Search / gary young

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Purchased 2005

Malcolm and Angus Young, AC/DC

Bob King

'How to be a surfing legend'

Nat Young

Portrait story

Albert Falzon's photograph of Australian surfer Nat Young captures what it is to be a surfing hero.

Sir George Young

Sir George Young (1732–1810), naval officer, first went to sea at the age of fourteen and saw action in Europe and India before joining the East India Company’s marine in 1753.

1 portrait in the collection

John Young

John Young, mezzotint engraver, studied under Valentine Green then worked with several of the painters who collaborated with Green, notably Benjamin West, John Hoppner and Johann Gerhard Huck.

1 portrait in the collection

Simone Young AM

Simone Young AM (b. 1961) is one of the leading conductors of her generation.

1 portrait in the collection

Angus Young

Angus Young (b. 1955), guitarist and songwriter, was a founding member of Australia's most successful ever band, AC/DC.

3 portraits in the collection

Sir John Young

Sir John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar (1807-1876), governor of New South Wales from 1861 to 1867, was the son of a director of the East India Co.

1 portrait in the collection

Nick Young

Portrait, papercut silhouette drawing

Full time professional artist represented by the Woollahra Times Gallery in Sydney and Hart Galleries in Queensland..

1 portrait in the collection

Ah Young, 2017

Pamela See

Purchased 2019

Bill Henson

Recorded 2021

Nat Young, c. 1968

Albert Falzon

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of John Witzig 2006

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004

Nat in Hawaii, 1967

John Witzig

Gift of the artist 2008

Simone Young, 2002

Portrait, triptych of type C photographs on on paper

Commissioned with funds provided by the Farrell Family Foundation and the Basil Bressler Bequest 2002

Angus Young, 2003 (printed 2014)

Ingvar Kenne

Portrait, albumen paper photograph on carte de visite

Gift of the artist 2017. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Sir John Young, c. 1862

Freeman Brothers

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Simone Young

Angus Young, AC/DC, LA, 1978

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006

Simone Young

Simone Young

Bon Scott & Angus Young, Atlanta, Georgia

Bon Scott & Angus Young, Atlanta, Georgia, 1978 (printed 2010)

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Purchased 2010

Yaritji Tjingila Young, 2021

Robert Fielding

Previous exhibition, 2014

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Arcadia

Sound of the sea

An exhibition of photographs by John Witzig, drawings by Nicholas Harding and film footage by Albe Falzon, expressive of the free-spirited, hot-blooded energy of Australian surfers under the cloud of conscription to Vietnam.

Conduct becoming

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2017

Penelope Grist speaks to Bill Henson and Simone Young to discover the origins of the artist’s stunning photographic triptych.

No shirt, no service

The Illustrated London News after Jesse Young

Bon Scott and Angus Young photographed by Rennie Ellis are part of a display celebrating summer and images of the shirtless male.

The Australian exploring expedition travelling through scrub (from the Illustrated London News 1879)

The Australian exploring expedition travelling through scrub (from the Illustrated London News 1879), 1876

Portrait, wood engraving on paper

Purchased 2010

Gary Ede

Gary Ede, born in California, began his photographic career in London in the 1970s, photographing authors and celebrities for book publishers.

20 portraits in the collection

Gary Ella

Gary Ella (b. 1960) is a Yuin and Bidjigal man who grew up in La Perouse with eleven siblings.

1 portrait in the collection

Gary Heery

Gary Heery, photographer, was born in Sydney, where he studied sociology and psychology at the University of New South Wales.

1 portrait in the collection

Gary Grealy

Gary Grealy (b. 1950) has established himself over many years as one of Sydney’s leading commercial and portrait photographers with work commissioned by leading advertising agencies and major national and international clients.

11 portraits in the collection

Gary Catalano

Gary Catalano (1947-2002), poet and critic, was educated at Sydney’s Trinity Grammar and worked in a variety of jobs before a series of Australia Council grants in the late 1970s enabled him to devote himself full-time to writing.

3 portraits in the collection

Gary Foley

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

2 portraits in the collection

Dad at 93 years old, 2006

by Gary Heery

The steam apprentice, 2009

by Gary Steer

The Art Lovers - Megan, 2013

Narrow past, 2006

by Gary Deirmendjian

Sophie and Ann Cape – artists, 2014

The Saints, London

Bob Hawke, 1987 (printed 2018)

Purchased 2018

Yahoo Serious, 1989 (printed 2018)

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

Tim Johnson, 1994 (printed 2018)

Purchased 2018

Tas Bull, 1986 (printed 2018)

Magazine article by Gary Grealy, 2016

Purchased 2018

The Art Lovers – Noah and Savannah 2015 by Gary Grealy

Observation point

Photographer Gary Grealy discusses his passion for portraiture.

Lord Viscount Sydney, c. 1790

John Young after Gilbert Stuart

Portrait, mezzotint on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

'Red Terra' - Black Activist: A portrait of Gary Foley, 2006

by Rod McNicol

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen on paper

Creature from the Black Platoon starring Gary Foley 2011, 2011

TextaQueen

Purchased 2011

eX de Medici, artist, 2017

Stevie Wright, London

Tommy Smith, 1986 (printed 2018)

Purchased 2018

Harold Thornton, 1977 (printed 2018)

Purchased 2018

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

Dr John Yu, 2014

Purchased with funds provided by Dr Gene Sherman AM and Patrick Corrigan AM 2016

Stevie Wright, 1975 (printed 2011)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Lan Wang, 2011

Purchased with funds provided by Dr Gene Sherman AM 2016

Steve Kilbey, 1981 (printed 2018)

Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2018

Anders Ousback, 1986 (printed 2018)

Purchased 2018

Glenn A Baker, 1989 (printed 2018)

Purchased 2018

George Andronicus, 1985 (printed 2018)

Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2018

Laurie Carmichael, 1981 (printed 2018)

Purchased 2018

Dick Düsseldorp, 1991 (printed 2018)

Purchased 2018

Dave Tice, 1978 (printed 2018)

Purchased 2018

David Clarke, 1995 (printed 2018)

Blood, Joyce Gold Naval Chronicle Office after John Smart

Purchased 2018

Sir George Young Kt, Admiral of the White Squadron, 1814

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ted and Gina Gregg 2012

Gary Ella, c. 2000

Gift of the artist 2004

McLean Edwards, 2006

Portrait, pencil on paper

Gary Catalano, 1994

Rick Amor

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

Gary Catalano, 1994

Rick Amor

Portrait, pencil and watercolour on yellow paper

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

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.

Gary Catalano 2, 1980, 1980 (printed 2012)

Robert Rooney

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Robyn Nevin, 2012

by Gary Heery

Jenny Sages - artist, 2012

Gene Sherman, 2009

Purchased with funds provided by Patrick Corrigan AM 2016

Adam Cullen, 2000

Portrait, inkjet print

Purchased with funds provided by Dr Gene Sherman AM and Patrick Corrigan AM 2016

Patrick Corrigan, 2015

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist and Anne Grealy 2016

Jiawei Shen, 2011

Purchased with funds provided by Dr Gene Sherman AM 2016

Ken Catchpole, 2014

Commissioned with funds provided by the Patrick Corrigan Portrait Commission Series 2014

Edmund Capon, 2011

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2013
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Sir Tristan Antico, 1993 (printed 2018)

Purchased 2018

Olivia Newton-John, 1978 (printed 2017)

Gary Heery

Purchased 2017

Richard Morecroft & Alison Mackay, 2016

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2018

Geoffrey Legge and Frank Watters, 2008

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2010

Some lads #4, 1986 (printed c. 2000)

Tracey Moffatt

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal 2024

The Saints, 1978 (printed 2018)

Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2018

Brian and Gene Sherman, 2009

Purchased with funds provided by Patrick Corrigan AM 2016

Franco and Amina Belgiorno-Nettis, 1991 (printed 2011)

Winner, National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017

Purchased 2011

Gary Grealy

Gary Grealy on his portrait photography.

Portrait of a young Aussie, Matuse Peace, 2016

by John McRae

Archived media releases 2017

Richard Morecroft & Alison Mackay, 2016 by Gary Grealy

Gary Grealy wins National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017

31 March 2017

After months of anticipation, the winner for the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017 has been announced with renowned Sydney portrait photographer Gary Grealy taking out the award. George Fetting, guest judge for the 2017 Prize, was entranced with the evocative nature of the winning portrait Richard Morecroft and Alison Mackay.

Young Mo (Roy Rene), 1977

Martin Sharp

Portrait, oil on galvanised iron

Gift of Richard Wherrett 1998. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Some Lads

In Gallery Four

Previous exhibition, 2024

Tracey’s Moffat’s complete Some Lads series powerfully and playfully depicts Russell Page, Larrakia man Gary Lang, Muruwari man Matthew Doyle, and Graham Blanco, a descendant of the Mer (Murray Island) people.

Portrait of the artist as a young man

Dr Sarah Engledow explores the early life and career of John Brack.

Gary Waddell

Young Mo (Roy Rene)

'The artist's notebook'

Portrait story

An interview with Australian artist and collector of quirky artefacts, Martin Sharp.

Young woman in a shirt

Bon Scott and Angus Young, AC/DC

Bob King

Young woman in front of parked car

Young Australian #3, 2009

by Vittoria Dussoni

Portrait of a young man, held to be John Robertson

Portrait of a young man, held to be John Robertson, c. 1852

Portrait, daguerreotype, hand coloured

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

Young girl in a dance class waiting to be photographed, 2010

by John Slaytor

Nikki – Yurrkan Mantangka Ngargnyi – coll 1 (Nikki – young woman on Country)

Martine Perret

Knox Rocket, 2018

by Natalie Nowotarsk

Phillip Noyce AO

B Roger after Nicolas-Martin Petit

Phillip Noyce AO (b. 1950), director, was part of the first student intake at the Australian Film and Television School in 1973.

2 portraits in the collection

Nouvelle-Hollane: N.lle Galles de Sud. Ourou-Maraé, dit bull-dog par leas Anglais, Jeune guerrier de la Tribu des Gwea-Gal (New Holland: New South Wales. Ouron Marae, called Bull Dog by the English. a young Warrior of the Gwea Gal tribe)

Nouvelle-Hollane: N.lle Galles de Sud. Ourou-Maraé, dit bull-dog par leas Anglais, Jeune guerrier de la Tribu des Gwea-Gal (New Holland: New South Wales. Ouron Marae, called Bull Dog by the English. a young Warrior of the Gwea Gal tribe), c. 1800

Portrait, colour printed stipple engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2013

Marcia Ella, 2006

Sahlan Hayes

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on resin-coated paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006

American dream leads to tragic end

Young love lost, treasured

Boyca dharraka mayung ngurr gartji. Lardum ratjuk gurr (Boyca at Mayung Creek, Gartji. Hunting for barramundi)

Cassandra Scott-Finn

Becky feeding Hazel, 2012

by Louise Allerton

2024 Annual Appeal

Archived media releases 2014

In 1998, acclaimed artist Tracey Moffatt gifted her portrait Some Lads #1 (Russell Page) to the National Portrait Gallery. In 2024 we had the extraordinary opportunity to acquire the full body of work, adding Some Lads #2, Some Lads #3, Some Lads #4 and Some Lads #5 to the collection.

Rugby great unveiled

1 December 2014

A new portrait commission of Australian Rugby great, Ken Catchpole OAM by Gary Grealy will be officially unveiled on 3 December.

Fifteen, 2016

by Fiona Morris

Mr King was once on Countdown, 2010

by Ben Searcy

Mark Ella AM

Previous exhibition, 2001

Mark Ella AM (b. 1959) was one of four Australians named amongst the eleven inaugural ‘legends’ of the International Rugby Board Hall of Fame in 2013.

