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Edward Gough Whitlam AC QC (1916-2014) was prime minister from the end of 1972 to the end of 1975.

12 portraits in the collection

Nicholas Whitlam

Nicholas Whitlam is a banker and company director. He has over thirty years experience in all aspects of banking and finance; in recent years he has been active in major corporate re-organizations and reconstructions, in Australia and overseas, and has served as an adviser to Deutsche Bank AG.

1 portrait in the collection

Margaret Whitlam AO

Portrait, encaustic on canvas

Margaret Whitlam AO (1919-2012), social worker and writer, was a champion swimmer as a schoolgirl.

2 portraits in the collection

(Margaret Whitlam) by the strength of her skin

(Margaret Whitlam) by the strength of her skin, 1998

Kim Spooner

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

Nicholas Whitlam, Head of the NSW Rural Bank,

Joe Greenberg

Portrait, watercolour, crayon, coloured pencil, fibre-tipped pen and gouache on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001

The Hon E.G. Whitlam AC QC, 1980

Graeme Inson

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on masonite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2002

Gough Whitlam, 1975 (printed 2010)

Bill McAuley

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Margaret Whitlam, 2005

Sahlan Hayes

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

Gough Whitlam, n.d.

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

Gough Whitlam, n.d.

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

Gough... maintain the rage!, 1976

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

Prime Ministers

Portrait, inkjet print on paper

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

Gough Whitlam and Bob Hawke, c. 1976 (printed 2017)

Robert McFarlane

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Gough Whitlam, 2005 (printed 2015)

Peter Brew-Bevan

Portrait, inkjet print on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2015

Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pours soil into the hand of traditional land owner Vincent Lingiari

Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pours soil into the hand of traditional land owner Vincent Lingiari, 1975

Mervyn Bishop

Purchased 2000

Robyn Archer and Gough Whitlam, 1986 (printed 2019)

Neil Duncan

Magazine article by Ellen Kent, 2007

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2019

A handful of sand

Ellen Kent examines the portrait of Vincent Lingiari and Prime Minister Gough Whitlam taken by photographer Mervyn Bishop.

Whitlam & Snedden, 1974

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

The Hon Gough Whitlam, Ossie Cruse and Michael Anderson

The Hon Gough Whitlam, Ossie Cruse and Michael Anderson, 1981 (printed 2003)

Juno Gemes

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

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

Gough and John, 1981

Peter van der Veer

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Hon. Edward Cohen

Edward Aaron Cohen (1822–1877), merchant, politician and community leader, came to Australia with his mother and nine siblings in 1833, his father, Henry, having been transported to New South Wales that year.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Edward Knox

Sir Edward Knox (1819-1901), businessman and banker, grew up in Denmark and as teenager joined his uncle's London mercantile firm as a clerk.

1 portrait in the collection

Edward Richards

Edward Richards, photographer, has lived and worked in Canberra for most of his life.

1 portrait in the collection

Dr Edward MacMahon CBE

Edward MacMahon CBE (1904–1987), surgeon, studied medicine at the University of Sydney and completed his residency at the Sydney Hospital.

1 portrait in the collection

Rev. Edward Puckle

The Reverend Edward Puckle (c. 1800-1898), Anglican clergyman, took holy orders in Exeter and officiated in Cornwall before sailing on the Randolph to Canterbury, NZ in 1850.

1 portrait in the collection

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

The Sculling Match at Sydney for the Championship of the World

Edward Trickett

Edward 'Ned' Trickett (1851- 916), sculler and hotelier, was the best sculler in New South Wales by 1875.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Edward E. Williams

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

1 portrait in the collection

Edward Sawden

Eddie Sawden was a surfer and board manufacturer on the Gold and Tweed Coasts in the 1960s and 1970s, a regular on beaches such as Burleigh, Currumbin, Kirra and Greenmount.

1 portrait in the collection

Edward William Knox Jnr

Edward William Knox (1847-1933), industrialist, was the second of four surviving sons of Sir Edward Knox, founder of the Colonial Sugar Refining Co, and his wife Martha Rutledge (sister of merchant, banker and settler William Rutlege).

3 portraits in the collection

Edward Telford Simpson

Edward Telford Simpson (1889-1965), Alice's grandson, was born the only son of Edward Percy Simpson and his wife Anne.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Edward Wheewall Holden

Sir Edward Wheewall Holden (1885-1947), industrialist and politician, was the son of Henry Holden, industrialist and civic leader, and the grandson of James Alexander Holden, Adelaide leather and saddlery business owner.

1 portrait in the collection

Frank Edward Wootton

Francis Edward (Frank) Wootton (1893-1940), jockey, was born into the family of a Sydney horse trainer who is said to have been so determined that his sons would become jockeys that he denied them adequate meals.

1 portrait in the collection

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

Richard Edward O'Connor

Richard Edward O'Connor (1851-1912), barrister and judge, was raised and educated in Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Sydney Edward Gregory

Sydney Edward Gregory (1870–1929) was born on the site of the Sydney Cricket Ground, the son of batsman Ned Gregory (1839–1899), who was one of five boys from the same family who all played cricket at national or international level.

1 portrait in the collection

William Edward Harney

William Edward (Bill) Harney (1895–1962), bushman and raconteur, spent his childhood in Charters Towers and Cairns and started working as a stockman and boundary rider at the age of twelve.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Charles Edward Merrett CBE

Sir Charles Edward Merrett CBE (1863-1948), merchant and agriculturalist, was a schoolboy at Melbourne Church of England Grammar School when his father was retrenched and died.

