Search / 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 Read (née Archer), c. 1853

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Purchased 2019

Miss Elizabeth Roberts, 1830

Richard Read Jnr

Portrait, watercolour on ivory

Purchased 2013

W Read

William Read was active in London in the 1820s and 1830s and appears to have worked mainly as an engraver of portraits.

1 portrait in the collection

Richard Read Jnr

Portrait, watercolour on paper laid on cardboard

Richard Read junior arrived in Sydney from his native London in November 1819.

2 portraits in the collection

John Connell, c. 1830

Richard Read Jnr

Gift of Eleanor Thornton 2013. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

John Frost, 1839

an unknown artist, W Read

Portrait, engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

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

Elegance in exile

Portrait drawings from colonial Australia

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.

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

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 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

Elizabeth Looker

Luke Brookes and Ellen Buswell

Elizabeth Looker

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Portrait of Mrs Fairfax, n.d.

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

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

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, pencil on paper

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

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.

Elizabeth Carter, c. 1920

Harold Cazneaux

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, sepia toned on paper

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

Painting writing

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2007

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

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

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

2 portraits in the collection

Portrait of Mrs Tom Roberts, 1910

Tom Roberts

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

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

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

A Diamond Jubilee portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Portrait, ambrotype

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

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

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.

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

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

Liberate the labels

Apps

Want to read about a portrait without having to lean in?

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2016

Previous exhibition, 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.

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

Mary Hassall (née Rouse), c. 1850

Portrait, hand coloured photograph

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

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.

Jackie French

Archived media releases 2019

Recorded 2022

The National Portrait Gallery Announces Art Handlers’ Award

18 February 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.

Christos Tsiolkas

Recorded 2017

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

Portrait story

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

Winner announcement

“Dancing feet and wild hair...”

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

David Malouf

Anthonis Mor (Antonio Moro)

Recorded 2016

Sir Henry Lee

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

Make a booking

Learn

Whether virtually or in person, here’s where you can arrange an educational visit.

Fiona Scott-Norman, 2011

by Miles Standish

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

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

Charles Fox after Sir Thomas Lawrence

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

Alexander MacLeay, c. 1845

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.

Tom Goldner

Vox pops

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

Ned, 2011

by Benjamin Liew

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

Audio description

Access

Hear and read detailed audio descriptions of selected artworks from our Collection as we turn the visual into the verbal.

Bern Emmerichs

Contributing artists

Born: 1961, Melbourne
Works: Melbourne

David Simpson

Previous exhibition, 2022

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

WHO ARE YOU

Australian portraiture

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.

Bill Collins OAM

Bill Collins OAM (1934-2019), television movie host and critic, was a high school English teacher and lecturer at teachers’ college before beginning a record 55-year stint on Australian television.

1 portrait in the collection

Cameron and the prosthetic arm, 2016

by Steve Wise

Previous exhibition, 2019

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

National Photographic Portrait Prize 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.

Bruce Beresford at home in Birchgrove, 2018

Zoe Young

Permanent collection catalogue

The Companion

Publications

On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.

In your dreams

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2016

An excerpt from The Popular Pet Book.

Sir Arthur Coles, c. 1971

Sir William Dargie CBE

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

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

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

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

Icons Syndicate

Lists alphabetically

Honour board

Anna F. Walker

Previous exhibition, 2014

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

In the flesh

In the flesh is an enthralling and immersive experience of contemporary art that confronts the concept of humanness and the experiences of consciousness and emotion. Featuring ten Australian artists including Jan Nelson, Patricia Piccinini, Ron Mueck and Michael Peck, the exhibition explores themes of intimacy, empathy, transience, transition, vulnerability, alienation, restlessness, reflection, mortality and acceptance.

William Walford

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

Ngalim-Ngalimbooroo Ngagenybe

Shirley Purdie

Using ochres collected on her country in Western Australia’s East Kimberley, Shirley Purdie’s self-portrait is a kaleidoscope of traditional Gija stories and Ngarranggarni (Dreaming) passed down to her.

Favourite portraits

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

The mystery of Enoch Arden

Previous exhibition, 2022

Tennyson's Enoch Arden was inspired by a story that Thomas Woolner passed on to him – but whose story and of whom?

Onsite visit bookings

Make a booking

For in person visits, make an educational booking here through our bookcanberraexcursions.com.au portal.

Darling Portrait Prize 2022

The Darling Portrait Prize is a biennial national prize for Australian portrait painting honouring the legacy of Mr L Gordon Darling AC CMG (1921-2015). The winner receives a cash prize of $75,000.

