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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

Charles Perkins with Eileen Perkins
Charles Perkins with Eileen Perkins
Charles Perkins with Eileen Perkins

Charles Perkins with Eileen Perkins, 1964 (printed 2021)

Robert McFarlane
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Purchased with funds provided by Tim Bednall 2021

Charles and Adam
Charles and Adam
Charles and Adam

Charles and Adam, 1990 (printed 2013)

Michael Riley
Portrait, inkjet print on paper

Purchased 2013

Rachel
Rachel
Rachel

Rachel, 2021

Thea Anamara Perkins
Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on gessoboard

Purchased 2022

Charles Perkins on bus to Tranby Aboriginal College, Glebe
Charles Perkins on bus to Tranby Aboriginal College, Glebe
Charles Perkins on bus to Tranby Aboriginal College, Glebe

Charles Perkins on bus to Tranby Aboriginal College, Glebe, c. 1964 (printed 2015)

Robert McFarlane
Portrait, inkjet print on paper

Purchased 1999

Charles Perkins on bus to Tranby Aboriginal College, Glebe
Charles Perkins on bus to Tranby Aboriginal College, Glebe
Charles Perkins on bus to Tranby Aboriginal College, Glebe

Charles Perkins on bus to Tranby Aboriginal College, Glebe, c. 1964 (printed 2003)

Robert McFarlane
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

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

Kumantjayi Perkins at the Roma Forum, Brisbane
Kumantjayi Perkins at the Roma Forum, Brisbane
Kumantjayi Perkins at the Roma Forum, Brisbane

Kumantjayi Perkins at the Roma Forum, Brisbane, 1982

Juno Gemes
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

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

Charles Perkins
Charles Perkins
Charles Perkins

Charles Perkins, 1974

Frank Hinder
Portrait, fibre-tipped pen, watercolour on paper

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

Hetti
Hetti
Hetti

Hetti, 1990 (printed 2013)

Michael Riley
Portrait, inkjet print on paper

Purchased 2013

Eileen, 2017 by Sue Healey, video: 6 minutes

Eileen, 2017

by Sue Healey
General content

Finalist, DPA 2017
Single channel HD digital video

Eileen Kramer is a dancer, 2019 Hugh Stewart

Eileen Kramer is a dancer, 2019

Hugh Stewart
Image
Les and Eileen, 2010 by Alex Vaughan

Les and Eileen, 2010

by Alex Vaughan
Image
Aden Ridgeway & pallbearers entering Sydney Town Hall, State Funeral for Kwementyaye Perkins AO, 25th October 2000
Aden Ridgeway & pallbearers entering Sydney Town Hall, State Funeral for Kwementyaye Perkins AO, 25th October 2000
Aden Ridgeway & pallbearers entering Sydney Town Hall, State Funeral for Kwementyaye Perkins AO, 25th October 2000

Aden Ridgeway & pallbearers entering Sydney Town Hall, State Funeral for Kwementyaye Perkins AO, 25th October 2000, 2000

Mervyn Bishop
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Purchased 2001

Thea Anamara Perkins: Hey you mob, 2023 Dylan Mooney

Thea Anamara Perkins: Hey you mob

Dylan Mooney
Image
Maria Polly Cutmore
Maria Polly Cutmore
Maria Polly Cutmore

Maria Polly Cutmore, 2021

Jessica Hromas
Portrait, pigment print on Hahnemühle photorag metallic paper

Purchased 2022

Hetti

Beauty and strength

Portraits by Michael Riley
Previous exhibition, 2014

Influential Indigenous Australian artist Michael Riley (1960 - 2004) created these portrait photographs between 1984 and 1990 - they stand as an intricately connected group portrait of the vibrant urban-based Indigenous arts community in Sydney's inner-west at a formative moment.

Stage dive, 2021 Martin Philbey

Stage dive

Martin Philbey
Image
The Delltones
The Delltones
The Delltones

The Delltones, 1964 (printed 2019)

Ern McQuillan OAM
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2019

Eileen Dunne in The Hospital for Sick Children, 1940
	 by Cecil Beaton

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.

