Search / fred williams

Fred Williams OBE, painter and etcher, was one of the most important Australian artists of the twentieth century.

14 portraits in the collection

Self portrait at easel, 1960-1961

Portrait, oil on masonite

Gift of Lyn Williams 1998. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program.

Hal Hattam, 1960

Portrait, oil on masonite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Hattam family in memory of Hal and Kate Hattam 2006
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Fred Williams, 1969

David Moore

Portrait, pencil and watercolour on paper

Purchased 1999

Fred Williams, 1980

Andrew Sibley

Gift of the artist 2002. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Fred Williams - Painter, 1981

Rennie Ellis

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

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

David Moore

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
The series 'David Moore: From Face to Face' was acquired as a gift of the artist and with financial assistance from Timothy Fairfax AC and L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2001.

Fred Williams, 1980

Andrew Sibley

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Clifton Pugh painting in the studio, 1974

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lyn Williams AM 2011
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Rev. Fred Nile, Festival of Light, Sydney

Rev. Fred Nile, Festival of Light, Sydney, 1981

Purchased 1999

John Perceval painting, 1958

Portrait, drypoint on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of James Mollison AO 2007

Portrait of Patrick Ryan, 1971

Portrait, gouache on paper laid on board

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

Sketch portrait of David Aspden, 1975

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lyn Williams AM 2011
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Murray Bail, 1980-1981

Gift of an anonymous donor 1999. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

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.

Stephen Murray-Smith, 1980

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2011

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lyn Williams AM 2011
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Painting mates

Michael Desmond discusses Fred Williams' portraits of friends, artist Clifton Pugh, David Aspden and writer Stephen Murray-Smith, and the stylistic connections between his portraits and landscapes.

Olly's Trolly, Freddie's Brushes, 1989

Murray Walker

Portrait, monoprint on paper

Gift of the artist 2001

Fred Nile MLC

The Rev. Fred Nile MLC (b. 1934) Leader of the Christian Democratic Party was born and raised in King's Cross, Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Fred Kruger

Fred Kruger was born in Berlin and came to Victoria around 1860. By 1866 he’d taken up photography, and soon began making his name with landscape photographs, some of which went on to win medals at exhibitions in Vienna, Philadelphia, Melbourne and Geelong.

1 portrait in the collection

Fred Schepisi AO

Fred Schepisi AO (b. 1939), film producer and director, briefly trained to be a priest before working in advertising.

1 portrait in the collection

Fred Gruen AO

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

1 portrait in the collection

Fred Hilmer AO

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

1 portrait in the collection

Professor Fred Hollows AC

Professor Fred Hollows (1929–1993), ophthalmologist, came to Australia from New Zealand, where he had trained as a doctor.

1 portrait in the collection

Fred Schepisi, c. 2000

Kate Gollings

Portrait, gouache on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2004

Fred Hilmer, 2018

Evert Ploeg

Portrait, oil on linen

Commissioned with funds provided by Dr Helen Nugent AO 2018

Fred Gruen, 1941

Erwin Fabian

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

Patrick McCaughey, 1985

Fred Cress

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

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

Fred Cress, 1995

Greg Weight

Portrait, albumen paper photograph

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

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

Fred Kruger

Purchased 2017

Sir Frederick Chaney, n.d.

Louis Kahan AO

Portrait, oil and hand-stitching on canvas

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

Fred Hollows, 1993

Kerrie Lester

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

R. M. Williams AO CMG

RM (Reginald Murray) Williams AO CBE (1908-2003), saddlery, boot and clothing manufacturer, miner and author, moved to Adelaide from his birthplace near the Flinders Rangers when he was 10.

1 portrait in the collection

Harry Williams

Harry Williams (b. 1951) is a Wiradjuri man and the first Indigenous footballer to represent Australia at international level.

1 portrait in the collection

John Williams AO OBE

John Williams AO OBE, (b. 1941), guitar virtuoso, had his first guitar lessons from his father, and from the age of eleven attended summer schools with the Spanish maestro Andrés Segovia in Italy.