Teurai, 2011

by BILLIEJEANISNOTMYLOVER

Ticket and booking enquiries

Plan your visit

Change of booking requests and lost tickets.

Angus Trumble with Self portrait at easel by Fred Williams

Autumn in Canberra

In Persuasion (1818), a long walk on a fine autumn day affords Anne Elliot an opportunity to ruminate wistfully and at great length upon declining happiness, youth and hope.

Portrait 3

March - May 2002

Magazine

This issue of Portrait Magazine is devoted to a review of the highlights of the gallery's activities in 2001.

Self, titled, 2013

by Stella Rosa McDonald

Finalist, MDPA 2013

Henry Lawson

Magazine article by Annette Twyman, 2021

Henry Lawson (1867-1922), one of Australia's defining authors, is best known for his short stories and ballads depicting the hardship of bush life.

6 portraits in the collection

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.

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

Paris to Monaro

Pleasures from the studio of Hilda Rix Nicholas

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

Henry Lawson, 1915

William Johnson

Purchased 2009

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

Faces of the Twentieth Century

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Bruno Grollo 1999

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.

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

Maude Shipp

Maude Shipp (1895-1964), vaudevillian, debuted as ‘Little Maude Shipp, the Wonderful Baby Performer’ around May 1900, as a member of the troupe managed by her father, Edwin ‘Teddy’ Shipp (c.

1 portrait in the collection

Mortimer Lewis

Rhonda Sharpe, Yarrenyty Arltere Artists

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

1 portrait in the collection

Girl with Big Stick, Cooloman and Bird, 2022

Portrait, soft sculpture made with recycled woollen blankets, bush dye, wool, cotton, feathers

Purchased 2023

My Two Lovely Faces Looking at Each Other and Smiling for Love, 2022

Rhonda Sharpe, Yarrenyty Arltere Artists

Portrait, soft sculpture made with recycled woollen blankets, bush dye, wool, cotton, feathers

Purchased 2023

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

Rolf de Heer

Rolf de Heer (b. 1951) was born in Heemskerk, Holland, and migrated to Australia with his family in 1959.

1 portrait in the collection

Sharon Zwi

Finalist interviews

We were in Gaza shooting a documentary and we had heard about the orphanages and wanted to visit and document some of the children who had lost parents during the wars in Gaza.

Bruce Dawe

Bruce Dawe AO (1930-2020), poet and teacher, was born in Fitzroy and worked as a labourer, clerk, sawmill hand, farmhand and postman before joining the RAAF in 1959.

1 portrait in the collection

Literary lovers’ life liaison

Lust

Desire drives forbidden love

King Edward Terrace

Behind the street name

Visiting the gallery

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

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

Sir Walter Murdoch KCMG

Sir Walter Murdoch KCMG (1874–1970), academic and essayist, was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and came to Australia with his family in 1884.

1 portrait in the collection

In the mirror: self portrait with Joy Hester (detail), 1939 Albert Tucker

Australian Love Stories online

#PortraitureComesHome

Lust and longing, drama and devotion, seduction and scandal! Delve into an enticing array of tales of the heart.

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

Henry Lawson, c. 1915

William Johnson

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Henry Lawson, c. 1915

William Johnson

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Ada Crossley, c. 1900

Rotary Photo Company Ltd

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Roger Neill 2009

Tony Sowersby

Vox pops

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

Adrian Feint, 1939

Max Dupain OBE

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

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

Jane’s conviction

Devotion

Stand by your man

Cate Blanchett, 2002 (printed 2004)

Karin Catt

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Shirley Smith AO MBE

Shirley 'Mum Shirl' Smith AO OBE (1921–1998), humanitarian, was a Wiradjuri woman.

1 portrait in the collection

Rolf de Heer, Adelaide, SA, 2004

John Elliott

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2002

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

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

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

Polly Borland on Germaine Greer

Recorded 2017

Adam Cullen

Portrait, watercolour and gouache on paper

Adam Cullen (1965-2012), painter, studied art in Sydney from 1986 to 1999, when he obtained his master’s degree in fine arts from the University of New South Wales.

8 portraits in the collection

Theresa and James Laidley Mort, 1844

William Nicholas

Gift of the Mort family 2009

Annual Appeal

Listed by year

Honour board

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

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

1 portrait in the collection

Henry Baynton Somer Gullett AM MC

Henry Baynton Somer ‘Jo’ Gullett AM MC (1914-1999), soldier, politician, ambassador, farmer and author, was the son of Sir Henry Gullett, who was one of the Australian official historians of the First World War.

