphy

The Chairman, Board, Director and all the staff of the National Portrait Gallery mourn the loss of our Benefactor, Mary Isabel Murphy.

Naomi Hobson

Artists and Collectives

Multidisciplinary artist Naomi Hobson, of the Kaantju language group and Patta skin group, after the Death Adder snake, lives and works on Country in Coen, Cape York Peninsula addressing powerful links between Country and identity.

Francois Peron

François Péron (1775-1810), naturalist and explorer, served as a soldier from 1792 to 1794, in which period he was imprisoned and lost the sight of one eye.

6 portraits in the collection

Sarah Bernhardt

Barthélemy Roger after Nicolas-Martin Petit

Sarah Bernhardt (1844–1923) was acclaimed as the greatest actor of her generation and had roles created for her by some of the finest writers of her age.

2 portraits in the collection

Ourou-Maré, dit Bull-Dog par les Anglais, Jeune Guerrier de la Tribu des Gwé-Gal

Ourou-Maré, dit Bull-Dog par les Anglais, Jeune Guerrier de la Tribu des Gwé-Gal, 1807-1817

Previous exhibition, 2020

Purchased 2009

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020

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.

Max Dupain, Artamon, Sydney, 1979 (printed 2000)

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

Sir Charles Lloyd Jones

Sir Charles Lloyd Jones (1878-1958), merchant and arts patron, grew up in Sydney, where he studied at Julian Ashton's art school in 1895.

1 portrait in the collection

Max Schubert, 1980

David Simpson

Portrait, watercolour and pencil on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

Portrait of Diana Pockley, c. 1945

Thea Proctor

Gift of Dr Simon Pockley in memory of Diana Pockley 2023. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Kasey Chambers

Kasey Chambers (b. 1976) was born in Mount Gambier, South Australia, into a musical family.

1 portrait in the collection

Wayne Lynch

Portrait, pen and ink, brush and ink and watercolour on paper

Wayne Lynch (b. 1951), surfer and surfboard shaper, grew up in Lorne, Victoria, not far from Bells Beach.

2 portraits in the collection

Dame Margaret Scott, 1949

Kenneth Rowell AM

Gift of Professor Derek Denton AC and Dame Margaret Scott AC 2014. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Harold Mitchell AC

John Noone after William Strutt

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

1 portrait in the collection

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

Portrait, photolithograph on paper

Purchased 2013

Edward John Eyre, Late Governor of Jamaica

Edward John Eyre, Late Governor of Jamaica, 1867

John Brown

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

Lady Knox, c. 1927-1929

W B McInnes

Gift of Mrs Caroline Philippa Parker 2005. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Maggie Tabberer, 2015

Alana Landsberry

Significant Australian Women 1913–2013

Gift of Alana Landsberry and Bauer Media Australia 2019

First Ladies

Previous exhibition, 2013

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

Margaret Olley AC

Charles Turner after Sir George Hayter

Margaret Olley AC (1923-2011), painter, studied art at East Sydney Technical College and the Grande Chaumière in Paris.

6 portraits in the collection

The Right Honourable Lord Viscount Melbourne, 1839

Portrait, mezzotint on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2013

Captain James King, engraving after Webber, 1784

Francesco Bartolozzi after John Webber

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Robert Oatley AO 2007

Margaret Olley, 1995

Adam Knott

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on board

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

Emily Fairfax, 1870

William Macleod

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of John Fairfax Holdings Ltd 2002
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Christine Audrey Pecket painting 'Self Portrait in a Brown Coat at the Sydney Technical College'

Christine A. Pecket

Christine Audrey Pecket (1908–1996), artist, was three years old when her family emigrated to Sydney from Yorkshire.

2 portraits in the collection

David Alexander Stewart Campbell

David Alexander Stewart Campbell (1898-1970), wool buyer and journal editor, undertook a woolclassing course in Sydney, worked as a jackeroo, served in the AIF in Egypt and gained further experience with wool in England before he was inducted into the wool trade in Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Hélène Kirsova in Petrouchka, 1936-1937

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

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

William Lamb, Baron Melbourne, 1832

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

Adut Akech, 2018 (printed 2020)

Gift of the artist 2020

Mirka - 9 Collins Street, c. 1966 (printed 2015)

Lazar Krum

Gift of the artist 2015

Adut Akech with brother Bior, 2018 (printed 2020)

Gift of the artist 2020

Desert Island Discs

Grace Cossington Smith OBE

I agonized over the choice of four songs to take with me to the ABC Studios for Alex Sloan’s Canberra 666 afternoon program, a sort of iteration of the old BBC Desert Island Discs.

Self portrait, 1948

Portrait, oil on cardboard

Purchased 2002

Glenn McGrath, 2003

Sally Robinson

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Gift of the artist 2003

To Look Within

Self Portraits in Australia

James Caldwall after William Hodges

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

Omai, 1777

Portrait, copper-line engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Chris Hemsworth, 2016 (printed 2021)

Peter Brew-Bevan

Gift of the artist 2021

Adut Akech with siblings Kim, Yar, Bior and Alakiir

Adut Akech with siblings Kim, Yar, Bior and Alakiir, 2018 (printed 2020)

Gift of the artist 2020

Adut Akech with baby sister Akoul, 2018 (printed 2020)

Gift of the artist 2020

Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE

Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE, 2006

Avril Thomas

Dario Castellini after Carlo Liverati

Commissioned 2006

Robert Brown, c. 1835

Magazine article by Helen Ennis, 2007

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

Reveries

The exhibition Reveries: Photography and mortality is a powerful display which brings together images that depict the last phase of people's lives.

Oodgeroo of the Noonuccal Tribe, 1992 (printed 2009)

George Fetting

Gift of the artist 2010

Lady Mary Hay

Portrait, gouache on paper

Lady Hay, née Chalmers (c. 1806-1892) was reported at the time of her death to have been about ten years older than Hay.

1 portrait in the collection

Maisie, 1938-1939

Peter Purves Smith

Bequest of Lady Maisie Drysdale 2001

Sidney Myer

Sidney Myer (1878-1934), retail magnate and philanthropist, arrived in Melbourne in 1898 as a penniless Russian immigrant named Simca Baevski.

1 portrait in the collection

The sitter (Drusilla Modjeska), 2001

Jo Bertini

Conrad Westermayr after Jean Henri Cless

Purchased with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2002

François Péron, c. 1805

Contemporary women artists make Australian history

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

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

So Fine

Previous exhibition, 2018

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

Matilda House presides at the first Welcome to Country

Matilda House presides at the first Welcome to Country, 2008 (printed 2009)

Purchased 2009

Marcie Elizabeth Wilson, 1922

George Lambert

Gift of the Simpson family in memory of Caroline Simpson OAM 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Jack Charles, 2011

Rod McNicol

Purchased 2013

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

Thomas Mackdougall Brisbane

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Thomas Mackdougall Brisbane (1773-1860) was born into an aristocratic Scottish family and entered the army at the age of 16.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Albert Victor Jennings, 1984

Kate Gollings

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2001

Sidney Kidman and Arthur Triggs, c. 1914

Falk Studios

Portrait, inkjet print and oil on canvas, mounted with inset axe pendant

Purchased with funds provided by The Ian Potter Foundation 2007

What the tree saw: David Foster, 2018

Jacqui Stockdale

Commissioned with funds provided by the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2018

After Jack, 2012

Portrait, encaustic, oil and pigment on composition board

Purchased 2018

Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, 1824 by James Thomson

Audacity, audacity, audacity

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

Mick Dodson, 2010

Ricky Maynard

Commissioned with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2010

Oodgeroo Noonuccal at Moongalba Stradbroke Island (her sitting down place)1982

Oodgeroo Noonuccal at Moongalba Stradbroke Island (her sitting down place)1982, 1982

Gift of the artist 2009

Jørn Utzon, 1965 (printed 2006)

Jozef Vissel

Gift of the artist 2005

Robert W. Pohlman

Portrait, charcoal on paper

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

Faith Bandler, 2006

Julie Edgar

Portrait, cast bronze

Purchased 2007

Study for portrait of Les Murray, 1995

David Naseby

Gift of the artist 2001

Richard Rouse

Richard Rouse (1774-1852), grazier and landowner, came to New South Wales in 1801 as a free settler with his wife Elizabeth (née Adams, 1772-1849) and the first two of their nine children.

1 portrait in the collection

Tim Fairfax, 2018

by Russell Shakespeare

Commissioned with funds provided by The Calvert-Jones Foundation 2018

William Dakin, c. 1943

Gervaise Purcell

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Leigh Purcell 2012

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.

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

Robert Lowe, Viscount Sherbrooke

Robert Lowe, Viscount Sherbrooke (1811-1892), politician, studied and tutored in law at Oxford before coming to Australia in 1842.

4 portraits in the collection

Jill Neville

Jill Neville (1932–1997), writer and critic, grew up in Sydney and attended a Blue Mountains boarding school.

1 portrait in the collection

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

Captain Robert Clark Morgan

Portrait, charcoal on paper

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

Preparatory study for Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE

Preparatory study for Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE, 2005

Avril Thomas

Commissioned 2006

Fred Hilmer, 2018

by Evert Ploeg

Commissioned with funds provided by Dr Helen Nugent AO 2018

Hon. Les Bury CMG

Portrait, photograph on paper

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

Harry and Penelope Seidler, 15 December 1958

John Hearder

Gift of Penelope Seidler AM 2021

Agnes Goodsir

John Young after Gilbert Stuart

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

Lord Viscount Sydney, c. 1790

Portrait, mezzotint on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Chris Hemsworth AM

Chris Hemsworth AM (b. 1983), one of Australia's best-known actors, appeared in a number of television shows including Neighbours, Saddle Club and Marshall Law before joining the cast of Home and Away in 2004.

1 portrait in the collection

Harry Seidler, Killara, Sydney, 1984 (printed 2000)

Portrait, oil on masonite

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

Kondelea (Della) Elliott, 1979

Ivy Shore

Gift of Jeannie Highet and Kim Buchan 2012

Rosie Batty, 2017

Nikki Toole

Commissioned with funds provided by the Circle of Friends 2017

Maggie Tabberer AO

Maggie Tabberer AO (b. 1936), designer, writer, editor, publicist and television presenter, is one of Australia's best-known personalities.

