Search / elizabeth fairfax

Elizabeth Fairfax (née Jesson, 1778–1861), colonial free settler, was born in Birmingham and around 1800 married William Fairfax, whose family had previously held estates in Barford, Warwickshire.

1 portrait in the collection

Marcie Elizabeth Fairfax

Marcie Elizabeth 'Betty' Fairfax (1907–1995) was a leading figure in fashionable circles in Sydney in the 1920s and 1930s.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Mrs Fairfax, n.d.

Portrait, pencil on paper

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

Marcie Elizabeth Wilson, 1922

George Lambert

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

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.

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

Portrait, offset print (tipped in), letter press (greeting), pen and ink (signature), embossed (royal emblem) on cardboard

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

Elizabeth Rouse

Elizabeth Rouse (née Adams, 1772–1849), colonial spouse, arrived in New South Wales as a free settler in 1801 with her husband, Richard Rouse (1774–1852) and their first two children, one of whom had been born on the voyage out.

1 portrait in the collection

Elizabeth Read

Elizabeth Read (née Archer c. 1820–1884) had already spent time in gaol for offences including drunkenness and being ‘lewd and disorderly’ when, in 1840, she was found guilty of stealing and sentenced to transportation ‘beyond the sea’.

1 portrait in the collection

Elizabeth Walford

Francis William Barnard Walford (1821–1896), businessman and landowner, was born in Hobart, the son of Barnard Walford (1801–1846), a publican and victualler; and the grandson of Barnard Walford senior (c.

1 portrait in the collection

Elizabeth Roberts

Elizabeth Roberts (1812–1833) was the daughter of Warwickshire-born William Roberts (1754–1819) and his wife, Jane (née Longhurst, c.

1 portrait in the collection

Elizabeth Cosson AM CSC

Elizabeth Cosson AM CSC (b.1958) enlisted in the Australian Army in 1979 and was the first woman to be promoted to the rank of Major General in the Australian Army in 2007.

1 portrait in the collection

Elizabeth Chong

For many years Elizabeth Chong has shared her love of Chinese cuisine with Australian audiences.

1 portrait in the collection

Queen Elizabeth II

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

4 portraits in the collection

Elizabeth Lewis

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

1 portrait in the collection

Elizabeth Jolley AO

Elizabeth Jolley AO (1923-2007) was a West Australian writer. Born in England, she worked as a nurse during the war and after migrating to Western Australia in 1959, when she also worked as a cleaner and saleswoman.

1 portrait in the collection

Elizabeth Barden

Elizabeth Barden (b. 1965) grew up in Brisbane and gained a diploma in art teaching from Queensland University of Technology in 1985.

1 portrait 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

Elizabeth Blackburn AC

Elizabeth Blackburn AC (b. 1948) shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009, becoming the first Australian woman Nobel laureate.

1 portrait in the collection

Recorded 2017

Will Kalimba

Innes Davenport

Bathe in the sea and the sun

Dee Tang and Desmond Sweeney

Benjamin Horgan and Jake Scourfield

Pamela and Colin McPherson

Mwaba Mubanga

Luke Brookes and Ellen Buswell

Elizabeth Henrietta Fitzgerald

Elizabeth Henrietta Fitzgerald (née Rouse, 1818–1863) was born at Rouse Hill, New South Wales, the youngest daughter of colonial public servant and landowner Richard Rouse (1774–1852) and his wife Elizabeth (née Adams, 1772–1849), who’d come to Sydney as free settlers in 1801.

1 portrait in the collection

Elizabeth Sarah Roberts

Elizabeth Sarah (Lillie) Roberts (née Williamson, 1860–1928), artist, was born in Launceston, the daughter of Caleb Williamson, a successful merchant, and his wife, Elizabeth.

1 portrait in the collection

Dr Elizabeth Cameron Dalman OAM

Dr Elizabeth Cameron Dalman OAM (b. 1934), choreographer, teacher and performer, was born in Adelaide and trained in classical ballet and modern dance with Nora Stewart.

1 portrait in the collection

Dame Elizabeth Couchman DBE

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Dame Elizabeth Couchman DBE (1876–1982), political activist, grew up in in Geelong and gained a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Waiting for Zipporah (Christine Anu), 2002

Elizabeth Barden

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004

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

Elizabeth Sarah Ellen Carter

Portrait, watercolour on ivory

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

1 portrait in the collection

Miss Elizabeth Roberts, 1830

Richard Read Jnr

Purchased 2013

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

Purchased 2021

Elizabeth Walford, c. 1873

Portrait, pastel over photographic image on paper on canvas

Gift of the Estate of Leslie Walford AM 2013

Elizabeth Reid, 1989

Jenny Darling

Gift of Elizabeth Reid 2019

HM Queen Elizabeth II, 2001

Purchased 2002

Elizabeth Chong, 2000

Jaime Murcia

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Mrs Elizabeth Lewis, c. 1830

Portrait, watercolour on ivory

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

Elizabeth Read (née Archer), c. 1853

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Purchased 2019

Portrait of Elizabeth Jolley, 2003

Mary Moore

Portrait, oil on composition board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2003

Elizabeth Blackburn, 2011

Hugh Hamilton

Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2011

Mary Elizabeth Maud Chomley OBE

Portrait, computer generated image, synthetic polymer paint and gel-glitters on polyester canvas

Mary Elizabeth Maud Chomley OBE (1872–1960) has been described as the 'divine angel of mercy' for Australian prisoners of war during the First World War.

1 portrait in the collection

Arizona 250 GT Major General Liz Cosson, 2013

Richard Larter

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2013

Longest reign

Magazine article by Polly Borland, 2022

Queen Elizabeth II is now the longest-reigning British sovereign

Portrait story

Photographer Polly Borland on capturing Queen Elizabeth II.

The Changing Face of the Scientist

Magazine article by Elizabeth Finlay, 2003

Scientists tend to conjure up images of men in white coats in labs but this is just one stereotype in an evolving history of how we have perceived scientists, and how their profession has been understood over the years.

Elizabeth Henrietta Fitzgerald (née Rouse), c. 1850

Portrait, hand coloured photograph

Gift of Pamela Glasson 2009
Collected by Leila Haigh (nee Rouse)

Elizabeth, 2019

Anthea da Silva

Portrait, charcoal and oil on canvas

Gift of the artist 2020

Dame Elizabeth Couchman, n.d.

Aileen Dent

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, sepia toned on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Susan Webster, step-granddaughter of Dame Elizabeth Couchman, 2015

Elizabeth Carter, c. 1920

Harold Cazneaux

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the family of FW Macpherson 2010

Elizabeth Rouse (copy of drawing by William Griffith), c. 1847

an unknown artist after William Griffith

Portrait, pencil and watercolour on paper laid on cardboard

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Pamela Glasson 2012
Collected by Leila Haigh (nee Rouse)

The Coronation Theatre, Westminster Abbey: A Portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 2012

Imagination

Dr Sarah Engledow tells the story of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee portrait by Australian artist Ralph Heimans.

Mary Chomley, 1909

Violet Teague

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on card

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

Lady Loch, c. 1890

Tuttle & Co

Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother)

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

Charles Wheeler

Portrait, coloured chalk on artist board

Purchased 2019

Tim Fairfax AC

Event, Selected days until Friday 17 May

Tim Fairfax AC (b.1946), company director, grazier and philanthropist, is a founding benefactor of the National Portrait Gallery and a former chair of its board of directors.

1 portrait in the collection

Little Faces

Do we have a treat for the smaller humans in your life! Little Faces is for babies and toddlers (with their grown up) to play, sing and have fun discovering a portrait together.

Art Cart

The Doll's Gallery

Event, Daily until Sunday 30 June

Adventure into a miniature world this autumn. Create your own paper doll inspired by portraits in our collection. Then make your own chair for your doll to have a rest in our mini-Gallery with portraits of people taking a seat!

Virtual Excursions

Current programs for school groups

Live, interactive learning programs coming soon wherever you are.

James Fairfax AO

James Oswald Fairfax AC (1933-2017) was the eldest son of Sir Warwick Fairfax.

1 portrait in the collection

Hon. John Fairfax MLC

John Fairfax (1805-1877) was a newspaper publisher whose purchase of the Sydney Morning Herald in 1841 began a family association with the paper that would last for over five generations and nearly 150 years.

3 portraits in the collection

Emily Fairfax

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

1 portrait in the collection

Sarah Fairfax

'Judge a person by their cover'

Sarah Reading (1808-1875) came to Sydney from England in 1838 with her husband, John Fairfax (1805-1877), who had left school at the age of twelve and been apprenticed to a printer and bookseller.

1 portrait in the collection

Ned Kelly and death masks

Alexandra Roginski explains the history behind the pseudo-science of phrenology.

Tom Carroll

Regarded as one of the greatest surfers of all time, Tom Carroll describes his career.