1 portrait in the collection

John Edward Thornett MBE

John Edward Thornett MBE (1935–2019), former rugby union international, grew up in Sydney and was educated at Sydney Boys’ High where, in addition to being school captain, he excelled at rugby, swimming and rowing.

1 portrait in the collection

Edward Hammond Hargraves

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

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

Catholic clergymen from the Diocese of Adelaide

Catholic clergymen from the Diocese of Adelaide, c. 1862

Stephen Edward Nixon

Purchased 2018

Edward Knox, c. 1927-1929

W B McInnes

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

Edward Henty, late 19th century

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Tim Clark 2018

Edward Knox, c. 1855

Portrait, daguerreotype

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Peter Halliday in memory of Norah Knox 2010

Dr Edward MacMahon, 1959

Sir William Dobell OBE

Gift of the MacMahon family in affectionate memory of Edward MacMahon and William Dobell 2015. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Captain Francis Edward de Groot

Francis Edward de Groot (1888-1969) was born in Dublin and came to Australia in 1910.

1 portrait in the collection

Colonel Edward (Weary) Dunlop AC CMG OBE

Sir Edward (‘Weary’) Dunlop AC CMG OBE (1907–1993) was a surgeon, who as a prisoner-of-war on the infamous Burma Railway used his medical skills to save the lives of a great number of allied POWs.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Edward John Lees Hallstrom

Portrait, carte de visite photograph, hand coloured on card

Sir Edward John Lees Hallstrom (1886–1970) manufacturer, philanthropist and zoo trustee, grew up with his eight siblings in Waterloo, Sydney, after the family left the failed family farm in Coonamble, New South Wales.

3 portraits in the collection

Reverend Edward Puckle, 1875

Perry, Kemp & Co

Purchased 2013

Edward 'Weary' Dunlop

In their own words

Recorded 1983

Wayne Lynch, 1968 (printed 2010)

Edward Sawden

Portrait, inkjet print on hahnemuhle 100% cotton rag paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Enrico Taglietti, c. 1985

Edward Richards

Portrait, aquatint on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

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

Colonel Charles E. Merrett, 1925

A S. Peterson

Portrait, pen and ink on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Ed Murrow, New York, 1956 (printed 2000)

David Moore

Thomas Griffiths Wainewright

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.

Edward Paine Butler, c. 1845

Portrait, watercolour, gouache and pencil on paper

Purchased 2009

A Commissioner of Customs "Faithful to Francis" [The Hon. Edward Cohen M.L.A.], 1874

Tom Durkin, The Weekly Times

Portrait, lithograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

Sir Edward Holden, 1945

Leslie Bowles

Portrait, cast bronze on granite base

Bequest of John J Holden 2005

Edward Hargraves, c. 1884

Henry King

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on cabinet card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Syd Gregory (Sydney Edward Gregory, member of the 1896 Australian Cricket Team), 1896

H Parker Rolfe

Portrait, albumen photograph on cabinet card

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

Edward Lloyd Jones, c. 1885

Herbert Beecroft

Portrait, albumen silver photograph, hand coloured on paper

Gift of Susanna de Vienne, Sarah Wood and David Lloyd Jones 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Sir Edward Eyre Williams, 1872

Thomas Foster Chuck

Gift of Ross and Judy O'Connell 2016

Edward Lloyd Jones, c. 1920s

Arthur Murch

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

Willie Edward Harney, aged 18, c. 1913

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Sir Edward John Lees Hallstrom, n.d.

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

Sir Edward John Lees Hallstrom, n.d.

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

Willie Edward Harney, aged 18, c. 1913

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

John Thornett, 1966

Lesley Moline

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2006

Gift of John and Vivien Thornett 2014

Hearts of Darkness

The National Portrait Gallery's acquisition of the portrait of Edward John Eyre by pioneering English photographer Julia Margaret Cameron.

Harold Holt, n.d.

Portrait, graphite on paper

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

E. W. Knox, 1933

Lyndon Dadswell CMG

Portrait, cast plaster, painted

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter and Susan Dadswell 2015

Harold Holt, n.d.

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

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

H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, c. 1863

John & Charles Watkins

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite photograph on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

President Johnson and Prime Minister Holt at Canberra Airport

President Johnson and Prime Minister Holt at Canberra Airport, 1966 (printed 2000)

David Moore

Harold Holt, 1969

Portrait, cast bronze on granite base

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Paul and Wendy Greenhalgh 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Edward 'Weary' Dunlop, River Kwai, Thailand, c. 1987 (printed 2003)

Robert McFarlane

James Heath after Samuel Shelley

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2013. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Portrait of Captain Edward Riou, 1801

Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

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

Sir Edward Hallstrom, c. 1960

Esme Bell

Portrait, etching on paper

Gift of the Musgrave Family 2018

Edward John Eyre, 1865

Ferdinand Jean Joubert

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Sir Edward 'Weary' Dunlop, c. 1988

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

Edward Telford Simpson, 1919

John St Helier Lander

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

Captain Francis de Groot, 1932

Harold Cazneaux

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Promise Fulfilled

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

The Sculling Match at Sydney for the Championship of the World, 1877

an unknown artist, The Australasian Sketcher

Portrait, wood engraving on paper

Purchased 2015

South-bound and down

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

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

Frank Wootton, c. 1908

Sir Leslie Ward, Hentschel-Colourtype, Vanity Fair Magazine

Portrait, chromolithograph on paper

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

First High Court of Australia, c. 1903

Portrait, albumen silver photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Rt. Honourable Lord Hawkesbury, 1808

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

Portrait, engraving on paper

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

Edward Knox Jnr and Thomas Forster Knox.