1 portrait in the collection

Chris Wallace-Crabbe, 2011

Kristin Headlam

Portrait, oil on linen

Purchased with the assistance of funds provided by the Circle of Friends 2014

The World of Thea Proctor

Portrait photography by John Elliott

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

Thousand Mile Stare

Previous exhibition, 2004

Thousand mile stare provides a unique portrait of people of rural Australia

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

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

2 portraits in the collection

Eric Thake

Previous exhibition, 2008

Eric Thake (1904-1982), printmaker, painter and photographer, trained at the National Gallery School and the George Bell School and showed with the Contemporary Group in Melbourne between 1932 and 1938 before serving as an official war artist in the RAAF.

7 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.

Mr Movies - Bill Collins OAM, 2009

Evert Ploeg

Portrait, oil on linen

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

Henry Mayer

Henry Mayer (1919-1991) was Professor of Government at Sydney University from the 1960s to 1980s.

2 portraits in the collection

Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE

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

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

George Hoyningen-Huene and Jessie the Barmaid

Jessie Sinden

Jessie Sinden was a barmaid at the Brooklyn Hotel on George Street in Sydney when she was 'discovered' by Baron George Hoyningen-Huene, a high-profile American fashion photographer and Hollywood figure.

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

Mark Ella, 2015

Nikki Toole

Commissioned with funds from the Patrick Corrigan Portrait Commission Series 2015

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

Hans Eworth

Tessa Daphne Birnie OAM

Tessa Daphne Birnie OAM (1934-2008), concert pianist, claimed to have decided on a career in music after hearing a piano at her local hall as a four-year old.

1 portrait in the collection

Geoffrey Shedley

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

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

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

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

Portrait, linocut on paper

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

Figure in a rocky landscape, 1965

Eric Thake

Gift of Professor Peter Van Sommers 2011

Self portrait among the ant hills, 1950

Eric Thake

Portrait, linocut on paper

Gift of Professor Peter Van Sommers 2011

Desert Island, 1967

Eric Thake

Portrait, linocut on paper

Gift of Professor Peter Van Sommers 2011

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

Magna Carta

On this day eight hundred years ago at Runnymede near Windsor, King John signed Magna Carta.

Robin Sellick

Portrait, lithograph on paper

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

17 portraits in the collection

Self portrait, 1846

George French Angas

Purchased 1999

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

Friendship’s rhyme and reason

Nearest & Dearest

Poetic trio

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

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

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

Ngalim-Ngalimbooroo Ngagenybe, 2018

Shirley Purdie

Portrait, natural ochre and pigments on canvas (36 parts)

Purchased 2019

Kylie Minogue, 1999

Purchased 2000

Mum Shirl (Mrs Shirley Smith), 1988

Juno Gemes

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

Geoffrey Rush, 1997

Montalbetti + Campbell

Purchased 1999

Alfred George Stephens

Alfred George Stephens (1865–1933), editor, journalist and publisher, was born and educated in Toowoomba.

1 portrait 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

Albert Namatjira

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

6 portraits in the collection

Noel McKenna

Portrait, oil on cardboard

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

Portrait of Alan Marshall, 1955

Lina Bryans

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Dr Charlie Teo operating on my brain

Filippa Buttitta

Jeff Carter with his dog Annie Rose at Foxground NSW

Jeff Carter with his dog Annie Rose at Foxground NSW, 2000 (printed 2017)

Robert McFarlane

Portrait, gouache on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Maisie, 1938-1939

Peter Purves Smith

Bequest of Lady Maisie Drysdale 2001

Portrait of Brian Dunlop, c. 1972

Bryan Westwood

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

Thomas Muir

Thomas Muir (1765-1799), lawyer, political activist and political convict, began studies at the University of Glasgow at the age of twelve.

2 portraits in the collection

Brian Dunlop

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

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

Portrait, albumen paper photograph

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

1 portrait in the collection

Queen Rose of the Wathaurung People, c. 1876-1877

Fred Kruger

Purchased 2017

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

Portrait, pigment photographic prints on paper, hand ground glass

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

Blow Back, 2018

Julie Rrap

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

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

Magazine article by Alison Weir, 2011

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

Icons and imagery

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

Sir Alec N. Broers

Previous exhibition, 2011

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

Indecent exposure

Annette Kellerman

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

Of Kings and men

Celebrating 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection

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.

