Search / diana o 'neil

Great Scots

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

Of jumpers and river gums, red

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

Prime number

Diana Warnes discusses the portrait of the Australian mathematician Terence Tao.

Portrait of Diana Pockley, c. 1945

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

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.

Anatomist's eye

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

Neil Murray, Bolac, VIC, 2004

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Neil Perry, 1997

Gift of the artist 1999

Neil Armfield (study), 2010

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned 2010

Neil Armfield (study), 2010

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned 2010

Neil Armfield (study), 2010

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned 2010

Neil Armfield, 2010

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned 2010

Neil Murray, 2008

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

Edmund Capon, c. 1986 (printed 2019)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2019

Oz and beyond

Martin Sharp fulfils the Pop art idiom of merging art and life.

True fella

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

Cook in context

Robert Oatley's continuing benefaction has helped the National Portrait Gallery acquire works that add another layer to the story of Captain Cook.

Neil Finn, 1987 (printed 2021)

Gift of the artist 2021

Neil Finn, Crowded House 1986

Robyn Archer and Gough Whitlam, 1986 (printed 2019)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2019

Neil Finn and Paul Hester, 1987 (printed 2021)

Gift of the artist 2021

Paul Hester, 1987 (printed 2021)

Gift of the artist 2021

Melbourne experience

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

Set of 129 Royal Christmas Cards and three miscellaneous items, 1951-2001

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

Neil Gaiman, The Sandman, 2013

2014-15 Acquisition Fund

Kristin Headlam's portrait of Chris Wallace-Crabbe was acquired with the support of the Circle of Friends in 2014.

National arts and history? Yes, please

Recent research shows that two thirds of all Australians have a sterling interest in the arts and Australian history. This is just one of the promising findings to arise from the National Portrait Gallery’s commissioned snapshot of its national brand awareness, via a nationally representative survey.

Triumphant weekend for Gallery at MAPDAs

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

Portrait 39

This issue features the National Photographic Portrait Prize, Neil Murray, Lee Tulloch on Stuart Campbell, Joseph Banks, Scott Redford and more.

Younger Australians more engaged with arts and history

The second annual brand-awareness snapshot of the National Portrait Gallery is again positive, with indicators moving in the right direction – for the Gallery and for Australia’s cultural engagement.

Donors

Gil Askey, 2011

Shakespeare to Winehouse

From Shakespeare to Winehouse, Darwin to Dickens, the Beatles, Brontë sisters and Beckham, the National Portrait Gallery London holds the world’s most extensive collection of portraits.

Self portrait, 1971

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Diana de Kessler 2009

Presence and Absence

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

2015-17 Acquisition Fund

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.

Mungo MacCallum, 1968

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

Kylie Kwong, 2003

Purchased 2005

Aussie Icon: Portrait of Jenny Kee, 2022

Purchased 2022

Portrait of a beautiful mind - Adam Cullen, Blue Mountains, 2005 (printed 2019)

Purchased with funds provided by Alan Dodge AM & Neil Archibald 2019

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.

Hilary McPhee, 2015

Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2015

Barry McDonald, 1997

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 1999

Marea Gazzard, c. 1985

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

Basil Hetzel, 2007-2008

Commissioned with funds provided by Mrs Diana Ramsay AO 2008

David Gulpilil, c. 1981

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

2013-14 Acquisition Fund

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

2012-13 Acquisition Fund

The Circle of Friends Acquisition Fund for 2012 was dedicated to purchasing a portrait of David Malouf by Rick Amor.

Warumpi Band, Sydney Opera House, 1984 (printed 2021)

Purchased 2021

Richard Walley, 2015

Commissioned with funds provided by Neil Archibald and Alan R. Dodge AM, Brandon and Angela Munro, Dr Walter Ong and Graeme Marshall 2015

George Burarrwanga, Warumpi Band, 1984 (printed 2021)

Purchased 2021

Gulpilil (David) Dreaming - Kakadu 2006, 2006

Gift of the artist 2008

Dichotomia, Barry Otto, 2008

Gift of the artist 2010

Wendy Sharpe, 2000

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

David Gulpilil, Arnhem Land, 1981 (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

Wesley Enoch and David McAllister, 2020

Purchased with funds provided by Alan Dodge AM and Neil Archibald 2021

Supporters

Mal Meninga, 2018

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

George Spartels, early 1970s

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2019

Richard Walley OAM honoured in new Portrait Gallery commission

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

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.

Announcing Shakespeare to Winehouse

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

Protest!

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.

2020 Annual Appeal

In 2020 the Annual Appeal was focussed on Sally Robinson's remarkable portrait of author Tim Winton.

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.

Portrait of Professors Margaret Gardner and Glyn Davis, 2017

Commissioned with funds provided by Jim and Barbara Higgins, Sir Roderick Carnegie AC, Rupert Myer AO and Annabel Myer, Louise and Martyn Myer Foundation, Peter and Ruth McMullin, Diana Carlton, Professor Derek Denton AC, Harold Mitchell AC, Peter Jopling AM KC, Andrew and Liz Mackenzie, Patricia Patten, Tamie Fraser AO, Bruce Parncutt and Robin Campbell, Lauraine Diggins, Steven Skala AO and Lousje Skala 2017

Vanity Fair Portraits

Vanity Fair Portraits traces the birth and evolution of photographic portraiture through the archives of Vanity Fair magazine.

Judy Cassab

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.

Before Too Long

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

Primed

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

On the road again

Deborah Hill talks figures with character, as the National Portrait Gallery touring exhibitions program welcomes its millionth visitor.

The Royal she

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

Nicholas Harding

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.

Arcadia: Sound of the sea

One night in the spring of 1970 in an old house in Whale Beach, north of Sydney, John Witzig, Albe Falzon and David Elfick put together the first issue of Tracks, playing Neil Young’s album Harvest over and over again as they pasted up galleys of type.

Seduce and Destroy

Magda Keaney explores the symbolism in eX de Medici's portrait of Midnight Oil.

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.

Promise Fulfilled

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

Virtually yours

Gill Raymond on creating thought-provoking, interactive content to connect to our online community through portraiture.

The God-shaped hole

Exploring the photographs of Martin Schoeller, Michael Desmond delves into the uneasy pact that exists between celebrity and the camera.

In character on location

A photograph of Claudia Karvan that blends actor, character, photographer and captures the creative collaboration of the television series Love my way. 

Annual Appeal

In our nature

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

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.

Exhibition opening speech

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

A real Pratt

The death of a gentlewoman is shrouded in mystery, a well-liked governor finds love after sorrow, and two upright men become entangled in the historical record.

Pop poet

Dr Anne Sanders previews the works in the new focus exhibition Paul Kelly and The Portraits.

Painting them gently

Penny Grist on motivation, method and melancholy in the portraiture of Darren McDonald.

Shiny, happy people

Glynis Jones on the Powerhouse’s retrospective of one of Australia’s foremost fashion reportage and social photographers.

Fiona McMonagle

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. 

The Vanity model

Vanity Fair Editor David Friend describes how the rebirth of the magazine sated our desire for access into the lives of celebrities and set the standard for the new era of portrait photography.

Portrait Donors

The more things change...

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

Prima facie

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

Petal to the mettle

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

Everybody, look serious

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

Nicholas Harding: 28 Portraits

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

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.