1 portrait in the collection

Headspace 2

A dynamic young people's art exhibition, Hearts/Heads: Headspace II explored portraiture, produced by students from year 7 to year 12

Sayeh: from the series Iranians, 2011

by Aletheia Casey

Portraits from The Movement 1978-2003

Proof

Previous exhibition, 2017

Portraits from The Movement is the first comprehensive survey of photographs from the Juno Gemes archive, which has supported the Aboriginal struggle for justice in Australia from 1978 to the present day.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017

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.

Portrait of a Girl Eating, 2006

by Leyla Stevens

Sensory Kits

Access

Does a young person in your life need additional support to feel at ease in a public space? Our sensory-friendly kits were developed in collaboration with Aspect (Autism Spectrum Australia) and are free to borrow during your visit.

John Marsden

John Marsden (1950–2024), author of Tomorrow, when the war began, is credited with encouraging generations of young people to read.

1 portrait in the collection

Larry Clark

Tough & Tender

Portrait, etching on paper

Larry Clark's black-and-white documentary images of young outsiders reveal raw feelings.

John Marsden, 1998

Peter Wegner

Gift of the artist 2002

John Witzig

John Witzig, photographer, writer and designer, contributed his first piece to Surfing World in 1963.

5 portraits in the collection

Treading Water, 2017

by Josh Owen

Finalist, DPA 2017
Single channel digital video

Marcia Ella

Event, Daily from Monday 7 July

Marcia Ella (b. 1963) was the first Indigenous woman to play international netball for Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Parents and children walking into the Gallery

Portrait Play

Celebrating NAIDOC

Celebrate NAIDOC Week this winter with Portrait Play, a gentle and creative program for families and young children.

Noah Taylor

Previous exhibition, 2020

Noah Taylor (b. 1969) left school at 16 to join Melbourne's St Martin's Youth Theatre.

1 portrait in the collection

Bill Henson

'Scale and presence'

Portrait story

Photographer Bill Henson describes creating his three part portrait of Simone Young.

Portrait Play: Auslan interpreted

Celebrating NAIDOC

Event, Tuesday 8 July

Celebrate NAIDOC Week this winter with Portrait Play, a gentle and creative program for families and young children with Auslan interpretation.

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.

Lleyton Hewitt, 1998

Robin Sellick

Gift of the artist 2004

The Murdoch

Moustaches

Sport was a potent means by which, in the lead up to Federation, Australians began to assert a sense of themselves as youthful, manly and athletic – the products of an equally young and virile new nation.

Sir William Windeyer

Sir William Windeyer (1834-1897) was a politician and judge. One of the first undergraduates to study at the University of Sydney, he developed a particular interest in education and the rights of women - he was responsible for the Married Women's Property Act of 1879, and was Founding Chairman of the university's Women's College.

4 portraits 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

Tarcissius, 2006

by Heide Smith

Portrait 58

Summer 2017-18

Magazine

Paul Cézanne, Bill Henson and Simone Young, Australian cinema’s iconic women, and feminist portraits by Kate Just.

Backstage on the way to the top

Passion

Living for the moment

Syvanna Doolan

Syvanna Doolan, National Black Theatre, Redfern, Sydney, 1974

Amanda, 2017

by Bill Gekas

Stevie Wright

Stevie Wright (1947-2015), singer songwriter, came to Australia from England at the age of nine.

2 portraits in the collection

The Perch Creek Family Jugband, 2008

by John Van-Den-Broeke

Rolf de Heer, Adelaide, SA, 2004

John Elliott

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

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.

Rowan Thomas, 2015

by Graham Caughley

Portrait of Zachary

Grace Costa

Thomas Wentworth Wills

Previous exhibition, 2024

Ryan Presley: Paradise won

Marri Ngarr artist Ryan Presley’s major installation greets you as you arrive at the Gallery, in a work that invites conversations about the ongoing legacies of colonisation.

Linda and Binni, 1984 (printed 2013)

Purchased 2013

Raelene Sharp

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

2 portraits in the collection

The Hinders: doyens of Australian modernism

Passion

Progressive partnership

Sir William Charles Windeyer, 1892

Tom Roberts

Gift of the family of Sir Victor and Lady Windeyer 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Sir Jack Brabham OBE

Sir Jack Brabham OBE (1926-2014), racing car driver, was born in Hurstville, NSW, and studied mechanical engineering before working as a mechanic for the RAAF during WW2.

2 portraits in the collection

Artist lovers re-united across the seas

Exile burnishes love’s bond

Elaine Pelot-Syron

Elaine Pelot-Syron grew up in Miami and came to Australia to teach English in 1971.

1 portrait in the collection

To coin a (farewell) phrase

A penny for their thoughts

Keenan

Emma Pegrum

John Darling

Thinking of something, someone

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

Gulgawarnigu

Previous exhibition, 2023

In partnership with Big hART we are proud to present Gulgawarnigu - Thinking of something, someone, a national presentation of digital artworks created from Ngarluma country leramagadu (Roebourne), in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Barry, 2006

by Bronek Kozka

Peter van der Veer

Stop in all the byways, playin' rock 'n roll

Peter van der Veer, photographer, designer and painter, studied at Prahran College in the 1970s.

1 portrait in the collection

Guthugga Pipeline, Christmas Show, upstairs, The (old) Griffin Centre, Civic, 22 December 1979. Crowd, L-R : Ben Donaldson, Anne Redmond, Nick Vollis, Esa Makela, Megan Woodrow (Mohawk), Andy Hall (scarf) 'pling

Capital Cool

Outsiders tend to give Canberra a bad rap: sterile, plagued by politicians, a comatose capital for professionals and academics. Nick Cave once said he didn’t like the city because there were too many punks.

Mark Ella, 2015

Nikki Toole

Commissioned with funds provided by the Patrick Corrigan Portrait Commission Series 2015

Bangardidjan

Renae Saxby

Tjunkaya Tapaya OAM, Tjanpi Desert Weavers

Ngayulu Minyma Tjanpinya, I am a Tjanpi Woman

Ngayulu Minyma Tjanpinya, I am a Tjanpi Woman, 2018

Portrait, Tjanpi (dry grass), acrylic wool, raffia, wire

Purchased 2022

Ivan and Lillian, 2012

by Margot Sharman

In Doubt, 2017

by Eva Collins

Zareth, 2009

by Scott Bycroft

Bon Scott

Ronald 'Bon' Scott (1946-1980) had come to Australia with his family in 1952, aged six, had lived in Melbourne and Fremantle, where he joined a pipe band; had dropped out of school at fifteen; and had spent some time in custody.

1 portrait in the collection

Danny, 2013

by Daniel Arnaldi

Photographed by Nathalie Latham

Tribute

Stevie Wright

Magazine article, 2016

Stevie Wright (1947-2015), singer-songwriter, came to Australia from England at the age of nine.

Steven Bishop, performer by Nathalie Latham

Australia's Creative Diaspora

Previous exhibition, 2007

Paris based Australian photographer and filmmaker Nathalie Latham has an ongoing interest in the creative achievements of other Australian artists living in various locations around the globe.

Shirlie Purdie tells a story from her mother

"It’s good to learn from old people. They keep saying when you paint you can remember that Country, just like to take a photo, but there’s the Ngarranggarni (Dreaming) and everything. Good to put it in painting, your Country, so kids can know and understand. When the old people die, young people can read the stories from the paintings. They can learn from the paintings and maybe they want to start painting too."

Shirley Purdie

Contributing artists

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

Eleni and the bookshop

Tracy Ponich

Sophie at 17

Ilana Rose

Shahleena Musk, c. 2000

Gift of the artist 2004

Malala Yousafzai

Shirin Neshat

Some lads #1, 1986

Tracey Moffatt

Gettin’ robbed, gettin’ stoned, gettin’ beat up, broken boned

Gift of the artist 1998. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Oz Rock

Previous exhibition, 2008

Two of the music industry’s highest-selling performers originated in suburban Australia. The Bee Gees started out in Brisbane, for instance, and AC/DC played their first gigs at a nightclub in inner Sydney.

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.

Look Whales

Jiawei Shen

Previous exhibition, 2014

Masters of modern Indonesian portraiture

Masters of modern Indonesian portraiture presents key modernist paintings and drawings along with a selection of contemporary works.

Sasha and Gus, 2014

by Amanda James

Angry Anderson

Gary ‘Angry’ Anderson AM (b. 1947) is an Australian rock singer and television presenter.

1 portrait in the collection

NPPP 2009 exhibition essay

Dr Christopher Chapman, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2009 Prize.

National Youth Self Portrait Prize

NYSPP 2010

An annual event, the National Youth Self Portrait Prize seeks to encourage young people to embrace self portraiture and its expressive possibilities.

Alice Mills

Victorian-born Alice Mills was one of a significant number of women photographers in business between 1900 and 1920.

1 portrait in the collection

Before dark (Metamorphosis)

Rachel Gregg

John Mitchel with John Martin and Father John Kenyon [the three Johns]

John Mitchel with John Martin and Father John Kenyon [the three Johns], 1866

Edouard Gatel

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

Shake a leg

Wayne Quilliam

Cultural Evolution

Wayne Quilliam

The 70 year old jetty jumper, 2011

by Alex Frayne

Runners, 2010

by David Kelly

Lleyton Hewitt AM

At twenty years old, Lleyton Hewitt AM (b. 1981) was the youngest male tennis player ever to be ranked world number one.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Ezgi, 2016

by Alana Holmberg

Karl Fender, 2019

Anna Minardo

Sleep, 2019

Natasha Bieniek

Portrait, conté crayon on paper

Self portrait, c. 1948

John Brack

Purchased with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2010

My Olivia, 2017

by Filomena Rizzo

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Angry Anderson, 2006

Sally Robinson

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2010

Jesse, 2010

by Lia Steele

Bionic Bora

Wayne Quilliam

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Considering Persephone - Gay Bilson, 2009

Leeanne Crisp

Purchased with funds provided by Jan and Gary Whyte, Brian and Barbara Crisp, Gloria Kurtze, Jonathon Mills and Lawsoft Pty Ltd 2011

Jimmy Barnes at The Coogee Bay Hotel 1984 (detail) Grant Matthews

Pub Rock

Your backstage pass to 70s and 80s sounds and scenes

Previous exhibition, 2020

Celebrate the people, places and sounds of Australian pub rock and its enduring impact on our nation’s identity.

Rhoda Roberts, c. 2000

Gift of the artist 2004

Cameron and the prosthetic arm, 2016

by Steve Wise

Binowee, 2010

by Murray Vanderveer

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.

Headspace 6

Who Am I?

The sixth in the National Portrait Gallery’s series of student exhibitions, will feature 200 portrait artworks, both two and three-dimensional, from secondary school students from across Australia

Isaiah, arms and legs folded, 2015

by Marc Bowden

Marissa

Ben McNamara

Portraits by Stuart Campbell

Between Light and Shadow

Previous exhibition, 2011

The late Australian photographer Stuart Campbell produced superb photographs of Australian actors of stage and screen.

Robert, 2010

by CJ Taylor

My Awesome Australian

The Gallery

An online exhibition for and by young people celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Australian honours system.

Anne

Nathan Dyer

Icons Syndicate

Listed alphabetically

Tiffany, 2015

by Brett Canet-Gibson

Arthur Boyd portraits from 1945

Mysterious eyes

Previous exhibition, 2016

Boyd’s self-portrait at age 25 is joined by his equally emotive portraits of those around him.

Sage, 2015

by Jacinta Short

Brian McInerney

Brian McInerney, professional photographer, was a young assistant photographer at Channel Seven in Sydney in the 1960s.