1 portrait in the collection

Edith E. Williams

Edith Ellen Williams (nee Horne, (1851–1885) was the first wife of Hartley Williams (1843–1929), a Victorian Supreme Court judge from 1881 until 1903.

1 portrait in the collection

John Williams

John Williams (1796-1839), missionary, began his working life in 1810, apprenticed to an ironmonger, but in 1814 he underwent an Evangelical conversion and became a member of the Tabernacle Church (Calvinistic Methodist).

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Hartley Williams

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

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Edward E. Williams

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

1 portrait in the collection

Philip Williams

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

1 portrait in the collection

Barry & Alkirra – The House in Carrington, 2014

by Katherine Williams

R. M. Williams, 1982 (printed 2005)

John Elliott

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Ita Buttrose, 1981

Purchased 1999

Al Grassby and Penny Dent, Community Relations Commission, Canberra

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

Purchased 1999

John Williams, 2000 (printed 2022)

Polly Borland

Purchased 2022

Portrait of Lady Eyre Williams (Jessie Gibbon)

Lady Jessie Eyre Williams

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

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

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Hartley Williams, c. 1871

Portrait, albumen silver photograph, hand coloured on paper

Gift of Ross and Judy O'Connell 2016

Edith Ellen Williams, c. 1871

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Portrait, albumen silver photograph, hand coloured on paper

Gift of Ross and Judy O'Connell 2016

Harry Williams, 2005

Sahlan Hayes

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on resin-coated paper

Purchased 2006

Portrait of Philip Williams, 2019

Portrait, wood engraving (Baxter print) on paper

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

Reverend John Williams, c. 1837

George Baxter

Purchased 2012

Sir Edward Eyre Williams, 1872

Thomas Foster Chuck

Portrait, albumen silver photograph, hand coloured on paper

Gift of Ross and Judy O'Connell 2016

Chance encounter

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

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

Portrait of Lady Eyre Williams (Jessie Gibbon), 1833

Claude-Marie Dubufe

Purchased 2009

John Laws, 1981

Purchased 1999

Hermannsburg Potters, 1999

Greg Weight

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

Marc Besen AC and Eva Besen AO
Featuring a favourite painting, Fred Williams ‘Wild Dog Creek’ 1977

Marc Besen AC and Eva Besen AO
Featuring a favourite painting, Fred Williams ‘Wild Dog Creek’ 1977, 2020

Raelene Sharp

Portrait, oil on linen

Commissioned with funds provided by Nigel Satterley AM and Denise Satterley 2020

John Williams, 2006

by Graham McCarter

John Cochran after Henry Room

Captain R.C. Morgan, Missionary ship 'John Williams'

Captain R.C. Morgan, Missionary ship 'John Williams', n.d.

Portrait, engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Gina and Ted Gregg 2010

Hal Hattam

Harold 'Hal' Hattam (1913-1994), doctor, artist and art collector, came to Australia from his native Scotland at the age of seven.

1 portrait in the collection

Marlon Williams, 2015

by Dean Golja

Previous exhibition, 2007

John Brack Portraits

The exhibition includes such striking works as Portrait of Fred Williams, and Barry Humphries in the character of Edna Everage, the enigmatic Portrait of Hal Hattam, a group of revealing self portraits including the mysterious Inside and Outside, as well as endearing portraits of the artist's children.

Fred Hilmer, 2018

by Evert Ploeg

Commissioned with funds provided by Dr Helen Nugent AO 2018

Portrait 40

July - August 2011

Magazine

This issue features Claudia Karvan & Jimmy Pozarik, Agus Suwage & Contemporary Portraiture from Asia, Fred Williams, Zhong Chen, John Bell, The French Antipodes and more.