Dave Graney and Clare Moore
Dave Graney and Clare Moore
Dave Graney and Clare Moore

Dave Graney and Clare Moore, 1996

Bleddyn Butcher
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

Neville Jeffress
Neville Jeffress
Neville Jeffress

Neville Jeffress, 1987

Judy Cassab AO CBE
Portrait, oil on canvas

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

Hetti

A photographer’s glamorous friends

Nearest & Dearest

Community, arts, activism

Ruby Hunter
Ruby Hunter
Ruby Hunter

Ruby Hunter, 1996 (printed 2012)

Jacqueline Mitelman
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Purchased 2012

Wenten Rubuntja
Wenten Rubuntja
Wenten Rubuntja

Wenten Rubuntja, 1998

Greg Weight
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

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

Wenten Rubuntja
Wenten Rubuntja
Wenten Rubuntja

Wenten Rubuntja, 2001

Greg Weight
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

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

Chicka Dixon
Chicka Dixon
Chicka Dixon

Chicka Dixon, 1980

Juno Gemes
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

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

Harry Williams
Harry Williams
Harry Williams

Harry Williams, 2005

Sahlan Hayes
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on resin-coated paper

Purchased 2006

Dave Graney
Dave Graney
Dave Graney

Dave Graney, 1996

Bleddyn Butcher
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

Tracey

Sophisticated and glamorous

Magazine article by Amanda Rowell, 2015

Michael Riley’s early portraits by Amanda Rowell.

Reg Livermore, Pitt Street, Sydney
Reg Livermore, Pitt Street, Sydney
Reg Livermore, Pitt Street, Sydney

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

Robert McFarlane
Portrait, inkjet print on paper

Purchased 2020

Angus Trumble and Brownie

A bear of great substance

About Face article

Just in time for Christmas, Angus reflects on the most special present he has ever received.

Sir Lawrence Wackett
Sir Lawrence Wackett
Sir Lawrence Wackett

Sir Lawrence Wackett, c. 1961

Sir William Dargie CBE
Portrait, oil on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Arlette Perkins daughter of Sir Lawrence Wackett 2009
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

John Farnham

Glossy - Faces Magazines Now

Previous exhibition, 1999

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.

The mahi-mahi, 2019 Rob Palmer

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020

Previous exhibition, 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.

Senator Bonner

Black tie or wombat: How formal should I go?

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2008

Michael Desmond discusses the portrait of Senator Neville Bonner by Robert Campbell Jnr.

James, Rebecca and Sam Mapu

Time and light

In Gallery Seven
Previous exhibition, 2023

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

June Dally-Watkins

2023 Annual Appeal

Annual Appeal

In 2023 the Annual Appeal was focussed on a work by one of Australia's best loved and most successful portrait painters, Judy Cassab AO CBE, depicting model, entrepreneur and deportment icon, June Dally-Watkins OAM.

Sammy Dodd

2022 Annual Appeal

Annual Appeal

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

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

So Fine

Contemporary women artists make Australian history
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.

The sisters, 1904

Beguiling impressions

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2012

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

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.

image not online

Annual Appeal

Listed by year
Honour board
Study for Aunty Mary King, 2010 by Mathew Lynn

The animating signature

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

Joanna Gilmore delights in the affecting drawings of Mathew Lynn.

Emily Kame Kngwarreye with Lily

Illuminating history

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2023

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

Dave Graney

Naked nostalgia

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2016

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

image not online

Portrait Donors

Listed by year
Honour board
Penny Fowler AM, John Barrington AM, Heidi Victoria, Elizabeth Dibbs, Tom Mosby, Hayley Baillie, Hugo Michell, Elizabeth Pakchung, Valerie Tam

The Board

Governance & Board

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

The National Portrait Gallery

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.

Geoffrey Graham

The mind's eye

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2017

Christopher Chapman takes a trip through the doors of perception, arriving at the junction of surrealism and psychoanalysis.

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.

Eileen Dunne in The Hospital for Sick Children, 1940

The incomparable Beaton

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

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).

Sir Lawrence Wackett

Starry knight

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

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

Seven sisters song Kaylene Whiskey

You are who?

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

Joanna Gilmour reflects on merging collections and challenging traditional assumptions around portraiture in WHO ARE YOU.

© National Portrait Gallery 2024
King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia

Phone +61 2 6102 7000
ABN: 54 74 277 1196

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. Copyright in all materials and/or works comprising or contained within this website remains with the National Portrait Gallery and other copyright owners as specified.

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Requests for a reproduction of a work of art or other content can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

The National Portrait Gallery is an Australian Government Agency