Edward Knox Jnr and Thomas Forster Knox., c. 1855

Portrait, daguerreotype

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Peter Halliday in memory of Norah Knox 2010

Ted Dyson, Bill Dyson (with pipe) and Percy

Ted Dyson, Bill Dyson (with pipe) and Percy, c. 1899

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Percy, Ted Dyson and Bill Dyson, c. 1899

John Brown after H Hering

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Edward John Eyre, Late Governor of Jamaica

Edward John Eyre, Late Governor of Jamaica, 1867

Portrait, engraving on paper

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

William Robertson and Martha Mary Robertson

William Robertson and Martha Mary Robertson, 1863

William Edward Kilburn

Portrait, carte de visite photograph on card

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

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

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

John Noone after William Strutt

Portrait, photolithograph on paper

Purchased 2013

Melodrama..., c. 1900

Portrait, albumen photograph carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

King Edward Terrace

Behind the street name

Visiting the gallery

King Edward Terrace was named in honour of King Edward VII (1841-1910)

Prince Charles Edward Stuart

Louis Gabriel Blanchet

Image

Chang the Chinese Giant with his wife Kin Foo and manager Edward Parlett

Chang the Chinese Giant with his wife Kin Foo and manager Edward Parlett, c. 1871

Archibald McDonald

Purchased 2010

Clyde Cameron

Clyde Cameron (1913-2008), Labor politician and historian, worked as a shearer and union organizer before serving as a Member for Hindmarsh between 1949 and 1980.

1 portrait in the collection

Martha Sarah Butler

Previous exhibition, 2001

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

The Hon. Edward Gough Whitlam by Martin Wilson

Fuzzy Prime Ministers of Australia

In the one hundred years since Federation, Australia has produced twenty-five Prime Ministers of all shapes, shades and sizes

Tribute

Tom Uren AC

Magazine article, 2015

Edward Tom Uren AC (1921-2015), former Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party, was a major campaigner on environmental and urban-planning issues and rights for veterans.

Lovely Lillie and Dirty Bertie

Lust

Royal romps: illicit liaisons

Portrait of Lady Eyre Williams (Jessie Gibbon)

Lady Jessie Eyre Williams

Jessie, Lady Eyre Williams (neé Gibbon, 1815-1903), colonial spouse, was the daughter of an Aberdeenshire clergyman.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Lady Eyre Williams (Jessie Gibbon), 1833

Claude-Marie Dubufe

Purchased 2009

Martha Knox

Martha Knox (née Rutledge, d. 1903), was the sister of merchant, landowner and banker William Rutledge.

1 portrait in the collection

William McMahon, 1973

Portrait, ciment fondue

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Paul and Wendy Greenhalgh 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Rt. Hon. Malcolm Fraser AC CH

The Rt. Hon John Malcolm Fraser AC CH PC (1930-2015) was Prime Minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983.

5 portraits in the collection

Location

Plan your visit

We’re on King Edward Terrace in front of the High Court and next to the National Gallery of Australia. We are open every day of the year from 10am to 5pm, except 25 December.

Mungo MacCallum

Mungo MacCallum (1941–2020) was one of Australia's best-known political journalists.

1 portrait in the collection

Vincent Lingiari AM

Vincent Lingiari AM (1919–1988) was an Elder of the Gurindji people of the Northern Territory.

1 portrait in the collection

Malcolm Fraser, 1990 (printed 2010)

Bill McAuley

Thomas Griffiths Wainewright

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Martha Sarah Butler, c. 1845

Portrait, watercolour, gouache and pencil on paper

Purchased 2009

Martha Knox, c. 1855

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on board

Portrait, daguerreotype

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Peter Halliday in memory of Norah Knox 2010

First study for portrait of Malcolm Fraser

First study for portrait of Malcolm Fraser, 1981

Bryan Westwood

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Elizabeth Reid, 1989

Jenny Darling

Gift of Elizabeth Reid 2019

Al Grassby and Penny Dent, Community Relations Commission, Canberra

Al Grassby AM

The Hon. Al Grassby AM (1926-2005) was born in Brisbane of a second-generation Spanish father and an Irish mother.

1 portrait in the collection

Bill Robertson CBE MC

Bill Robertson CBE MC (1917-2011), public servant, was educated at Melbourne Grammar and Oxford, where he graduated from the school of Natural Philosophy in 1939.

1 portrait in the collection

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

Mungo MacCallum, press gallery cricket, 1973

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

Gamaliel Butler

Photographic Portraiture in Australia

Gamaliel Butler (1783–1852), lawyer and free settler, emigrated to Van Diemen’s Land in 1824 with his wife, Sarah (née Paine, 1787–1870).

2 portraits 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

Sir John Gorton GCMG AC CH

The Rt Hon Sir John Gorton GCMG AC CH (1911–2002) was the nineteenth prime minister of Australia and the only senator yet to have served in the office.

5 portraits in the collection

Elizabeth Reid AO

Elizabeth Reid AO (b. 1942), adviser on women's and public health policy, lived from her teens in Canberra, where she gained a pioneering public service cadetship in 1960.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Billy Snedden KCMG

Sir Billy Snedden KCMG QC (1926-1987), politician, was elected as a federal member in 1955.