1 portrait in the collection

Mary Chomley, 1909

Violet Teague

Purchased with the assistance of funds provided by Jillian Broadbent AC 2021

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

Walter Langhammer

Walter Langhammer went to India before World War 2, fleeing the Nazis in Austria.

1 portrait in the collection

Tim Fairfax AC, 2018

Russell Shakespeare

Commissioned with funds provided by The Calvert-Jones Foundation 2018

Patrick White, Castle Hill, Sydney, 1963 (printed 2000)

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

Joseph Darling

Joseph Darling (1870–1946) took up cricket in earnest while a student at Prince Alfred College in Adelaide and was fifteen when he set a new record for the highest innings (252) scored in South Australia.

2 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.

Belinda Giblin, n.d.

Stuart Campbell

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

Noni Hazlehurst, 1977 (printed 2011)

Lorrie Graham

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Margaret Olley, 1991

Greg Weight

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

Professor Paul Korner, 2011

Andrew Sullivan

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

Maggie Beer AO

Maggie Beer AO (b. 1945) is a cook, restaurateur, businesswoman and media personality.

1 portrait in the collection

Kenneth W. Catchpole OAM

Previous exhibition, 1999

Ken Catchpole OAM (1939-2017), former rugby union international, excelled at various sports in his school years in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, but began to show real prowess in rugby as a student at Scot’s College in the 1950s.

1 portrait in the collection

Glossy - Faces Magazines Now

Magazines are the portrait galleries of the 90s... Glossy is about magazines. The exhibition presents the work of eight photographers, Australian by birth or long-term residency, who are producing portraits for publication in magazines around the world.

Howard Arkley

Howard Arkley (1951-1999) was born, died, and spent the majority of his life in Melbourne, where he studied at Prahran CAE and Melbourne State College between 1969 and 1973.

3 portraits in the collection

Ruby Hunter, 1996 (printed 2012)

Jacqueline Mitelman

Purchased 2012

Meredith Rogers

Meredith Rogers, theatre director and academic, studied at the University of Melbourne and worked between 1974 and 1979 with Kiffy Rubbo at the Ewing and George Paton Galleries.

1 portrait in the collection

LeGarde Twins, c. 1966

Jozef Vissel

Previous exhibition, 2018

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2015

Collection: Icons

Volume One

When a portrait communicates determination and individuality as boldly as these do, it has the potential to become an iconic image. For the Gallery’s 20th birthday this display brings together a group contemporary photographic portraits of inspiring women and men.

Clifton Pugh

Australians

Previous exhibition, 2005

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.

Cathy Freeman, 1999

Kerrie Lester

Portrait, oil and hand-stitching on canvas

Commissioned with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 1999

David Moore, Max Dupain and John Gollings

Max Dupain OBE

Max Dupain OBE (1911–1992) was a pioneering modernist photographer.

98 portraits in the collection

William Robertson

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

3 portraits in the collection

Bart Willoughby, c. 2000

Penny Tweedie

Gift of the artist 2004

Jackie French

Previous exhibition, 2019

Recorded 2022

Primed

Some Prime Ministers

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

Modern Australian Women

Magazine article by Gillian Raymond, 2005

Close contemporaries, Thea Proctor, Margaret Preston and Grace Cossington Smith were frequently sources of inspiration and irritation to each other.

Bryce Gyngell AO

Bruce Gyngell (1929–2000) presided over the first commercial television transmission in Australia, launching the medium here with the now famous phrase: 'Good evening, and welcome to television'.

1 portrait in the collection

Roam alone

Jon Muir, adventurer and Portrait Gallery Collection subject, really knows about isolation.

Captain William Kinghorne

William Kinghorne (1796-1878) came to the colonies from Scotland some time before 1824.

1 portrait in the collection

Tom LeGarde

Tom LeGarde (1931–2021) and Ted LeGarde (1931–2018), 'The LeGarde Twins', were early pioneers of country music.

1 portrait in the collection

Bart Willoughby (No Fixed Address) at 'The National Land Rights Action' march

Bart Willoughby (No Fixed Address) at 'The National Land Rights Action' march, 1982

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

William Dakin

William Dakin (1883-1950), zoologist, studied in his native England and, as an Exhibition scholar, in Kiel, Germany.

1 portrait in the collection

James Oswald Fairfax, c. 1991

Bryan Westwood

Gift of John Fairfax Holdings Ltd 2002. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Australia (Sir Edmund Barton), 1902

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Ted LeGarde

an unknown artist after Albert Chevallier Tayler

Ted LeGarde (1931–2018) and Tom LeGarde (1931–2021), ‘The LeGarde Twins’, were early pioneers of country music.

1 portrait in the collection

Joe Darling (image plate from The Empire's Cricketers. London: Fine Art Society), 1905

Portrait, chromolithograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Leonard Ian Roach

Portrait, pastel on paper laid on canvas

Leonard Ian Roach (1925-2003), founding chairman of the Australian Stock Exchange, initiated the amalgamation of six stock exchanges, one in each State capital, into an Australian Stock Exchange in the mid-1980s.

1 portrait in the collection

John Fairfax, c. 1860

Edwin Dalton

Gift of John Fairfax Holdings Ltd 2002. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Fred Williams, Upwey, Victoria, 1963 (printed 2000)

Bruce Petty

Bruce Petty (1929-2023), political cartoonist, grew up in Melbourne and as a young man took night classes in art at RMIT.

1 portrait in the collection

Douglas Annand

Douglas Annand (1903–1976), graphic designer and artist, moved to Sydney from Brisbane in 1930.

2 portraits in the collection

Gordon Andrews

Gordon Andrews (1914-2001) was one of Australia's foremost industrial designers.

3 portraits in the collection

Neville Jeffress, 1987

Judy Cassab AO CBE

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Eileen M. Jeffress 2018

Sir James Fergusson

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on dibond

Sir James Fergusson (1832–1907), governor, was educated at Rugby School and was still a student there when he succeeded his father as Baronet of Kilkerran in 1849.

1 portrait in the collection

Tony Shaw, 2018

Sarah Rhodes

Commissioned with funds from the Patrick Corrigan Portrait Commission Series 2018

Rev. Victor B. Walls and Mrs. Walls, Trinidad, B.W.I., c.1930

The first nurse

Magazine article by Tamsin Hong, 2016

Tamsin Hong recounts the tale of Marion Smith, the only known Australian Indigenous servicewoman of World War One.

Rhys Maengwyn Jones

Rhys Maengwyn Jones (1941-2001), archaeologist and academic, grew up in Wales and studied at Cambridge before taking up an appointment at the University of Sydney in 1963.

1 portrait in the collection

D.A.S. Campbell (David Alexander Stewart Campbell), 1963

Sir William Dargie CBE

Portrait, cast bronze on wooden base

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Mary Newlinds and Sheena Simpson in memory of their father, D.A.S. Campbell, 2014

Sidney Myer, 1936

Paul Montford

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

Waiting for Zipporah (Christine Anu), 2002

Elizabeth Barden

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004

Flash

Australian Athletes in Focus

Previous exhibition, 2006

Introduction The National Portrait Gallery’s photographic exhibition Flash: Australian Athletes in Focus explores various interpretations of Australian sporting men and women.

George Hoyningen-Huene and Jessie the Barmaid, 1937

Gift of Danina Dupain Anderson 2021. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

John Eason

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

Stevie Wright

Stevie Wright (1947-2015), singer songwriter, came to Australia from England at the age of nine.

2 portraits in the collection

Ali Cobby Eckermann and Lionel Fogarty at the Hawkesbury River

Ali Cobby Eckermann and Lionel Fogarty at the Hawkesbury River, 2014

Purchased 2015

Dame Mabel Brookes, c. 1955

Sir William Dargie CBE

Portrait, oil and gold leaf on cedar panel

Gift of Rodney Davidson AO OBE 2014. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Acacius (Stigmata) - Tony Carden, 1991

AñA Wojak

Gift of Lesley Saddington 2015

Kristian Fredrikson, 2000 (printed 2001)

Peter Brew-Bevan

Purchased 2001

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.

The photographer's shadow (Olive Cotton and Max Dupain)

The photographer's shadow (Olive Cotton and Max Dupain), c. 1935 (printed 1999)

Olive Cotton

Purchased 2010

Helena Rubinstein

Helena Rubinstein (c. 1870–1965), cosmetician, businesswoman and philanthropist, is the founder of one of the first international cosmetic companies.

1 portrait in the collection

Thomas Townshend, Lord Viscount Sydney

Five Years of National Portrait Gallery Commissions

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

Making Portraits

Under the Milky Way tonight

The considered matching of artist to subject has produced an amazing collection of unique and original works in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery

The Go-Betweens, London, c.1986 Warwick Orme

Oz Indie

It was the era of recording your favourite songs directly from the radio; of seeing the latest acts and clips on Countdown; and when the Aussie bands you saw on TV and heard in the charts were the ones you could see live at the pub.

Henry Searle

Previous exhibition, 2003

Henry Searle (1886–1889), a sculler known as the ‘Clarence River Comet’, took up rowing as a boy as a means of getting himself and his siblings to and from school.

1 portrait in the collection

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

Ben Chifley, n.d.

Portrait, albumen photograph on cabinet card

Gift of Danina Dupain Anderson 2017. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Joe Darling (Joseph Darling, member of the 1896 Australian Cricket Team), 1896

H Parker Rolfe

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2014

Jimmy and Jane Barnes

Recorded 2022

Mark Strizic

A Journey in Photography

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

Lady Maisie Drysdale

Lady Maisie Drysdale (1915–2001), children's librarian and artists' muse, developed an interest in art as a child, and attended both the University of Melbourne and George Bell's art school.

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

Icons

Parliament House

Touring exhibition, 2019

George Judah Cohen, 1925

George Lambert

Gift of the National Australia Bank 2002

Harry Seidler, n.d.

Louis Kahan AO

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

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

Faith Bandler AC

Faith Bandler AC (1920–2015), civil rights activist and writer, was born in Tumbulgum, New South Wales, to a Scottish-Indian mother and a cane-worker father from Ambrym Island, in what is now Vanuatu.