Gary Foley, Invasion Day - We Have Survived

Gary Foley, Invasion Day - We Have Survived, 1988

Juno Gemes

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

TJ Smith and Tulloch, 1960 (printed 2003)

Ern McQuillan OAM

Portrait, glass plate negative

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Trukanini, 1866 (printed 1890s)

Charles Woolley

Purchased 2011

David Armstrong, B.A., B. Phil., 1959

Clifton Pugh AO

Portrait, oil on masonite

Gift of Jennifer Armstrong 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

George Hoyningen-Huene and Jessie the Barmaid, 1937

Max Dupain OBE

Portrait, pastel and coloured pencil on paper

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

Self portrait (Hilda in the Chinoise hat)

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

Hilda Rix Nicholas

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

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

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

Portrait, lithograph on paper

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

Piper, the native who accompanied Major Mitchell in his expedition to the interior

Piper, the native who accompanied Major Mitchell in his expedition to the interior, c. 1836

William Fernyhough

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

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.

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

Magazine article by Tamsin Hong, 2016

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.

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.

The Art Lovers – Noah and Savannah 2015 by Gary Grealy

Observation point

Magazine article by Gary Grealy, 2016

Photographer Gary Grealy discusses his passion for portraiture.

William Johnson (1873—1948) by Percy Leason

Recognition

Percy Leason's Aboriginal Portraits

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

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

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.

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.

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.

Les Darcy

Les Darcy (1895-1917), boxer, was one of Australia's earliest sporting heroes.

3 portraits in the collection

Top of their game

Nobel Laureates

Previous exhibition, 2014

Macfarlane Burnet and Patrick White

Rick Amor

21 Portraits

Rick Amor, noblest yet most unaffected of contemporary Australian portraitists, is also a painter of enigmatic, ominous landscapes, seascapes and cityscapes that haunt the viewer like dreams, dimly-recalled.

Australian Princess

Magazine article by Katherine Russell, 2005

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

Sir Charles Court and Richard Court, 2006-2007

Mary Moore

Portrait, oil on composition board

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2006

Maurice Felton

Anne Zahalka Portraits 1987-2007

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

Hall of Mirrors

Previous exhibition, 2007

Hall of Mirrors: Anne Zahalka Portraits 1987-2007 explores the thread of portraiture through the artist's prolific career, now spanning more than 20 years.

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

Linde Ivimey

Contributing artists

Born: 1965, Sydney
Works: Sydney

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.

Patrick White at Centennial Park, 1979–1980

White Whiteley

The portrait of Patrick White by Brett Whiteley

Previous exhibition, 2012

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

2014-15 Acquisition Fund

Magazine article by Sandy Nairne, 2006

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

Why do painted portraits still matter?

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

POL

Portrait of a Generation

Previous exhibition, 2003

POL was a magazine that ran from 1969 to 1986

Les Darcy, c. 1916

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Marjorie Cotton Isherwood

Marjorie Cotton Isherwood (1913–2003) was the first professionally qualified children's librarian in New South Wales and many of her initiatives continue today.

1 portrait in the collection

George Moore, 1957

Ern McQuillan OAM

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.

A G Stephens, c. 1910 (printed later)

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Duty bound

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

Little women

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

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

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.

Duke of Wellington, 1841

John Lucas

Portrait, mezzotint on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

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)

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.

Maurice Ashkanasy CMG QC

Maurice Ashkanasy (1901-1971) was a barrister and Jewish community leader whose family came to Australia from London when he was 9 years old.

1 portrait in the collection

Hilda Rix Nicholas

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

1 portrait in the collection

David Collins

David Collins (1756–1810), lieutenant-governor, began his career in the British Navy, rising to the rank of captain before being returning to dry land and being placed on half-pay in late 1783.

1 portrait in the collection

John Landy AC CVO MBE

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

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

Albert and his wife Rubina, Macdonnell Ranges

Albert and his wife Rubina, Macdonnell Ranges, 1946

Axel Poignant

Purchased 1999

Dr Sarah Engledow

Photographic Portraits from 19th Century Australia

Dr Sarah Engledow was appointed Historian at the National Portrait Gallery in 1999.

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

Gary Foley

Previous exhibition, 1999

Gary Foley (b. 1950) is a Gumbainggir activist, actor, historian, curator and academic.

2 portraits in the collection

Arthur Boyd Portraits

This is the first in a series of National Portrait Gallery exhibitions to survey the portraits painted by artists who are not thought of, primarily, as portrait painters

John Piper

Piper (life dates unknown), also known as John Piper, was a Wiradjuri man who acted as a guide to Thomas Mitchell’s surveying expedition along the Murray and Darling Rivers into present-day Victoria in 1836.