Fred Dagg (John Clarke), 1982

Rennie Ellis

an unknown artist, Freeman Brothers

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006

Scrapbook page featuring portraits of Fred Lowry and Frank Gardiner

Scrapbook page featuring portraits of Fred Lowry and Frank Gardiner, c. 1863

Portrait, albumen silver photographs on laid on paper with handwritten text

Purchased 2008

Rudy Komon

Rudy Komon (1908-1982) was an art dealer and gallery director. After working as a journalist in Czechoslovakia, where he served with the Czech resistance during the war, he emigrated to Sydney and opened an antique store.

3 portraits in the collection

Thomas Purves

Thomas Purves (1909-1969), known as Tam, founded the Australian Galleries in Smith Street, Collingwood, Melbourne with his wife Anne in 1956.

1 portrait in the collection

Rudy Komon, c. 1970

Lewis Morley

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

Louise Forthun (b. 1959), artist, works primarily in painting and printmaking and has an aesthetic and conceptual focus on the architectural landscape of Australia's urban environments.

1 portrait in the collection

Lifelines

Medical advocates

Fiona Stanley, Fiona Wood, Fred Hollows, Patrick McGorry and John Yu

Here’s looking at you, kid

Devotion

Is he thinking of me?

Trent Nathan and Shane Barr, 1995 (printed 2018)

Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2018

Bruce Tyrrell, 1986 (printed 2018)

Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2018

James Mollison AO

Portrait, charcoal on paper

James Mollison AO (1931–2020) was the inaugural director of the National Gallery of Australia.

2 portraits in the collection

Girl (portrait of Barbara Blackman), 1969

Charles Blackman OBE

Purchased 2009

Peter Craven, 2015

Portrait

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2015

Tommy Emmanuel, 1993

Jim Rolon

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2012

Captain Robert Clark Morgan

Captain Robert Clark Morgan (1798-1864), Christian mariner, whaler and diarist, entered the Royal Navy at the age of eleven, leaving at sixteen for the merchant marine and beginning a career in whaling, a pursuit he relished.

1 portrait in the collection

Kate Hattam

Kathleen 'Kate' Hattam (1923–2004), stylesetter and art collector, was born in London and served with the Women’s Royal Air Force during the Second World War, stationed in radar at Beachey Head.

1 portrait in the collection

Yahoo Serious, 1989 (printed 2018)

Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams in memory of Peta Brownbrooke-Benjamins 2018

James Mollison, c. 1973 (printed 2004)

Wesley Stacey

Gift of James Mollison AO 2004

Barbara Blackman, 2008

Gorgi Dimcevski

Portrait, oil on masonite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Barbara Blackman 2009

Peter Elliott, 1964

Jon Molvig

Gift of Richard Elliott 2016. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Melbourne experience

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2007

Diana Warnes explores the lives of Hal and Katherine 'Kate' Hattam through their portraits painted by Fred Williams and Clifton Pugh.

Barbara Blackman AO

Upper primary and high school

Barbara Blackman AO (b. 1928), writer, poet and arts patron, was only fifteen when the ABC Weekly published one of her poems.

5 portraits in the collection

Scientist Portraits: Story and Spectacle

Event, Selected days from Thursday 14 August

Learn how storytelling meets science in this special program presented in collaboration with Questacon for National Science Week.

Bill Leak, 1984

phra ajahn ekaggata fka terry milligan

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2011

Facing Facts

Former NPG Director, Andrew Sayers describes the 1922 Self-portrait with Gladioli by George Lambert.

Peter Elliott AM

Peter Elliott AM (1927–2014) was an obstetrician, gynaecologist and gynaecological oncologist as well as a significant art collector and patron.

6 portraits in the collection

Rennie Ellis

Aussies All

Rennie Ellis: Aussies All is a celebration of the life and work of the late Australian photographer Rennie Ellis.

John Clarke

John Clarke (1948-2017), satirist and humourist, moved to Australia in the 1970s from New Zealand, where he had begun performing in university revues and was named Entertainer of the Year in 1976.