2 portraits in the collection

Valerie Taylor

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen and pen and ink on paper

Valerie Taylor AM (b. 1935) is a marine conservationist, photographer and shark specialist.

1 portrait in the collection

Neville Bonner, c. 1971

Louis Kahan AO

Gift of Mrs Lily Kahan 2017. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Rodney Hall OAM

Rodney Hall OAM (b. 1935), writer, came to Australia in 1947 and settled in Brisbane.

2 portraits in the collection

Cathy Freeman OAM

Cathy Freeman OAM (b. 1973) won the 400m Olympic Gold medal in front of her home crowd in Sydney in 2000 in one of the all-time great Australian sporting moments.

5 portraits in the collection

Anneliese Seubert, 1997 (printed 2014)

Ingvar Kenne

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

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

Baron Jacques Hamelin

Baron Jacques Hamelin (1768-1839), French naval officer, began his sailing career at seventeen, making his first long voyage on a merchant marine ship to and from Angola.

1 portrait in the collection

Missy Higgins

Melissa 'Missy' Higgins (b. 1983), singer/songwriter, began singing in her early teens, falsifying her age to get into clubs to play with her brother's jazz combo.

1 portrait in the collection

Betty Cuthbert, 1955 (printed 2003)

Ern McQuillan OAM

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Vali Myers

Vali Myers (1930-2003) artist, vagabond and agitator, was born near Box Hill and moved to Melbourne at the age of eleven.

1 portrait in the collection

Lina Bryans

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

3 portraits in the collection

Paula Dawson AM

Paula Dawson AM (b. 1954), artist and university lecturer, is an internationally recognised pioneer in the field of holography.

1 portrait in the collection

Spring exhibition program

18 August 2020

The following on-line and physical exhibitions are planned to open at the National Portrait Gallery in coming months. For those who can’t travel at present, selected works from all exhibitions will be included online

Charles Perkins, 1974

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen, watercolour on paper

Gift of HOTA (Home of the Arts), Gold Coast 2019 with the encouragement of Patrick Corrigan AM

Lady Ellen Stirling

Lady Ellen Stirling (1807-1874) was the third daughter of James Mangles of Woodbridge in Surrey, a Director of the East India Company and later an MP.

1 portrait in the collection

Ruby Hunter

Ruby Hunter (1955-2010), singer/songwriter, was a Ngarrindjeri/ Kukatha/ Pitjantjatjara woman from South Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Michael Leunig, 1995 (printed 2013)

Helga Leunig

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Helga Leunig 2013

Ivy Shore

Magazine article by Rick Amor, 2021

Ivy Shore (1915–1999), painter, was born in Melbourne, daughter of a South Australian suffragette, Elka, and engineer John Williams.

2 portraits in the collection

Observation point

While visiting the National Portrait Gallery I noticed the absence of paintings of journalists.

Mary Tindale, 1841

Maurice Felton

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

John Richard Tindale, 1841

Maurice Felton

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Uncommon Australians

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.

Hop, skip, shoot

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2004

Former NPG Deputy Director, Simon Elliott talks with Ern McQuillan about his life and career as a sports photographer.

L. Ian Roach, 1994

Paul Fitzgerald AM

Chefs, winemakers, providores

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

Masters of Fare

Masters of fare: chefs, winemakers, providores celebrates men and women who have championed the unique culinary characteristics and produce of Australia, enriching our lives with new ideas and new flavours over the past forty years.

Patricia T. Thompson OAM

Previous exhibition, 2006

Patricia Thelma Thompson OAM (née Amphlett, b. 1949), better known as Little Pattie, first appeared on Australian television at age thirteen in 1962.

1 portrait in the collection

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.

Frank Hurley OBE

Frank Hurley (1885-1962), photographer, first made his name on Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-14.

2 portraits in the collection

Marc Besen AC and Eva Besen AO
Featuring a favourite painting, Fred Williams ‘Wild Dog Creek’ 1977

Marc Besen AC and Eva Besen AO
Featuring a favourite painting, Fred Williams ‘Wild Dog Creek’ 1977, 2020

Raelene Sharp

Commissioned with funds provided by Nigel Satterley AM and Denise Satterley 2020

Announcing... Ralph Heimans: Portraiture. Power. Influence.

30 November 2023

Media

In March 2024, the National Portrait Gallery will launch a major exhibition of the work of Ralph Heimans AM, the Australian artist who’s painted some of the world’s most recognisable people.

William Charles Wentworth -The Australian Patriot

William Wentworth

William Wentworth (1790-1872) was a landowner, barrister and statesman.

2 portraits in the collection

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

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2016

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

1 portrait in the collection

Mrs NR Mackintosh (Anne) by Ruth Hollick

Natural, artistic and unselfconscious

Angus Trumble gazes at the once bright star of photographer Ruth Hollick.

Martha Sarah Butler, c. 1845

Thomas Griffiths Wainewright

Portrait, watercolour, gouache and pencil on paper

Purchased 2009

Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue AC CBE DSG

Murray Fredericks, Lisa Giles

Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue AC CBE DSG (1932–2024), a Yankunytjatjara woman, dedicated her life’s work to advancing the rights and wellbeing of Australia’s First Peoples.

2 portraits in the collection

Matt Moran, 2004

Gift of the artists 2005

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.

Robyn Archer AO

Robyn Archer AO (b. 1948), performer, writer and director, began singing at four years old.

3 portraits in the collection

Portrait of Leslie Walford, 1970s

Vaike Liibus

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Sally Hardy 2019

James G. Beaney

James George Beaney (1828–1891), doctor and philanthropist, completed an apprenticeship to a surgeon in his home town of Canterbury, Kent, before leaving to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh.

1 portrait in the collection

Alan Bond, 1985

Rennie Ellis

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006

Darby McCarthy OAM

Richard 'Darby' McCarthy OAM (1945–2020), former jockey who rode in three Melbourne Cups and won more than 1000 races, is a proud descendant of the Mithaka and Goongurri people of south-west and central Queensland.

1 portrait in the collection

Neville Bonner AO

Neville Bonner (1922–1999) was the first Indigenous Australian elected to federal parliament.

2 portraits in the collection

A G Stephens, c. 1910 (printed later)

Archived media releases 2019

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

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.

Lady Deborah Vernon Hackett

Magazine article by Anthony Browell, 2004

Lady Deborah Vernon Hackett (1887–1965) was a mining company director and philanthropist.

1 portrait in the collection

Charmed by the Rose

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

Alexander Macleay

Alexander McLeay (aka Macleay) (1767-1848), public servant and entomologist, acquired an interest in insects while working as a clerk in London.

1 portrait in the collection

Jack Charles

Jack Charles (1943–2022) was a revered Wiradjuri, Boon Warrung, Dja Dja Wurrung, Woiwurrung and Yorta Yorta Elder, activist, actor, musician and artist.

1 portrait in the collection

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2023

Learning resources

We encourage you to look, to feel, to think, to question and most importantly, to identify and connect.

Dame Margaret Scott AC DBE

Dame Margaret Scott AC DBE (1922-2019) ballerina and teacher, was scarred by her education in a Johannesburg convent boarding school and left her home on a Swaziland farm in 1939.

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait, c. 1911

Frank Hurley OBE

Previous exhibition, 2010

Purchased 2005

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.

Selected images

Take a peek at a selection of the portraits you can see in the exhibition.

200 Years of Portraiture

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

Portrait of Alec Campbell, 2001-2004

Terry Eichler

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Barry Humphries, 1958

Clifton Pugh AO

Gift of L Gordon Darling AC CMG and Marilyn Darling AC 1998. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

George Perry

Magazine article by Dr Grace Blakeley-Carroll, 2015

George William Perry (1824–1900) was born in London and arrived in Victoria via South Africa around 1852.

2 portraits in the collection

Christian Waller with Baldur, Undine and Siren at Fairy Hills, 1932 by Napier Waller

Enigma

Grace Carroll contemplates the curious case of Christian Waller.

Bea Maddock AM

Bea Maddock AM (1934–2016) studied at the Hobart Technical College in the early 1950s before travelling to London, where she attended the Slade School from 1959 to 1961.

2 portraits in the collection

Penny Sackett

Carrington Photo Galleries

Penny Sackett (b. 1956), physicist, astronomer and former Chief Scientist for Australia, gained her undergraduate degree in her home state of Nebraska, USA, before earning a PhD in theoretical physics at the University of Pittsburgh in 1984.

1 portrait in the collection

Clara Crosbie, aged 12 years, now on exhibition at the Australian Waxworks

Clara Crosbie, aged 12 years, now on exhibition at the Australian Waxworks, c. 1885

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of John McPhee 2018

A Collins Street Surgeon "Patients and Diamonds" [Dr Beaney F.R.C.S.], 1874

Tom Durkin, The Weekly Times

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

Little Pattie, 1966 (printed 2019)

Ern McQuillan OAM

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2012

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2019

Real close

Peter Ciemitis breached regulations when creating the portrait of the polymath environmental scientist George Seddon.

'The Australian Cricketers' from The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News June 1882

The Australian Cricket Team 1882

The Australian cricket team of 1882 was the third side to tour England and the team whose defeat of England at The Oval in August of that year initiated the 'The Ashes' Test series.

1 portrait in the collection

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

Sir Gerard Smith

Sir Gerard Smith (1839-1920), governor, was educated at Eton before purchasing a commission as an ensign and lieutenant in the Scots Fusilier Regiment of Foot Guards, with whom he served in Canada in 1863-1864.

1 portrait in the collection

L. Gordon Darling AC CMG, 2006

Jiawei Shen

Purchased with the assistance of funds provided by the Mundango Charitable Trust and Claudia Hyles 2006

Arthur Phillip

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

2 portraits in the collection

Jenny Sages

Portrait, tempera on masonite

Jenny Sages (b. 1933), artist, was born to Russian Jewish parents in Shanghai and came to Australia with her family in 1948.