2 portraits in the collection

Dayannah, 2018

by Raphaela Rosella

A weekend at Edie's, 2016

by Kristyn Jones

The Salway family

Dion Georgopoulos

Fatima, 2016

by Anu Kumar

by Kellie Maree Leczinska

Kuei - The Sea of Gazelles - South Sudan to Oz, 2016

Fostin outside his mum's, Kings Park, Melbourne, 2015

by Nicola Dracoulis

Boy watching a man play billiards

Dave

Jay Hynes

Breast cancer, age 37

Cat Leedon

The Royal Melbourne Show.....1968, an essay

Weight of the Mind's Periapt

Jane Allan

Divine, 2014

by Hugh Peachey

Graeme Murphy's Swan Lake: Ella Havelka, Beijing

Lisa Tomasetti

Graeme Murphy's Swan Lake: Ella Havelka, Beijing

Lisa Tomasetti

Gurkirat, 2009

by Rod McNicol

Chris Gentle

Chris Gentle (b.1939) arrived in Australia from the United Kingdom in 1967 and is a painter, lecturer and writer.

1 portrait in the collection

Troye Sivan, 2018

by James Brickwood

Blek Bala MJ, 2017

by Timothy Hillier

Sacrifice, life and loss in the First World War

Finalist, DPA 2017
Single channel HD digital video

All that fall

Previous exhibition, 2015

Focussing on the wide-ranging theme of loss and absence, this exhibition provides a moving ‘portrait’ of loss during the First World War on the Australian home front. Powerful symbolic images, including contemporary works, evoke the emotional intensity of loss. All that fall: Sacrifice, life and loss in the First World War is the National Portrait Gallery’s contribution to the Anzac Centenary.

Now Listen...

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2005

Artist Tessa Jones recalls creating her portrait of Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock singer and music producer, Ross Wilson.

Arthur Boyd’s Mysterious Eyes

6 May 2016

The National Portrait Gallery has unveiled a focus exhibition of captivating portraits by renowned artist Arthur Boyd, titled Mysterious eyes: Arthur Boyd portraits from 1945.

The girls, 2017

by Tamara Dean

Magazine article by Anthony Browell, 2004

Charmed by the Rose

Anthony Browell reminisces about meeting Rose Lindsay, the wife of Australian artist Norman Lindsay.

Clara Crosbie, c. 1885

Arthur William Burman

Gift of John McPhee 2018

The Skin I'm In II, 2016

by Brian Cassey

Annual Appeal

Listed by year

Mela

Bahram Mia

Adam Perkins

Adam Perkins, an Arrernte and Kalkadoon man, is the son of Indigenous rights campaigner and bureaucrat Charles Perkins AO.

1 portrait in the collection

Reshid Bey

Reshid Bey was a Victorian painter and teacher. Born in Berlin when his father was Turkish ambassador there, he came to Australia, his mother’s homeland, when he was a young man.

3 portraits in the collection

Alex Frayne

Magazine article by Rineke Dijkstra, 2013

An interview with the photographer.

Almerisa, Asylumseekerscenter Leiden, March 14, 1993

Interview

Rineke Dijkstra's photographic series of her subject, Almerisa Sehric, evolved over the course of 14 years.

Tan Le

Tan Le (b. 1977) is an innovator in the field of neurotechnology. Le arrived in Australia at age four with her mother, sister, grandmother, aunt and uncle, all refugees who had undertaken the perilous boat journey from Vietnam.

1 portrait in the collection

Donald Friend

Donald Friend (1915-1989), painter, writer and diarist, studied at the RAS and Dattilo-Rubbo’s school in Sydney before spending 1935 and 1936 at the Westminster School in London.

2 portraits in the collection

Tony Mitchell

Tony Mitchell was in a band called Wheelbarrow, who released a single, 'Dame Zara' before Mitchell left to join Harry Young and Sabbath.

3 portraits in the collection

Headspace 7

Me and My Place

Headspace 7: Me and My Place, the seventh in the National Portrait Gallery's series of student exhibitions, will be presented at Commonwealth Place. Me and My Place is the curatorial theme for the 2006 exhibition.

Supporters

$5,000 - $9,999

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, 1899 by Carl Pietzner

The Archduke

The immediate chain of events that led to the outbreak of the First World War began 100 years ago on June 28.

Casey Stoner AM

Casey Stoner (b. 1985), the 2008 Young Australian of the Year, won the MotoGP World Championship motorcycle competition held at Phillip Island in 2007.

1 portrait in the collection

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018

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.

You Look Like a...Matthew, 2016

by Cherine Fahd

Ron Johnson

Elizabeth Chong

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

1 portrait in the collection

Janette Howard

Janette Howard (b. 1943), wife of former prime minister the Hon. John Howard OM AC, was born in Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

To Look Away – Tilda, 2015

by Sophie Hyde

Finalist, DPA 2016

Caroline Slade

Elia, 2006

by Alan Lesheim

Jaq Grantford

A self-portrait from a different time, feels like a different time, even though it's only a couple of years ago or one and a half years, if that, and it was my commentary on COVID and how I was feeling about it at the time.

Now and then

Polly Cutmore

Magazine article, 2023

Photographed 35 years apart, these two portraits offer both a timeline of, and thematic thread for, Maria (Polly) Cutmore’s life – from a young woman to a respected Gomeroi Elder.

Sophie and Mercy, 2016

by Zelko Nedic

Cat Leedon

This was taken as part of a series, documenting my, I call it my shit show roller coaster.

Self portrait

John Constable

Melissa Beowulf

Melissa Beowulf grew up in Sydney, where she became a graphic artist.

2 portraits in the collection

David Combe

The Yarra Boot Trunk Tragedy, 12 January 1899

David Combe (b.1943) became interested in politics at Adelaide University and was motivated to join the ALP in 1962, partly through his friendship with Don Dunstan.

1 portrait in the collection

Olga Radalyski prison records, on loan from the Public Record Office of Victoria.

The sensational denouement of the case

The 'Yarra Boot Trunk Tragedy' unfolded a week before Christmas 1898, when some neighbourhood boys noticed a wooden box floating in the river at Richmond.

Donald Friend, 1987

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

Sir William Beechey

Magazine article by Helena Bezzina, 2008

Sir William Beechey, portrait painter and pupil of Johann Zoffany, was greatly influenced by Sir Joshua Reynolds.

1 portrait in the collection

Emerging realities

Fans at an Easybeats concert, Sydney Stadium, 1965 Bob King

Oz Origins

A little bit louder now

Portrait, ink and charcoal on paper

Australia’s passion for rock ‘n roll was kindled by American and British acts in the 1950s and 60s. The novel genre’s driving, licentious rhythms and voices captured imaginations and libidos, not to mention aspiring young musicians.

Donald Friend at Owl Creek, 1983

Lawrence Daws

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

Wayne Quilliam

The important part about it is is where it was captured. That's the Laura Quinkan Dance Festival, where our remote communities gather every two years to celebrate culture, to share knowledge, and to share stories.

Matt Ottley, 2019

Jana Vodesil-Baruffi

Previous exhibition, 2002

Contemporary Australian Portraits

Contemporary Australian Portraits is a cross section, a sampling, of some of the present-day directions in Australian portrait practice

Woburn Sheepshearing, 1811

Thomas Morris, M N. Bates, Joseph C. Stadler after George Garrard

Portrait, aquatint with stipple and etching and engraving, hand coloured on chine colle on paper laid down on cotton stretched over wooden strainer

Purchased 2018

Johnny, 2006

by Sean Hobbs

Sharpie couple, Melbourne

Lloyd Rees, 1973

Robert Walker

Purchased 1999

Portrait of Paddy Japaljarrii Stewart, 2004

Francis Reiss

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2007

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004

Two painters

Chris Chapman explains how Matthys Gerber bridges the gap between abstraction and portraiture.

John Landy, c. 1954

Ern McQuillan OAM

Previous exhibition, 2016

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

Tough & Tender

Art by Warwick Baker, Chris Burden, Larry Clark, Rozalind Drummond, Nan Goldin, Robert Mapplethorpe and Collier Schorr explores personal relations, individual expression and fluid identity.

Elizabeth Chong, 2000

Jaime Murcia

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

The World of Thea Proctor

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

Slow Motion @ 300kms per hour Mark ‘Sparky’ Webber, Formula 1 Driver, 2016

by Gino Zardo

Collier Schorr

Tough & Tender

This is the first time Collier Schorr's photographs, which explore gender and identity, have been shown in Australia.

Benny (42nd Street Series), 1979–80 by Larry Clark

City boys

Christopher Chapman immerses himself in Larry Clark’s field of vision.

Lindy Morrison

Lindy Morrison joined The Go-Betweens as drummer in 1980. After the band split up in early 1990, she teamed up with another ex Go-Between, Amanda Brown, in a group called Cleopatra Wong.

1 portrait in the collection

POL

Portrait of a Generation

POL was a magazine that ran from 1969 to 1986

James Gleeson

Portrait photography by John Elliott

James Gleeson AO was Australia's best-known surrealist artist, and from the late 1930s onwards he was a tireless supporter of Australian modern art.

3 portraits in the collection

Thousand Mile Stare

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

Slow Motion @ 300kms per hour Mark 'Sparky'™ Webber, Formula 1 Driver

Slow Motion @ 300kms per hour Mark 'Sparky'™ Webber, Formula 1 Driver, 2016

Gino Zardo

An exhibition of sporting photographs by Anderson & Low

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2019

The Athlete

Previous exhibition, 2000

The Athlete explores the sporting life well beyond the superficial image of the human physique

Garry Shead

Born in Sydney, Garry Shead studied at the National Art School in 1961-2.

4 portraits in the collection

Kylie Kwong AM

Kylie Kwong was born into a fourth generation Australian Chinese family in Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois, Governor of South Australia

Sir William F. Jervois

Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois (1821-1897), governor, attended the Royal Military Academy before being commissioned to the Royal Engineers in 1839.

1 portrait in the collection

Werner Baer MBE

Werner Baer MBE (1914-1992) grew up in Berlin, where he studied piano with Artur Schnabel and worked at the Berlin Stadtsoper.

1 portrait in the collection

Frederick Burnaby

James Jacques Tissot

Percy Spence

NPPP 2007 exhibition essay

Percy Spence, born in Balmain, grew up in Fiji and began art classes in Sydney in about 1888.

1 portrait in the collection

Seduce, Amuse, Entertain

Michael Desmond, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2007 Prize.

Butterfly behind glass

John Hamilton

As a young reporter for the Melbourne Age, John Hamilton (b.1940 UK, migrated to Aust.

1 portrait in the collection

Golden boy

Dr Christopher Chapman examines Scott Redford's photographic portrait of Australian surfer David 'Rasta' Rastovich.

Boxer, Blake Travers, 2017

by Patrick Bell

Finalist, DPA 2017
Single channel HD digital video

Jacques Etienne Victor Arago

Jacques Etienne Victor Arago (1790-1855), author, artist and explorer, travelled with Louis-Claude de Saulces de Freycinet on his 1817 voyage around the world on the Uranie.

3 portraits in the collection

Reg Lindsay, Scone, NSW, 2004

John Elliott

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Younger Australians more engaged with arts and history

11 April 2016

Archived media releases 2014

The second annual brand-awareness snapshot of the National Portrait Gallery is again positive, with indicators moving in the right direction – for the Gallery and for Australia’s cultural engagement.

Arcadia media information

31 July 2014

Press releases and image downloads for media.

Seduce Amuse Entertain

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2007

Michael Desmond profiles a handful of the entrants in first National Photographic Portrait Prize and notes emerging themes and categories.

Decorative portrait – Len Lye, c.1925 by Rayner Hoff (1894-1937)

Presence and Absence

Portrait Sculpture in Australia

This exhibition focuses on exploring national and communal identity through sculptural production in Australia, from the early decades of settlement through to the present day

Georgie Swift

Georgie Swift (1920-2008), journalist, publicist and chatelaine, was born Georgette Marie Hiro Matsui to a French-born mother and Japanese father in Sydney after the First World War.