1 portrait in the collection

Temporary road closures

Sunday 13 April 2025

Location

Road closures for the Canberra Marathon will block vehicle access to our building and carpark on Sunday 13 April until 3:00pm.

H.C. Coombs

Portrait, montage of gelatin silver photographs

Herbert Cole ('Nugget') Coombs (1906–1997) was the governor of the Commonwealth (later Reserve) Bank of Australia from 1949 to 1968.

3 portraits in the collection

Al Grassby and Penny Dent, Community Relations Commission, Canberra, 1982

John Williams

Purchased 1999

Christine Rivett

Amy Christine Rivett (1891–1962), doctor, contributed greatly to medicine and women's health.

1 portrait in the collection

David Combe

David Combe (b.1943) became interested in politics at Adelaide University and was motivated to join the ALP in 1962, partly through his friendship with Don Dunstan.

1 portrait in the collection

Parking

Plan your visit

Parking is available in our underground car park every day of the week. Fees apply.

Junie Morosi

Junie Morosi (b. 1933) was born in Shanghai and educated at the International School in Manila and the University of East Philippines.

2 portraits in the collection

Alice Simpson

Alice Simpson, née Want was one of nine children of Randolph and Harriette Want, who married in Sydney in 1839.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Leslie Ward

Sir Leslie Ward (1851-1922), signing his work 'Spy', was the most famous of the stable of caricaturists, including Sir Max Beerbohm and Carlo Pellegrini, who worked for the weekly English magazine Vanity Fair from 1869 to 1914.

31 portraits in the collection

The Hon. Bill Hayden AC

The Hon Bill Hayden AC (1933‒2023) was Governor-General of Australia from 1989 to 1996 and Leader of the Opposition from 1977 to 1983.

1 portrait in the collection

John Gorton, 1970

Portrait, terracotta

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Paul and Wendy Greenhalgh 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Tom Uren AO

Portrait, carte de visite photograph on card

Tom Uren AO (1921–2015) was a major figure in Australian post-war Labor politics, a campaigner on environmental and urban-planning issues and for veterans.

2 portraits in the collection

Lillie Langtry, c. 1885

W & D Downey

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

Kenneth Baillieu Myer DSC AC

Kenneth Baillieu Myer DSC AC (1921- 1992) was a businessman and philanthropist.

1 portrait in the collection

Kim Spooner

Kim Spooner (b. 1955), artist, studied at the University of Sydney and the Julian Ashton School, from which she gained a travel scholarship.

2 portraits in the collection

Russell Shakespeare

Russell Shakespeare (b. 1963) has photographed well-known Australians from a wide range of fields, including writers Tim Winton and Colleen McCullough, sports people Steve Waugh and Stephanie Gilmore, and former politicians Gough Whitlam and Bob Brown.

2 portraits in the collection

Georgie Swift

Celebrating 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection

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

Of Kings and men

Previous exhibition, 2011

This display celebrates 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection and its role in commissioning portraits of parliamentary and judicial figures in Australia.

Queen Mary

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

3 portraits in the collection

King George V

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

4 portraits in the collection

Junie Morosi, 1975

Lewis Morley

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

John Gorton, 1997

Nathan Kelly

Portrait, cast bronze medallion on wood plaque

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

For a pittance, 2011

by Mine Konakci

Image

Visiting the gallery

How to get here

Plan your visit

Maps and public transport information for your visit.

Kenneth Myer DSC AC, 1985

Michael Meszaros

Gift of Dr Ray Marginson AM 2001

Sahlan Hayes

Stories from Australians of the Year

Born in the United Kingdom, Sahlan Hayes lived with his family in the USA, New Zealand and the United Kingdom before settling in Australia.

9 portraits in the collection

Awesome Achievers

Touring exhibition, 2016

Celebrate and be inspired by talent, passion and achievement – and triumph over adversity. This exhibition features major portraits drawn from the National Portrait Gallery collection and supplemented with works from private and institutional sources.

Bill Leak, 1999

Simon Obarzanek

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

S Calvert

Samuel Calvert studied in his native London with his father, engraver Edward Calvert, before emigrating to Australia in 1848.

1 portrait in the collection

Candidate for Chelsea (9th Earl of Kintore)

Algernon Hawkins Thomond Keith-Falconer

Algernon Hawkins Thomond Keith-Falconer, 9th Earl of Kintore (1852–1930) was governor of South Australia from 1889 to 1895.

1 portrait in the collection

Junie Morosi, 1975 (printed 2002)

Lewis Morley

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

Esme Bell

Esme Bell (1919-2018), daughter of inventor, animal fancier and philanthropist Sir Edward Hallstrom, wrote and illustrated a children’s book, The Rainbow Painter, which was published in 1939.

2 portraits in the collection

Penny Tweedie

Aboriginal people and their culture have been the focus of much of Penny Tweedie's photography during the last period of her career.

47 portraits in the collection

Head of H.C. Coombs, c. 1972 (cast 2018)

Norma Redpath

Portrait, bronze

Purchased 2018

Malcolm, 1976

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

Gloves off (Tom Uren), 1996

Ralph Heimans AM

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Graeme Inson

Graeme Inson (1923–2000), artist and teacher, was born in Cootamundra, New South Wales and educated at Canberra Grammar School.

6 portraits in the collection

Public Transport

Location

Transport Canberra bus routes run from the various city centres past the Gallery on a regular basis.