Sir Warwick Oswald Fairfax

Sir Warwick Oswald Fairfax (1901-1987), grandson of Sarah and James Fairfax, was the only son of Sir James Fairfax, who had become a partner in the company in the 1880s.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir James Reading Fairfax KT

James Reading Fairfax (1834 -1919) was the second of John Fairfax's sons to join him in business.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Vincent Charles Fairfax CMG

Sir Vincent Charles Fairfax CMG (1909-1993), pastoralist, was the son of JHF Fairfax.

1 portrait in the collection

Tim Fairfax AC, 2018

Russell Shakespeare

Commissioned with funds provided by The Calvert-Jones Foundation 2018

Portrait of Sir James Oswald Fairfax, 1929

W.A. Bowring

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

Portrait of Mr Geoffrey E. Fairfax, 1929

W.A. Bowring

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

Tan Le

'So many stars'

'Drawing the human spirit'

Tech entrepreneur Tan Le and photographer John Tsiavis.

Michael Leunig

Philosopher, cartoonist and national treasure, Michael Leunig discusses his art.

Cadel Evans

'I believed in myself'

Australian champion cyclist Cadel Evans discusses his career.

Aldo Giurgola

by Mandy Martin

Romaldo Giurgola talks about his portrait and the relationship between architecture and landscape.

Ken Done

'I am very Sydney'

Iconic Australian artist Ken Done discusses his life and career as a painter.

Marilyn Darling

by Anne Zahalka

'Learning to write saved my life'

Marilyn Darling talks about the creation of her portrait, and the photographic process.

Christos Tsiolkas

Acclaimed Australian author, Christos Tsiolkas describes his childhood and how he came to write.

Jacqueline Mitelman

'Buddha-nature'

Australian photographer, Jacqueline Mitelman, discusses her process for creating portraiture.

Peter Sculthorpe

'Brings in the sun'

Legendary Australian composer, Peter Sculthorpe, describes the development of his career.

Akira Isogawa

Inside the patterns

Iconic Australian fashion designer, Akira Isogawa discusses the development of his unique style.

Kate Grenville

'The secret river'

'You've got to make of it what you will'

Kate Grenville reads a passage from her novel The secret river and describes its creation.

Mark Webber

'The small space we are given'

Champion racing driver, Mark Webber, discusses his childhood and racing career.

Mark Loane

'Swimming is in my bones'

Ophthalmic surgeon and former Wallabies Captain, Mark Loane, discusses his sporting and professional career.

Shane Gould

'Complex stories without words'

Shane Gould, Australian champion and Olympic gold medallist talks about her passion for swimming.

David McAllister

Artistic Director of The Australian Ballet, David McAllister describes the trajectory of his relationship with dance.

Betty Churcher

'Blockbuster Betty'

No choice, you’re going surfing, son

Betty Churcher discusses her career as the Director of the National Gallery of Australia.

Mark Richards

Australian surfing legend Mark Richards describes his professional surfing and surfboard shaping careers.

Glenn Murcutt

'Strength and delicacy'

'Together we will give victims a voice and demand our leaders act'

Award-winning Australian architect, Glenn Murcutt describes the philosophy of his architectural practice and his minimalist portrait by Ken Done.

Rosie Batty

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2007

The 2015 Australian of the Year talks about grief and searching for recognition of, and action on, domestic violence.

Painting writing

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

Sir James Reading Fairfax, 1898

Tom Roberts

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on board

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

John Fairfax, 1873

Charles Summers

Portrait, carrara marble

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

John Fairfax, mid to late 19th century

Achille Simonetti

Portrait, carrara marble on scagliola column

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

Charles John Fairfax, c. 1860

Edwin Dalton

Portrait, pastel on paper laid on canvas

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

James Oswald Fairfax, c. 1991

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on board

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

Emily Fairfax, 1870

William Macleod

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

John Fairfax, c. 1860

Edwin Dalton

Portrait, pastel on paper laid on canvas

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

The Fairfax Gift

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

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

Portrait of Mrs Sarah Fairfax, c. 1864

Edwin Dalton

Portrait, pastel on paper laid on canvas

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

Michelle Simmons

Eureka moment

Professor Michelle Simmons and photographer Selina Ou.

Rod McNicol

'Life and Times'

Echoing 19th-century photography, Rod McNicol's portraits give us a chance to look quietly at the human condition.

Tim Flannery by Robert Hannaford

'The space around'

Tim Flannery and artist Robert Hannaford discuss the creation of Tim's portrait.

Professor Graeme Clark

'Scientific creativity'

In defence of the 'leech ridden ditch'

Creator of the bionic ear, the Cochlear Implant, Professor Graeme Clark discusses his life and career.

Bob Brown

'A celebration of science'

Bob Brown discusses the events that occurred during the Franklin River campaign as depicted in his portrait by Harold 'The Kangaroo' Thornton.

Brian Schmidt

Astrophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate and Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University, Professor Brian Schmidt chats about his career.

Sir Warwick Fairfax, 1981

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

Sir Vincent Fairfax, 1981

A conversation between artist and subject

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

Catherine Livingstone

Businesswoman Catherine Livingstone and artist Mathew Lynn.

David Foster

'What the tree saw'

World champion woodcutter David Foster and artist Jacqui Stockdale.

Andrew Gaze

'Make it fun'

Basketballer Andrew Gaze and photographer George Fetting.

Jessica Mauboy

'Chaos and stillness'

Singer, songwriter and actress Jessica Mauboy with artist David Rosetzky.

Gordon Darling

by Jiawei Shen

Gordon Darling talks about how Jiawei Shen came to paint his portrait.

Nikki Toole

'Beauty and strength'

An interview with Nicholas Harding

Photographer Nikki Toole describes the creation of her portrait of Rosie Batty.

Robert Drewe

Artist Nicholas Harding talks about what was captured in his portrait of Robert Drewe.

Kate Grenville

'Making Stories'

Australian writer Kate Grenville discusses her career and portrait by Jenny Sages.

Mandyam Srinivasan

'Hive minds'

An interview with Professor of Visual Neuroscience, University of Queensland, Mandyam Srinivasan.

Portrait of Cate Blanchett

by David Rosetzky

'Consciousness, iPhones and philosophical zombies'

David Rosetzky and Cate Blanchett talk about the creation of their video portrait.

David Chalmers

'A portrait of Hugo Weaving'

Professor David Chalmers explains his interest in philosophy and introduces some of his theories on the conscious mind.

Nicholas Harding

'The person who is the writer'

Artist Nicholas Harding talks about how he became interested in portraiture, and his motivation in painting Hugo Weaving.

David Malouf

Australian author David Malouf discusses the creation of his portrait by artist Rick Amor.

Shane Maloney and Rick Amor

'Big canvas, small head'

Artist Rick Amor and author Shane Maloney relate divergent experiences of the creation of Shane's portrait.

William Bligh

by John Webber

Twice rebelled against, and twice vindicated, William Bligh occupies an ambivalent space in Australian history. Angus Trumble, former Director of the National Portrait Gallery, explains.

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

Portrait of Mrs Tom Roberts, 1910

Tom Roberts

'Poetry, painting and princesses'

Purchased with the assistance of funds provided by the Circle of Friends 2013

Kristin Headlam with Chris Wallace-Crabbe

Artist Kristin Headlam and poet Chris Wallace-Crabbe discuss their art.

The Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG

'Radical Restraint'

An interview with Betty Churcher

The Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG interviews the artist who painted his portrait, Ralph Heimans.

'The portraits of Captain Cook'

Betty Churcher describes the creation of the portrait of Captain James Cook in the National Portrait Gallery.

Quentin Bryce

'To change the world'

Australia's 25th Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, discusses her childhood, career paths and her portrait by Michael Zavros.

Marcia Langton, Brook Andrew and Trent Walter

'A big idea'

'Why would you want to listen to pub rock?'

Professor Marcia Langton, artist Brook Andrew and printer Trent Walter discuss the creation of Marcia's portrait.

Dave Graney and Clare Moore

Dave Graney and Clare Moore discuss music, photography and bandoleros of meat.

Dowling family portrait [Selina, Jane, Leura and Elizabeth (Bessie) Dowling]

Dowling family portrait [Selina, Jane, Leura and Elizabeth (Bessie) Dowling], c. 1862

Portrait, ambrotype

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

Michael Riley's portraits

A Diamond Jubilee portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Linda Burney, Brenda Croft and Darrell Sibosado share memories of Michael Riley and his photographic practice.

The Coronation Theatre, Westminster Abbey: A Portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 2012 by Ralph Heimans

Glorious

Previous exhibition, 2012

Glorious: A Diamond Jubilee portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is a collection-based display representing The Queen in the early and late years of her glittering sixty-year reign.