1 portrait in the collection

John Firth Smith

John Firth-Smith (b. 1943) is a Sydney abstract painter. In the early 1960s he won a number of 'young artist' prizes for his paintings of yachts on Sydney Harbour, but by 1968 his work was becoming increasingly abstract, featuring large fields of opaque colour.

2 portraits in the collection

Dressing for dinner, 1992

Davida Allen

Portrait, oil on plywood

Gift of the artist 1999. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Lindy (No. 2 of Robert, Lindy, Grant)

Jenny Watson

Peter Brock AM

Peter Brock (1945-2006), a professional racing driver from 1972 to 1997, was undoubtedly Australia's best known and most popular motor sports personality.

1 portrait in the collection

Herb Elliott AC MBE

James Herbert 'Herb' Elliott AC MBE (b. 1938), runner, won the gold medal in the 1500 metres at the Rome Olympics in 1960.

1 portrait in the collection

Sharon Atkinson-Firebrace, c. 2000

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004

Hari Ho

Hari Ho left his native Malaysia as a young man to travel and work throughout the US, Europe and Asia.

2 portraits in the collection

Kylie Kwong, 2003

Simon Griffiths

Australian Athletes in Focus

Purchased 2005

Flash

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

Barbara Robison, 1935

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

Phillip Gudthaykudthay

Philip Gudthaykudthay (b. 1935) Liyagalawumirr (Yolgnu) bark painter, worked as a young man as a stockman, fencer and crocodile hunter around Milingimbi and Ramingining.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Cecil Colville, c. 1965

Sir William Dargie CBE

Gift of Richard Due 2010

Matthew Reilly

Matthew Reilly (b. 1974) is a successful writer of popular fiction novels, characterised by suspenseful narratives and futuristic scenarios.

1 portrait in the collection

Samantha Nimunburr Wyborn, c. 2000

Opportunities for support

Gift of the artist 2004

Dr Brown and Green Old Time Waltz, 1983 by Harold Thornton

Learning programs

Unique experiences and programs for enquiring young minds, teachers and lifelong learners.

‘Never break this heart of stone’

Lust

Desired by millions

Study of male ballet dancers standing in a line

Study of male ballet dancers standing in a line, 2007

Portrait, charcoal and pastel on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of J Sages Family Trust 2009
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Lloyd Rees, c. 1988

Magazine article by Geoffrey Batchen, 2007

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

Here and there

Nathalie Latham's exhibition Australia's Creative Diaspora explores Australians, in the arts, who live and work internationally.

Gene Sherman with Family, After Tillers, After Freud, After Watteau

Ondine Sherman

Ondine Sherman (b. 1974), author and animal rights activist, grew up in Sydney and attained her undergraduate degree in communications from University of Technology Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

The artist and the doctor

Lust

Art, war, scandal

Gordon Watson AM

Gordon Watson AM (1921-1999), pianist and teacher, taught at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music from 1964 to 1986 and was head of its keyboard department when he retired.

1 portrait in the collection

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009

Magazine article by Pieter Roelofs, 2023

In its second year at the National Portrait Gallery, and for the first time touring to other venues, the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009 continues to present surprising perspectives on the nature of contemporary portrait photography.

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

Basking in light

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

Harry Belafonte

Dorothy Wilding

Les Darcy, Australian Middleweight Boxer

Les Darcy, Australian Middleweight Boxer, c. 1910

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Reputedly Elizabeth Macarthur, 1785-1790 Unknown

The most material advantages

A one-in-a-thousand woman

doppelgänger

doppelgänger is the second in a series of virtual exhibitions held by the National Portrait Gallery that explore contemporary notions of portraiture in the online environment.

Brett Whiteley

Brett Whiteley AO, artist, displayed a brilliant talent for drawing as a Sydney private schoolboy.

11 portraits in the collection

Heide Smith

Heide Smith took up photography as a young girl in Germany in 1948, when her uncle gave her a Zeiss Ikon camera.

3 portraits in the collection

Rose Byrne

Rose Byrne (b. 1979), actor, was raised in the Sydney suburbs of Balmain and Newtown, and joined the Australian Theatre for Young People at the age of eight.

1 portrait in the collection

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

David Moore

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

David Rastovich

David 'Rasta' Rastovich (b. 1979), professional surfer and conservation activist, was born in rural New Zealand.

1 portrait in the collection

Headspace 4

Facing Memory

Magazine article by Mette Skougaard, 2006

Facing Memory: Headspace 4 provides us with valuable insights into the thoughts, creative processes and art-making practices of secondary students from Year 7 to Year 12 from sixty-two schools in the Australian Capital Territory, regional New South Wales and Victoria

Australian visit in Denmark

In April 2006 the National Portrait Gallery showcased Australian portraits at the Fredenksborg Castle in Denmark.

Lloyd Rees, 1987

Michel Lawrence

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Werner Baer, 1947

Gift of Richard King 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

The Merioola Group, 1940s

Alec Murray

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Bee Miles, 1976

Roderick Shaw

Gift of Brian Griffin 2000

Entry guidelines 2024

Little Darlings Youth Portrait Prize

Read the full requirements for entering the prize.

Study of a pair of ballet dancers, 2007

Portrait, charcoal and pastel on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of J Sages Family Trust 2009
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Study of female ballet dancers, 2007

Portrait, charcoal and pastel on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of J Sages Family Trust 2009
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Lt. A.R.Cutler VC, 1943

Dora Toovey

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Cutler family 2017
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Anne Hyde, Duchess of York and King James II

Sir Peter Lely

Tjayanka Woods

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, sepia toned on paper

Tjayanka Woods (d. 2014) was a senior Pitjantjatjara artist and cultural custodian.

2 portraits in the collection

Kyle Vander-Kuyp, 1998

Anderson & Low

Purchased 2001

Sir Bernard Heinze AC KT

Sir Bernard Heinze AC KT (1894-1982) was a conductor who brought classical music to the general public and promoted the works of Australian composers.

1 portrait in the collection

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.

Glenn Murcutt

Contemporary women artists make Australian history

Recorded 2017

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

So Fine

This exhibition features new works from ten women artists reinterpreting and reimagining elements of Australian history, enriching the contemporary narrative around Australia’s history and biography, reflecting the tradition of storytelling in our country.

Alan Sandow, 1975 (printed 2001)

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

Clive Shakespeare, 1975 (printed 2001)

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

Daryl Braithwaite, 1975 (printed 2001)

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

Garth Porter, 1975 (printed 2001)

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

Tony Mitchell, 1975 (printed 2001)

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

Lee Lin Chin

Lee Lin Chin, stylesetter and former broadcaster, was born in Indonesia and raised in Singapore, where in 1968 she began working in television and radio.

2 portraits in the collection

I dream of Sam Neill when I go to bed, 1986 Davida Allen

The actor, the artist, her life and her fantasies

Lust

Feeling sexy

Georges Antoni

Previous exhibition, 2017

Georges Antoni (b. 1975), fashion photographer, grew up in a small town in central Queensland.

1 portrait in the collection

Nicholas Harding

28 Portraits

Nicholas Harding: 28 portraits features paintings of Robert Drewe, John Bell and Hugo Weaving alongside gorgeously coloured recent oil portraits, delicate gouaches and bold ink and charcoal drawings.

Jacqueline Mitelman

Recorded 2017

Prince Charles Edward Stuart

Louis Gabriel Blanchet

Ed Sheeran

Colin Davidson

Charles Kean

Charles Kean (1811-1868), actor, threw in his Eton education when his mother was deserted by his penniless father, the tragedian Edmund Kean.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Cecil Colville

Portrait, type C Duraflex print on paper

Sir Cecil Colville (1891-1984), medical practitioner, was the first president of the Australian Medical Association.

1 portrait in the collection

Ada Bird Petyarre, 1990

Anne Zahalka

Gift of Leo Christie 2003. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Kristina, 1984 (printed 2013)

Purchased 2013

Who is Lillie Roberts?

Edward Scriven, J B Ball & J DeCamp after Sir Thomas Lawrence

Talented wife for a talented husband

Rt. Honourable Lord Hawkesbury, 1808

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ted and Gina Gregg 2012

Portrait of Florence Broadhurst, 1968

Joshua Smith

Purchased 2007

Portrait of Deborah Vernon Hackett, c. 1905

Florence Ada Fuller

Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2005

'Amy-Blue' (Amy Winehouse)

Marlene Dumas

Theresa Byrnes

Theresa Byrnes (b. 1969) is a painter, writer and performance artist who first exhibited her paintings in 1986 at the age of sixteen.

1 portrait in the collection

Brett Whiteley, 1974

Gift of the artist 2003. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Handing on the baton

Michael Desmond explores the life of ballerina Irina Baranova through the portrait by Australian artist Jenny Sages.

Jenny Sages

Paths to Portraiture

The exhibition Sages examines the process of portrait making through four large-scale portraits of women by Jenny Sages, paired with intimate preparatory drawings.

The Legend of Ruby and Archie

A bond in song

National Youth Self Portrait Prize

NYSPP 2009

An annual event, the National Youth Self Portrait Prize seeks to encourage young people to embrace self portraiture and its expressive possibilities.

Colleen McCullough

The novelist Colleen McCullough (1937–2015) was born in Wellington, New South Wales.

1 portrait in the collection

Boyd to man

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

Eyes on the Prize

A short visual essay of some of the works in the National Youth Self Portrait Prize 2010.

Matthew Reilly, 2006 (printed 2009)

Montalbetti + Campbell

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Sherbet, 1974

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

The Brontë Sisters (Anne Brontë; Emily Brontë; Charlotte Brontë)

Patrick Branwell Brontë

Kristina, 1986 (printed 2013)

Purchased 2013

Cathy Freeman, 1994

Montalbetti + Campbell

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Neil Murray, Bolac, VIC, 2004

John Elliott

Magazine article by Vincent Fantauzzo, 2022

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Portrait story

Artist Vincent Fantauzzo on dyslexia, connection and virtual sittings with Hugh Jackman.

Madame Sibly, Phrenologist and Mesmerist

Madame Sibly, Phrenologist and Mesmerist, c. 1870

James E. Bray

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite photograph

Purchased 2017

An international troupe of two

It's Complicated

Office romance

Of Burke, Wills ... and wills

It's Complicated

Infatuation and (ill-fated) exploration

1 to 6

Magazine article by David Sequeira, 2005

The National Portrait Gallery's annual survey of student self portraiture highlights the processes of personal inquiry through portraiture by students from all levels across Australia.

Sir Joseph Banks, c. 1788

John Raphael Smith after Sir Benjamin West

Portrait, mezzotint on paper

Purchased 2010

John Firth-Smith, 1974

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

Julia Matthews

Julia Matthews (1842-1876), actress and singer, came to Australia as a girl with her parents, and made her debut at Sydney's Royal Victoria Theatre in 1854, aged twelve.

1 portrait in the collection

George Richmond

George Richmond, son of the miniature painter Thomas Richmond, grew up in London, took early artistic instruction from his father and enrolled in the Royal Academy Schools in 1824.

1 portrait in the collection

Henry Mundy

Artist Henry Mundy arrived in Van Diemen’s Land in 1831 and took up a position as teacher of drawing, French and music at Ellinthorp Hall, a school near Ross established ‘with a view to the improvement of Young Ladies’.

4 portraits in the collection

Lloyd Rees full face, 1979

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

Lloyd Rees from behind, 1979

Previous exhibition, 2013

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

Paul Kelly and The Portraits

Aspects of singer songwriter Paul Kelly’s performance persona are communicated by portraits selected from a range of artists and leading music photographers in this focus exhibition.

Society of Artists Selection Committee, 1907

Henry King

Purchased 2008

John Farnham AO

John Farnham (b.1949) has sustained a successful career in the Australian music industry for more than 40 years.