34 portraits in the collection

The chase, 1952

Charles Blackman OBE

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Rob and Paula McLean 2011
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

On the passage and pace of time

Magazine article by Karen Quinlan AM, 2019

In shock it fluctuates and with age, accelerates. Remembering the First World War and the Easter Rising.

Girl with Cigarette, c. 1925 by Agnes Goodsir

Agnes enigma

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

Self portrait, 1934

Nora Heysen AM

Purchased 1999

Rick Amor

Rick Amor (b. 1948) is a Victorian-based painter, printmaker and sculptor.

27 portraits in the collection

Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt

Magazine article by Nicholas Harding, 2013

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

1 portrait in the collection

Observation point

Nicholas Harding describes his enduring fascination with drawing and painting people.

Sideshow Alley

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

Previous exhibition, 2015

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

Tribute

Stevie Wright

Magazine article, 2016

Stevie Wright (1947-2015), singer-songwriter, came to Australia from England at the age of nine.

Graham Kennedy and the Seekers in Melbourne

Graham Kennedy AO

Archived media releases 2018

Graham Kennedy AO (1934-2005), entertainer, began his career in Melbourne radio in 1949.

2 portraits in the collection

National Portrait Gallery to undergo renovation work

15 March 2018

The National Portrait Gallery will undergo renovation works in 2019 to maintain the integrity of its building and the Gallery’s collection of prized artworks.

Now and then

Polly Cutmore

Magazine article, 2023

Photographed 35 years apart, these two portraits offer both a timeline of, and thematic thread for, Maria (Polly) Cutmore’s life – from a young woman to a respected Gomeroi Elder.

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

David Williamson, 1974 (printed 2001)

Gordon Glenn

Purchased 2001

Queen Victoria

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2005

Last Sunday I had the privilege of appearing at the Canberra Writers’ Festival in conversation with Julia Baird. The subject of our session was Julia’s recent biography, Victoria the Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman who Ruled an Empire.

Valerie Kirk

Contributing artists

Born: 1957, Dumfriesshire, Scotland
Works: Canberra

Glossy too

The Glossy 2 exhibition highlights the integral role magazine photography plays in illustrating and shaping our contemporary culture.

R. M. Williams AO CMG

RM (Reginald Murray) Williams AO CBE (1908-2003), saddlery, boot and clothing manufacturer, miner and author, moved to Adelaide from his birthplace near the Flinders Rangers when he was 10.

1 portrait in the collection

Fans at an Easybeats concert, Sydney Stadium, 1965 Bob King

Oz Origins

A little bit louder now

Australia’s passion for rock ‘n roll was kindled by American and British acts in the 1950s and 60s. The novel genre’s driving, licentious rhythms and voices captured imaginations and libidos, not to mention aspiring young musicians.

Richard Walley OAM honoured in new Portrait Gallery commission

2 September 2015

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

Noni Hazlehurst AM

Portrait, oil on composition board

Actor, presenter and broadcaster Noni Hazlehurst AM (b. 1953) studied drama at Flinders University in South Australia, and after graduating gained roles in the television cop shows Division 4, Homicide and Matlock Police.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Charles Lloyd Jones, 1951

Sir William Dobell OBE

Gift of the Simpson family in memory of Caroline Simpson OAM 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Frank Fenner AC CMG MBE, 2007

Magazine article by Yvette Coppersmith, 2017

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

Nude Self Portrait, after Rah Fizelle 2016 by Yvette Coppersmith

Observation point

Yvette Coppersmith considers the influences on her portrait painting.

Max Schubert

Max Schubert AM (1915–1994) was born in the Barossa Valley to German parents who were devoutly religious and spoke German at home.

1 portrait in the collection

First Australian first-class cricket team

The ‘first Australian first-class cricket team to tour England and North America’ was in fact the second Australian cricket side to contest matches internationally (a team of Indigenous players having done so in 1868), but it is considered the first official national representative team to tour overseas.

1 portrait in the collection

Violet Teague

Violet Teague (1872–1951) was among Edwardian Australia's most fashionable and assured portraitists, although the art historical establishment was slow to acknowledge it.

2 portraits in the collection

David Strachan

David Strachan (1919–1970), painter and printmaker, was educated at Geelong Grammar School and then studied art at the Slade School in London.

2 portraits in the collection

Anthony Charles Carden

Anthony Charles Carden (1961–1995), activist and actor, became interested in performance while a school student at Knox Grammar, Wahroonga.

1 portrait in the collection

More about In the flesh

In the flesh is realised through moments of intimacy, empathy, transitions in life and the transience of life, vulnerability, alienation, restlessness, self-reflection, mortality and acceptance.

Margel Hinder AM

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2006

Margel Hinder AM (née Harris) (1906-1995), sculptor, trained in Buffalo and Boston in the 1920s.

1 portrait in the collection

Adam Scott: at Sanctuary Cove Golf Course

Celebrities on the field

Robin Sellick's portraits of Australian sportspeople include Harry Kewell, Adam Scott, Shane Warne, Mark Webber and John Newcombe.

Portrait 50 hits the shelves

1 September 2015

Archived media releases 2019

With contributions from Julia Gillard, Fiona Gruber, and Dr Karl James, the National Portrait Gallery’s 50th edition of Portrait has something for everyone.

Elle Macpherson, 1995 photographed by Andrew Macpherson

Women in Vogue: Celebrating Sixty years in Australia

20 May 2019

Celebrating sixty years of Australia’s most exceptional women as they appeared in Vogue Australia, the National Portrait Gallery is proud to announce an exhibition in collaboration with this pre-eminent fashion title.

Claude Spurgeon Charlick

Claude Spurgeon Charlick (1893-1974), businessman, was managing director of the Adelaide firm Charlick Ltd for nearly forty years.

1 portrait in the collection

Henry Edwards

Henry (Harry) Edwards (1827–1891), actor and entomologist, arrived in Melbourne in 1853 after a short-lived attempt at studying for a career in law.

1 portrait in the collection

Xavier Herbert, early 1980s (printed 2018)

Jacqueline Mitelman

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Dame Enid Lyons AD GBE

Dame Enid Lyons AD GBE (1897–1981) was the first woman elected to the Federal House of Representatives.

1 portrait in the collection

Ken Done

Magazine article by Blak Douglas, 2023

With a mum who was married to a tradie, you’d think it a fair chance that the baby Jesus would have grown up with a dog in the house.

Moby Dickens, 2022 Blak Douglas (Dunghutti, South-east region)

Why portraiture?

Blak Douglas reflects on his experiences, process and motivation for making portraits.

Lowitja O'Donoghue, 2006

Robert Hannaford AM

Commissioned with funds donated by BHP Billiton Limited, Rio Tinto Aboriginal Fund, Newmont Australia Limited, Reconciliation Australia, Hon Paul Keating and Hon Fred Chaney 2006

The Reverend Ralph Sutton, 1935

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on card

Gift of Reverend Ralph Sutton's daughters Arlene Howes and Megan Newman in memory of Ralph Sutton and in tribute to his wife Dorothy Sutton 2011

Kerry Walker AM

Kerry Walker AM, actor, graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1974 and made her professional stage debut in a melée in Act 1 of Romeo and Juliet with the Australian Ballet.

1 portrait in the collection

Nancy Wake AC

Nancy Wake AC (1912–2011) was one of the most-decorated women of the Second World War.

1 portrait in the collection

Rosalie Kunoth-Monks OAM

Rosalie Kunoth-Monks OAM (1937-2022), Arrernte and Anmatjere woman, Aboriginal activist, former actress and nun, was born at Artekerre soak on Utopia Cattle Station in the Northern Territory, the daughter of Allan and Ruby Kunoth.

2 portraits in the collection

Shane Warne, 2006

Robin Sellick

Purchased 2006

Reflections

All that fall: Sacrifice, life and loss in the First World War exhibition co-curators Dr Anne Sanders and Dr Christopher Chapman reflect on the evolution of the Gallery’s Anzac Centenary exhibition.

Miss Frances Samuel, 1840

Maurice Felton

Purchased 2011

Stanley Bruce, 1937

Barbara Tribe

Portrait, cast bronze

Gift of the artist 2000

Nicholas Harding

Nicholas Harding (1956–2022) was one of Australia's most highly regarded artists, known for his portraits and drawings, and his light-filled, vigorously painted images of the bush and the coast.

5 portraits in the collection

Sir Oswald Brierly

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

1 portrait in the collection

The Amazing Face: a 14-day Dive into Portraiture

The National Portrait Gallery is offering a free online class on the art of portraiture from April 28.

Keith Miller, early 1950s (printed 2008)

Portrait, stereo view gelatin silver photograph on paper

Purchased 2008

Great Suffragette demonstration in London

Great Suffragette demonstration in London, 1911

Rose Stereograph Company

Purchased 2011

David Unaipon

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

1 portrait in the collection

Hon Tom Hughes KC, 2001

Jiawei Shen

Commissioned with funds provided by Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull 2003

Stevie Wright, 2003 (printed 2005)

Gregory McBean

NPPP 2012 learning resource

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Arianne McNaught

An interview with the photographer.

Frances Perry, c. 1863

Batchelder & O'Neill

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite

Purchased 2012

Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground

Protest!

How can we dance when our earth is turning?

Portrait, cast bronze relief medallion

Rock’s raw potency made it the ideal medium for fomenting protest. The 1970s, 80s and onwards saw calls for social and environmental justice ring out through song.

William Charles Wentworth, 1854

Thomas Woolner

Gift of the Simpson family in memory of Caroline Simpson OAM 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Ellen Stirling, c. 1828

Thomas Phillips

Portrait, pencil, chalk and gouache on paper

Purchased with funds provided by the Ian Potter Foundation 2008

Jessie Robertson, c. 1849

Thomas Bock

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG and Marilyn Darling AC 2013

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.

Mr John Eason, 1838

W. B. Gould

Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family 2013

Portrait of Ambrose Patterson, 1901-1902

Hugh Ramsay

Gift of the Estate of John Oswald Wicking 2003

Gabrielle Kennard OAM

Magazine article by Karl James, 2016

Gabrielle ‘Gaby’ Kennard OAM (b. 1944) was the first Australian woman to fly solo around the world.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Private Edward Lello 1915 by Darge Photographic Company

Final frame

Karl James reflects on soldier portraiture during the Great War.