Princess Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia and Electress Palatine

Robert Peake the Elder

Elizabeth, 2019

Anthea da Silva

associated with Nicholas Hilliard

Queen Elizabeth I

Tim Fairfax, 2018

by Russell Shakespeare

Archived media releases 2021

Commissioned with funds provided by The Calvert-Jones Foundation 2018

Philanthropy Australia names Tim Fairfax as Australia’s 2021 Leading Philanthropist

24 November 2021

Australian philanthropy’s highest honour, the Leading Philanthropist Award, was awarded to Tim Fairfax AC for his significant and enduring contributions to rural and regional Australia, as well as his passionate support and advocacy for organisations involved in education, arts and culture.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022)

9 September 2022

Media

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.

Prisoner 20671 Alsbeta/ Elizabeth Weisz, 2016

Lousje Skala

Portrait, six inkjet prints and torcs (1) carved ABS, copper, chrome, haematite; (2) carved ABS, copper, chrome, sterling silver, haematite; (3) carved ABS, copper, chrome, epoxy, haematite; (4) carved ABS, copper, 24ct. gold plate, haematite; (5) carved ABS, copper, chrome, epoxy, haematite; (6) carved ABS, copper, 24ct. gold plate, haematite.

Gift in memory of Elizabeth Skala 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Reputedly Elizabeth Macarthur, 1785-1790 Unknown

The most material advantages

Devotion

A one-in-a-thousand woman

John O'Gready

John O'Gready (1937-1999) was a photographer for John Fairfax & Sons from the 1960s to the late 1980s and seems to have mainly covered sporting events.

1 portrait in the collection

Pride

Christopher Hopkins

Mary Rouse

Mary Hassall (nee Rouse), the eldest of Richard and Elizabeth's children, was born in England and made the sea journey to New South Wales as an infant.

2 portraits in the collection

W.A. Bowring

Walter Bowring, born and educated in Auckland, contributed cartoons to the New Zealand observer and The weekly press, exhibited with the Canterbury Society of Arts and studied with Orpen and John in London, where he contributed to Punch, before arriving in Sydney in 1925.

3 portraits in the collection

Mary Hassall (née Rouse), c. 1850

Portrait, hand coloured photograph

Gift of Pamela Glasson 2009
Collected by Leila Haigh (nee Rouse)

Icons Syndicate

Lists alphabetically

Previous exhibition, 2020

Darling Portrait Prize 2020

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

The National Portrait Gallery Announces Art Handlers’ Award

18 February 2019

Archived media releases 2019

The National Portrait Gallery is excited to announce that Perth photographer Elizabeth Looker has won the Art Handlers’ Award for this year’s National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Art Handlers' Award NPPP 2019 video: 1 minute

Art Handlers' Award 2019

James & Michelle

'Everyone wants to know the story about the Queen'

The Art Handlers' Award for 2019 went to A Calm So Deep, 2018 by Elizabeth Looker.

Polly Borland

“Dancing feet and wild hair...”

Australian photographer, Polly Borland, describes the hectic experience of photographing Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Winner announcement

Portrait, type C photograph on aluminium

We are delighted to announce the winner of the inaugural $75,000 Darling Portrait Prize is Anthea da Silva with her painting of contemporary dancer Dr Elizabeth Cameron-Dalman OAM.

Portrait of Ninette Dutton, 2004

Dr Bette Mifsud

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2004

Sir Walter Ralegh (Raleigh)

Unknown artist

Ted Maloney, 1955

Portrait, gouache on paper laid on board

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

Portrait 7

March - May 2003

Magazine

This issue of Portrait Magazine features Grace Cossington Smith, the Fairfax portrait gift and Lewis Morley's photographs.

Portrait of Patrick Ryan, 1971

Fred Williams

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2012

Sir Henry Lee

Anthonis Mor (Antonio Moro)

The Capel Family

Cornelius Johnson

John Gould

John Gould (1804–1881) is known as the ‘father of Australian ornithology’ for his Birds of Australia, published in seven volumes between 1840 and 1848.

1 portrait in the collection

Joshua Smith, c. 1955

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

Fiona Scott-Norman, 2011

by Miles Standish

Helena Rubinstein in a red brocade Balenciaga gown

Helena Rubinstein in a red brocade Balenciaga gown, 1957

Graham Sutherland

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

Adrian Rawlins, 1977

David Campbell

Gift of Elizabeth Campbell-MacKenzie on behalf of the family of David Campbell 2012

William Walford, c. 1873

Portrait, pastel over photographic image on paper on canvas

Gift of the Estate of Leslie Walford AM 2013

Portrait Allsorts

In Gallery Seven

Previous exhibition, 2020

Offering portraiture in all its flavours: painting, photography, drawing, textiles, printmaking and sculpture, this exhibition is a feast for minds and eyes.

Sir William John Macleay

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

1 portrait in the collection

King Henry VIII

Unknown artist

Alexander Macleay

Portrait, oil on composition board

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

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Charles Court and Richard Court, 2006-2007

Mary Moore

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2006

Alexander MacLeay, c. 1845

Charles Fox after Sir Thomas Lawrence

Portrait, engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Maria Dowling and her children Leura, Bessie, Selina, Jane, Jack, Ben and Joe Dowling [Selina Dowling, Jane Dowling, Maria Jane Dowling (née Ware), John Ware Dowling, Joseph Dowling, Benjamin Dowling, Elizabeth (Bessie) Dowling, Leura Dowling]

Maria Dowling and her children Leura, Bessie, Selina, Jane, Jack, Ben and Joe Dowling [Selina Dowling, Jane Dowling, Maria Jane Dowling (née Ware), John Ware Dowling, Joseph Dowling, Benjamin Dowling, Elizabeth (Bessie) Dowling, Leura Dowling], c. 1859

Portrait, ambrotype, hand coloured

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

Geoffrey Rush

Geoffrey Rush (b.1951) actor; born in Toowoomba; was awarded Best Actor Academy Award in 1998 for his portrayal of the emotionally damaged pianist in Shine; was rocketed from respected, though obscure, Australian stage actor to international film star.

1 portrait in the collection

Philip Noyce on the set of 'Heatwave', Sydney

Philip Noyce on the set of 'Heatwave', Sydney, 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

David Simpson

Previous exhibition, 2016

David Simpson, photographer, is represented in the Art Gallery of South Australia, his subjects including HM Queen Elizabeth II, Don Bradman, David Gulpilil and Sir Mark and Lady Oliphant.

1 portrait in the collection

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2016

The National Photographic Portrait Prize 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.

WHO ARE YOU

Australian portraiture

Previous exhibition, 2022

Featuring 130 works across painting, film, photography, screen printing, sculpture, and then some – it explores our inner worlds, outer selves, intimacy, isolation, celebrity and more.

Bruce Dawe, Melbourne, 1969 (printed 2000)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
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

Joshua Smith, Woolloomooloo, Sydney, 1985 (printed 2000)

Hal Porter, Port Fairy, Victoria, 1969 (printed 2000)

Support your Portrait Gallery

Honour board

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges and thanks all its supporters.

Greta In Her Kitchen, 36 weeks, 2018 by Alana Holmberg

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2019

Previous exhibition, 2019

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.

Battersea Fun Fair, London, c. 1952 (printed 2000)

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.

Tall-ship sailor, Torbay, Devon, c. 1954 (printed 2000)

Peasant woman, the Dolomites, Italy, 1951 (printed 2000)

Bookmakers at race meeting, England, c. 1954 (printed 2000)

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.

Ambrose Hallen, 1941

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

Traffic dodgers, Piccadilly Circus, London

Traffic dodgers, Piccadilly Circus, London, c. 1953 (printed 2000)

Nicholas Hannen and Athene Seyler, London

Nicholas Hannen and Athene Seyler, London, c. 1952 (printed 2000)

Traffic dodgers, Piccadilly Circus, London, c. 1953 (printed 2000)

New Year's Eve, Piccadilly Circus, London

New Year's Eve, Piccadilly Circus, London, c. 1952 (printed 2000)

Miners, Pacific Colliery, Hunter Valley, New South Wales

Miners, Pacific Colliery, Hunter Valley, New South Wales, c. 1949 (printed 2000)

Traffic dodgers, Piccadilly Circus, London, c. 1953 (printed 2000)

Coalmine manager, Burragorang Valley, New South Wales

Coalmine manager, Burragorang Valley, New South Wales, c. 1949 (printed 2000)

Traffic dodgers, Piccadilly Circus, London, c. 1953 (printed 2000)

Surry Hills boy 1, 1948 (printed 2000)

Sir Arthur Coles, c. 1971

Sir William Dargie CBE

Portrait, pigment photographic prints on paper, hand ground glass

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

Blow Back, 2018

Julie Rrap

Gift of the artist 2024. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program.