2 portraits in the collection

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

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

Shirley Purdie

Contributing artists

Born: 1947, Gilbun – Mabel Downs Station, WA
Works: Warmun, WA

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

Public information

Governance & Board

An agency plan prepared in accordance with the Information Publication Scheme.

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

200 Years of Portraiture

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

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

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Dorothy Porter, 2001-2002

Rick Amor

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

Gift of Andrea Goldsmith 2011. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

David 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.

Jane Mander 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.

Neil Armfield, 2010

Adam Cullen

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

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned 2010

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

Reverend Nathaniel Kinsman, c. 1880

William B. Latimer, W B Latimer Photo Art Studio

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite

Purchased 2013

Adam Scott: at Sanctuary Cove Golf Course

Celebrities on the field

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2006

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

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

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2011

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

More cash than dash

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

Xavier Herbert, early 1980s (printed 2018)

Jacqueline Mitelman

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Emily 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

Horace S. Wills

1 portrait in the collection

Egbert S. Wills

1 portrait in the collection

Cedric S. Wills

Magazine article by Natasha Walsh, 2019

1 portrait in the collection

Numb to touch (self-portrait), 2018
by Natasha Walsh

Observation point

My practice has always been driven by my experimental curiosity, from heavy wax and resin bodies generated in flame, to delicate temporal works that explore the conductive and alchemical possibilities of copper.

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

Why portraiture?

Magazine article by Blak Douglas, 2023

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

Patrick White #1, 1980

William Yang

Purchased 1998

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

John Landy, c. 1954

Ern McQuillan OAM

Significant Australian Women 1913–2013

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

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.

Material culture

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2018

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

Dora Byrne, 1951

Richard von Marientreu

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

School visit information

Learn

All you need to know from COVID-19 and group sizes to cancellations and our Certificate of Currency.

Hon Tom Hughes KC, 2001

Jiawei Shen

Commissioned with funds provided by Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull 2003

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020

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

Ada Jemima Crossley

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

2 portraits in the collection

Australian Tapestry Workshop

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

Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, 1824 by James Thomson

Audacity, audacity, audacity

Previous exhibition, 2023

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

Time and light

In Gallery Seven

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

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

Uncommon Australians

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Previous exhibition, 2015

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

Glossy 2

Faces, Magazines, Now

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

Lady Anne Maria Barkly

Previous exhibition, 2006

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

Australian Visit

The exhibition will include works of art from the NPG Canberra's permanent collection with some inward loans and aims to highlight the achievements of notable Australians.

More about the National Photographic Portrait Prize

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

Tejal Shah

by Gitanjali Dang

Born in 1979, Tejal Shah grew up in Chhattisgarh, central India, moving to Bombay in 1995.

Adrian Rawlins

Magazine article by Pamela Gray, 2002

Adrian Rawlins (1939-2001), poet, performer and promoter, grew up in a Jewish household in Caulfield and St Kilda.

1 portrait in the collection

Michael Kimmelman

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.

Captain W Kinghorne, 1834

Thomas James Lempriere

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

Clifton Pugh

Australians

Previous exhibition, 2022

This exhibition offers a comprehensive display of Clifton Pugh's portraits revealing his development and growth from tonal paintings to a unique style that was in demand from politicians, artists, academics and Australian personalities.

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.

Alluring Performance Brings Gallery to Life

5 April 2019

Archived media releases 2019

See the Gallery through a different lens and experience the portraits with a unique sensorial performance of movement, voice and live sound.

In memory of the Rev William Hill, 1869

Charles Wherrett

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Little treasures

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2002

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

Sideshow Alley

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

Previous exhibition, 2015

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

Cultural kaleidoscope

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

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

Finalists announced for National Photographic Portrait Prize

14 November 2018

Archived media releases 2018

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

Me Myself I

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2001

Andrew Sayers explores the self-portraits created by Australian artist Sidney Nolan.

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...

Arnold Shore

Archived media releases 2016

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

2 portraits in the collection

Dissections: Layered portraits from the collection is now open

19 August 2016

Dissections, showcases the hyper-realist sculptural self-portrait of artist Sam Jinks, Divide, alongside the painted portrait of philosopher David Chalmers by Nick Mourtzakis, which was commissioned by the Gallery in 2011.

Thousand mile stare

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2004

John Elliott talks about his photographic portrait practice, including his iconic image of Slim Dusty arm-in-arm with Dame Edna Everage.

2020 Annual Appeal

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2007

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

Prime number

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

Listomania

Thomas Woolner in Australia

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.

Missing Persons

Desperately seeking Woolner medallions

George Brown

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2005

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

1 portrait in the collection

True Stories

The story behind the creation of the portrait of Helen Garner by Jenny Sages.