1 portrait in the collection

Nikki Toole

Portrait, inkjet print on rag paper

Scottish-born photographer Nikki Toole (b. 1965) studied film and photography in London and Edinburgh before moving to Melbourne.

3 portraits in the collection

Jarinyanu David Downs, 1986

Martin van der Wal

Purchased 2005

Richard Larter

Richard Larter (1929-2014) was born in London, where he encountered and was influenced by the new generation of young British Pop artists of the 1950s and early 1960s.

6 portraits in the collection

Gladys Moncrieff OBE

Giovanni Vendramini, T Cadell & W Davies after William Evans, Sir William Beechey

Gladys Moncrieff (1892-1976), soprano, grew up in Queensland, where she first toured as 'Little Gladys - The Australian Wonder Child' with a small musical road show.

4 portraits in the collection

George Rose, 1811

Portrait, inkjet print on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Paddy Bedford, 2003

Jim Anderson

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

Rayner Hoff, 1924

Harold Cazneaux

Gift of Richard King 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Hattie Shepparde, 1872

Bardwell's Royal Studio

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

Ada Bird Petyarre

Ada Bird Petyarre (c. 1930–2009), painter and printmaker, was an Anmatyerre woman from the Northern Territory, and one of seven sisters who all became notable artists.

1 portrait in the collection

2020 Annual Appeal

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

All that fall artist interviews

an unknown artist after George Richmond

Lawrence English, Ellis Hutch and Lee Grant talk about the works they created for All that fall.

Francis Russell Nixon, c. 1845-1855

Portrait, copperplate engraving, heightened with China white on buff paper

Purchased 2009

Malcolm Fraser, Randwick Racecourse, 1975 (printed 2002)

Roger Scott

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Purchased 2012

Dr John Yu, 2004

Ah Xian

Portrait, glazed ceramic

Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2004

Robin Sellick

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

17 portraits in the collection

Lee Lin Chin, 2005

Ingvar Kenne

Previous exhibition, 2000

Gift of the artist 2006

Monochromatic Self-Portrait, 2000 by Genevieve Preston

Headspace 1

Headspace showcases portrait art produced by secondary students from Year 7 to Year 12 in Government, Catholic and Independent schools in Canberra and its surrounding regions extending to Wollongong, Deniliquin, Leeton, Crookwell, Bombala, Narooma and Albury

Sir Bernard Heinze AC, 1985

Michael Meszaros

Portrait, cast bronze medallion on wood plaque

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Ray Marginson AM 2001

Cathryn Fitzpatrick

Toni Wilkinson

Olivia Newton-John AC DBE

Olivia Newton-John AC DBE (1948-2022) came to Australia as a five-year-old with her father, Brin Newton John, who had worked on the Enigma project at Bletchley, and her mother, Irene Born, who was the daughter of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Max Born.

1 portrait in the collection

Marilyn Rowe, 1981

Graham Thorley

Portrait, transparency between mirror substrates in LED lightbox

Gift of the family of Graham Thorley in his memory and in tribute to Marilyn Rowe 2010

Tan Le, 2018

John Tsiavis

Commissioned with funds provided by the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2018

Icons

Parliament House

Touring exhibition, 2019

When a portrait communicates determination and individuality as boldly as these do, it has the potential to become an iconic image. For the Gallery’s 20th birthday this display brings together a group contemporary photographic portraits of inspiring women and men.

Christos Tsiolkas

Recorded 2017

Murray Bail, c. 1980 (printed 2018)

Jacqueline Mitelman

The portrait of Patrick White by Brett Whiteley

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Patrick White at Centennial Park, 1979–1980

White Whiteley

Previous exhibition, 2012

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

Susan Lord, c. 1840

Henry Mundy

Purchased 2015

Cathy Freeman, 2000

David Caird

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of David Caird and Melbourne Herald Sun 2003

The Hon. Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO

Quentin Bryce AD CVO (b. 1942), academic, lawyer and community and human rights advocate, was the first woman to be appointed governor-general of Australia.

2 portraits in the collection

Cathryn Fitzpatrick, 2006

Toni Wilkinson

Portrait, inkjet print

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

Colleen McCullough, 1992-1993 (printed 2005)

Anthony Browell

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Tim Burstall, Andamooka (filming of the Last of the Knucklemen)

Tim Burstall, Andamooka (filming of the Last of the Knucklemen), c. 1979

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006

Theresa Byrnes, 1999

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

Mervyn Bishop

Magazine article by Catherine McDonough, 2006

Mervyn Bishop (b. 1945), a Murri photographer, began a cadetship with the Sydney Morning Herald in 1963.

6 portraits in the collection

Start Your Engines...

The bronze sculpture by Julie Edgar reflects through both the material and representation the determined and straight-forward nature of Brabham.

Janet Holmes a Court AC

Janet Holmes à Court AC (b. 1943), businesswoman and philanthropist, graduated in science and worked as a teacher before marrying young Perth lawyer Robert Holmes à Court in 1966.

1 portrait in the collection

James T. Donovan, 1892

Tom Roberts

Purchased 2015

Brett Whiteley - portrait 2, 1975

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

Peter Drewett

Peter G. Drewett is a Grafton craftsman. Drewett grew up in difficult economic circumstances in Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Wayne Lynch

Wayne Lynch (b. 1951), surfer and surfboard shaper, grew up in Lorne, Victoria, not far from Bells Beach.

2 portraits in the collection

Telphia, 1990 (printed 2013)

Purchased 2013

Dave Sands, c. 1940s

Purchased 2011

The black coat: Lily Brett, 1989

David Rankin OAM

Gift of Dr Gene Sherman AM and Brian Sherman AM 2012. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Christos Tsiolkas, 1998 (printed 2009)

John Tsiavis

Purchased 2009

Christos Tsiolkas, 1998 (printed 2009)

John Tsiavis

Portrait, oil on composition board

Purchased 2009

Fiona Stanley, 2011

Mary Moore

Commissioned 2011

M H Wednesday 11.15am from the series Self-harm, 2004

Big it up

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2005

Former National Portrait Gallery Curator Magda Keaney was a member of the selection panel of the Schwepes Photographic Portrait Prize 2004 at the National Portrait Gallery London.

Phillip Gudthaykudthay, 1986

Martin van der Wal

Portrait, inkjet print on rag paper

Purchased 2005

Jacques Arago, c. 1830s

Nicolas Maurin, Alexandre Sixdeniers

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2009

Charles Dickens

Daniel Maclise

Gladys Moncrieff, 1920s

Ruskin

Portrait, oil on masonite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Sally Douglas 2009

Self portrait, 1965

Jean Appleton

Gift of the Estate of Nicolaas van der Waarden 2013

Ellie Cole

Recorded 2021

William Beach

Bill Beach (1850-1935), sculler, came to New South Wales as a young boy with his English parents, who settled at Albion Park, NSW.

1 portrait in the collection

Dillon Kombumerri, c. 2000

Gift of the artist 2004

Rose Byrne, 2001 (printed 2004)

Karin Catt

Purchased 2005

Lee Lin Chin, 2004 (printed 2021)

George Fetting

Gift of the artist 2021

A photographer’s glamorous friends

Nearest & Dearest

Community, arts, activism

The Hon. John Howard OM AC

The Hon. John Howard OM AC (b. 1939) was Prime Minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Bennilong, a Native of New Holland

Portrait of Bennilong, a Native of New Holland, c. 1810

Portrait drawings from colonial Australia

Purchased 2014

Elegance in exile

Previous exhibition, 2012

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

Pat Mackie, 2004

Nancy Borlase AM

Purchased 2004

Hélène Kirsova

Hélène Kirsova (1910–1962), dancer and founder of Kirsova Ballet, the first professional ballet company in Australia.

4 portraits in the collection

Jarinyanu David Downs

Jarinyanu David Downs (c. 1925–1995), Wangkajunga/Walmajarri painter, printmaker and preacher, lived a traditional life in the Great Sandy Desert of West Australia until he was a young man.

2 portraits in the collection

Hilary McPhee, 2015

Jacqueline Mitelman

Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2015

Arianne McNaught

I think the most important thing in capturing candid shots is to never take the photo when people are expecting you to press the shutter. The more poignant moments are not the stock standard images of people looking at the camera smiling but after or before when they are really interacting with each other.

Evonne Goolagong, 1973

Ern McQuillan OAM

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2004

Charles Chauvel

Charles Chauvel (1897-1959), actor and film-maker, worked on the sets of Snowy Baker films as a young man, and followed the great action hero to Hollywood in 1921.

1 portrait in the collection

Ben McNamara

Magazine article by Patrick McCaughey, 2015

This is Marissa Gallagher from Kintore, which if you're in Alice Springs, just go west until the WA border, just before that, a traditional area of Pintupi mob.

Self Portrait in red shirt, 1937 by Arthur Boyd

Arthur as Alyosha?

Patrick McCaughey explores a striking Boyd self portrait.

Kyle Vander-Kuyp, c. 2000

Gift of the artist 2004

Amrita Hepi

Artists and Collectives

Bundjulung/Ngapuhi woman Amrita Hepi’s work considers the body’s relationship to personal histories and archive, and investigates dance as social function.

Kenneth Rowell AM

Kenneth Rowell AM (1920–1999), artist and theatre designer, grew up in Melbourne and became intent on a career in the theatre at a young age.

2 portraits in the collection

Ian Thorpe, 2002

James Houston

Gift of the artist 2002

Shahleena Musk

Portrait, pastel on paper laid on canvas

Shahleena Musk is Larrakia lawyer from Darwin. She was the first Aboriginal person to graduate from the Northern Territory University (now Charles Darwin University) and to be admitted to the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory.

1 portrait in the collection

Charles John Fairfax, c. 1860

Edwin Dalton

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of John Fairfax Holdings Ltd 2002
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

Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, c. 1870

Batchelder & Company Photo

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

Angelica Mesiti

Artists and Collectives

Internationally renowned, Paris-based artist Angelica Mesiti creates video installations that are absorbing and profound experiences for audiences.

Noah Taylor, 1994 (printed 2010)

Ross Honeysett

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2010

Australians in Hollywood

Although perceived to be a recent phenomenon, the 'Aussie invasion' of Hollywood can actually be traced as far back as the early 1900s

Collection: Icons

Volume Two

The second instalment of a display featuring bold contemporary portraits drawn from the collection. For the Gallery’s 20th birthday this display brings together a group contemporary photographic portraits of inspiring women and men.

David Rankin OAM

David Rankin OAM (b. 1946) came to Australia with his English parents at the age of two in 1948.

1 portrait in the collection

Charles Abraham

Previous exhibition, 1999

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

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

Rennie Ellis

Aussies All

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

Lewis Morley

Myself and Eye

Portrait, photograph on paper

Lewis Morley has a great eye for a shot and a sharp ear for a pun

Harry and Penelope Seidler, 15 December 1958

John Hearder

Gift of Penelope Seidler AM 2021

Koko & Kiko (42nd Street Series), 1980 by Larry Clark

Best buds

Portrait, oil on masonite

It’s important to have a best bud when you’re growing up. For many boys the transition from boyhood through adolescence is defined by wanting to fit in.

Kondelea (Della) Elliott, 1979

Ivy Shore

Gift of Jeannie Highet and Kim Buchan 2012

Peter Brew-Bevan Portraits

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on board

In this exhibition Sydney based photographer Peter Brew-Bevan brings together an intimate collection of works that highlight his passion for the genre of portraiture over the last 10 years

Johnny O'Keefe "A little bit louder now...", 1999

Ivan Durrant

Commissioned with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 1999

A Singular Line

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2003

A newly acquired work by Stella Bowen adds to the National Portrait Gallery's growing collection of important Australian self-portraits.

Franchesca Cubillo, c. 2000

Gift of the artist 2004

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.