Migrants arriving in Sydney, 1966 (printed 2000)

John Olsen, Woollahra, Sydney, 1962 (printed 2000)

Portrait, montage of gelatin silver photographs

June Mendoza

June Mendoza AO OBE, born into a musical family in Melbourne, has lived in England for many years.

1 portrait in the collection

Racegoers, Melbourne Cup, 1991 (printed 2000)

Toby Wilson, Murwillumbah, 1966 (printed 2000)

Sugarcane cutter, Murwillumbah, New South Wales

Sugarcane cutter, Murwillumbah, New South Wales, 1966 (printed 2000)

Tim Riley, Santa Teresa Mission, near Alice Springs

Tim Riley, Santa Teresa Mission, near Alice Springs, 1965 (printed 2000)

Matthew Moore with pergola shadows, McMahon's Point, Sydney

Matthew Moore with pergola shadows, McMahon's Point, Sydney, 1978 (printed 2000)

Chris Chataway, White City Stadium, London

Chris Chataway, White City Stadium, London, 1956 (printed 2000)

Mick Jagger, Sydney, 1965 (printed 2000)

Chelsea Flower Show, London, c. 1956 (printed 2000)

Sydney pedestrian, 1963 (printed 2000)

Georgi Malenkov, Russian Embassy, London

Georgi Malenkov, Russian Embassy, London, 1956 (printed 2000)

Nuns at Lourdes Centenary, France, 1958 (printed 2000)

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

Chris Chataway, White City Stadium, London, 1956 (printed 2000)

Mick Jagger, Sydney, 1965 (printed 2000)

Bar Billiards, Lancelin, Western Australia

Bar Billiards, Lancelin, Western Australia, 1963 (printed 2000)

Professor Gilbert Murray, OM, Oxford, c. 1957 (printed 2000)

Kofeinu Matavesi, Glebe Island Bridge, Sydney

Kofeinu Matavesi, Glebe Island Bridge, Sydney, 1994 (printed 2000)

Priest at Lourdes Centenary, France, 1958 (printed 2000)

Len Howard, Surrey, 1957 (printed 2000)

André Kertész, New York, USA, 1975 (printed 2000)

Baseball fans, Yankee Stadium, New York, 1956 (printed 2000)

Mick Jagger, Sydney, 1965 (printed 2000)

Cray fishermen, Lancelin, Western Australia

Cray fishermen, Lancelin, Western Australia, 1963 (printed 2000)

Lord Goddard, White City Stadium, London

Lord Goddard, White City Stadium, London, c. 1957 (printed 2000)

Henry Figueira, Glebe Island Bridge, Sydney

Henry Figueira, Glebe Island Bridge, Sydney, 1995 (printed 2000)

John Foster Dulles, Washington, 1956 (printed 2000)

Henry Moore, Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, c. 1955 (printed 2000)

Nelson Mandela, Sydney, 2000

Averell Harriman, New York State, 1956 (printed 2000)

Dublin Horse Show spectators, 1956 (printed 2000)

Mick Jagger, Sydney, 1965 (printed 2000)

Pitjantjatjara schoolboy, Ernabella, South Australia

Pitjantjatjara schoolboy, Ernabella, South Australia, 1963 (printed 2000)

Chris Chataway, White City Stadium, London, 1956 (printed 2000)

Ivan Carapina, Glebe Island Bridge, Sydney

Ivan Carapina, Glebe Island Bridge, Sydney, 1995 (printed 2000)

Colin McCahon, Auckland, New Zealand, 1963 (printed 2000)

Mary McCarthy, New York, 1956 (printed 2000)

Mick Scully, Glebe Island Bridge, Sydney

Mick Scully, Glebe Island Bridge, Sydney, 1995 (printed 2000)

Nelson Mandela, Sydney, 2000

Les Blakebrough, Mittagong, New South Wales

Les Blakebrough, Mittagong, New South Wales, 1962 (printed 2000)

Rolling Stones fans, Sydney, 1965 (printed 2000)

Rudy Komon and Leonard French, Beaumaris, Melbourne

Rudy Komon and Leonard French, Beaumaris, Melbourne, 1967 (printed 2000)

Bar, Betoota races, Queensland, 1961 (printed 2000)

Chris Chataway, White City Stadium, London, 1956 (printed 2000)

Laurie Chow, engineer, Glebe Island Bridge, Sydney

Laurie Chow, engineer, Glebe Island Bridge, Sydney, 1995 (printed 2000)

John Braine, Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire

John Braine, Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire, 1958 (printed 2000)

Nelson Mandela, Sydney, 2000

Anthony Eden, London, 1956 (printed 2000)

Russian oarsmen at Henley Royal Regatta, Oxfordshire

Russian oarsmen at Henley Royal Regatta, Oxfordshire, 1955 (printed 2000)

Portrait stories

Publications

A selection of audiovisual stories about the artists and subjects in the National Portrait Gallery's collection.

William Walford

1 portrait in the collection

The press conference, 2010

by Jeremy Thompson

Nora Heysen

'This peaceful spot'

Australian artist, Nora Heysen, discusses her childhood and the development of her career.

Alex Ellinghausen

Alex Ellinghausen (b. 1982) is an editorial photographer with Fairfax Media.

1 portrait in the collection

Eleanor Wingate

Eleanor Wingate (née Rouse, 1813–1898) was the second youngest daughter of colonial public servant and landowner Richard Rouse (1774–1852) and his wife Elizabeth (née Adams, 1772–1849), who’d come to Sydney as free settlers in 1801.

1 portrait in the collection

Favourite portraits

National Portrait Gallery staff introduce their favourite portraits from the exhibition.

Fred Hilmer AO

by BILLIEJEANISNOTMYLOVER

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

1 portrait in the collection

Teurai, 2011

Fred Hilmer, 2018

Evert Ploeg

Portrait, oil on linen

Commissioned with funds provided by Dr Helen Nugent AO 2018

Professor Frank Fenner

'A White Shirt'

An interview with Professor Frank Fenner who describes his life and the creation of his portrait.

Alana Landsberry

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

2 portraits in the collection

Robert Menzies, Lancaster House, London, 1956 (printed 2000)

Andrew Mezei

'From Earth to Sky'

Artist Andrew Mezei talks about his art practice and the process behind his portrait of Professor Penny Sackett.

Sidney Nolan, Western Australia, 1962 (printed 2000)

Quentin Jones

Over the past 18 years Quentin Jones has worked on most Fairfax mastheads, including The Good Weekend and The Sydney Magazine.

2 portraits in the collection

Penny Sackett and Andrew Mezei

From Earth to Sky

Professor Penny Sackett and artist Andrew Mezei describe the process behind making the portrait.

Eleanor Wingate (née Rouse), c. 1850

Portrait, hand coloured photograph

Gift of Pamela Glasson 2009
Collected by Leila Haigh (nee Rouse)

Mary Moore

Mary Moore (b. 1957) is a West Australian portrait artist. She began formal art training in Claremont at the age of fifteen, later attending the Western Australian Institute of Technology and Royal College of Art, London.

4 portraits in the collection

Jessica Hromas

Jessica Hromas is a Sydney-based freelance photographer specialising in portraiture, corporate photography, photojournalism and arts coverage.

2 portraits in the collection

Anthony Buckley & Constantine Ltd

Archived media releases 2015

Anthony Buckley and Constantine are portrait photographers by appointment to Their Royal Highnesses Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh.

1 portrait in the collection

Foundation members announced

18 May 2015

The newly-established National Portrait Gallery Foundation met for its inaugural meeting last Friday 15 May in Canberra.

Sister Mary Brady

Sister Mary Brady OP (1922-2014), born in Tamworth, is a self-taught painter, though she did receive critiques from Joshua Smith and Norman Carter.

1 portrait in the collection

Russell Drysdale, c. 1945

Pleasures from the studio of Hilda Rix Nicholas

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

Autumn evenings golden glow, c.1942 by Hilda Rix Nicholas

Paris to Monaro

Previous exhibition, 2013

After successfully exploring the art scenes of London, France and Morocco, Hilda Rix Nicholas settled at Knockalong, a property near Delegate, on the Monaro plain in the 1920s.

Paul Fitzgerald AM

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

4 portraits in the collection

Sir Ian McLennan, c. 1978

Portrait, oil on board

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

Ralph Heimans AM

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

19 portraits in the collection

Bruce Ruxton, 1995

Paul Fitzgerald AM

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Bruno Grollo 1999

Penny Sackett

From Earth to Sky

Professor Penny Sackett, Australian National University and former Chief Scientist for Australia (2008-2011) talks about her life in science.

Patricia 'Bambi' Tuckwell (Shmith), c. 1952

Faces of the Twentieth Century

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

Karsh

Previous exhibition, 1998

Yousuf Karsh - the most famous portrait photographer in the world - has photographed the statesmen, artists, literary and scientific figures who have defined the 20th century and shaped our lives, In this, his 90th year, the National Portrait Gallery is thrilled to present an exhibition of Karsh's photography of 20th century figures.