William St. Leonards Robertson, c. 1869

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

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

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022

Learning resources

Let’s look closely at the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022 together! For students and family groups.

Off grid

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2019

Aimee Board ventures within and beyond to consider two remarkable new Gallery acquisitions.

Lady Isabella Louisa Parry

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

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

1 portrait in the collection

The house, the horse, the wife and the offspring

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

Magazine article by Stephen Phillips, 2016

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

Shop Talk

Angus and the arbiters talk (photo) shop for the National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Talking heads

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2009

In their own words lead researcher Louise Maher on the novel project that lets the Gallery’s portraits speak for themselves.

The Gladiators (Norm Provan and Arthur Summons)

Who's that?

Michael Desmond discusses the iconic picture of two Rugby League players which became known as 'The Gladiators'.

King George V

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

4 portraits in the collection

Queen Mary

Magazine article by Tedi Bills, 2016

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

It's a Mora!

Select extracts from Mirka Mora's autobiography, Wicked but Virtuous, provide rich accompaniment to recent Gallery acquisitions.

Krystal Seigerman

Finalist interviews

The photograph was a brief, candid moment, which unfolded into a portrait. Peter and I were in Silverton, NSW, chatting as our students explored the town. The weak afternoon light suddenly became dramatic and defined, so I asked Peter if I could take his portrait.

Shen Jiawei

Magazine article by Emeritus Professor Jaynie Anderson AM, 2015

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

Sitter still

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

Miscellaneous obsessions

Magazine article by William Yang, 2022

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

The bright-eyed Mariner

A new colonial portrait brings a zealous captain near.

Beautiful bones

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2011

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

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.

Trumble's way

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

At the end of a summer break one is tempted to say that there is nothing much to report. Isn’t one restful holiday very much like another?

Crikey!

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.

In profile

Julian Kingma

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2023

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

Staffordshire bull terrier belonging to the Rev. John Gower, 1851

Essential portraiture

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2011

Michael Desmond in conversation with University of Houston professor of philosophy Cynthia Freeland.

Extremely generous and incredibly close

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

Simon Harsent

Finalist interviews

I like to think I'm an artist who uses photography as my medium, but I work commercially as a photographer and it's my full time occupation so I guess that defines me as a photographer or maybe a commercial artist?

Talma Studios, Sydney

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

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

1 portrait in the collection

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.

Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, 1657–58 Johannes Vermeer

Basking in light

Magazine article by Pieter Roelofs, 2023

Pieter Roelofs, Head of Painting and Sculpture at Rijksmuseum and co-curator of Vermeer, delves into the largest-ever exhibition of the master artist.

Thread bare

Magazine article by Cayce Zavaglia, 2017

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

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.

Heart of Darkness

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2002

Magda Keaney talks with Bill Leak about his bold new portrait of Robert Hughes in the National Portrait Gallery collection.

Self Portrait in red shirt, 1937 by Arthur Boyd

Arthur as Alyosha?

Magazine article by Patrick McCaughey, 2015

Patrick McCaughey explores a striking Boyd self portrait.

Tracks in the sand

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2016

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

Australia’s great internationalists

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.

Confessional conversations

The portraiture of Kristin Headlam

Magazine article by Fiona Gruber, 2015

Fiona Gruber investigates the work of Australian painter Kristin Headlam.

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.

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.

Roam alone

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2018

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

Study in scarlet

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

Humanæ, 2012 (work in progress) by Angélica Dass

Colour by numbers

Magazine article by Alistair McGhie, 2019

Alistair McGhie explores the many shades of Angélica Dass’ Humanæ project.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2023

Learning resources

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

Entry guidelines 2024

Little Darlings Youth Portrait Prize

Read the full requirements for entering the prize.

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.

Eko Nugroho

by Adeline Ooi

Magazine article by Katrina Osborne, 2016

Born and raised in Yogyakarta, Eko Nugroho (b. 1977) entered the art scene at the height of Reformasi.

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

Love scars

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

Real close

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2012

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

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.

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.

Earth to earth

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2016

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

Dr Edward MacMahon, 1959 by William Dobell

Bill and Ted's excellent portrait.

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

Inside outside

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

Michael Desmond explores the portraiture of Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud.

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

Take thy face hence

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

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

Herra Pahlasari

by Aminudin TH Siregar

Magazine article by Beatrice Gralton, 2013

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

Family collective

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

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

Prima facie

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

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

Being Cate

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

A moving portrait of Cate Blanchett unfolds as an inspired pairing of medium and subject.