Margaret Fink, 1975

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

Portrait of Bennilong, Native of New Holland

Portrait of Bennilong, Native of New Holland, c. 1798

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Naomi Watts

Naomi Watts (b. 1968), actress, was born in England and came to Australia from Wales at the age of fourteen.

1 portrait in the collection

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

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Walter Langhammer

Walter Langhammer went to India before World War 2, fleeing the Nazis in Austria.

1 portrait in the collection

Toni Collette

Toni Collette (b. 1972), actor, producer, singer and songwriter, spent much of her childhood in the western Sydney suburb of Blacktown and left school at 16 to join the Australian Theatre for Young People.

1 portrait in the collection

Tim Fairfax AC, 2018

Russell Shakespeare

Commissioned with funds provided by The Calvert-Jones Foundation 2018

Janet Holmes á Court, 2001 (printed 2011)

Lorrie Graham

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Mitch Cairns

Mitch Cairns (b. 1984), painter and cartoonist, won the 2017 Archibald Prize with a portrait of his partner, artist Agatha Gothe-Snape.

2 portraits in the collection

Ngarranggarni

The third row of paintings come from Ngarranggarni (Dreaming).

Naomi Watts, 2003

Peter Brew-Bevan

Magazine article by Alistair McGhie, 2017

Gift of the artist 2004

Full time

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

(Margaret Whitlam) by the strength of her skin

(Margaret Whitlam) by the strength of her skin, 1998

Kim Spooner

Portrait, encaustic on canvas

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

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022

Previous exhibition, 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.

Mrs Woods and ‘Ere, 2013

Karla Dickens

Purchased 2019

Quentin Bryce, 2002 (printed 2011)

Lorrie Graham

Purchased 2011

John Bertrand

John Bertrand AO (b. 1946) is a successful yachtsman, Olympian, sports administrator, businessman and philanthropist.

1 portrait in the collection

Jessica Mauboy

Jessica Mauboy (b. 1989), Darwin-born singer, songwriter and actor, is a descendant of the KuKu Yalanji nation of Far North Queensland.

1 portrait in the collection

Barbara McCarthy, c. 2000

Gift of the artist 2004

Ruby Hunter, 1996 (printed 2012)

Jacqueline Mitelman

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Purchased 2012

Therese Desmond, 1919-1920

James Burnside

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Madeleine Howell 2013

LeGarde Twins, c. 1966

Jozef Vissel

Portrait, natural earth pigments and synthetic polymer paint on linen

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2015

Jarinyanu Dancing at Broome Festival, 1990

Jarinyanu David Downs

Purchased 2017

Allan Lowe, c. 1955

Reshid Bey

Archived media releases 2018

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Alan Lowe and Marian Lowe 2000

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018

8 March 2018

Images for media use will be available from 8 March 2018.

Making Portraits

Five Years of National Portrait Gallery Commissions

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

Bart Willoughby, c. 2000

Gift of the artist 2004

Albert Falzon

Albert Falzon (b. 1945), film maker and photographer, was in the Australian army and worked for Australian Surfing World magazine before co-founding the Australian surf magazine Tracks in 1970.

1 portrait in the collection

Thea Proctor

Thea Proctor (1879–1966), artist and stylesetter, trained at the Julian Ashton School before leaving Australia for London in 1903.

3 portraits in the collection

Thomas and John Clarke, bushrangers, photographed in Braidwood Gaol

Thomas and John Clarke, bushrangers, photographed in Braidwood Gaol, 1867

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on laid down on a section cut from a nineteenth century album page

Purchased 2019

Time is precious

Magazine article by David Sequeira, 2004

Headspace5: Crystal Gazing highlighted the diversity of materials and techniques that young people use for self expression. David Sequeira presents a personal view of three works in the exhibition.

Richard N (sitting on green chair backwards, 2 faces)

Richard Nicoll

Richard Nicoll (1977‒2016), fashion designer, was born in London but spent much of his childhood in Perth.

1 portrait in the collection

Thilin-Thilin Gooragall Nyajaringil Garnkiny-nu (white gum tree, mother for the moon), 2018 by Shirley Purdie

Storytelling

The fourth row of paintings interweave Ngarranggarni, memories, relationships and Country.

Kondelea Elliott

Kondelea Elliott (1917–2011), union official and women's rights lobbyist, was the daughter of a Greek migrant father, Nicholas Xenodohos, who had come from the Queensland canefields via Sydney, and an Australian mother who had left school at the age of eight and performed in a circus.

1 portrait in the collection

Tom LeGarde

Tom LeGarde (1931–2021) and Ted LeGarde (1931–2018), 'The LeGarde Twins', were early pioneers of country music.

1 portrait in the collection

Lewis Morley

Lewis Morley (1925–2013) established his reputation as one of the key British photographers of the 1960s and is known for his iconic image of a nude Christine Keeler straddling an Arne Jacobsen chair.

50 portraits in the collection

Ted LeGarde

Ted LeGarde (1931–2018) and Tom LeGarde (1931–2021), ‘The LeGarde Twins’, were early pioneers of country music.

1 portrait in the collection

Pat Mackie

Magazine article by Emma Batchelor, 2022

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

Australian Dance Party and Catapult Dance performing Connecting Stories: Innovations at the National Portrait Gallery, 2022 Lorna Sim

Let’s dance

Emma Batchelor uncovers the compelling contemporary dance made in response to the works in Shakespeare to Winehouse.

Bruce Petty

Bruce Petty (1929-2023), political cartoonist, grew up in Melbourne and as a young man took night classes in art at RMIT.

1 portrait in the collection

Murray Bail

Portrait, oil and hand-stitching with diamantes on canvas

Murray Bail (b. 1941), writer, was born in Adelaide and spent several years in India and England in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

3 portraits in the collection

Margaret Fink, 1989

Kerrie Lester

Gift of the artist 1999. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Mary Windeyer, 1850s

Portrait, watercolour and gouache on ivory

Gift of the Windeyer family 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Simon Tedeschi

Simon Tedeschi (b. 1981), award-winning classical pianist, grew up in Sydney, and essentially abandoned his school lessons as an adolescent to concentrate on his piano studies with Neta Maughan.

1 portrait in the collection

Rhoda Roberts

Magazine article by Jessica Smith, 2009

Rhoda Roberts AO (b. 1960) is a Bundjalung woman from northern New South Wales, and a producer, director, writer, broadcaster, performer and arts executive.

1 portrait in the collection

Sketches and sermons

Jessica Smith looks at the 'fetching' portrait of Tasmania's first Anglican Bishop, Francis Russell Nixon by George Richmond

Portrait of a Modernist

Magazine article by Dimity Goldie, 2003

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

Portrait of Heidi Middleton and Sarah-Jane Clarke (Sass & Bide)

Portrait of Heidi Middleton and Sarah-Jane Clarke (Sass & Bide), 2008

Deborah Paauwe

Portrait, glass plate negative

Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2008

Trukanini, 1866 (printed 1890s)

Charles Woolley

Purchased 2011

John Dease

Conly John Paget Dease (1906-1979), actor and broadcaster, spent thirty years as one of the signature voices of the ‘Golden Age’ of Australian radio.

1 portrait in the collection

Ron Grainer, printed 2003

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lewis Morley 2004

Mrs Woods, 2013

Karla Dickens

Portrait, cast bronze relief medallion

Gift of the artist 2019. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Charles Joseph La Trobe, 1853

Thomas Woolner

Purchased 2006

Martin Sharp

Martin Sharp (1942-2013), printmaker, painter, cartoonist, designer, songwriter and film-maker, is one of Australia's foremost pop artists.

7 portraits in the collection

Layne Beachley AO

Magazine article by Lauren Dalla, 2003

Layne Beachley AO (b. 1972), former surfer and businesswoman, is the world's most successful female professional surfer.

2 portraits in the collection

An Intimate Portrait of an Australian Artist in 1930

Lauren Dalla examines the life of Australian painter Roy de Maistre and his portrait by Jean Shepeard.

Evonne Goolagong (Cawley) AC MBE

Evonne Goolagong Cawley AC MBE (b. 1951), Wiradjuri tennis champion, was the number one women's tennis player in the world in 1971 and 1976.

3 portraits in the collection

Nicholas Paspaley Jnr

Nicholas Paspaley Jnr AC (b. 1948) is chair of the Paspaley Group of Companies, with interests in pearling, aviation, retail, pastoral holdings and commercial properties in Australia and internationally.

2 portraits in the collection

Paddy Nyunkuny Bedford

Paddy Nyunkuny Bedford (1920/1924–2007), also known as Goowoomji or Guwumji, artist and Gija elder, was born on Bedford Downs Station, near Warmun in Western Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

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

Dorothy Porter

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2015

Dorothy Porter (1954–2008), poet and writer, grew up in Sydney and the Blue Mountains, graduated from the University of Sydney in 1975 and taught creative writing at the University of Technology, Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Village people

Christopher Chapman discusses Rod McNicol's photographic portrait series Newcomers to my village.

Max Dupain

The Vintage Years

Significant Australian Women 1913–2013

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

Portrait 69

Magazine

In conversation with Aretha Brown, Pieter Roelofs on Vermeer, humanoid robots, the nationwide search for Archibald portraits, and 25 years of collecting at the National Portrait Gallery.

First Ladies

Previous exhibition, 2013

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

Joseph Dalton Hooker, c. 1880s

Previous exhibition, 1999

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2009

Glossy - Faces Magazines Now

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.

Masters of Fare

Chefs, winemakers, providores

Previous exhibition, 2014

Masters of fare: chefs, winemakers, providores celebrates men and women who have championed the unique culinary characteristics and produce of Australia, enriching our lives with new ideas and new flavours over the past forty years.

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.

William Macleod

William Macleod, artist and magazine proprietor, attended the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts as a young teenager and saw his first illustration published in 1866.

4 portraits in the collection

Deborah Mailman AM

Deborah Mailman AM (b. 1972), Bidjara and Māori (Ngāti Porou and Te Arawa) actor and singer, is the daughter of Maori and Aboriginal parents who met when her father was touring on the rodeo circuit.

1 portrait in the collection

Collection: Icons

Volume One

Margaret Fink AO

Portrait, offset lithograph on paper

Margaret Fink AO (b. 1933), film producer, was a key figure in the renaissance of Australian cinema in the 1970s.

2 portraits in the collection

Boy with surfboard cross: David Rastovich, 1999 (printed 2005)

Scott Redford

Gift of the artist 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Ron Grainer, 1965 (printed 2002)

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

Samantha Cook, c. 2000

Gift of the artist 2004

Rhodri G. Davies

Rhodri Glyn Davies worked as a television cameraman and director of documentaries while pursuing his interest in photography, exhibiting with a group of artists called Quincunx in Wales and Scotland.

1 portrait in the collection

Ali Cobby Eckermann

Ali Cobby Eckermann (b. 1963), Yankunytjatjara/Kothaka author and poet, was born in Adelaide.

1 portrait in the collection

Tracey Holmes

Tracey Holmes (b. 1966), sports broadcaster and journalist, has covered twelve Olympic Games and was the first woman to host an Australian national sports program, Grandstand.

1 portrait in the collection

Eileen Dunne in The Hospital for Sick Children, 1940

The incomparable Beaton

Photographic Portraits from 19th Century Australia

To accompany the exhibition Cecil Beaton: Portraits, held at the NPG in 2005, this article is drawn from Hugo Vickers's authorised biography, Cecil Beaton (1985).

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa

Husbands and Wives

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

Fiona Stanley AC

Fiona Stanley AC (b. 1946), paediatric epidemiologist, is a passionate advocate for children and young people.

2 portraits in the collection

Leanne Benjamin AM OBE

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2002

Leanne Benjamin AM OBE (b. 1964) was Principal Dancer with the Royal Ballet between 1993 and 2013.

1 portrait in the collection

Dr Who?