Sir Eric Neal AC CVO

Sir Eric Neal trained as an engineer at the South Australian School of Mines.

1 portrait in the collection

Adrian Feint

Adrian Feint (1894-1971) studied at the Sydney Art School with Julian Ashton after having served in the AIF in France and Belgium in World War I, during which he was praised for gallantry.

1 portrait in the collection

Richard von Marientreu

Richard von Marientreu was born in Poland and attended military academies in Cracow and Vienna before leaving for Prague, where he studied at the Academy of Painting.

2 portraits in the collection

Mortimer Lewis

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

1 portrait in the collection

Howard Barron

Howard Barron (1900–1991), artist, was born in Kent, England. He arrived in Sydney in 1924 where he trained with Sir Will Ashton.

1 portrait in the collection

Trumble and Borthwick families (Mum front right, Angus smallest), ca. 1968

Humdinger

At a meeting by teleconference of the National Portrait Gallery Foundation last week, I found myself reporting that our forthcoming exhibition So Fine is going to be “a humdinger,” whereupon Tim Fairfax chuckled and said that he hadn’t heard that expression for years.

King Edward Terrace

Behind the street name

Visiting the gallery

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

Lyall Trindall

Gordon Lyall Trindall (1886–1965), painter, gave up his Marrickville barbering business at the age of 26 to become an artist.

1 portrait in the collection

Ern McQuillan OAM

Ern McQuillan OAM (1926–2018), photographer, was born in Sydney and grew up in the inner western suburbs.

24 portraits in the collection

Sir Edgar Barton ‘EB’ Coles

Sir Edgar Barton ‘EB’ Coles (1899-1981) was the longest-serving chief executive of the Coles retail group.

2 portraits in the collection

Francis Lymburner, c. 1946

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

Tom Hughes AO KC

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

3 portraits in the collection

Adela R. Walker

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

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait stories

The National Portrait Gallery interviewed the 20/20 artists and subjects throughout the commissioning journey. Browse these Portrait Stories to get insights into the incredible achievements of the subjects and the creation of their portraits.

Adrian Feint, 1939

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Richard King 2008
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Damien Parer, c. 1939

Previous exhibition, 2006

Purchased with funds provided by Timothy Fairfax AC 2003

Portraits for Posterity

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

Anthea da Silva

Based in Griffith, New South Wales, artist Anthea da Silva's abiding interest in life drawing and portraiture is an underpinning theme throughout her practice.

1 portrait in the collection

Cate Blanchett, 2002 (printed 2004)

Karin Catt

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Li Cunxin, 2017–2018

by Jun Chen

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2002

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2018

Golden Jubilee

Polly Borland's photograph of The Queen was commissioned by Buckingham Palace as part of a series of high profile celebrations to mark the Golden Jubilee.

Tom Thompson

Portrait, watercolour and gouache on paper

Tom Thompson (b. 1953) is a publisher and writer. During the 1980s he worked as a journalist at the Sydney Morning Herald and as publishing coordinator of the Encyclopedia of the Australian People (for the Australian Bicentennial Authority) before moving to Collins, for which he developed the Imprint label in 1988.

2 portraits in the collection

Theresa and James Laidley Mort, 1844

William Nicholas

Gift of the Mort family 2009

Gordon Andrews, Lovett Bay, Sydney, 1987 (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

Annual Appeal

Listed by year

Aileen Dent

Aileen Dent (1890–1979), painter, is the most-exhibited woman artist in the Archibald Prize, with 63 works hung between 1921 and 1962.

1 portrait in the collection

George Moore

Previous exhibition, 2003

George Moore (1923-2008), champion jockey, was born in Mackay, Qld and was apprenticed in Brisbane in 1938.

1 portrait in the collection

Max Dupain

The Vintage Years

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

A Captured Moment

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2001

The acquisition of David Moore's archive of portrait photographs for the National Portrait Gallery's collection.

The World of Thea Proctor

Previous exhibition, 2005

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

Nic Walker

Nic Walker spent his early years in Cairo and Beijing with his father Tony Walker, a foreign correspondent.

1 portrait in the collection

Clem Seale and Robert Emerson Curtis, c. 1944

Purchased with funds provided by Timothy Fairfax AC 2003

Lloyd Rees at 90, Northwood, Sydney, 1985 (printed 2000)

Madame Marie Carandini

Marie Carandini (née Burgess, 1826–1894), aka 'Madame Carandini', was seven years old when her family arrived in Van Diemen's Land as assisted immigrants.

1 portrait in the collection

Who is Lillie Roberts?

Devotion

Talented wife for a talented husband

William Nicholas

Previous exhibition, 2008

William Nicholas was born near London and is believed to have trained with English printmaker A.M Huffam.

2 portraits in the collection

National Youth Self Portrait Prize

NYSPP 2008

At the end of 2007 the National Portrait Gallery launched the inaugural National Youth Self Portrait Prize and artists aged between eighteen and twenty-five were invited to submit self portraits using a variety of media including drawing, painting, printmaking and traditional or digital photography.

Robert Klippel, Birchgrove, Sydney, 1969 (printed 2000)

Hudson Fysh, c. 1950

Portrait, black and white photograph, pen, and hand coloured photograph on paper

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

Self portrait, 1999/2005

Tracey Moffatt

Purchased with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AM 2013

Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE

The portrait of Patrick White by Brett Whiteley

Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE (b. 1931), former sprinter, was Governor of South Australia from 2001 to 2007.

3 portraits in the collection

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'.

Dame Mary Gilmore, 1961

Purchased with funds provided by Timothy Fairfax AC 2003

Patrick White, 1987

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

Henry Hopkins

Henry Hopkins (1787–1870), merchant and philanthropist, opened his first shop on Elizabeth Street in Hobart soon after arriving in the colony in September 1822.

1 portrait in the collection

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

David Potts reflected in a magazine page

David Potts reflected in a magazine page, c. 1949 (printed 2000)

Russell Drysdale, Woollahra, Sydney, 1964 (printed 2000)

Mary Neville, Lady Dacre and Gregory Fiennes, 10th Baron Dacre

Hans Eworth

George Johnston, Fleet Street, London, c. 1952 (printed 2000)

Russell Drysdale, Tallow Beach, New South Wales

Russell Drysdale, Tallow Beach, New South Wales, 1969 (printed 2000)

Geoffrey Shedley

Geoffrey Shedley was a prominent South Australian architect, with a lifelong interest in drawing and sculpture.

1 portrait in the collection

Eugene Goossens, c. 1954

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

Harriet Swan

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

1 portrait in the collection

Julia Swan

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

1 portrait in the collection

Alison Alder

Artists and Collectives

One of Australia’s preeminent printmakers, Alison Alder explores social and political issues through her art practice from her studio in Mongarlowe on Yuin Country.

James Macarthur, c. 1836-1838

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

Purchased 2019

John Dowie AM

John Dowie AM (1915–2008), artist and teacher, is best known for his public sculptures held in most Australian capital cities.

1 portrait in the collection

John Darling

Magazine article by Annette Twyman, 2021

John Darling (1923-2015), businessman, company director and media producer was the son of Harold Gordon Darling, chair of BHP.

1 portrait in the collection

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

Birds of a feather

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

Robin Sellick

Robin Sellick (b. 1967), photographer, is well known for his distinctive portraits of Australian actors, musicians, politicians and athletes.

17 portraits in the collection

Douglas Kirkland

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint and gold leaf on birch panel

Douglas Kirkland, photographer, was born in Canada and started his career on small newspapers there.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Helen Caldicott, 2021

Leeanne Crisp

Gift of Dr Helen Caldicott 2022

Portrait of Henry Hopkins, c. 1845

Thomas Griffiths Wainewright

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2013

Sir Saul Samuel, c. 1870

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Purchased 2014

Fay Bottrell, 1981

David Campbell

Portrait, oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Gift of Elizabeth Campbell-MacKenzie on behalf of the family of David Campbell 2012

Mirror With A Memory

Photographic Portraiture in Australia

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

The Honourable Margaret Lusink AM, 2019

Pamela Joyce, Australian Tapestry Workshop

Portrait, wool and cotton tapestry

Gift of The Honourable Margaret Lusink AM 2021

Tim Winton

Tim Winton (b. 1960) is the author of 29 books, with his work translated into 28 languages.

2 portraits in the collection

Alexander Ramsay

Portrait, pencil on paper

Alexander Ramsay CBE (1914-1978), public servant, trained and worked as a teacher before gaining his degree at the University of Adelaide in 1941.

1 portrait in the collection

Study for "Barry Humphries in the character of Mrs Everage", 1969

John Brack

Gift of Timothy Fairfax AC 2012. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Jane Windeyer

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Jane Windeyer (1865–1950) was the second eldest daughter of politician and judge Sir William Charles Windeyer (1834–1897) and his wife, Mary (née Bolton, 1837–1912), a leading campaigner for women’s rights.