Ken Catchpole, 2014

Gary Grealy

Magazine article by Dr Grace Blakeley-Carroll, 2015

Commissioned with funds from the Patrick Corrigan Portrait Commission Series 2014

The Wentworths – Hidden in Plain Sight

Grace Carroll on the gendered world of the Wentworths.

Clara Crosbie, c. 1885

Arthur William Burman

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Gift of John McPhee 2018

A.I.

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2015

Christopher Chapman ponders our digital identity and selfhood.

Announcing... Jonathan Jones Bogong Cluster: Physically distant, socially connected

5 January 2021

Archived media releases 2021

A new light installation by Jonathan Jones reflects on the importance of community through the lens of his Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi heritage, whilst also acting as a prompt for gallery visitors to maintain social distancing.

Presenting… Shirley Purdie’s Ngalim-Ngalimbooroo Ngagenybe

Wednesday 27 May 2020

Ben Hall and his gang outdone, 6 February 1865

The National Portrait Gallery this week launches an online exhibition of Shirley Purdie’s remarkable self-portrait Ngalim-Ngalimbooroo Ngagenybe to coincide with Reconciliation Week.

Percy, Reginald, Monty and George Faithfull, undated by Henry Dorner. Image courtesy the National Museum of Australia.

An affray which deserves particular mention

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2004

Bushranger Ben Hall and his cronies held around 40 people hostage in a pub north-west of Goulburn, telling their captives ‘don’t be alarmed; we only came here for a bit of fun’.

Masters of Fare

The exhibition Masters of Fare: Chefs, Winemaking, Providores celebrates those who have championed the unique culinary characteristics and produce of Australia.

Edward Hammond Hargraves

Magazine article by Eric Smith, 2004

Edward Hammond Hargraves (1816–1891), adventurer and speculator, claimed credit for the discovery of payable goldfields in New South Wales.

1 portrait in the collection

Creative space

Eric Smith describes the agony and finally the ecstasy of winning the 1982 Archibald Prize with the portrait of Peter Sculthorpe.

Sir George Hubert Wilkins

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2006

Sir George Hubert Wilkins (1888-1958), photographer, cinematographer, polar explorer and naturalist, spent his childhood on a farm in South Australia and became interested in photography while studying engineering and music at the University of Adelaide.

1 portrait in the collection

The National Portrait Gallery building in twilight

On a human scale

The design concepts behind the new National Portrait Gallery building in Canberra.

Edward John Eyre, 1867

Julia Margaret Cameron

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on paper

Presented by Sir Roy Strong and the late Dr Julia Trevelyan Oman in memory of their friendship with Gordon Darling and Marilyn Darling 2006

Inspiration + Realisation: John Singer Sargent

Magazine article by Katherine Russell, 2006

Katherine Russell examines the art of Australian artist Paul Newton, referencing the portraiture of John Singer Sargent.

Herra Pahlasari

by Aminudin TH Siregar

Magazine article by Krysia Kitch, 2016

At the time of Herra Pahlasari’s birth in 1978, her academic parents were living in Canberra.

Studio portrait of servicewoman Lance Corporal Kathleen Jean Mary (Kath) Walker, c.1942

Past present

Krysia Kitch celebrates Oodgeroo Noonuccal.

Nikhil Chopra

by Rattanamol Johal

Magazine article by Beatrice Gralton, 2013

Nikhil Chopra was born in 1974, in Calcutta. His first degree was in commerce, but in 1997 he took up fine art studies, eventually gaining a Masters in Fine Art from Ohio State University, United States.

Family collective

Beatrice Gralton looks at a larger than life portrait by Chinese artist Song Dong.

Thomas Wentworth Wills

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

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

Sir William John Macleay

Portrait, carte de visite photograph on card

Sir William John Macleay (1820-1891), pastoralist, politician, collector and promoter of science, had just begun to study medicine in his native Scotland when family circumstances dictated his migration to New South Wales.

1 portrait in the collection

William Robertson and Martha Mary Robertson, 1863

William Edward Kilburn

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

The People’s Choice Awards

16 June 2020

Magazine article by Robyn Sweaney, 2016

The votes have been counted, and the winners of the National Portrait Gallery’s People’s Choice Awards for the Prize exhibitions are...

Untitled (girl on chair with red shoes) by Violet Frisby

Finding Mrs Frisby

Robyn Sweaney's quiet Violet obsession.

In a glance

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2004

Dr Sarah Engledow explores the portrait of Ninette Dutton by Bette Mifsud.

Life class

Magazine article by Leonie Hellmers, 2004

Barbara Blackman reflects on her experiences as a life model.

Support Crew

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2011

Portraits of philanthropists in the collection honour their contributions to Australia and acknowledge their support of the National Portrait Gallery.

Centenary of ANZAC

Just now we pause to mark the centenary of ANZAC, the day when, together with British, other imperial and allied forces, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed at Gallipoli at the start of the ill-starred Dardanelles campaign.

Mr Movies - Bill Collins OAM, 2009

Evert Ploeg

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

Gift of Joan Collins and the Todd-Wilson family in memory of Bill Collins 2019. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

The Fairfax Gift

This article examines the portraits gifted to the National Portrait Gallery by Fairfax Holdings in 2003.

Nocturnal animals

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2017

Joanna Gilmour explores the enticing urban shadows cast by artists Martin Lewis and Edward Hopper.

C.H.T. Costantini

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

Queen Elizabeth II

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022) was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, who subsequently became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

4 portraits in the collection

Arnold Shore

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

2 portraits in the collection

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.

Visiting at a quiet time

Visual Stories

Access support for visitors with sensory sensitivities or autism.

Emmanuel at bedtime, 2011 by George Mifsud

To startle the eye

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2012

National Photographic Portrait Prize judge Joanna Gilmour previews the 2012 exhibition.

Go glossy!

Magazine article by Katherine Russell, 2006

In association with the Glossy 2 exhibition, eight year 10,11 and 12 students spent two days transforming themselves into a variety of alter-egos in the first ever 8x10 Glossy Photo Shoot Workshop.

Exhibition opening speech

Leo Schofield introduces the exhibition, Masters of fare: chefs, winemakers, providores.

Ralph Heimans AM

Magazine article by Professor Stephen FitzGerald AO, 2016

Sydney-based painter Ralph Heimans AM (b. 1970) is one of the world's foremost contemporary portraitists, having created a body of work that has expanded and redefined the possibilities of what is sometimes perceived as an inflexibly traditional genre.

19 portraits in the collection

Recollections of a sinologist sitter

Professor Stephen Fitzgerald, Australia’s first Ambassador to China, traces the historical course from sino-australian cultural engagement to a maturing Australian identity.

William Robertson, 1866

Thomas Adams Hill

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

Dupain detective

Magazine article by Johanna McMahon, 2019

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

The more things change

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

Jenny Munro

Jenny Munro (b. 1956) is a Wiradjuri elder and prominent activist for Aboriginal rights and sovereignty.

1 portrait in the collection

Percy Leason

Magazine article by Karen Quinlan AM, 2021

Percy Leason, artist, illustrator and cartoonist, grew up in Victoria's Wimmera region and trained in the rudiments of art in Nhill.

1 portrait in the collection

Give me five

National Portrait Gallery director Karen Quinlan AM nominates her quintet of favourites from the collection, with early twentieth-century ‘selfies’ filling the roster.

Untitled #88 (Captain Brad Kilpatrick and Kylie Minogue, Balibo, East Timor, 20 December 1999)

For the boys

Magazine article by Alistair McGhie, 2011

The photographs from Matthew Sleeth's tour of duty series look more like advertisements than images of war.

Martha Kermode, c. 1840

Henry Mundy

Purchased 2008. The original frame for this work was donated to the National Portrait Gallery of Australia by the National Gallery of Victoria 2009.

Robert Kermode, c. 1840

Henry Mundy

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

Purchased 2008. The original frame for this work was donated to the National Portrait Gallery of Australia by the National Gallery of Victoria 2009.

The first Australian first-class cricket team to tour England and North America, 1878

A & G Taylor

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2013

Almerisa, Asylumseekerscenter Leiden, March 14, 1993

Interview

Magazine article by Rineke Dijkstra, 2013

Rineke Dijkstra's photographic series of her subject, Almerisa Sehric, evolved over the course of 14 years.

Edward Riou

Edward Riou (1762-1801), naval officer, began his career with the Royal Navy at the age of twelve.

2 portraits in the collection

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

Lady Isabella Louisa Parry

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2020

Isabella Louisa Parry (née Stanley, 1801–1839), amateur artist, community worker and collector, was the daughter of Sir John Stanley, first Baron Stanley of Alderley, a Whig politician and member of the Royal Society.

1 portrait in the collection

Peripheral vision

Aimee Board chats to emerging photographer Charles Dennington.

Davida Allen

Going around a gallery with a child, we point to a painting of a dog and brightly ask ‘What’s that?’ If they don’t say ‘A dog’, we tell them that’s what it is. We don’t say it’s a shape inscribed by an artist that’s popularly understood to signify a dog. That’d only serve to foster a smarty-pants.

Robert Brown

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2018

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

2 portraits in the collection

Flesh, figure and rock

Aimee Board traces Judy Cassab’s path to the Australian outback, arriving at the junction of inspiration and abstraction.

Capturing the Mouse

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2004

Nancy Wake AC (b. 1912), one of the most decorated women of World War 2, earned the name the 'White Mouse' for her maddening ability to evade the Gestapo.

Unboxed

Magazine article by Sandra Bruce, 2022

Sandra Bruce explores a new acquisition that has within it a story of interconnectivities in the Australian art world.

Before Too Long

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2004

The story behind the creation of the portrait of singer-songwriter Paul Kelly by the artist Jon Campbell.

Adam’s Prize Apples

Magazine article by Pamela Gerrish Nunn, 2016

Pamela Gerrish Nunn explores New Zealand’s premium award for portraiture.

Living landscape

Magazine article by Gillian Raymond, 2016

Gillian Raymond ponders landscapes as self-portraiture in Michael Taylor’s intimate expressionism.