3 portraits in the collection

Tony Adam

Tony Adam (b. 1938) model, grazier and farmhand, grew up in Melbourne and attended Melbourne Grammar school, but left when he was sixteen.He went to work on Angledool and Llanillo stations in outback New South Wales and Queensland.

1 portrait in the collection

Supporters

$5,000 - $9,999

Magazine article by Rod Kemp, 2003

A gift for all ages

The then Minister for the Arts and Sport, Rod Kemp, reflects on the value of the Cultural Gifts Program.

2021 Annual Appeal

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

Rose Lindsay

Rose Lindsay (née Soady, 1885-1978), artist's model, posed for Sydney Long, Antonio Dattilo Rubbo and Fred Leist before she met Norman Lindsay in 1902.

5 portraits in the collection

Harry, 2012

by Milena Bennett

Kelly Dixon

Kelly Dixon is one of Australia's best-known bush balladeers. His poems have been set to music by some of Australia's leading country music stars - including Slim Dusty, who recorded Kelly's classic "Leave Him Out There in the Longyard." Kelly's verses have been collected in the books From a Drifter's Pen and From Under the Cross.

1 portrait in the collection

Ngambri Woman

Narelle Zeller

Rose Lindsay in garden at Springwood with Peter the fox terrier

Rose Lindsay in garden at Springwood with Peter the fox terrier, c. 1924

Harold Cazneaux

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Kelly Dixon, Tent Hill, Qld, 2004

John Elliott

Magazine article by Stuart Purves, 2016

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Bonfire of the vanities

Australian Galleries Director Stuart Purves tells the story of two portraits by John Brack.

Rose Lindsay, 1970

Anthony Browell

Portrait, direct positive colour photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Annual Appeal

Listed by year

Previous exhibition, 2015

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2015

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.

Paul Boston, 1995

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Rick Amor and Meg Williams 2015
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Robert Henderson Croll

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

Robert Henderson Croll (1869-1947), author, worked as a clerk in the Victorian public service for over 40 years, but is better remembered for his books and journalism.

2 portraits in the collection

Intense identity

Dr Chistopher Chapman discusses the portrait of Australian author Christos Tsiolkas taken by John Tsiavis.

Frederick Lowry

Fred Lowry (1836-1863) was a stockman before he turned to cattle and horse duffing.

1 portrait in the collection

Melbourne Spurr

Melbourne Spurr, born in Decorah, Iowa, arrived in Hollywood around 1917.

2 portraits in the collection

Kurt Baier

Captain Moonlite et al on trial for murder

Professor Kurt Baier (1917-2010) was a moral philosopher. A German Jew, he fled to London from Vienna to escape Nazi persecution three months before his final legal examinations.

1 portrait in the collection

Andrew George Scott, alias Captain Moonlite, c.1879 attributed to Charles Nettleton

Diseased curiosity

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2006

Just after 10.00 o'clock on 3 December 1879, four prisoners were brought from their cells at Darlinghurst Gaol and placed in the dock of a courtroom heaving with agitated spectators

Aussies all

The exhibition Aussies all features the ecclectic portrait photography of Rennie Ellis which captures Australian life during the 70s and 80s.

Robert Henderson Croll, 1927

Frederick George Reynolds

Portrait, oil on canvas on board

Gift of Grietje Croll in memory of her late husband Robert Devereaux Croll and with the endorsement of his daughter Helen Croll 2013. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Who is Lillie Roberts?

Devotion

Talented wife for a talented husband

Raelene Sharp

Explore The Popular Pet Show

Raelene Sharp (b. 1957), artist, was born in Melbourne and began her career as a graphic artist in advertising.

2 portraits in the collection

Jude Rae

Jude Rae’s high reputation rests on her austere, cerebral still lifes of gas canisters, electric jugs and jars, which she groups and rearranges for paintings that catch their difficult curves and reflections. Her self-portrait’s likewise thoughtfully composed.

