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The highest honour

Bringing eminent scientist Frank Fenner and artist Jude Rae together for the National Portrait Gallery commission was like matchmaking.

Of ice and men

Frank Hurley's celebrated images document the heroism and minutiae of Australian exploration in Antarctica.

Vintage Cassab

The oil portrait of Sir Frank Packer KBE by Judy Cassab was gifted to the National Portrait Gallery in 2006.

A rogue's calling card

Joanna Gilmour explores the stories behind the ninteenth-century carte de visites of bushrangers Frank Gardiner and Fred Lowry.

Portrait 25

This issue of Portrait Magazine features Kym Bonython, Florence Broadhurst, Frank Fenner, Henri Matisse, animated portraits and more.

Be frank

Close encounters are the genesis for Graeme Drendel’s enticing portraiture.

Portrait 22

This issue of Portrait Magazine features Frank Packer, unconventional portraits of Prime Ministers, Glenn McGrath, Sam Haskins, Steve Irwin and more.

The hands have it

Angus Trumble treats the gallery’s collection with a dab hand.

Hired guns, bounty hunters and horse whisperers

Jude Rae contemplates the portrait commission.

With a Little Help from my Friends

The story behind the acquisition of the portrait of Danish architect Jørn Utzon.

String of Pearls

Andrew Sayers discusses the portrait of Dr Joan Croll AO by the Australian artist John Brack.

International issue

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

Before Too Long

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

A Pioneering Life

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

Face the music

Drawn from the Gallery's collection, the exhibition Face the Music explores the remarkable talents and achievements of Australian musicians, composers, conductors and celebrities associated with the music industry.

Blue Collar Icon

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

You, looking at me

Elspeth Pitt chats with Archibald Prize-winning artist Yvette Coppersmith about performance, coincidences and the intersection of art and life.

Every flap, fold and bulge

Boyd to man

Christopher Chapman looks at influences and insight in the formative years of Arthur Boyd.

A feast of friends

John Singer Sargent: a painter at the vanguard of contemporary movements in music, literature and theatre.

Post digital

Tegan McAuley looks at the evolution of video portraiture.

The long game

Penelope Grist spends some quality time with the Portrait Gallery’s summer collection exhibition, Eye to Eye.

The Vanity model

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

Less than six degrees of separation

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

Finding Mrs Frisby

Robyn Sweaney's quiet Violet obsession.

Painting them gently

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

Bill and Ted's excellent portrait.

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

In and out of focus

Gael Newton looks at Australian photography, film and the sixties through the novel lens of Mark Strizic.

Eating the seasons

Anne Sanders imbibes Tony Bilson’s gastronomic revolution.

Natural born stiller

Penelope Grist speaks to Robert McFarlane about shooting for the stars.

The life of Bryant

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

Women make history

Jennifer Higgie uncovers the intriguing stories behind portraits of women by women in the National Portrait Gallery’s collection.

Shiny, happy people

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

Alter ego

Tom Fryer surveys the twentieth-century architectural project, and finds representation and the portrait were integral elements.

Earth to earth

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

The activist A-list

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

Flash mob

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

Through blue eyes

Works by Arthur Boyd and Sidney Nolan bring the desert, the misty seashore and the hot Monaro plains to exhibition Open Air: Portraits in the landscape.

A sketch for some portraits

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

Little women

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

A real Pratt

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