It is not well known that the person who composed the famous theme music for the BBC's Doctor Who series was Australian Ron Grainer.

Prince William of Wales, by Mario Testino, 2003 publ. September 2003.
Credit: Mario Testino

Vanity Fair Portraits

Photographs 1913-2008

Vanity Fair Portraits traces the birth and evolution of photographic portraiture through the archives of Vanity Fair magazine.

Cathy Freeman OAM

Cathy Freeman OAM (b. 1973) won the 400m Olympic Gold medal in front of her home crowd in Sydney in 2000 in one of the all-time great Australian sporting moments.

5 portraits in the collection

Nicholas Paspaley Jnr, 2018

Andrew Bonneau

Commissioned with funds provided by Ross Adler AC 2018

Janet Dawson

When soulmates Janet Dawson and Michael Boddy moved from Sydney to a property, Boddy was clear about why: ‘Our marriage is one long conversation - we moved to the bush so we could talk to each other without so many interruptions.’

Irina Baronova (handing on the baton), 2007

Portrait, encaustic, oil and pigment on composition board

Gift of the J Sages Family Trust 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Tan Le, 2018

by John Tsiavis

Commissioned with funds provided by the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2018

Australian of the Year

Inspiring a Nation

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on cabinet card

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

Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois, Governor of South Australia, 1881

Solomon Studios

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Yang Na

Previous exhibition, 2023

Born 1983, Chongqing, Sichuan Province. Lives and works in Beijing.

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.

Ruby Hunter

Ruby Hunter (1955-2010), singer/songwriter, was a Ngarrindjeri/ Kukatha/ Pitjantjatjara woman from South Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert Hughes, 1996

Rex Dupain

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Trukanini

Trukanini (c. 1812–1876) is arguably nineteenth century Australia’s most celebrated Indigenous leader.

6 portraits in the collection

Jason Yat-sen Li

Jason Yat-Sen Li (b. 1972) was born to parents who came to Australia from China in 1959.

1 portrait in the collection

Goollabal (Rainbow Serpent), 2018 by Shirley Purdie

Memories

The second row of paintings recall stories relating to specific sites, experiences and activities.

Friends

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2023

Warwick Baker’s photos of his friends are intimate. They hold a stillness that allows their subjects to be at ease.

Illuminating history

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

Myself and Eye

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2003

Magda Keaney speaks with Lewis Morley about his photographic career and the major retrospective of his work on display at the NPG.

Out of the blocks

Early sporting fame

Dawn Fraser, Lionel Rose, Shane Gould and Cathy Freeman

Omai

Self Portraits in Australia

Omai (Mai) (c. 1750-1778), the first Polynesian to visit Britain, was a young man of middling social standing who volunteered to sail from Huahine to England with Captain Furneaux on the Adventure (the ship accompanying James Cook's Resolution on Cook's second voyage of discovery (1772-1775).

2 portraits in the collection

To Look Within

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

William Yang

Portrait, oil on canvas board

William Yang (b. 1943) is a pre-eminent Australian photographer known for an intensely sustained body of work that examines issues of cultural and sexual identity, and which unflinchingly documents the lives of his friends and community and his own lived experience with curiosity, sensitivity and humour.

15 portraits in the collection

Geoffrey Tozer, 1966

Rollo Thomson

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Estate of Geoffrey Tozer 2012

Tim Fairfax AC

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

1 portrait in the collection

Nancy Menetrey

Nancy Menetrey (née Wilkinson) (1924-2024) was born in Sydney in 1924.

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.

Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue AC CBE DSG

Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue AC CBE DSG (1932–2024), a Yankunytjatjara woman, dedicated her life’s work to advancing the rights and wellbeing of Australia’s First Peoples.

2 portraits in the collection

Johnny Day

Magazine article by Christopher Baker, 2013

‘The Australian Wonder’, Johnny Day (1856–1885), was an undefeated world-champion juvenile walker.

1 portrait in the collection

Hot Scots

James Holloway describes the first portraits you encounter when entering the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

Jack Brabham, 1967 (printed 2012)

Brian McInerney

Archived media releases 2015

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

National arts and history? Yes, please

27 May 2015

Recent research shows that two thirds of all Australians have a sterling interest in the arts and Australian history. This is just one of the promising findings to arise from the National Portrait Gallery’s commissioned snapshot of its national brand awareness, via a nationally representative survey.

Lady Deborah Vernon Hackett

Lady Deborah Vernon Hackett (1887–1965) was a mining company director and philanthropist.

1 portrait in the collection

John Landy AC CVO MBE

Magazine article by Sarah Hill, 2001

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

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Captain Charles Ulm

The Wonder Years

Sarah Hill introduces the portrait busts of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Captain Charles Ulm by Enid Fleming.

Speed demon

Scott Redford discusses his dynamic portrait commission of motorcycling champion and 2008 Young Australian of the Year Casey Stoner.

A Path of Focus: Portrait of Cate and Bronte Campbell

Bronte Campbell OAM

Sisters Bronte Campbell (b. 1994) and Cate Campbell (b. 1992), champion swimmers, were born in Malawi to South African parents, and took up competitive swimming after the family settled in Brisbane in 2001.

1 portrait in the collection

Cate Campbell OAM

1 portrait in the collection

Master Johnny Day, Australian Champion Pedestrian, c. 1866

Portrait, albumen photograph carte de visite

Purchased 2014

Arcadia: Sound of the sea

Exhibition introduction

Portrait, inkjet print from a scanned colour transparency on paper

One night in the spring of 1970 in an old house in Whale Beach, north of Sydney, John Witzig, Albe Falzon and David Elfick put together the first issue of Tracks, playing Neil Young’s album Harvest over and over again as they pasted up galleys of type.

Albert Namatjira, c. 1954-1958 (printed 2017)

Charles Chauvel

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Matthew Burnett

Matthew Burnett (1839–1896), the ‘Yorkshire Evangelist’, spent more than twenty years denouncing alcohol in the Australian colonies.

1 portrait in the collection

Dame Margaret Scott AC DBE

Dame Margaret Scott AC DBE (1922-2019) ballerina and teacher, was scarred by her education in a Johannesburg convent boarding school and left her home on a Swaziland farm in 1939.

1 portrait in the collection

Subtle emotion

Christopher Chapman considers photographer Rozalind Drummond's portrait of author Nam Le.

All the world's a stage

Magazine article by Tara James, 2022

Joan Sutherland, Robert Helpmann and Raigh Roe

Introversion from High Jinks in the Hydrangeas, 2020 Tamara Dean

In our nature

Tara James chats with award-winning artist Tamara Dean about portraiture prizes, the environment and the strength of women.

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.

George Johnston OBE

Magazine article by Tsering Hannaford, 2024

George Henry Johnston OBE (1912-1970), journalist and novelist, grew up in Elsternwick, a working-class suburb of Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Self-portrait after ‘Allegory of Painting’, 2020 Tsering Hannaford

Why portraiture?

Tsering Hannaford reflects on her experiences, process and motivation for making portraits.

Trukanini, n.d.

J.W. Beattie after Charles Woolley

Portrait, albumen silver photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Allanah Dopson and Nicholas Heyward 2009

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

Robert McFarlane

Portrait, ink and synthetic polymer paint on paper

Purchased 2020

A Path of Focus: Portrait of Cate and Bronte Campbell, 2021

Tish Linehan

Purchased 2022

Last week to vote for your favourite portrait

1 June 2015

Archived media releases 2015

The National Portrait Gallery’s National Photographic Portrait Prize 2015 will close Monday 8 June 2015, this is the last week to visit the exhibition in Canberra and vote for your favourite portrait in the People’s Choice.

Dr Gene Sherman AM

Magazine article by The Huxleys, 2022

Dr Gene Sherman AM (b. 1947) is Chairman and Executive Director of Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation, a family philanthropic enterprise dedicated to the public exhibition of significant contemporary art from Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.

3 portraits in the collection

Nusra Latif Qureshi

Contributing artists

Born: 1973, Lahore, Pakistan
Works: Melbourne

Style Over Substance 2020 (still), 2020 The Huxleys

Observation point

Growing up feeling isolated, ostracised and ornate in the heated homogeny of the suburbs of Perth and the Gold Coast we often longed and dreamed for an escape.

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

Olegas Truchanas

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2001

Olegas Truchanas (1923-1972) was born in 1923 in Siauliai, Lithuania.

1 portrait in the collection

Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground

Seduce and Destroy

Magda Keaney explores the symbolism in eX de Medici's portrait of Midnight Oil.

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.

Ellyse Perry

Ellyse Perry (b.1990) has represented Australia in both cricket and soccer, making her the only current dual international in Australian women’s sport.

2 portraits in the collection

Hilary McPhee AO

Magazine article by Eileen Adams, 2006

Hilary McPhee AO (b. 1941), writer and editor, began her career at Meanjin before starting a small magazine, Theatre.

1 portrait in the collection

Drawing power

The National Portrait Gallery joins the Big Draw, a program dedicated to promoting drawing as a tool for thought, creativity, social and cultural engagement.

2023 Annual Appeal

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

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.

Sideshow Alley

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.

Bewitching

Magazine article by Roger Neill, 2006

Roger Neill delves into the life of a lesser-known Australian diva, Frances Alda.

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

Imagination

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

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

Joan Alone

Magazine article by Julia Gillard AC, 2015

Julia Gillard pays poignant tribute to her friend and mentor, the late Joan Kirner, Victoria’s first and only female premier.

Tjunkaya Tapaya OAM

Tjunkaya Tapaya OAM (b. c 1947) is a senior Tjanpi Desert Weaver with work spanning across printmaking, ceramics and fibre-based work.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Ron Mueck

Ron Mueck (b. 1958), sculptor, first attracted widespread attention in 1997, when his poignant work Dead Dad was featured in the landmark exhibition Sensation: Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection at the Royal Academy, London and subsequently shown in Berlin and New York.

1 portrait in the collection

Dave Sands

Clem, George, David, Alfie and Russell Sands were members of one of Australia's most famous sporting families.

2 portraits in the collection

Clem Sands

Clem, George, David, Alfie and Russell Sands were members of one of Australia's most famous sporting families.

2 portraits in the collection

George Sands

Clem, George, David, Alfie and Russell Sands were members of one of Australia's most famous sporting families.

2 portraits in the collection

Alfie Sands

Clem, George, David, Alfie and Russell Sands were members of one of Australia's most famous sporting families.

2 portraits in the collection

Russell Sands

Previous exhibition, 2019

Clem, George, David, Alfie and Russell Sands were members of one of Australia's most famous sporting families.

2 portraits in the collection

Primed

Some Prime Ministers

Seventeen of Australia’s thirty prime ministers to date are represented in the contrasting sizes, moods and mediums of these portraits.

Leah King-Smith

Contributing artists

Born: 1957, Gympie, QLD
Works: Brisbane

Hottie's Snifter to port

Magazine article by Peter Jeffrey, 2016

Peter Jeffrey trips the hound nostalgic.

Sherbet, 1974 (printed 2002)

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

Dorothy Porter, 2001-2002

Rick Amor

Archived media releases 2013

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

On train from New York to Memphis, July 4, 1956 by Alfred Wertheimer

Elvis at 21 media information

25 October 2013

Press releases and images downloads for media.

Self portrait, 1921

Thea Proctor

Portrait, lithograph on paper

Purchased with funds provided by the Ross family in memory of Noel and Enid Eliot 2013

Matthew Abbott

Magazine article by Olivier Krischer, 2016

An interview with the photographer.

Untitled from The Other Shore 2014-15, by Wei Leng Tay

Insight and identity

Olivier Krischer in conversation with photographer Wei Leng Tay.

James Donovan

James T Donovan (1861–1922), journalist, Catholic historian and amateur singer, was born into an Irish Catholic family in Sydney and grew up in Womerah Avenue, Darlinghurst.