Ned Kelly the Bushranger (from The Australasian Sketcher, 7 August 1880)

Ned Kelly the Bushranger (from The Australasian Sketcher, 7 August 1880), 1880

Portrait, wood engraving on paper

Purchased 2002

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

An Afternoon (Aunty Jenny Munro at the Redfern Aboriginal Tent Embassy), 2015

Dr John Janson-Moore

Portrait, inkjet print on Hahnemühle photorag paper

Purchased 2022

John Gorton, 1970 (cast 1999)

Portrait, cast bronze

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Cast 1999 from terracotta donated by Paul and Wendy Greenhalgh 1999

Mervyn Bishop

Mervyn Bishop (b. 1945), a Murri photographer, began a cadetship with the Sydney Morning Herald in 1963.

6 portraits in the collection

Frederick Woodhouse

Frederick Woodhouse Senior, painter, lithographer and engraver, arrived in Melbourne in 1858 in the Parsee to establish himself as a horse portraitist.

1 portrait in the collection

David Jones

David Jones (1793-1873), merchant, began his retail career in Pembrokeshire and London before emigrating to Sydney via Hobart.

1 portrait in the collection

Isabella Louisa Parry, c. 1826

Portrait, watercolour on ivory

Purchased 2014

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

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

Brenda L Croft

Artist, curator, lecturer and writer, Brenda L. Croft (born 1964) is from the Gurindji/Malngin/Mudburra peoples from the Victoria River region in the Northern Territory, and also has Anglo-Australian/German/Irish/Chinese/Scottish heritage.

5 portraits in the collection

Lionel Murphy QC

Lionel Murphy QC (1922-1986), High Court judge and Labor politician, grew up in Sydney, studied science and law at Sydney University, was admitted to the Bar in 1947, and became a QC in 1960.

1 portrait in the collection

William John Pickett Bedford

Tom Roberts, Goupil & Cie

William John Pickett Bedford (1805–1869) was the eldest of three children of Anglican clergyman, William Bedford (1781–1852), and his wife, Eleanor, and came to Van Diemen’s Land with his family in 1823 following the appointment of his father to a chaplaincy in the colony.

1 portrait in the collection

Opening of the first Parliament of the Australian Commonwealth, 9th May 1901

Opening of the first Parliament of the Australian Commonwealth, 9th May 1901, 1903

Portrait, photogravure on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Penny Amberg and Andrew Bond 2001
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Anne Hyde, Duchess of York and King James II

Sir Peter Lely

Image

Peter Dombrovskis

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

1 portrait in the collection

L Gordon Darling AC CMG

L. Gordon Darling AC CMG (1921-2015), former company director, was the Founding Patron of the National Portrait Gallery.

2 portraits in the collection

Michele Aboud

Michele Aboud, commercial, fashion and portrait photographer, is a graduate of the Photographic College of London and UCLA.

1 portrait in the collection

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother (1900–2002) was born the Honourable Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon.

2 portraits in the collection

Fanny Jane Marlay

Thomas Griffiths Wainewright

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

1 portrait in the collection

Reverend William Bedford junior, c. 1846

Portrait, watercolour on paper

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

Portrait of Philip Williams, 2019

Rick Amor

Gift of Rick Amor and Meg Williams in memory of Althea 'Bid' Williams 2020. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Queen Victoria

Victoria (1819–1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 until her death in 1901.

8 portraits in the collection

George Richmond

George Richmond, son of the miniature painter Thomas Richmond, grew up in London, took early artistic instruction from his father and enrolled in the Royal Academy Schools in 1824.

1 portrait in the collection

Fred Gruen AO

Previous exhibition, 2019

Professor Fred Gruen (1921-1997) was one of Australia's most influential economists.

1 portrait in the collection

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.

Sketch for portrait of Tom Uren, 1972

Clifton Pugh AO

Portrait, oil and enamel on hardboard

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Tom Uren's family 2017
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Ben Chifley, n.d.

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

John Longstaff

Sir John Longstaff, born in Clunes, Victoria, studied at the NGV school from 1883 to 1887 and thenceforth at Corman's in Paris.

1 portrait in the collection

Here’s looking at you, kid

Devotion

Is he thinking of me?

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

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

Justin O'Brien

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2010

Justin O'Brien (1917-1996) was one of the major Australian artists of his generation.

3 portraits in the collection

Poison pen

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

Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V)

Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Duchess of Cornwall and York (later Queen Mary), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Duchess of Cornwall and York (later Queen Mary), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Duchess of Cornwall and York (later Queen Mary), 1903

Portrait drawings from colonial Australia

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

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.

Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V), 1903

Portrait, platinum photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Lady Knox, c. 1927-1929

W B McInnes

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

Henry Wade, c. 1841

Portrait, oil on paperboard

Gift of the Wade and Hannah families 2013

Sketch of Clifton Pugh painting John Perceval

Clifton Pugh AO

Portrait, oil on composition board

Clifton Pugh AO was one of Australia’s best-known artists of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and one of its leading advocates for the arts.

12 portraits in the collection

Portrait of Mr Frank Packer, 1956

Judy Cassab AO CBE

Gift of the Packer family 2006

Sir Hartley Williams, c. 1871

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Portrait, albumen silver photograph, hand coloured on paper

Gift of Ross and Judy O'Connell 2016

Edith Ellen Williams, c. 1871

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Portrait, albumen silver photograph, hand coloured on paper

Gift of Ross and Judy O'Connell 2016

Glossy 2

Faces, Magazines, Now

Previous exhibition, 2005

Following the success of Glossy: Faces, Magazines, Now in 1999 the National Portrait Gallery again highlights the huge array of contemporary portraiture in the pages of magazines.