2 portraits in the collection

William St Leonards Robertson and the Oxford boat race crew

William St Leonards Robertson and the Oxford boat race crew, early 1880s

Hills & Saunders

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

Kylie Minogue, 1999

Purchased 2000

Geoffrey Rush, 1997

Montalbetti + Campbell

Purchased 1999

Albert Namatjira

Arrernte artist Albert Namatjira (1902–1959) is one of Australia's most celebrated and important artists.

6 portraits in the collection

David Campbell

David Campbell (1952–1984) decided to become an artist while a student at Erina High on the New South Wales Central Coast.

3 portraits in the collection

Noel McKenna

Noel McKenna (b. 1956), artist, is best known for his spare linear style and paintings of everyday scenarios, often featuring animals and interiors.

2 portraits in the collection

Professor A D Hope, Canberra, 1963 (printed 2000)

Portrait, gouache on paper

Maisie, 1938-1939

Peter Purves Smith

Bequest of Lady Maisie Drysdale 2001

Portrait of Brian Dunlop, c. 1972

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on cardboard

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Joseph Brown AO OBE 2006
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Judy Davis on the set of 'Heatwave', Sydney

Judy Davis on the set of 'Heatwave', Sydney, 1981 (printed 2000)

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

The series 'David Moore: From Face to Face' was acquired as a gift of the artist and with financial assistance from Timothy Fairfax AC and L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2001

Brian Dunlop

Archived media releases 2018

Brian Dunlop studied at East Sydney Technical College and won the Le Gay Brereton Prize for Drawing while still a student.

7 portraits in the collection

A free family festival to celebrate spring and Children’s Week

24 October 2018

Wake from your winter hibernation to celebrate Children’s Week and Canberra’s spring season at the National Portrait Gallery’s free Spring Festival.

Yvonne Audette, Vaucluse, Sydney, 1968 (printed 2000)

Max Meldrum, c. 1937

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

Catherine Livingstone, 2018

Mathew Lynn

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2018

Richard Rouse

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

1 portrait in the collection

Charles Abraham

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, poly toned on paper

Charles Abraham, son of a London architect, trained at the Royal Academy schools under the sculptor Sierier, and for a further three years in Paris and Rome.

1 portrait in the collection

Cate Blanchett, 1998

Sage

Gift of the artist 1999

Jill Neville

Previous exhibition, 2005

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

1 portrait in the collection

Cecil Beaton

Portraits

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.

2021 Annual Appeal

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

William Dobell, Potts Point, Sydney, 1960 (printed 2000)

Florence Austral, c. 1930

Howard Barron

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Gift of the University of Newcastle (Australia) 2007

Jane Windeyer, n.d.

Madame Praeger

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Windeyer family 2012

2022 Annual Appeal

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

HV (Doc) Evatt, 1935

Arnold Shore

Gift of Elizabeth Evatt and Penelope Seidler 1998. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Quentin Bryce, 2016

Michael Zavros

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2016

Janet Dawson, Paddington, Sydney, 1966 (printed 2000)

Catherine Livingstone, 2018

by Mathew Lynn

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2018

Sir Alec N. Broers

Alec Nigel Broers, Lord Broers FRS, HonFMedSci, FREng (b. 1938) was Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University from 1996 to 2003.

1 portrait in the collection

Li Cunxin, 2018

Jun Chen

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2018

Arthur Boyd, Bundanon, New South Wales, 1995 (printed 2000)

Celebrating 100 years of the Historic Memorials 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.

TJ Smith and Tulloch, 1960 (printed 2003)

Ern McQuillan OAM

Portrait, colour transparency on lightbox

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Marilyn Darling AC, 2010

Anne Zahalka

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2010

Tracks in the sand

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

Dr Sarah Engledow discusses Quentin Jones's photograph of Australian author Tim Winton.

Self portrait (Hilda in the Chinoise hat)

Self portrait (Hilda in the Chinoise hat), c. 1913

Hilda Rix Nicholas

Portrait, pastel and coloured pencil on paper

Gift of Bronwyn Wright 2013. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Harry Seidler, Killara, Sydney, 1984 (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

Kylie Minogue 1, 2018 (printed 2020)

Nicole Bentley

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2020

Kylie Minogue 2, 2018 (printed 2020)

Nicole Bentley

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2020

Sigrid Thornton AO

Sigrid Thornton AO (b. 1959), actor, has been a household name since her performance in the box-office hit The Man from Snowy River in 1981.

1 portrait in the collection

Hon. Saul Samuel

The Hon Sir Saul Samuel Bart KCMG CB (1820-1900), merchant, politician, company director and landowner, was the first Jewish legislator in New South Wales and the first Jew to become a minister of the Crown.

1 portrait in the collection

Captain William Kinghorne

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

1 portrait in the collection

Pat Mackie

Pat Mackie (1914–2009), union leader, led the Mount Isa strike of 1964–65 that polarised the town and almost bankrupted Mount Isa Mining.

1 portrait in the collection

Dr Brenda Niall AO

Portrait, pen and ink on paper

Brenda Niall AO (b. 1930), writer, academic and reviewer, is one of Australia's foremost biographers.

1 portrait in the collection

Charles Lloyd Jones, n.d.

Louis Kahan AO

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

Leonard French, Heathcote, Victoria, 1969 (printed 2000)

Marea Gazzard, Paddington, Sydney, 1963 (printed 2000)

Michael Johnson, McMahon's Point, Sydney

Michael Johnson, McMahon's Point, Sydney, 1969 (printed 2000)

Michael Johnson, McMahon's Point, Sydney, 1969 (printed 2000)

Michael Johnson, McMahon's Point, Sydney, 1969 (printed 2000)

Michael Johnson, McMahon's Point, Sydney, 1969 (printed 2000)

Michael Johnson, McMahon's Point, Sydney, 1969 (printed 2000)

Michael Johnson, McMahon's Point, Sydney, 1969 (printed 2000)

Robert Menzies, Sydney, 1963 (printed 2000)

Tony Bilson OAM

Tony Bilson, OAM (1944-2020), chef, grew up in Melbourne and was educated at Melbourne Grammar school before opening his first restaurant, La Pomme d'Or, in Camberwell in 1971.

1 portrait in the collection

Mary Windeyer, 1850s

Portrait, watercolour and gouache on ivory

Gift of the Windeyer family 2009. 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.

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

Magazine article by Tamsin Hong, 2016

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

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

The first nurse

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

Senator Bonner, 1990

Robert Campbell Jnr

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Purchased with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2008

Anna F. Walker

Anna Frances Walker (1830–1913), botanical artist and collector, was one of the thirteen children of Thomas Walker, a high-ranking colonial public servant, and his wife Anna Elizabeth, the daughter of merchant and landowner John Blaxland.

1 portrait in the collection

Russell Drysdale and Peter Sculthorpe, Tallow Beach, New South Wales

Russell Drysdale and Peter Sculthorpe, Tallow Beach, New South Wales, 1969 (printed 2000)

Percy Leason's Aboriginal Portraits

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

Cate Blanchett AC

Portraits in the Landscape

Cate Blanchett AC (b. 1969), actor and humanitarian, graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1992, joined the Sydney Theatre Company (STC) and soon received the Sydney Theatre Critics' Circle award for Best Newcomer for Kafka Dances (1993).

4 portraits in the collection

Open Air

Previous exhibition, 2008

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

Irina Baronova

Irina Baronova (1919–2008) was one of the three legendary 'baby ballerinas' of the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo, who created an international dance sensation in the 1930s and 1940s.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait 65

Autumn/Winter 2021

Magazine

Hugh Ramsay, the fashion of Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson, Peter Wegner's centenarian series, John and Elizabeth Gould's family connections, Karen Quinlan's top five portraits and more.

President Johnson and Prime Minister Holt at Canberra Airport

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

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

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

Matthew Sleeth

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

Untitled #15 (Kylie Minogue performs at Tour of Duty concert at Dili Stadium, East Timor, 21 December 1999)

Untitled #15 (Kylie Minogue performs at Tour of Duty concert at Dili Stadium, East Timor, 21 December 1999), 1999-2000

Matthew Sleeth

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

Robert Manne AO

Robert Manne (b. 1947), academic and writer, grew up in Melbourne, the child of European Jewish refugees.

1 portrait in the collection

Chips Rafferty, c. 1945

Portrait, conté crayon on paper

Purchased with funds provided by Timothy Fairfax AC 2003

Self portrait, c. 1948

John Brack

Purchased with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2010

Colin Madigan and Robert Hughes, Canberra

Colin Madigan and Robert Hughes, Canberra, 1982 (printed 2000)

Top of their game

Nobel Laureates

Macfarlane Burnet and Patrick White

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

Magazine article by Katherine Russell, 2005

Australian Princess

The full-length portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark by artist Jiawei Shen, has become a destination piece for visitors.