William Robinson AO

William Robinson AO (b. 1936) is one of Australia's most distinguished and influential contemporary painters, known for his distinctive and prolific output as landscape painter in particular.

3 portraits in the collection

Sahlan Hayes

Magazine article by Dimity Goldie, 2003

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

9 portraits in the collection

Portrait of a Modernist

The National Portrait Gallery acquired the self-portrait by Grace Cossington Smith in 2003.

Annette Kellerman smiling, c. 1907 (printed 2003)

H. Walter Barnett

Portrait, modern bromide print on paper from an original negative

Gift of an anonymous donor 2004

Harmony (Self portrait)

Paule Vézelay

Therese Desmond

Portrait, pigment print on paper

Therese Desmond (1902–1961), radio and stage actress, was born Mary Long in London and came to Australia as a teenaged orphan at the end of World War 1.

1 portrait in the collection

The hoodie, 2021 (printed 2023)

Jacob Nash

Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2023

Figurative foundation

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

Joanna Gilmour explores the life and art of the Australian artist Janet Dawson.

George Fetting

George Fetting (b. 1964) is a Sydney-based photographer specialising in portrait, travel and editorial work.

8 portraits in the collection

Kurt Baier, 1942

Erwin Fabian

Portrait, conte on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

Vali Myers, 2001

Eva Collins

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2003

2015-17 Acquisition Fund

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

From 2015 to 2017 the Acquisition Fund was focussed on Reg Richardson AM by Mitch Cairns, a finalist in the Archibald Prize 2014, and a great example of minimalist portraiture.

Sir George Ferguson Bowen, c. 1873

Bardwell's Royal Studio

Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

George Andronicus, 1985 (printed 2018)

Portraits in the Landscape

Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2018

Open Air

Previous exhibition, 2008

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

Therese Desmond, 1919-1920

James Burnside

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Madeleine Howell 2013

Lowitja O'Donoghue, 2006

Robert Hannaford AM

Commissioned with funds donated by BHP Billiton Limited, Rio Tinto Aboriginal Fund, Newmont Australia Limited, Reconciliation Australia, Hon Paul Keating and Hon Fred Chaney 2006

Harold Mitchell AC

Self Portraits in Australia

Harold Mitchell AC (1942-2024), businessman and philanthropist, left his home town of Stawell at seventeen to become an office boy in a Melbourne advertising agency.

1 portrait in the collection

To Look Within

Previous exhibition, 2004

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

National Youth Self Portrait Prize

NYSPP 2008

Previous exhibition, 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.

Christos Tsiolkas

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, hand coloured on paper

Christos Tsiolkas (b. 1965) is a Melbourne-born writer of Greek descent, whose work deals uncompromisingly with sexuality, identity and politics.

2 portraits in the collection

Jimmy Barnes, 1986

Jim Rolon

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2012

Ken Rosewall AM MBE

Ken Rosewall AM MBE (b. 1934), champion tennis player, won the Australian Open in 1953 and again nineteen years later in 1972 (he remains both the youngest, and oldest, person to win the title).

1 portrait in the collection

Hilary McPhee, 2015

Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2015

Chicka Dixon, 1980

Juno Gemes

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

Grazia Gunn, 2014

Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2015

Chicka Dixon

Charles ‘Chicka’ Dixon (1928–2010), Yuin Elder, Aboriginal rights activist and social pioneer, was born at Wallaga Lake on the New South Wales south coast.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert W. Pohlman

Robert Williams Pohlman (1811–1877), judge, arrived in Melbourne in 1840 and with his brother acquired a sheep station, Darlington (later Glenhope), near Kyneton.

1 portrait in the collection

Professor Suzanne Cory AC FAA FRS

Suzanne Cory AC (b. 1942) is a molecular biologist whose research has contributed to the understanding of immunology and the development of cancer.

1 portrait in the collection

Fiona McMonagle

Fiona McMonagle, an Irish-born, Melbourne-based artist, grew up in an outer suburb of Melbourne and completed a qualification in visual arts at RMIT before progressing to the Victorian College of the Arts.