My Favourite Australian

Previous exhibition, 2008

My Favourite Australian is a project developed in collaboration with ABC TV and the people of Australia.

Kev Carmody

Acclaimed singer songwriter and activist Kevin Daniel Carmody (Kev Carmody) is a Bundjalung/Lama Lama man born in Cairns in 1946.

2 portraits in the collection

Painter John Brack with Professor Alex Mitchell and Sir Garfield Barwick

The Rt. Hon Sir Garfield Barwick AK GCMG QC

The Rt Hon Sir Garfield Barwick AK GCMG QC (1903–1997) was Chief Justice of Australia from 27 April 1964 to 11 February 1981 – the longest serving Chief Justice of Australia.

2 portraits in the collection

Robert W. Pohlman

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2007

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

Sydney city (Patrick White and Tom Uren, Hiroshima Day demonstration), 1984

The activist A-list

Dr Sarah Engledow examines a number of figures in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery who were pioneers or substantial supporters of the seminal Australian environmental campaigns of the early 1970s and 1980s.

Senator Nancy Buttfield, 1958

Sir Ivor Hele

an unknown artist, The Australasian Sketcher

Gift of Senator Dame Nancy Buttfield DBE 2003. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

The Bushranger Tragedy (from The Australasian Sketcher, 23 November 1878)

The Bushranger Tragedy (from The Australasian Sketcher, 23 November 1878), 1878

Portrait, wood engraving on paper

Purchased 2003

Profile of a marriage

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

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.

Naomi Watts

Portrait, coloured chalk on artist board

Naomi Watts (b. 1968), actress, was born in England and came to Australia from Wales at the age of fourteen.

1 portrait in the collection

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother), 1943-1944

Charles Wheeler

Purchased 2019

Her Majesty, The Queen, Elizabeth II (Blue)

Her Majesty, The Queen, Elizabeth II (Blue), 2001

Polly Borland

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Purchased 2021

Chang the Chinese giant in European dress with Chinese boy and three European men, one of whom is his manager

Chang the Chinese giant in European dress with Chinese boy and three European men, one of whom is his manager, c. 1871

Archibald McDonald

Purchased 2010

Fred Gruen, 1941

Erwin Fabian

Portrait, gouache on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds donated by Andrew Sayers and from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2002

Portrait bust of Dr Christine Rivett, c. 1950 (cast 1955-1956)

Daphne Mayo MBE

Portrait, cast bronze

Gift of Justice Ian Callinan 1999. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Dame Nancy Buttfield DBE

Sir Leslie Ward, Vincent Brooks, Day & Son, Vanity Fair Magazine

Dame Nancy Buttfield DBE (1912–2005) was the first South Australian woman member of Federal Parliament.

1 portrait in the collection

Australia (Sir Edmund Barton), 1902

Portrait, chromolithograph on paper

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Recollections of a sinologist sitter

Magazine article by Professor Stephen FitzGerald AO, 2016

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

2013-14 Acquisition Fund

Portrait, cast bronze relief medallion

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.

Charles Joseph La Trobe, 1853

Thomas Woolner

Purchased 2006

2012-13 Acquisition Fund

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

Philip Williams

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2005

During 46 years as a journalist, Philip Williams (b. 1957) covered the world’s biggest news events.

1 portrait in the collection

Glossy too

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

Inditchenous beestes of New Olland

Portraits in the Landscape

A remarkable undated drawing by Edward Lear (1812–88) blends natural history and whimsy.

Open Air

Previous exhibition, 2008

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

A Pioneering Life

Magazine article by Lauren Dalla, 2005

During her time in Australian politics, Dame Nancy Buttfield was an impressive advocate for equality for women and was responsible for ending the marriage bar for women in the Public Service.

Wesley Enoch and David McAllister, 2020

Peter Brew-Bevan

Portrait, inkjet print on paper

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

2014-15 Acquisition Fund

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

Angus Trumble Director, National Portrait Gallery

Cherish the brethren

The portrait of Patrick White by Brett Whiteley

Fortunately, perhaps, there is no instruction manual for newly appointed art museum directors.

Patrick White at Centennial Park, 1979–1980

White Whiteley

Previous exhibition, 2012

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

Patrick White and Manoly Lascaris, 1987

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

Small Holdings (The Earl Carrington Baron Charles Robert Carrington)

Charles Robert Wynn-Carrington

The Illustrated London News after Jean Joseph Benjamin-Constant

Charles Robert Wynn-Carrington (1843–1928), 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire, landowner and Liberal politician, was governor of New South Wales in the late 1880s.

2 portraits in the collection

Queen Victoria, 1901

Portrait, photogravure on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Australians in Hollywood

Previous exhibition, 2003

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

Sir Laurence Hartnett

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2009

Sir Laurence Hartnett (1898-1986), automotive engineer, was born in Woking, Surrey.

1 portrait in the collection

My Favourite Australian

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.

Prince William of Wales, by Mario Testino, 2003 publ. September 2003.
Credit: Mario Testino

Vanity Fair Portraits

Photographs 1913-2008

Previous exhibition, 2009

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

Matilda (Ngambri/Ngunnawal), 2019 Brenda L Croft

Observation point

Magazine article by Brenda L Croft, 2022

I have known Dr Aunty Matilda House, Ngambri Elder, Traditional Custodian and Cultural Knowledge Holder, since I was a child.