Maurice Felton

Maurice Appleby Felton (1803-1842) arrived in Sydney with his wife and four children in late 1839 as surgeon to the immigrant ship the Royal Admiral.

3 portraits in the collection

Gordon Andrews, Cottage Rock, Hawkesbury River, New South Wales

Gordon Andrews, Cottage Rock, Hawkesbury River, New South Wales, 1968 (printed 2000)

Walter Gropius and Harry Seidler, 1954

Purchased with funds provided by Timothy Fairfax AC 2003

Betty Churcher AO

Archived media releases 2021

(Elizabeth) Betty Churcher AO (1931–2015), gallery director, author, painter and lecturer, was educated in Brisbane before studying at the Royal College of Art in London.

3 portraits in the collection

Shakespeare to Winehouse: Icons from the National Portrait Gallery, London

Announcing Shakespeare to Winehouse

24 November 2021

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.

2014-15 Acquisition Fund

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

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

George Moore, 1957

Ern McQuillan OAM

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

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.

Duty bound

Joanna Gilmour explores the life of colonial women Lady Ellen Stirling, Eliza Darling, Lady Eliza Arthur, Elizabeth Macquarie and Lady Jane Franklin.

Portrait 67

Winter 2022

Magazine

William Yang on his autobiographical self portraits, David Parker's 1970s and 80s Melbourne music photographs, seven-time NPPP finalist Chris Budgeon, and Benjamin Warlngundu Ellis.

Richard Rouse (copy of drawing by William Griffith), c. 1847

Portrait, pencil, ink and watercolour on paper

Gift of Pamela Glasson 2009
Collected by Leila Haigh (nee Rouse)

Semi self portrait, Hunter Valley, 1992 (printed 2000)

David Moore, Corio, Victoria, 1942 (printed 2000)

Wes Stacey, Kurnell, Sydney, 1973 (printed 2000)

William Robertson, c. 1852

Portrait, 1/6 plate daguerreotype, hand coloured with case

Gift of Fiona Turner (née Robertson) and John Robertson 2011. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Hilda Rix Nicholas

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

Emily Hilda Rix left Australia in March 1907, having trained for three years at the National Gallery School.

1 portrait in the collection

In the galleries

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

Eleanor Dark, c. 1935 (printed 1940)

Purchased with funds provided by Timothy Fairfax AC 2003

John Landy AC CVO MBE

Melbourne-born track and field athlete John Landy AC CVO MBE (1930–2022) came to the nation’s attention as a young man in the mid-1950s, as he followed his first Olympic competition at Helsinki in 1952 with a series of extraordinary races over the course of the next four years.

1 portrait in the collection

Donors

$10,000 - $49,999

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Albert and his wife Rubina, Macdonnell Ranges

Albert and his wife Rubina, Macdonnell Ranges, 1946

Axel Poignant

Purchased 1999

Aboriginal couple, Finniss Springs Mission, South Australia

Aboriginal couple, Finniss Springs Mission, South Australia, 1959 (printed 2000)

Norman Lindsay, 1936

Photographic Portraits from 19th Century Australia

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

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa

Husbands and Wives

Previous exhibition, 2010

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

Portrait of Alec Campbell, 2001-2004

Terry Eichler

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

George Perry

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

2 portraits in the collection

Ken Wyatt, 2019 (printed 2020)

Alex Ellinghausen

Purchased 2022

Fred Hilmer, 2018

by Evert Ploeg

Commissioned with funds provided by Dr Helen Nugent AO 2018

Rolf Harris

Rolf Harris (1930-2023) was named the 5th most influential artist and entertainer of the 20th century in a millennial poll by Time magazine.

4 portraits in the collection

Bern Emmerichs

Contributing artists

Born: 1961, Melbourne
Works: Melbourne

Kylie Minogue AO OBE

Five Years of National Portrait Gallery Commissions

Kylie Minogue AO OBE (b. 1968), the 'Princess of Pop', is Australia's most successful female recording artist of all time, selling more than 80 million albums worldwide, and the first woman to have a UK number one album across five consecutive decades.

5 portraits in the collection

Making Portraits

Previous exhibition, 2004

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

David Lloyd Jones

David Lloyd Jones (1931–1961) was the great-grandson of the original David Jones – who founded the eponymous department store in Sydney in 1838 – and the eldest son of Sir Charles Lloyd Jones (1878–1958), who was chairman of David Jones Ltd from 1920 until his death.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Rolf, 1968

Hayward Veal

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Self portrait, 1992

Rolf Harris

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 1999

Rolf Harris, 1999

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

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.

Supporters

$5,000 - $9,999

Portrait, single channel moving image, colour, sound, 9 minutes, 56 seconds

Portrait of Cate Blanchett, 2008

David Rosetzky

Commissioned with funds provided by Ian Darling 2008

Rolf Harris, 1989

Rick Amor

Portrait, pencil on paper

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

Grow the Portrait Gallery of Australia

9 June 2016

Archived media releases 2016

The Portrait Gallery is calling for contributions to support in the acquisition of superb portraits for the national collection.

Caroline Jones, 1978

David Campbell

Gift of Elizabeth Campbell-MacKenzie on behalf of the family of David Campbell 2012

Egbert S. Wills

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

1 portrait in the collection

Horace Spencer Wills and Cedric Spencer Wills

Cedric S. Wills

1 portrait in the collection

Emily S. Wills

1 portrait in the collection

Horace S. Wills

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

1 portrait in the collection

Uncommon Australians

Previous exhibition, 2015

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

Dr Helen Caldicott

Dr Helen Caldicott (b. 1938), physician, author and activist, was born Helen Broinowski in Melbourne and gained her degree in Medicine from the University of Adelaide in 1961.

1 portrait in the collection

Tim Winton, 2004

Quentin Jones

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

John Landy, c. 1954

Ern McQuillan OAM

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2004

Ed Murrow, New York, 1956 (printed 2000)

Significant Australian Women 1913–2013

First Ladies

Previous exhibition, 2013

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

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.

Dora Byrne, 1951

Richard von Marientreu

Magazine article by Lauren Dalla, 2003

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Estate of Leslie Walford AM 2013

All you can eat

In February 2003 the National Portrait Gallery Circle of Friends brought Sir Robert Strong to Australia to present a series of lectures entitled The Artists & The Banquet- A History of Dining, which focused on the links between gardens and table decoration from the Renaissance to the Victorian Era.

Sir Ian Potter, 1973

Portrait, oil on composition board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lady Primrose Potter 2006
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

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.

Icons and imagery

Magazine article by Alison Weir, 2011

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

Sketch for portrait of Justin O'Brien, 1980

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

Gift of the Margaret Olley Art Trust 2002

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.

Australian Tapestry Workshop

Portrait drawings from colonial Australia

The Australian Tapestry Workshop (formerly the Victorian Tapestry Workshop) was established in 1976, following two years of planning and research on the part of its founding patrons, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch and Lady Joyce Delacombe.

2 portraits in the collection

Elegance in exile

Previous exhibition, 2012

Elegance in exile is an exhibition surveying the work of Richard Read senior, Thomas Bock, Thomas Griffiths Wainewright and Charles Rodius: four artists who, though exiled to Australia as convicts, created many of the most significant and elegant portraits of the colonial period.

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

Automatic for the people: Casey Stoner, 2008

Scott Redford

Portrait, Laser-cut vinyl and computer print on aluminium composite sheet, painted custom-wood frame

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2008

Lady Anne Maria Barkly

Anne Maria Barkly (1838-1932) was the second wife of Sir Henry Barkly, Governor of Victoria from December 1856 to September 1863.

1 portrait in the collection

More about the National Photographic Portrait Prize

Comments from our judges and information about entering the 2017 Prize.

Hon Tom Hughes KC, 2001

Jiawei Shen

Previous exhibition, 2019

Commissioned with funds provided by Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull 2003

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.

Michael Kimmelman

Magazine article by Pamela Gray, 2002

Michael Kimmelman, Chief Art Critic of The New York Times and author of Portraits: Talking with Artists at the Met, the Modern, the Louvre and Elsewhere, presented the National Portrait Gallery Third Anniversary Lecture on 2 March 2002. He was generously brought to Australia by the Gordon Darling Foundation and Qantas.

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.

Captain W Kinghorne, 1834

Thomas James Lempriere

Previous exhibition, 2022

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by The Ian Potter Foundation 2007

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022

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

Masters of Fare

Chefs, winemakers, providores

Previous exhibition, 2004

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.

Diana Pockley

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2002

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

1 portrait in the collection

Little treasures

The acquisition of the ivory miniatures of Mortimer and Mrs Lewis.