Full time

Magazine article by Alistair McGhie, 2017

Alistair McGhie reminisces about three Australian rugby greats commissioned for the Portrait Gallery collection by Patrick Corrigan AM.

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.

NPPP 2016 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2003

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

Australians in Hollywood

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

Shen Jiawei

Magazine article by Emeritus Professor Jaynie Anderson AM, 2015

Shen Jiawei was born in China. During the Cultural Revolution he laboured in the Great Northern Wilderness, but even as he worked there, he gained recognition as an artist.

Sitter still

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

With a Little Help from my Friends

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2004

The story behind the acquisition of the portrait of Danish architect Jørn Utzon.

Miscellaneous obsessions

Magazine article by William Yang, 2022

William Yang shares the stories behind his autobiographical self portraits that celebrate his cultural heritage and identity.

Gail Kelly, 2018

by Paul Newton

Commissioned with funds provided by Westpac Group and Optus 2018

William Robinson AO

NPG Wellington, Edinburgh and Canberra, 10th March 2021

William Robinson AO (b. 1936) is one of Australia's most distinguished and influential contemporary painters, known for his distinctive and prolific output as landscape painter in particular.

3 portraits in the collection

15 minutes of frame

Recorded virtual programs

Delve into the lives, loves and labour of the world’s most prominent portrait galleries in this international conversation series.

What the tree saw: David Foster, 2018

by Jacqui Stockdale

Magazine article by Katherine Russell, 2007

Commissioned with funds provided by the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2018

Be bold

The name of Florence Broadhurst, one of Australia’s most significant wallpaper and textile designers, is now firmly cemented in the canon of Australian art and design.

Melbourne experience

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2007

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

An Intimate Portrait of an Australian Artist in 1930

Magazine article by Lauren Dalla, 2003

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

The Art Lovers - Megan, 2013 by Gary Grealy

Everybody, look serious

NPPP 2014 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2015

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

Village people

Christopher Chapman discusses Rod McNicol's photographic portrait series Newcomers to my village.

Times like these

Magazine article by Gavin Fry, 2010

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

Beautiful bones

Sarah Engledow reflects on the shared life and writing of Dorothy Porter and Andrea Goldsmith.

Private practice

David Smith portrayed Dr Henry Crock without the accoutrements of an orthopaedic surgeon, adding to the National Portrait Gallery's collection of eminent Australian medical practitioners.

The world of Thea Proctor

The world of Thea Proctor was the National Portrait Gallery's second exhibition to follow the life of a single person, following Rarely Everage: The lives of Barry Humphries.

Navin Rawanchaikul

by Christine Clark

Navin Rawanchaikul has built his practice around explorations of the transient nature of identity in a globalised world, and draws much of his material from his own experiences.

The fat of the land

Portrait, aquatint on paper

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

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

Part of the crew of His Majesty's Ship Guardian endeavouring to escape in the boats, 1790

Robert Dodd

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Portrait of Captain Edward Riou, 1801

James Heath after Samuel Shelley

Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Reflection

Magazine article by Michael Rosen, 2013

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

The 1890s to the 1940s

Mo and beard timeline

Although the tough, weathered, hard-drinking bushmen of the kind mythologised by writers like Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson are popularly associated with the character of late nineteenth century Australia, it was also a time when alternative ideas about identity began to come into play.

Meeting by Murder

Magazine article by Yvonne Audette AM, 2005

The story behind two colonial portraits; a lithograph of captain and convict John Knatchbull and newspaper illustration of Robert Lowe, Viscount Sherbrooke.

In profile

Julian Kingma

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2023

Penelope Grist explores the photographic instinct of four-time National Photographic Portrait Prize finalist Julian Kingma.

Risk Assessment for groups of students

For your peace of mind

School visit information

Find out about our environment, security checks, potential hazards and more.

Mural of Italian/Roman actress Anna Magnani (1908–1973) with face mask, April 2020 Unknown artist

Of plague and portraits

Magazine article by Barry York, 2018

Corinna Cullen on the symbolic power of pandemic-related imagery over the ages.

Star signs

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

Lucy Culliton

Most well-regarded pictures of chickens show them dead. A reliable way to tell if a chicken in a painting is dead is to check if it’s hanging upside down, because unlike, say, cockatoos, chickens don’t practise inversion for enjoyment in life.

Mal Meninga, 2018

by Peter Hudson

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

Spikes: then and now

Magazine article by Karl James, 2015

As part of its ongoing program of commissions of portraits of prominent Australians, the National Portrait Gallery has unveiled a portrait of Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson by South Australian artist Avril Thomas.

Lauded legacy

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

Suave

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

Charles Haddon Chambers the Australian-born playboy playwright settled permanently in London in 1880 but never lost his Australian stance when satirising the English.

Finest quality

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

Alternative virtue

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

Profile of a marriage

Dr Sarah Engledow explores the lives of Sir George Grey and his wife Eliza, the subjects of a pair of wax medallions in the National Portrait Gallery's collection.

All there in black and white

The National Portrait Gallery acquired a beguiling silhouette group portrait by Samuel Metford, an English artist who spent periods of his working life in America.

Each morning when I wake up I put on my mothers face, 2000

Paths to portraiture

The life and art of Australian artist Jenny Sages is on display in the exhibition Paths to Portraiture.

Announcing.... In their own words

24 November 2020

Inspiring Australians tell their own stories in a unique new gallery audio tour, developed in collaboration with the National Library of Australia.

Portrait of a patron

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2002

A new painting by Jiawei Shen captures the vision and resolve of the Gallery's founder, L. Gordon Darling AC CMG.

The Final Frontier

Magda Keaney talks with Montalbetti+Campbell about their photographic portrait of Australian astronaut Andy Thomas.

Cannonical

Magazine article by Cayce Zavaglia, 2017

Walter Lindrum, world-famous billiards player, was one of Australia's greatest sporting champions.

Thread bare

US artist Cayce Zavaglia reveals human duality in her striking embroidered portraiture.

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.

John Bell as King Lear oil on Belgian linen, 2001 by Nicholas Harding

Lear unbuttoned

Magazine article by Alistair McGhie, 2013

Sarah Engledow steps up to the footlights and applauds the storyline behind Nicholas Harding's portraits of actor John Bell.

Hereinbefore

Alistair McGhie talks with Laura Moore about her winning digital self portrait.

Of human clay

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2009

The first collaborative commission has arrived. It's a self portrait, it's ceramic and it's from Hermannsburg.

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.

Anthony Anderton

NPPP 2012 learning resource

An interview with the photographer.

Bonfire of the vanities

Magazine article by Stuart Purves, 2016

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

Courage, Self-analysis and Skill

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2002

The story behind George Lambert's Self-portrait with Gladioli.

Splendid, many-splendoured

Magazine article by Sandra Bruce, 2021

Sandra Bruce gazes on love and the portrait through Australian Love Stories’ multi-faceted prism.

Portrait of the Gallery

Magazine article by Graeme Dix, 2016

A design diary retrospective.

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

Written in Water

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

Darren McDonald

The wild balancing act of McDonald’s home décor (is that there as a joke? where do I actually sit down? is this ironic or what? what a lovely photo of Darren and Robin in Europe!) is reflected in his own personality.

Fiona McMonagle

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2004

Fiona aims to create a dangerous situation with a flood of water on the paper, forcing each work to the point where it can fail, and then rescuing it.

Tiny Trace of a Colonial Giant

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

Bewitching

Magazine article by Roger Neill, 2006

Roger Neill delves into the life of a lesser-known Australian diva, Frances Alda.

Swimming every day

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2015

National Photographic Portrait Prize judge Christopher Chapman connects this year’s entries to iconic contemporary american photographers.

Twin chics

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2021

Joanna Gilmour on the exuberant union of fashion pioneers Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson, captured in luminescent splendour by artist Carla Fletcher.

About grace

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2020

Penelope Grist finds philanthropy and fashion underpin the story of Susan Wakil AO.

Seeing stars

Celebrating Science Week

NPPP 2015 exhibition essay

It has been suggested that Sir Thomas Brisbane’s interest in the New South Wales governorship was as attributable to his passion for astronomy as to the desirability of the position as a prestigious career move.

Swimming every day

Magazine article by Peter Wilmoth, 2016

Dr Christopher Chapman, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2015 Prize.

Peter Wilmoth, age 12, with copies of Our World 1974 Courtesy of the author

Paper, boy

Peter Wilmoth’s boy-journalist toolkit for antagonising an Australian political giant.

A guy from Paris

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2018

Sarah Engledow on a foundational gallery figure who was quick on the draw.

Promise Fulfilled

The life and achievements of Sir Edward Holden, who is represented in the portrait collection by a bust created by Leslie Bowles.

Noel McKenna

It’s a matter beyond dispute that in the entire history of Australian art, it’s Noel McKenna who’s painted the liveliest rendition of the head of a Chihuahua.

Thilin-Thilin Gooragall Nyajaringil Garnkiny-nu (white gum tree, mother for the moon), 2018 by Shirley Purdie

Storytelling

The fourth row of paintings interweave Ngarranggarni, memories, relationships and Country.

Doodles of the Diva

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

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

Study for Aunty Mary King, 2010 by Mathew Lynn

The animating signature

Joanna Gilmore delights in the affecting drawings of Mathew Lynn.

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

Lovingly observed

Sarah Engledow previews the beguiling summer exhibition, Idle hours.

Giving a dam

True south #1

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

Big bouquet of Blackmans

Dr. Sarah Engledow explores the context surrounding Charles Blackman's portrait of Judith Wright, Jack McKinney and their daughter Meredith.

The selfie stick

Little Darlings Youth Portrait Prize

Last week ABC Television came to interview me about selfie sticks. The story was prompted by the announcement that the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has lately prohibited the use of these inside their galleries. So far as I am aware we have not yet encountered the phenomenon, but no doubt we will before too long.

Entry guidelines 2024

Read the full requirements for entering the prize.

Lovers of light

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

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

Kristin Headlam

Basil grew into a speckled beauty – a long-legged leaper and an exceptionally vocal dog, with a great register of sounds, ascending in shock value from a whimper to a growl to a bark to a yelp that’s a violation of the ears.