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

Prima facie

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

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

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa

Husbands and Wives

Photographic Portraits from 19th Century Australia

Previous exhibition, 2010

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

Lewis Morley

Myself and Eye

Previous exhibition, 2003

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

Thomas Foster Chuck

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

Thomas Foster Chuck (1826-1898), photographer and entrepreneur, was born in London and arrived in Victoria in 1861.

4 portraits in the collection

Jane Mander Jones, 1853

Henry Robinson Smith

Gift of Susanna de Vienne, Sarah Wood and David Lloyd Jones 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

David Jones, 1853

Henry Robinson Smith

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

Gift of Susanna de Vienne, Sarah Wood and David Lloyd Jones 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Wylie, 1840-1841

Robert Neill

Portrait, steel engraving with later hand-colouring on paper

Purchased 2018

J.C. Williamson, c. 1913

John Longstaff

A collection of the beautiful, bold and botanical

Gift of the family of Aimée Viola Horsley, daughter of J.C. Williamson 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

In Bloom

Current exhibition

Explore the beauty and symbolism of flowers in this weird and wonderful floral extravaganza that showcases more than 50 portraits from the collection, new acquisitions and selected loans.

Contact us

Our team

Find a contact at the National Portrait Gallery.

Sir Hartley Williams

Previous exhibition, 2005

Sir Hartley Williams (1843–1929), judge, was the third child and second son of Edward Eyre Williams and his wife, Jessie.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Brew-Bevan Portraits

In this exhibition Sydney based photographer Peter Brew-Bevan brings together an intimate collection of works that highlight his passion for the genre of portraiture over the last 10 years

Portrait 50 hits the shelves

1 September 2015

Archived media releases 2015

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

Sketch for portrait of Justin O'Brien, 1980

Bryan Westwood

Portrait, oil with fibre-tipped pen underdrawing on composition board

Gift of the Margaret Olley Art Trust 2002

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022)

9 September 2022

Archived media releases 2022

The National Portrait Gallery is deeply saddened by the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history. Throughout her 70-year reign, Her Majesty represented graciousness, humanity and stability during times of enormous social change.

Australian Visit

Previous exhibition, 2006

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.

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary (future Queen Elizabeth II)

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary (future Queen Elizabeth II), 1942-1943

Charles Wheeler

Portrait, coloured chalk on artist board

Purchased 2019

Rt Hon. Sir Robert Menzies, c. 1962

Portrait, cast bronze

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lady Bunting in honour of Sir John Bunting and the Menzies Foundation 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Dorothy Gordon OBE

Dorothy Gordon (Jenner) OBE, ‘Andrea’ (1891-1985), actress, dressmaker, stuntwoman, journalist, radio broadcaster and charity fundraiser, grew up on a property near Narrabri and attended boarding school in Sydney before gaining a part as a chorus girl in Girl in a Train in Melbourne in 1912.

2 portraits in the collection

Elizabeth Lewis

Mortimer Lewis (1796–1879), surveyor and architect, and his wife Elizabeth (née Clements, c.

1 portrait in the collection

Mortimer Lewis

Mortimer Lewis (1796–1879), surveyor and architect, and his wife Elizabeth (née Clements, c.

1 portrait in the collection

Miss Frances Samuel, 1840

Maurice Felton

Percy Leason's Aboriginal Portraits

Purchased 2011

William Johnson (1873—1948) by Percy Leason

Recognition

Previous exhibition, 1999

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

Mrs Elizabeth Lewis, c. 1830

Portrait, watercolour on ivory

Gift of Leo Schofield AM 2002. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Henry Wade

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

1 portrait in the collection

Jenny Munro

an unknown artist after Maximilian Kreitmayer

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

1 portrait in the collection

Ned Kelly death mask, date unknown

Portrait, cast plaster

Collection: National Portrait Gallery Study Collection, Canberra
Gift of John Molony 2018

HM Queen Elizabeth II, 2001

Polly Borland

Purchased 2002

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

Horatio S. Wills

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2008

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

2 portraits in the collection

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

The champs

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

Judy Cassab

The artist's diary

Previous exhibition, 2013

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.

Tim Fairfax, 2018

by Russell Shakespeare

Brenda L Croft, Prue Hazelgrove, Richard Crampton

Commissioned with funds provided by The Calvert-Jones Foundation 2018

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

Visiting the National Portrait Gallery

Visual Stories

Access support for a general visit to the Gallery.

Australian of the Year

Inspiring a Nation

Previous exhibition, 2010

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

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

Macquarie Digital Portraiture Award media information

28 August 2013

Archived media releases 2013

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

Lord Kitchener

Imperial strategist

Archived media releases 2013

Once central to military strategy and venerated in patriotic households, Lord Kitchener is now largely forgotten.

Dovima with elephants, evening dress by Dior, Cirque d'Hiver, Paris, August 1955 by Richard Avedon

Richard Avedon People media information

8 August 2013

Press releases and images downloads for media.

Paul Kelly and The Portraits media information

18 June 2013

Archived media releases 2013

Paul Kelly & The Portraits presents a multifaceted image of the performer over the course of his career.

Uncommon Australians

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Previous exhibition, 2015

This exhibition showcases portraits acquired through the generosity of the National Portrait Gallery’s Founding Patrons, L Gordon Darling AC CMG and Marilyn Darling AC.

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.

2015-17 Acquisition Fund

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2017

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.