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

Foundation Members

Foundation

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

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Archived media releases 2018

Finalists announced for National Photographic Portrait Prize

14 November 2018

The National Portrait Gallery would like to congratulate the forty finalists for the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2019.

The People’s Choice Awards

16 June 2020

Archived media releases 2020

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

Giving and getting

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

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

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.

National Portrait Gallery unveils twenty new portrait commissions to celebrate twenty years

18 October 2018

Archived media releases 2018

The National Portrait Gallery has unveiled twenty new portrait commissions of Australian leaders and individualists as part of its twentieth birthday celebrations in a new exhibition, 20/20: Celebrating twenty years with twenty new portrait commissions.

2020 Annual Appeal

Thomas Woolner in Australia

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

Missing Persons

Desperately seeking Woolner medallions

George Brown

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

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

1 portrait in the collection

William St. Leonards Robertson, c. 1869

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite

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

The spirit of the gift

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

Former NPG Director, Andrew Sayers celebrates the support given to the Gallery by Gordon and Marilyn Darling.

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.

The Saint and the merchant

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

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

Martha Kermode, c. 1840

Henry Mundy

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

Robert Kermode, c. 1840

Henry Mundy

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

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

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

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

The bright-eyed Mariner

A new colonial portrait brings a zealous captain near.

A quiet moment

Magazine article by Helene Ladomirska, 2006

As Bryan Westwood’s portrait of Brian Dunlop hangs adjacent to Brian Dunlop’s portrait of the philanthropist Dr Joseph Brown AO OBE, we see the artist of one work as the subject of the other.

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), army officer and hero, was the prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1828 to 1830.

1 portrait in the collection

Little women

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

Crikey!

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

Robin Sellick captured a rare moment of quietude from the late conservation star Steve Irwin.

Winner announced for National Photographic Portrait Prize 2019

22 February 2019

Archived media releases 2019

From an outstanding field of more than 3,000 entries, culminating in a shortlist of 39 exceptional finalists, the Winner and Highly Commended entries for this year’s National Photographic Portrait Prize have been named.

Caroline Amelia Elizabeth
of Brunswick, 1804

Around the grounds

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2010

Anne Sanders writes about the exhibitions Victoria & Albert: Art & Love on display at the Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace and the retrospective of Sir Thomas Lawrence at the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Extremely generous and incredibly close

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2010

Michael Desmond examines the daguerreotype portraits created by American artist Chuck Close.

Talma Studios, Sydney

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

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

1 portrait in the collection

Uncommon Australians

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

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

HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, 2006 Ralph Heimans AM

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

30 November 2023

Media

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

Spikes: then and now

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

Material culture

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2018

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

History

About us

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

Blue Collar Icon

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

Dr Sarah Engledow delves into the life of union leader Pat Mackie who is depicted in a portrait by Nancy Borlase AM.

Australia’s great internationalists

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2016

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

The National Portrait Prizes

29 January 2020

Archived media releases 2020

The National Portrait Gallery today announced finalists for the inaugural Darling Portrait Prize, a national new $75,000 prize for Australian portrait painting, and released selected images from the final prize pool for the popular National Photography Portrait Prize.

Past directors

History

Directors of the National Portrait Gallery from 1998 to today.

2023 Annual Appeal

Magazine article by Djon Mundine OAM, 2017

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.

Big shots

Djon Mundine OAM brings poignant memory and context to Martin van der Wal’s 1986 portrait photographs of storied Aboriginal artists.

Philanthropic donations enable otherwise unobtainable acquisition

20 October 2016

Archived media releases 2016

A magnanimous portrait of Helena Rubinstein has been acquired for the National Portrait Gallery’s collection.

Sandor Ferenczis 50th birthday dinner, Budapest, 1923

Less than six degrees of separation

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2011

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

Glossy too

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2005

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

Study in scarlet

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2018

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

A bear of great substance

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

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

The Stories Beneath

The Alcoa World Alumina Australia gift.

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

Magazine article by Kylie Scroope, 2011

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

Flash mob

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

Sarah Engledow trains her exacting lens on the nine photographs from 20/20.

Why do painted portraits still matter?

Magazine article by Sandy Nairne, 2006

Lecture by Sandy Nairne, Director, National Portrait Gallery, London, given at the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra on 28 April 2006.

The Honourable Bob Hawke savouring a strawberry milkshake, 2017 by Harold David

The intellectual larrikin

Magazine article by Barrie Cassidy, 2019

Barrie Cassidy pays textured tribute to the inimitable Bob Hawke.

Andrew Sayers AM FAHA

13 October 2015

Archived media releases 2015

The Chairman, Board, Director and staff mourn the loss of the National Portrait Gallery's inaugural director.

Give me five

Magazine article by Karen Quinlan AM, 2021

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

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.

In the round

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2009

Andrew Sayers outlines the highlights of the National Portrait Gallery's display of portrait sculpture.

William Shakespeare, c. 1600-1610 associated with John Taylor

Take thy face hence

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

Joanna Gilmour travels through time to explore the National Portrait Gallery London’s masterpieces in Shakespeare to Winehouse.

Four from the 30s

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

Australia's tradition of sculpted portraits stretches back to the early decades of the nineteenth century and continues to sustain a group of dedicated sculptors.

Cormac + Callum Kenne, My Children, Sydney, Australia, 2009

Citizen Kenne

Magazine article by April Thompson, 2013

April Thompson explores an exhibition of Ingvar Kenne’s global portrait project.

Coming into being

NPPP 2018 exhibition essay

Portrait, tinted lithograph on paper

Dr Christopher Chapman, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2018 Prize.

Sir Thomas Gore-Browne, 1864

J Walch & Sons

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

200 Years of Portraiture

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

20/20 launch speech

Magazine article by Michael Wardell, 2016

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

ORA - Homesickness Project 2015 by Chrys Zantis

Food for thought

Michael Wardell on Chrys Zantis’ Ora.

You beauty

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

Joanna Gilmour explores the fact and fictions surrounding the legendary life of Irish-born dancer Lola Montez.

Anatomist's eye

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2016

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

Support Crew

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2011

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

A real Pratt

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

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.

The story of us

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2022

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

More cash than dash

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2011

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

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’.

Listomania

Magazine article by Ashleigh Wadman, 2012

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.

Vanity fair

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

Technical terminology

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2010

Michael Desmond introduces some of the ideas behind the exhibition Present Tense: An imagined grammar of portraiture in the digital age.

Generous Janice

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

The stately lotus

Magazine article by The Hon. Dr Kevin Rudd, 2009

I spent much of my summer holiday at D’Omah, on the outskirts of Yogyakarta. Lotus and waterlilies sprout in extraordinary profusion in artful ponds amid palms and deep scarlet ginger flowers.

An Australian story

In his speech launching the new National Portrait Gallery building on 3 December 2008, then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd set the Gallery in a national and historical context.

Pop poet

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2013

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

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

Petal to the mettle

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

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

Eating the seasons

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2019

Anne Sanders imbibes Tony Bilson’s gastronomic revolution.

Confessional conversations

The portraiture of Kristin Headlam

Magazine article by Fiona Gruber, 2015

Fiona Gruber investigates the work of Australian painter Kristin Headlam.

Group photograph taken at the coronation of King George VI including Queen Elizabeth II, Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Queen Mother, 12 May 1937 by Hay Wrightson

Poise and Carats

Magazine article by Karl James, 2015

I keep going back to Cartier: The Exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia next door, and, within the exhibition, to Princess Marie Louise’s diamond, pearl and sapphire Indian tiara (1923), surely one of the most superb head ornaments ever conceived.

Lauded legacy

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

Earth to earth

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

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

Cultural kaleidoscope

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

Home and away

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

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

Fiona McMonagle

Explore The Popular Pet Show

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.

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).

NPPP 2016 exhibition essay

Explore The Popular Pet Show

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

Noel McKenna

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

The artist and her family, c. 1854 by Martha Berkeley

Presence and absence

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2018

The art of Australia’s colonial women painters affords us an invaluable, alternative perspective on the nascent nation-building project.

Practising the Minuet (Miss Hilda Spong)

An actress and her fans

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

Dr. Sarah Engledow discovers the amazing life of Ms. Hilda Spong, little remembered star of the stage, who was captured in a portrait by Tom Roberts.

Mary (or Diana) Croker, mat woman, Colchester, 1823 by John Dempsey

Unknown drawer

Magazine article by Dr David Hansen, 2017

Dempsey’s People curator David Hansen chronicles a research tale replete with serendipity, adventure and Tasmanian tigers.

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.

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.

An evening at Yarra Cottage, Port Stephens

Maria Caroline Brownrigg

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

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

Portraiture in a Bleak House

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

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

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

Prima facie

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

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

All the way with K of K

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2016

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

The art of Inner Worlds

Lecture, 7 May 2011

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

Less than six degrees of separation

Lecture, 28 May 2011

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

Christmas Island