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Honour board

Atul Bhalla

by Khavita Singh

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

Staying home

True south #2

Magazine article by Celina Fox, 2006

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

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

A new perspective

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

Exhibition opening speech

Magazine article by Michael Wardell, 2016

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

ORA - Homesickness Project 2015 by Chrys Zantis

Food for thought

Michael Wardell on Chrys Zantis’ Ora.

Depth of Field

Magazine article by Lauren Dalla, 2004

The exhibition Depth of Field displays a selection of portrait photographs that reflect the strength and diversity of Australian achievement.

Bloodlines

Magazine article by Michelle Fracaro, 2004

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

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.

Nusra Latif Qureshi

by Hammad Nasar

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2006

Nusra Latif Qureshi was born in Pakistan in 1973 and originally trained in the traditional art of Mughal miniature (musaviri) paintings.

Hearts of Darkness

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

Anatomist's eye

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2016

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

The transparent mask

Magazine article by Karen Vickery, 2015

Cate Blanchett and the art of acting in Rosetzky’s digital portrait.

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.

For the boys

Magazine article by Alistair McGhie, 2011

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

Storied portrait

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

Emily Casey takes in Shirley Purdie’s remarkable self-portrait, Ngalim-Ngalimbooroo Ngagenybe.

Expect the unexpected

Joanna Gilmour revels in accidental artist Charles Rodius’ nineteenth century renderings of Indigenous peoples.

I'm not there

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2008

Christopher Chapman looks at some contemporary portraits that explore the construction of identity.

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.

FX Harsono

by Christine Clark

Magazine article by Gideon Haigh, 2009

FX Harsono was born in 1949, just as the independence of the Indonesian nation was being established.

Top shot that

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

People are people

Magazine article by Sandra Bruce, 2022

Sandra Bruce chats with seven-time NPPP finalist Chris Budgeon about photography, guitars and representing the human story.

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.

Woman with Fair Hair and Pink Cardigan, 1949 by John Perceval.

The family scene

Magazine article, 2016

Traudi Allen discovers sensitivity, humour and fine draughtsmanship in the portraiture of John Perceval.

The cook (Michael Schmidt/architect), 1987

Hall of mirrors

Magazine article by Naomi Cass, 2007

Naomi Cass, Director of the Centre of Contemporary Photography, in conversation with Anne Zahalka.

Desperately seeking Sonia

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2015

Esther Erlich’s portrait of Lady McMahon.

Love City; George Gittoes on hilltop 2013

Man of war

Magazine article by Tedi Bills, 2016

Tedi Bills talks to George Gittoes about canvassing conflict.

The more things change

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2011

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

Portrait of Thea Proctor, 1905 by George Lambert

The real Thea

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

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

Poison pen

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

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.

The eye and the heart

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

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

The fat of the land

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

National Portrait Gallery and Access2Arts staff presenting on audio description at the Australian Museums and Galleries Association National Conference

Our achievements to date

Disability Inclusion Action Plan 2023–25

During the period 2018–20, the Gallery implemented our first Access Action Plan.

Star signs

Magazine article by Barry York, 2018

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

Suave

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

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

Finest quality

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

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

Alternative virtue

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

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

Snap chat

Magazine article by Anne O'Hehir, 2019

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

Vanity fair

Magazine article by Ashleigh Wadman, 2012

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

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

Lustre, held by a Groom, ca. 1762 by George Stubbs

Stubbs and the horse

One of the chief aims of George Stubbs, 1724–1806, the late Judy Egerton’s great 1984–85 exhibition at the Tate Gallery was to provide an eloquent rebuttal to Josiah Wedgwood’s famous remark of 1780: “Noboby suspects Mr Stubs [sic] of painting anything but horses & lions, or dogs & tigers.”

Faces of war

Lecture, 14 May 2011

Lesley Harding, Curator, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne explores Albert Tucker’s experience of World War II, his interests in the intersection between psychology and creativity, and their influence on his portrait making.

Ken Done

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

Alwin Reamillo

by Christine Clark

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

Alwin Reamillo was born in Manila, Philippines in 1964. He studied painting at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts, and began his career as a visual art teacher at the Philippine High School for the Arts.

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.

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

No small wonder

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

Generous Janice

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2007

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

Money and swat

Andrew Sayers discusses the real cost of George Lambert's Self portrait with gladioli 1922.

The stately lotus

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 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.

In the galleries

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

Ms Anna Burke MP, Speaker of the House of Representatives 2015 by Jude Rae

Hired guns, bounty hunters and horse whisperers

Magazine article by Jude Rae, 2016

Jude Rae contemplates the portrait commission.