Nocturnal animals

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

Queen Elizabeth II

Thomas Woolner in Australia

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

Missing Persons

Desperately seeking Woolner medallions

Sir Charles Nicholson

Previous exhibition, 2023

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

2 portraits in the collection

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.

Nicholas Chevalier, c. 1867

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

The house, the horse, the wife and the offspring

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

Joanna Gilmour writes about the portraiture of the colonial artist William Nicholas.

Lady Isabella Louisa Parry

Self Portraits in Australia

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

To Look Within

Previous exhibition, 2004

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

First Ladies

Significant Australian Women 1913–2013

Previous exhibition, 2013

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

Velasquez Touch

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2004

Former NPG Director, Andrew Sayers, explores the creative collaborations between four Australian artists living in Paris during the first years of the twentieth century.

Richard Flanagan

Richard Flanagan (b. 1961) was born in Longford in northern Tasmania, the second youngest of the six children of Archie Flanagan, a primary school principal, and his wife Helen.

1 portrait in the collection

Some prime ministers

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

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

Jozef Vissel

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

Gift of the Jozef Vissel 2015

Worth her salt

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

Relaxed mornings

Visual Stories

Access support for a visiting the Gallery before the general 10:00am opening time.

Talma Studios, Sydney

Magazine article by Kylie Scroope, 2011

Talma Studios opened in Sydney in March 1899 in a George Street premises next door to the GPO.

1 portrait in the collection

Opening of the First Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia by H.R.H. The Duke of Cornwall and York, May 9, 1901, 1903 by Tom Roberts

Empire records

Celebrates the centenary of the first national art collection, the Historic Memorials Collection, housed at Australia's Parliament House.

The line of fire

Magazine article by Michelle Fracaro, 2005

Michelle Fracaro examines the life of World War II nurse Margaret Anderson, whose portrait by Napier Waller is in the NPG collection.

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.

Portrait of a patron

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2007

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

Wylie

Wylie (c. 1824–unknown) is thought to have been born near King George’s Sound in south-west Western Australia, which would make him a Noongar man.

1 portrait in the collection

References

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

About the exhibition curator Claire Roberts, and writers Eugene Wang and Zhang Letian.

Bon Scott & Angus Young, Atlanta, Georgia

No shirt, no service

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

Chance encounter

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

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

The Cutmear sisters, Jane and Lucy, c. 1842

A man of superior attainments

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

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

Blue Mountain, Owner, Trainer, Jockey, James Scobie

Sure thing

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2009

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

Sir Thomas Gore-Browne, 1864

J Walch & Sons

Portrait, tinted lithograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

The news from Washington

Magazine article by Lauretta Morton, 2006

Australia's former Cultural Attache to the USA, Ron Ramsey, describes the mood at the opening week of the revitalised American National Portrait Gallery.

Everybody's heard about the bird

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

Two professionals; Australian surfer Layne Beachley and photographer Petrina Hicks, combine their strengths to achieve a remarkable portrait.

Desperately seeking Sonia

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2015

Esther Erlich’s portrait of Lady McMahon.

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.

Portrait of an English Woman c. 1532-5 (detail)

A new perspective

Magazine article by Celina Fox, 2006

An exhibition devoted to Hans Holbein's English commissions shows the portraitist bringing across the Channel new technical developments in art - with a dazzling facility.

International issue

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2009

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

Getting a head

Magazine article by Alexandra Roginski, 2015

Alexandra Roginski gets a feel for phrenology’s fundamentals.

Mick Jagger, Madonna and Tony Curtis, 1997

The Vanity model

Magazine article by David Friend, 2009

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.

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.

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.

The fat of the land

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

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

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

Paper, boy

Magazine article by Peter Wilmoth, 2016

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

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.

General Birdwood, the Idol of Anzac, taking a dip in the sea after a hard days work 1915

In the thick of it

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

Projecting the splendour of the empire, and the resolve of its subjects, the bust of William Birdwood keeps a stiff upper lip in the National Portrait Gallery.

Helena Rubinstein in a red brocade Balenciaga gown

Study in scarlet

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2018

Angus Trumble reflects on the force of nature that was Helena Rubinstein.

Their brilliant careers

Magazine article by Jenny Gall, 2017

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

In the galleries

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

Christopher Chapman highlights the inaugural hang of the new National Portrait Gallery building which opened in December 2008.

Fine and dandy

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

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

Doodles of the Diva

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

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.

The life of Bryant

Magazine article by Tenille Hands, 2018

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

All dressed up

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2013

Jane Raffan asks do clothes make the portrait, and can the same work with a new title fetch a better price?

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

Past present

Magazine article by Krysia Kitch, 2016

Krysia Kitch celebrates Oodgeroo Noonuccal.

Friends and Acquaintances

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

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

Yellow portrait (portrait of Alex Jelinek)

Fugue in Yellow

Magazine article by Roger Benjamin, 2015

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

The portrait writ large

Magazine article by Karen Vickery, 2015

Karen Vickery on Chang the Chinese giant in Australia.

Australia’s great internationalists

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2016

Penelope Grist explores the United Nations stories in the Gallery’s collection.

Listomania

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

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

Cultural kaleidoscope

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

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

The Dissecting Room

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

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

Progressive pictures

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2017

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

History

About us

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

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.

Secure the shadow ere the substance fade

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

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

The personal and the historical

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

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.

Uncommon Australians

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

Rick Amor: 21 Portraits

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

Christmas Island