Eileen Dunne in The Hospital for Sick Children, 1940

The incomparable Beaton

To accompany the exhibition Cecil Beaton: Portraits, held at the NPG in 2005, this article is drawn from Hugo Vickers's authorised biography, Cecil Beaton (1985).

Grateful admiration and brotherly love

Magazine article by Katrina Osborne, 2016

In the earliest stages of the Great War, the Royal Pavilion in Brighton was turned into a military hospital, and arrangements made there to accommodate the different dietary and other requirements of Hindu, Sikh and Muslim patients.

Nan and Brian in bed, New York City 1983 © Nan Goldin

Love scars

Katrina Osborne immerses herself in one of photography’s most fearless chronicles.

More cash than dash

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2011

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

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

Birds of a feather

Magazine article by Annette Twyman, 2021

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

Louise Whelan

Finalist interviews

I met Kaloti Parmjit the day I took the photo. I first visited the Sikh temple in the suburb of Glenwood to take photos as part of a social documentary project I'm undertaking for the State Library of NSW.

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.

My Favourite Australian

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2009

The Australian public was invited in 2008 to vote for their favourite Australian. After the votes were tallied an exhibition of the top-ten Popular Australians and the top-twenty unsung heroes was displayed at the National Portrait Gallery.

Shadows of light

Magazine article by Mark Haworth-Booth, 2002

Mark Haworth-Booth explains why Bill Brandt is one of the most important British photographers of the Twentieth Century.

Pretty in peach

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

Goollabal (Rainbow Serpent), 2018 by Shirley Purdie

Memories

The second row of paintings recall stories relating to specific sites, experiences and activities.

Nambin (black headed python), 2018 by Shirley Purdie

Skin names

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2003

The first row of paintings depict stories relating to kinship, introducing significant women relatives.

Myself and Eye

Magda Keaney speaks with Lewis Morley about his photographic career and the major retrospective of his work on display at the NPG.

Their brilliant careers

Magazine article by Jenny Gall, 2017

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

Fugue in Yellow

Magazine article by Roger Benjamin, 2015

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

Winning in technicolor

Magazine article by Alistair McGhie, 2009

Alistair McGhie writes about the portraits of three of Australia's top professional cyclists: Cadel Evans, Stuart O'Grady and Robbie McEwen painted by Matthys Gerber.

Secure the shadow ere the substance fade

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2017

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

Through thick and thin

Sarah Engledow likes the manifold mediums of Nicholas Harding’s portraiture.

Progressive pictures

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2017

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

Director John Duigan and actor Judy Davis on the set of ‘Winter of our Dreams’, Sydney, 1981 by Robert McFarlane

Natural born stiller

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2016

Penelope Grist speaks to Robert McFarlane about shooting for the stars.

Mexico from the Palace painted by ‘Maximilian Emperor'

Empirical art

Several years ago I came across this curious painting on the racks in a distant, dusty corner of the store room in the basement of the Johannesburg Art Gallery in South Africa. Since then the mystery surrounding it has never been far from my mind.

Anna Culliton

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

Anna Culliton never had a colouring-in book when she was little. Her parents –Tony, a filmmaker, and Stephanie, a painter – wouldn’t let her have one. Instead, they insisted on her drawing her own pictures to colour-in.

Paper weight

Joanna Gilmour delves into a collection display that celebrates the immediacy and potency of drawing as an art form in its own right.

Mrs Cameron and the V&A

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2003

In March 2003 Magda Keaney travelled to London to join the photography section of the Victoria & Albert Museum for three months.

Helen Blaxland judging flower arrangements, c. 1940s photographer unknown

Petal to the mettle

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

Sarah Engledow lauds the very civil service of Dame Helen Blaxland.

Photograph from Eye to I series, 2022 David Lindesay

A portrait of the artist by the artist

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2011

Rowan McGinness asks: when is a self portrait not a self portrait?

Man of the year

Exhibition curator Christine Clark introduces the work by Indonesian artist Agus Suwage created for Beyond the self: Contemporary portraiture from Asia.

History

About us

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

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.

Layla 2020 Veronica Watson, pencil on paper. Layla 2020 Sarah McEwan, fabric, acrylic on MDF. Self portrait 2020 Layla Bacayo, drypoint on paper. Image: Sarah McEwan

Mash-up

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2022

Penelope Grist delves into an insightful portraiture exhibition that asks: How do three artists see the same sitter?

Mugshots

A toast to the acquisition of an unconventional new portrait of former Prime Minister, Stanley Melbourne Bruce.

Poets' Portraits

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

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.

Portrait of Thea Proctor, 1905 by George Lambert

The real Thea

Long after the portraitist became indifferent to her, and died, a beguiling portrait hung over its subject.

Patrick White at Centennial Park, 1979–1980

Listomania

Archived media releases 2016

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.

Provocative talks on Saturdays in September

29 August 2016

Join The Saturday Paper’s chief political correspondent, Karen Middleton, for A Month of Saturdays – afternoon conversations bringing current affairs experts to the Gallery for engaging, real-time discussions about the topics that matter.

Unbuttoning uniforms

Magazine article by Sharon Peoples, 2017

Sharon Peoples contemplates costumes and the construction of identity.

Little women

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

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

Atul Bhalla

by Khavita Singh

Atul Bhalla was born in 1964 in New Delhi. He frequently combines photography, installation, sculpture, video, painting and performance to question the human relationship with the natural and constructed environment.

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

Embrace your inner nerd

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

Robyn Sweaney

Magazine article by John Elderfield, 2017

Robyn's parents had two terriers, Wuff and Snuff. In spite of Snuff’s ominous name and a couple of close shaves – once, he jumped out of a moving car, and another time, on a long road trip, he was accidentally left behind at a petrol station – he outlived Wuff.

Self-portrait with bowler hat, 1885–6 by Paul Cézanne

Hail Cézanne

John Elderfield lauds the portraiture of Paul Cézanne, the artist described by both Matisse and Picasso as ‘the father of us all’.

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.

Untitled, Conductors, Tramways series, 1990 © Matt Nettheim

Back track

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2016

Penelope Grist finds photographer Matt Nettheim re-visiting a formative and fulfilling career tram stop.

Anatomist's eye

Robert Hannaford has completed around 400 portraits over the span of his career.

Naked ambition

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

In a good paddock

Magazine article by Malcolm Robertson, 2011

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

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.

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.

Bloodlines

Magazine article by Michelle Fracaro, 2004

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

Earth to earth

Dr Sarah Engledow discusses the recent gift of works by David Campbell.

Less than six degrees of separation

Lecture, 28 May 2011

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

Generous Janice

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

The Saint and the merchant

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2008

Emanuel Solomon gave shelter to the Sisters of St Joseph upon the excommunication of St Mary MacKillop.

Moving pictures

The exhibition California Video at the J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles demonstrated how video artists expand the boundaries of portraiture.

Wicked but Virtuous

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2022

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

The story of us

Gallery directors Karen Quinlan and Tony Ellwood talk to Penelope Grist about the NPG and NGV collaborative exhibition, Who Are You: Australian Portraiture.

The Rays, 1970
Raindance Corporation, Frank Gillette, Michael Shamberg, Paul Ryan

Post digital

Magazine article by Tegan Mcauley, 2015

Tegan McAuley looks at the evolution of video portraiture.

Painting writing

Magazine article by Gael Newton, 2003

Dr Sarah Engledow explores the portraits of writers held in the National Portrait Gallery's collection.

Vintage Max

Gael Newton delves into the life and art of renowned Australian photographer, Max Dupain.

Of jumpers and river gums, red

Magazine article by Diana O'Neil, 2016

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

Top shot that

Magazine article by Gideon Haigh, 2009

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

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.

Alexander Pearce
executed for murder
July 19th 1824

Public hanging

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2008

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

Venetia, Lady Digby, circa 1633-1634 by Sir Anthony van Dyck

Love in the extreme

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2020

Joanna Gilmour reveals love’s more intense manifestations in the tale of Lord Kenelm and Venetia Digby.

Nadiah Bamadhaj

by Beverly Yong

Born in Malaysia in 1968, to a Malaysian Muslim father and a New Zealander mother of Scottish descent Nadiah Bamadhaj studied Fine Arts in New Zealand, and is currently working on a PhD from Curtin University, Western Australia.

Hema Upadhyay

by Amrita Gupta Singh

Hema Upadhyay was born in Baroda in 1972 and moved to in Mumbai in 1998. Incorporating painting, installation, sculpture and printmaking, Upadhyay’s work often addresses issues related to migration, especially the experiences of those living in urban communities.

Anangu landscape learning

Magazine article by Jane Kinsman, 2007

Angus' initial perception of Uluru shifts, as he comes to see it as central to the entire order of Anangu life.

Themes and variations (Annelies) A13, 1946

Listening to form

National Gallery of Australia curator Jane Kinsman discusses the portraiture of Henri Matisse.

The art of Inner Worlds

Lecture, 7 May 2011

Magazine article by Susi Muddiman, 2017

Dr Christopher Chapman NPG Curator of Inner Worlds explains the development of an exhibition that spans from Surrealism to contemporary art.

In bloom

Susi Muddiman delights in Michael Zavros’ stunning portrait of the honourable Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO.

20/20 launch speech

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

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

Small worlds

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

The eye and the heart

Nici Cumpston immerses herself in the collective vision of the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020.

Nicholas Harding

Magazine article by Amy Middleton, 2023

Over the years the young Nicholas Harding got his hands on various mice and guinea pigs, but they served mainly to illustrate the concept of mortality.

Safe space

Amy Middleton on the power of portraiture in promoting inclusivity and connecting with intersectionality and diversity in all its forms.

Uncommon Australians

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Magazine article by Stephen Phillips, 2017

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

Charlie's angles

Stephen Phillips talks to neurosurgeon Charlie Teo about his practice, perspectives and the anatomy of hope.

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, 1885-86 by
John Singer Sargent

A feast of friends

Magazine article by Richard Ormond, 2015

John Singer Sargent: a painter at the vanguard of contemporary movements in music, literature and theatre.