As long as you're here, 2013 by Tony Curran

Touchy touchy

Magazine article by Tony Curran, 2015

Tony Curran ponders whether our phones can change the course of painting.

Fine and dandy

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

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

Doodles of the Diva

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

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

An Australian story

Magazine article by The Hon. Dr Kevin Rudd, 2009

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.

The personal and the historical

Magazine article by Jennifer Coombes, 2018

Where do we draw a line between the personal and the historical? Although she died in Melbourne in 1975, when I was not quite eleven years old, I have the vividest memories of my maternal grandmother Helen Borthwick.

Anne-Louise Lambert as Miranda Courtesy Picnic Productions

Rock star

Jennifer Coombes explores the lush images of Picnic at Hanging Rock, featuring Anne-Louise Lambert’s Miranda, the face of the film.

Miles from nowhere, 2008 (printed 2014) from the Games of consequence series 2008 Polixeni Papapetrou

Mother’s muse

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2020

Inga Walton traces the poignant path of photographer Polixeni Papapetrou, revealed in the NGV’s summer retrospective.

Lovers of light

Magazine article by Johanna McMahon, 2019

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

Dupain detective

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

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

The jungle look

Magazine article by David Gist, 2019

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

One hundred days at 7pm 2015 by Fiona McMonagle

Self-effacing

Magazine article by Michael Wardell, 2016

Michael Wardell samples the fare in the University of Queensland National Self-portrait Prize.

Reflections on portraiture

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2004

An extract from the 2004 Nuala O'Flaaherty Memorial Lecture at the Queen Victoria Musuem and Art Gallery in Launceston in which Andrew Sayers reflects on the unique qualities of a portrait gallery.

The Conciliation, 1840 by Benjamin Duterrau

The art of conciliation

Magazine article by Gareth Knapman, 2017

Gareth Knapman explores the politics and opportunism behind the portraits of Tasmania’s Black War.

Uncommon Australians

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

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

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

Petal to the mettle

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.

Some women you may not know

Alison Alder

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

Yanyuwa young men, The Song Peoples Sessions CD Launch Rehearsals, Yanyuwa Country, 2012 Benjamin Warlngundu Ellis

Us being ourselves

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2022

Penelope Grist talks to photographer Benjamin Warlngundu Ellis about capturing moments, telling stories and keeping Culture strong.

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

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.

A non-material and non-physical portrait

Lecture, 21 May 2011

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2017

Inner Worlds features the recently commissioned portrait of world-renowned philosopher of consciousness David Chalmers by Melbourne-based artist Nick Mourtzakis.

Drawing inspiration

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

Rick Amor: 21 Portraits

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

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

Home truths

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

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

Lovingly observed

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

Sarah Engledow previews the beguiling summer exhibition, Idle hours.

First-Class Marksman, 1946 by Sidney Nolan

Money for Myth

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2015

Australian character on the market by Jane Raffan.

Flesh, figure and rock

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2018

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

Big bouquet of Blackmans

Magazine article by Karl James, 2015

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

Lauded legacy

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

Kristin Headlam

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2013

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

What price self?

Jane Raffan investigates auction sales of self portraits nationally and internationally.

Fiona McMonagle

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2016

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.

Waterfall in Australia, c. 1830 by Augustus Earle

Augustus serendipitous

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

NPPP 2016 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

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

Seeing stars

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

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.

History

About us

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

Nicholas Harding

Magazine article by Stephen Valambras Graham, 2021

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

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

The catechist and the cricketer

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

A sketch for some portraits

Magazine article by Judith Pugh, 2005

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

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

Getting bare

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2015

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

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.

Portrait of a Pioneer , 1917
Violet Teague

Off her own bat

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

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

Practising the Minuet (Miss Hilda Spong)

An actress and her fans

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

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.

Regarding Henrys

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

Secure the shadow ere the substance fade

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

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

The shipwright's arms

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

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

An evening at Yarra Cottage, Port Stephens

Maria Caroline Brownrigg

NPPP 2017 exhibition essay

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

Trevor Jamieson, 2016 by Brett Canet-Gibson

The more things change...

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

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

Portraiture in a Bleak House

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 Triumph of Death, c. 1562 by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

The Black Death

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

The best horror stories are real. A flea sinks its proboscis into the skin of a sick black rat, feeds on its blood, and ingests lethally multiplying bacteria.

You are who?

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

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 Bare story

Curator, Penny Grist, reveals how this exhibition came to be

Nicholas Harding: 28 Portraits

Exhibition essay

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

Christmas Island