1 portrait in the collection

David Williamson

In their own words

Recorded 1976

Manning Clark, 1985

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

Steve Kilbey, 1981 (printed 2018)

Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2018

Georges Mora

Georges Mora (1913-1992) was born Gunter Morawski to a Leipzig Jewish bourgeois family of Polish descent.

1 portrait in the collection

Leonard Ian Roach

Leonard Ian Roach (1925-2003), founding chairman of the Australian Stock Exchange, initiated the amalgamation of six stock exchanges, one in each State capital, into an Australian Stock Exchange in the mid-1980s.

1 portrait in the collection

2013-14 Acquisition Fund

Previous exhibition, 2008

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.

My Favourite Australian

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

The Waxworks

Waxworks were among the various types of entertainment venue to emerge in Australian cities in the mid-nineteenth century.

Paul Grabowsky, 2009

Martin Philbey

Commissioned with funds provided by Patrick Corrigan AM 2009

Paul Grabowsky, 2009

Martin Philbey

Commissioned with funds provided by Patrick Corrigan AM 2009

Vali Myers

Previous exhibition, 2005

Vali Myers (1930-2003) artist, vagabond and agitator, was born near Box Hill and moved to Melbourne at the age of eleven.

1 portrait in the collection

Clifton Pugh

Australians

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.

Flash

Australian Athletes in Focus

Introduction The National Portrait Gallery’s photographic exhibition Flash: Australian Athletes in Focus explores various interpretations of Australian sporting men and women.

Alan Goldberg, 2014

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2015

2014-15 Acquisition Fund

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

Graeme Murphy AO

Graeme Murphy AO (b. 1950), choreographer and dancer, was co-artistic director of the Sydney Dance Company with his wife Janet Vernon AM for three decades.

3 portraits in the collection

'The Australian Cricketers' from The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News June 1882

The Australian Cricket Team 1882

The Australian cricket team of 1882 was the third side to tour England and the team whose defeat of England at The Oval in August of that year initiated the 'The Ashes' Test series.

1 portrait in the collection

Ivy Shore

Magazine article by Rick Amor, 2021

Ivy Shore (1915–1999), painter, was born in Melbourne, daughter of a South Australian suffragette, Elka, and engineer John Williams.

2 portraits in the collection

Observation point

While visiting the National Portrait Gallery I noticed the absence of paintings of journalists.

Donors

$10,000 - $49,999

Famous

Karin Catt Portraits

Australian photographer Karin Catt has photographed world leaders, a host of rock stars and Oscar-winning compatriots Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, and Cate Blanchett.

L. Ian Roach, 1994

Paul Fitzgerald AM

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Australian Securities Exchange 2012
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Portraits for Posterity

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

Jan Senbergs, 2015

Magazine article by Tedi Bills, 2016

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2015

It's a Mora!

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

Portrait of Georges Mora, 1956

Charles Blackman OBE

Portrait, oil on paper laid on board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Rick Amor

21 Portraits

Previous exhibition, 2014

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.

Thomas Foster Chuck

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

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

4 portraits in the collection

Studio of the American & Australasian Photographic Co., Hill End, 1872

A rogue's calling card

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

2023 Annual Appeal

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

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.

Suave

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

The Saints, 1978 (printed 2018)

Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2018

Graeme Murphy, n.d.

Stuart Campbell

Magazine article by Katherine Russell, 2005

Gift of the Estate of Stuart Campbell 2012

Australian Princess

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

Annette Kellerman

Annette Kellerman (1886–1975), champion swimmer and entertainer, was among the early twentieth century's most recognisable women.

2 portraits in the collection

Ross Edwards

Ross Edwards (b. 1943), composer, became determined upon a life of composition as a child.

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.