South-bound and down

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2016

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

Naked nostalgia

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

Snap chat

Magazine article by Anne O'Hehir, 2019

2019 National Photographic Portrait Prize judge Anne O’Hehir looks beneath the surface of this year’s entries.

Head, hand, heart

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2007

An extensive selection of portraits by John Brack were on display at the National Portrait Gallery in late 2007.

Movement is my radar

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2015

Michael Desmond charts the path of portraiture, arriving at Julian Opie’s digital realm.

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

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

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.

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.

Studio of the American & Australasian Photographic Co., Hill End, 1872

A rogue's calling card

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2016

Joanna Gilmour explores the stories behind the ninteenth-century carte de visites of bushrangers Frank Gardiner and Fred Lowry.

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

All the way with K of K

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

Regarding Henrys

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

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

Thrown together

Shipmates for years, James Cook and Joseph Banks each kept a journal but neither man shed light on their relationship.

Chairman Sid Myer AM, Hayley Baillie, Tim Bednall, Jillian Broadbent AC, Patrick Corrigan AM, Marilyn Darling AC, Tim Fairfax AC, Penny Fowler AM, John Liangis, Dr Helen Nugent AC and Nigel Satterley AM

Foundation Members

Foundation

Chairman Sid Myer AM, Hayley Baillie, Tim Bednall, Jillian Broadbent AC, Patrick Corrigan AM, Marilyn Darling AC, Tim Fairfax AC, Penny Fowler AM, John Liangis, Dr Helen Nugent AC and Nigel Satterley AM.

Maria Caroline Brownrigg

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2019

At first glance, this small watercolour group portrait of her two sons and four daughters by Maria Caroline Brownrigg (d. 1880) may seem prosaic, even hesitant

Karl Robert, Count Nesselrode, 1818 by Sir Thomas Lawrence

The Lawrence lustre

Angus Trumble salutes the glorious portraiture of Sir Thomas Lawrence.

Monument to Mrs. Moore St. Luke’s Church, Liverpool, Sydney

Waterloo and Mrs. Moore

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2006

Beyond the centenary of the ANZAC landings at Gallipoli, a number of other notable anniversaries converge this year. Waterloo deserves a little focussed consideration, for in the decades following 1815 numerous Waterloo and Peninsular War veterans came to Australia.

Mental as everything

Chris O'Doherty, also known as Reg Mombassa, is best-known for his Mambo imagery but he also paints a lot of self portraits.

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

No small wonder

Magazine article by Stephen Zagala, 2013

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

Chet Baker, singer, New York City, January 16, 1986 by Richard Avedon

The existential lens

Stephen Zagala discusses Richard Avedon’s work from an Australian perspective.

Sandor Ferenczis 50th birthday dinner, Budapest, 1923

Less than six degrees of separation

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2011

Anne Sanders finds connections in Inner Worlds between Hungarian expatriates and the development of psychoanalysis in Australia.

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.

Forum participants

Magazine article by Lilly Koltun, 2004

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

Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil de Cavagnial, Marquis de Vaudreuil, ca.1753-55

Canadian identities

An exploration of national identity in the Canadian context drawn from the symposium Face to Face at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in 2004.

Go Figure!

Magazine article by Claire Roberts, 2013

Claire Roberts interviews Swiss art collector Uli Sigg.

Yanyangkari Roma Butler and Yangi Yangi Fox from Irrunyju (Wingellina), Western Australia, 2017 Rhett Hammerton

Weaving identity

Magazine article by Rebecca Ray, 2022

Rebecca Ray explores the way identity, belonging and connectedness are translated through materiality in First Nations portraiture.

Worth her salt

Magazine article by David Gist, 2019

Jerrold Nathan's portrait of Jessie Street shows the elegant side of a many-faceted lady.

Thua Tich, South Vietnam, 1969-06 by Christopher Bellis

The jungle look

David Gist steps beyond the public relations veneer of Australia’s official Vietnam War portrait photographs.

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

Wunderkind lost

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2021

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

Material culture

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2018

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

Dr Edward MacMahon, 1959 by William Dobell

Bill and Ted's excellent portrait.

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2016

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

Of ice and men

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2019

Frank Hurley's celebrated images document the heroism and minutiae of Australian exploration in Antarctica.

Eating the seasons

Anne Sanders imbibes Tony Bilson’s gastronomic revolution.

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.

Daniel Johns, Silverchair Melbourne 2007 by Martin Philbey

Rock art

Magazine article by Andrew Mayo, 2016

Andrew Mayo talks to three of Australia’s most prominent and prolific music photographers — Martin Philbey, Kane Hibberd and Daniel Boud — about the challenges and inspiration behind their craft.

20 20

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2017

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

Some women you may not know

Alison Alder

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

Shall I raise my eyebrows and gasp? (Alex), 2011 by TextaQueen

Pen power

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2015

Politics and personae in the portraiture of TextaQueen by Jane Raffan.

Illuminating history

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2023

Joanna Gilmour reflects on 25 years of collecting at the National Portrait Gallery.

Fits of delicacy and despair

Magazine article by Alison Weir, 2011

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

Icons and imagery

Alison Weir explores the National Portrait Gallery, London and the BP Portrait Award to find what makes a good painted portrait - past and present.

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

Great Scots

Magazine article by Diana O'Neil, 2017

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

Heartfelt

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2012

The portrait of Janet and Horace Keats with the spirit of the poet Christopher Brennan is brought to life by artist Dora Toovey.

The importance of being bearded

Joanna Gilmour discovers that the beards of the ill-fated explorers Burke and Wills were as epic as their expedition to traverse Australia from south to north.

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.

Nicholas Harding: 28 Portraits

Exhibition essay

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2017

Sarah Engledow looks at three decades of Nicholas Harding's portraiture.

Drawing inspiration

Christopher Chapman absorbs the gentle touch of Don Bachardy’s portraiture.

Rick Amor: 21 Portraits

Magazine article by Tenille Hands, 2018

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

The life of Bryant

Tenille Hands explores a portrait prize gifted to the National Screen and Sound Archive.

Women make history

Magazine article by Jennifer Higgie, 2022

Jennifer Higgie uncovers the intriguing stories behind portraits of women by women in the National Portrait Gallery’s collection.

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 Jennifer Higgie, 2022

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

Hard truths

Jennifer Higgie reveals how Alice Neel reinvigorated 20th century portraiture with her honest and perceptive depictions of the human experience.

Portrait of Dr Johann Reinhold Forster and his son George Forster

To the end of the earth

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2013

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

‘Untitled’ - Yellow Kangaroo Paw, 2008 by Christian Thompson

The 'I' in Indigenous art

Jane Raffan examines unique styles of Indigenous portraiture that challenge traditional Western concepts of the artform.

In good company

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

Friends and Acquaintances

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

The numbers man

Magazine article by Tom Fryer, 2021

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

Face House – Kyoto, Japan Architect: Kazumasa Yamashita

Alter ego

Tom Fryer surveys the twentieth-century architectural project, and finds representation and the portrait were integral elements.

Cultural kaleidoscope

The complex connections between four creative Australians; Patrick White, Sidney Nolan, Robert Helpmann and Peter Sculthorpe.

Out of the shadows

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2011

Joanna Gilmour profiles the life and times of the shutter sisters May and Mina Moore.

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

Sea legged frogs

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

The Dissecting Room

Joanna Gilmour accounts for Australia’s deliciously ghoulish nineteenth century criminal portraiture.

Starry knight

Aircraft designer, pilot and entrepreneur, Sir Lawrence Wackett rejoins friends and colleagues on the walls of the National Portrait Gallery.

Some prime ministers

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

Asiel Timor Dei, ca. 1728 by a master of Calamarca

The Viceroyalty of New Spain

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2016

European painters always enjoyed a good deal of latitude in the representation of angels, those asexual, bodiless, celestial regiments of God, so long as they were young and beautiful.

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.

Waterfall in Australia, c. 1830 by Augustus Earle

Augustus serendipitous

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

Seeing stars

Magazine article by Stephen Valambras Graham, 2021

Joanna Gilmour explores photographic depictions of Aboriginal sportsmen including Lionel Rose, Dave Sands, Jerry Jerome and Douglas Nicholls.

Nannultera, a young cricketer of the Natives' Training Institution, Poonindie , 1854 John Michael Crossland

The catechist and the cricketer

Stephen Valambras Graham traverses the intriguing socio-political terrain behind two iconic First Nations portraits of the 1850s.

Lady Jane Grey, c.1590-1600 (also known as The ‘Streatham’ portrait) Artist unknown

The Royal she

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2019

Traversing paint and pixels, Inga Walton examines portraits of select women in Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits.

A sketch for some portraits

Magazine article by Judith Pugh, 2005

Judith Pugh reflects on Clifton Pugh's approach to portrait making.

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

Getting bare

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2015

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

Practising the Minuet (Miss Hilda Spong)

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.

Portrait of a Pioneer , 1917
Violet Teague

Off her own bat

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

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

Cachasunghia, Osage Warrior 1804–06 by Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin

Political profiles

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2016

Joanna Gilmour examines the prolific output of Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin, and discovers the risk of taking a portrait at face value.

Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza and David R. L. Litchfield at Villa Favorita, Lugano, Switzerland, 1989 © Nicola Graydo

The Thyssen Art Macabre

Books seldom make me angry but this one did. At first, I was powerfully struck by the uncanny parallels that existed between the Mellons of Pittsburgh and the Thyssens of the Ruhr through the same period, essentially the last quarter of the nineteenth century.

Faces of war

Lecture, 14 May 2011

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.

The shipwright's arms

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

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Honour board

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

Portraiture in a Bleak House

NPPP 2017 exhibition essay

It may seem an odd thing to do at one’s leisure on a beautiful tropical island, but I spent much of my midwinter break a few weeks ago re-reading Bleak House.

Trevor Jamieson, 2016 by Brett Canet-Gibson

The more things change...

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

The personal and the historical

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

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.

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

Prima facie

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

Christmas Island

This is my last Trumbology before, in a little more than a week from now, I pass to my successor Karen Quinlan the precious baton of the Directorship of the National Portrait Gallery.

Inner Worlds and psychoanalysis

Lecture, 4 June 2011