Paul Cox, 2015

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2015

Right Rev Dr Lawrence Bonaventure Sheil OSF

Right Rev Dr Lawrence Bonaventure Sheil OSF, c. 1872

Bardwell's Royal Studio

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

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

18 October 2018

Archived media releases 2018

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

Full time

Magazine article by Alistair McGhie, 2017

Alistair McGhie reminisces about three Australian rugby greats commissioned for the Portrait Gallery collection by Patrick Corrigan AM.

Ellyse Perry, 2016

Fiona McMonagle

Portrait, watercolour, ink and gouache on paper

Purchased 2017

The first Australian first-class cricket team to tour England and North America

The first Australian first-class cricket team to tour England and North America, 1878

A & G Taylor

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2013

Sketch of Clifton Pugh painting John Perceval

Sketch of Clifton Pugh painting John Perceval, 1985

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2016

2020 Annual Appeal

Significant Australian Women 1913–2013

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

First Ladies

Previous exhibition, 2013

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

Australians in Hollywood

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2003

The exhibition Australians in Hollywood celebrated the achievements of Australians in the highly competitive American film industry.

Feel the music

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2010

Dr Christopher Chapman discusses the portrait of Australian composer Paul Grabowsky by photographer Martin Philbey.

Time and light

In Gallery Seven

Previous exhibition, 2023

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

Private practice

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

David Smith portrayed Dr Henry Crock without the accoutrements of an orthopaedic surgeon, adding to the National Portrait Gallery's collection of eminent Australian medical practitioners.

Blow Back, 2018

Julie Rrap

Portrait, pigment photographic prints on paper, hand ground glass

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

Uncommon Australians

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Previous exhibition, 2010

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

Australian of the Year

Inspiring a Nation

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

The silent partner

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

One half of the team that was Eltham Films left scarcely a trace in the written historical record, but survives in a vivid portrait.

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.

The Good Doctor

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

Dr Sarah Engledow describes the achievements of internationally renowned burns and trauma surgeon Professor Fiona Wood.

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.

A sketch for some portraits

Magazine article by Judith Pugh, 2005

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

Drawn from life

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2021

Penelope Grist discovers the rich narratives in Peter Wegner’s series of centenarian portraits.

Ready , set... shoot

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2006

The exhibition Flash: Australian Athletes in Focus offers various interpretations of sporting men and women by five Australian photographers.

Adam’s Prize Apples

Magazine article by Pamela Gerrish Nunn, 2016

Pamela Gerrish Nunn explores New Zealand’s premium award for portraiture.

My Favourite Australian

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2009

The Australian public was invited in 2008 to vote for their favourite Australian. After the votes were tallied an exhibition of the top-ten Popular Australians and the top-twenty unsung heroes was displayed at the National Portrait Gallery.

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.

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

Big bouquet of Blackmans

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

Giving and getting

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

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

20/20 launch speech

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2008

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

Facing Australia, Composite portrait: Facing St Lucia, 2003

Conflicting images

Michael Desmond reveals the origins of composite portraits and their evolution in the pursuit of the ideal.

Friends and Acquaintances

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

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

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

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.

Generous Janice

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

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

Sitter still

Magazine article by Emeritus Professor Jaynie Anderson AM, 2015

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

Anna Culliton

Explore The Popular Pet Show

Anna Culliton never had a colouring-in book when she was little. Her parents –Tony, a filmmaker, and Stephanie, a painter – wouldn’t let her have one. Instead, they insisted on her drawing her own pictures to colour-in.

Rick Amor: 21 Portraits

Magazine article by Karen Vickery, 2016

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

Diamond Doll

Karen Vickery delights in a thespian thread of the Australian yarn.

Starry knight

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

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

Kristin Headlam

Explore The Popular Pet Show

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.

NPPP 2016 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

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

Practising the Minuet (Miss Hilda Spong)

An actress and her fans

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.

Christmas Island

This is my last Trumbology before, in a little more than a week from now, I pass to my successor Karen Quinlan the precious baton of the Directorship of the National Portrait Gallery.

The personal and the historical

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.

The art of Inner Worlds

Lecture, 7 May 2011