1 portrait in the collection

Caroline Chisholm

Archived media releases 2023

Caroline Chisholm (1808–1877), philanthropist and political agitator, spent almost two decades working to improve conditions for immigrants to Australia.

2 portraits in the collection

Bree Pickering in front of Mikala Dwyer, Chromakinda, 2022, installation view, Murray Art Museum Albury

Bree Pickering appointed Director of the National Portrait Gallery

7 February 2023

The Board of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia announced the appointment of Bree Pickering to the role of Director.

Michael Wardell – Country of birth: Ireland 2014 by Jacques van der Merwe

Look who's coming to dinner

Magazine article by Michael Wardell, 2016

Michael Wardell’s personal insight into Jacques van der Merwe’s New Arrivals.

Ahmad Sabra

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.

Tough & Tender Media Release

14 July 2016

Photographs from internationally acclaimed artists Robert Mapplethorpe, Larry Clark, Nan Goldin, Collier Schorr and Chris Burden along with contemporary Australian artists, Rozalind Drummond and Warwick Baker will call the National Portrait Gallery home during our extraordinary winter exhibition Tough and Tender.

Russell Crowe, 1995 (printed 2016)

Stuart Spence

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

Brett Whiteley - portrait 1, 1975

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

The selfie stick

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2019

Last week ABC Television came to interview me about selfie sticks. The story was prompted by the announcement that the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has lately prohibited the use of these inside their galleries. So far as I am aware we have not yet encountered the phenomenon, but no doubt we will before too long.

Satoshi Tokuhiro at Horai Gorge, Takaruzuka, Hyogo from Young Samurai – Bodybuilders of Japan Photography by Tamotsu Yato

Way of the body

Christopher Chapman reveals the intersection of iconoclastic Japanese figures Yukio Mishima and Tamotsu Yato.

Automatic for the people: Casey Stoner, 2008

Scott Redford

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

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2008

Matthias Darly

Matthias (or Matthew) Darly, printseller, engraver, caricaturist and furniture designer, served an apprenticeship to a clockmaker before opening a print shop in London in the 1740s.

3 portraits in the collection

Portrait of Caroline Chisholm, c. 1851

Purchased 2001

Marcia Hines, c. 1981

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

Adrian Brown

Archived media releases 2017

An interview with the photographer.

Rugby great a fine addition to Portrait Gallery Collection

21 March 2017

A portrait of Australian rugby great, Dr Mark Loane AM MBBS FRANZO FRACS, is the latest addition to the National Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection. The work is the final in a series of three commissioned portraits of Australian rugby luminaries funded by Gallery benefactor, Mr Patrick Corrigan AM.

Stevie Wright, 2003 (printed 2005)

Gregory McBean

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Talking heads

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

Louise Whelan

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2002

I met Kaloti Parmjit the day I took the photo. I first visited the Sikh temple in the suburb of Glenwood to take photos as part of a social documentary project I'm undertaking for the State Library of NSW.

On commission

Former NPG Director Andrew Sayers discusses the art of commissioning portraits.

Rhonda Sharpe

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2020

Luritja woman Rhonda Sharpe was born in 1977 in Alice Springs and is an artist working out of Yarrenyty Arltere Artists, in the Larapinta Valley Town Camp.

2 portraits in the collection

Self-portrait in black jumper, 2017 Graeme Drendel

Be frank

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

Sir William Dargie CBE

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2003

Sir William Dargie, painter and eight times winner of the Archibald Prize for portraiture, died in Melbourne on July 26, 2003, aged 91.

René Primevère Lesson

Portrait, pencil, chalk and gouache on paper

René Primevère Lesson (1794–1849), French surgeon, naturalist, ornithologist, and herpetologist, entered the Naval Medical School in Rochefort at the age of sixteen.

1 portrait in the collection

Jessie Robertson, c. 1849

Thomas Bock

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG and Marilyn Darling AC 2013

New app gets kids excited about portraits at the National Portrait Gallery

29 May 2018

Archived media releases 2018

The National Portrait Gallery has officially launched a new digital interactive Gallery experience called Headhunt!, the first app of its kind being used in museums and galleries. Headhunt! is a tablet-based app for visitors aged 7-15 that encourages children to take the lead and independently explore the Gallery.

More about the National Photographic Portrait Prize

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2007

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

Oz and beyond

Martin Sharp fulfils the Pop art idiom of merging art and life.

Situated self-portraits

Magazine article by Katherine Russell, 2006

The theme of the seventh annual survey of secondary school student portraiture, Headspace, was Me and My Place.

Pets of all types take over the National Portrait Gallery

3 November 2016

Magazine article by Rebecca Ray, 2023

It is not every day that a national gallery turns its walls over to the animal companions that bring unconditional love and joy to their owners but this summer we have opened the doors to 15 contemporary artists with very different ways of depicting our furry, feathered and scaled pets.

Girl’s Home Regulations: BLANKETS To be aired daily. Dirty blankets to be washed. Each inmate to have her own blanket with her name in the corner. Blankets to be in the press by 12 o’clock and the press locked by the Matron, 2023 Simone Arnol

Seeing red

Rebecca Ray delves into Simone Arnol’s powerful photographic tribute to her great-grandmother

Heather Corrigan

The lovely faces in my photograph are that of my best friends. Some I have only known for a couple of months, others for most of my life. For me, recreating a family portrait with individuals I love was supremely important. I was reconstructing a photo of people I cherish with people I adore.

Harry Kewell, 2011

Julian Kingma

Disability Inclusion Action Plan 2023–25

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Definitions

Access is about creating the necessary conditions for all individuals and organisations to use services, facilities, programs and employment opportunities.

Don Walker

Don Walker (b. 1951) is considered one of Australia's best songwriters.

1 portrait in the collection

Adrian Rawlins

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

1 portrait in the collection

Interiors

Ben Hall and his gang outdone, 6 February 1865

Christopher Chapman previews the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009.

Percy, Reginald, Monty and George Faithfull, undated by Henry Dorner. Image courtesy the National Museum of Australia.

An affray which deserves particular mention

Bushranger Ben Hall and his cronies held around 40 people hostage in a pub north-west of Goulburn, telling their captives ‘don’t be alarmed; we only came here for a bit of fun’.

Ada E. Evans

Ada Emily Evans (1872–1947) was the first Australian woman to attain a law degree and the first woman admitted to the Bar in New South Wales.

1 portrait in the collection

Tim Burstall

Tim Burstall (1927-2004) set up Eltham Films in the early 1950s, when the local film industry was moribund.

2 portraits in the collection

Liu Wei

Born 1965 in Beijing. Lives and works in Beijing.

Graeme Drendel

I like talking about Drendel’s pictures as if they expressed dreams of my own.

Myles Nelson

Magazine article by Katherine Russell, 2006

It was definitely a candid encounter as was the expression on the face. It was constructed insofar as the image was deliberately taken from a distance so as to minimize intrusion and to magnify the effect of the image.

Inspiration + Realisation: John Singer Sargent

Katherine Russell examines the art of Australian artist Paul Newton, referencing the portraiture of John Singer Sargent.

Janet Tavener

Magazine article by Stella Ramage, 2016

Mikala is the eldest of my three daughters. I have photographed her on many an occasion. Needless to say we are both extremely at home with the practice.

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.’

Missionary positions

Stella Ramage on Father McHardy’s Bougainville portraiture.

Apollo's breath

Magazine article by Rebecca Ray, 2023

Christopher Chapman delights in the intimacy of Robert Mapplethorpe's photography

Aretha Brown

In conversation

Gumbaynggirr artist Aretha Brown talks street art, collaboration and ghost stories with First Nations Curator and Meriam woman, Rebecca Ray.

Rick Amor: 21 Portraits

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

Thomas Woolner

Thomas Woolner, sculptor, studied first with the brothers Henry and William Behnes, painter and sculptor respectively, and later at the Royal Academy, at which he was to become professor of sculpture in his fifties.

5 portraits in the collection

Face of South Sudan, 2012 by Melanie Faith Dove

NPPP 2013 exhibition essay

Joanna Gilmour, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2013 Prize.

Martin Sharp, 1986

Garry Shead

Portrait, pokerwork on spotted gum

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Joan Kerr, 2004

Peter Drewett

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of James Semple Kerr 2004

Katherine Bennett

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

The lady in the centre of this photograph is my partner's Granny. So we are almost directly related, and here, as with all photographic work. I am in a state of exchange though I think only directly, with one of the women!

Everybody's heard about the bird

Two professionals; Australian surfer Layne Beachley and photographer Petrina Hicks, combine their strengths to achieve a remarkable portrait.

Patrick Corrigan AM

The Photographic Society of Victoria, Melbourne

Patrick Corrigan AM (b. 1932), businessman, art collector and arts patron, was born in Hanghow (Hankou) in China.

3 portraits in the collection

Thomas Pearce, c. 1878

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite on card

Purchased 2010

Star signs

Magazine article by Barry York, 2018

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

Paul Kelly and The Portraits media information

18 June 2013

Archived media releases 2013

Paul Kelly & The Portraits presents a multifaceted image of the performer over the course of his career.

Me Myself I

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2001

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

The spirit of the gift

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

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

C.H.T. Costantini

Charles Henry Theodore Costantini (also Constantine, Constantini and Costantine) was a Paris-born surgeon of Italian descent who was twice transported to the Australian colonies in the 1820s.

1 portrait in the collection

Nikki Toole

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2015

An interview with the photographer.

Stigma stigmata

Angus Trumble provides poignant context for Aña Wojak’s portrait of Tony Carden.

Untitled, Conductors, Tramways series, 1990 © Matt Nettheim

Back track

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2016

Penelope Grist finds photographer Matt Nettheim re-visiting a formative and fulfilling career tram stop.

Anatomist's eye

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

Sir Charles Nicholson

Sir Charles Nicholson (1808-1903), statesman, landowner, businessman, connoisseur, scholar and physician, was born illegitimately into unpropitious circumstances in Yorkshire.

2 portraits in the collection

A papal pet encounter

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2004

In honour of the launch of the Popular Pet Show, Angus recalls a diplomatic incident with an over-excited golden retriever.

Thousand mile stare

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

Neilma B. Gantner

Magazine article by Tim Storrier, 2013

Neilma Baillieu Gantner (1922–2015), writer and philanthropist, was the second child of Melbourne retailer Sidney Myer and his wife Merlyn (née Baillieu).

1 portrait in the collection

Observation point

Tim Storrier describes the influences on the development of his artistic style.

Richard Divall OBE in the church mantle of the Order of Malta

Richard Divall AO OBE

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

Frà Professor Richard Divall AO OBE (1945–2017), conductor, composer and scholar, grew up in Manly and was educated at Manly Boys’ High School.

1 portrait in the collection

Is the truth of portraiture vested exclusively in likeness?

Curator Michael Desmond introduces the exhibition Truth and Likeness, an investigation of the importance of likeness to portraiture.

John Flaus

John Flaus (b. 1934) is an Australian broadcaster, actor, script editor and lecturer, known for Mary and Max (2009), Trust Frank (2020) and Tracks (2013).

1 portrait in the collection

Cocky McGrath

The long life and few words of a vice-regal cockatoo

Intense identity

Magazine article by Amanda Rowell, 2015

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

Sophisticated and glamorous

Michael Riley’s early portraits by Amanda Rowell.

Nusra Latif Qureshi

by Hammad Nasar

Magazine article by Shaun Gladwell, 2011

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

Observation point

Australian artist Shaun Gladwell discusses his portraits of champion athletes.

Glamour vs grunge

Christopher Chapman examines the battle of glamour vs. grunge which played out in the fashion and advertising of the 1990s.

The Saint and the merchant

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

Storied portrait

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2008

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

Moving pictures

The exhibition California Video at the J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles demonstrated how video artists expand the boundaries of portraiture.

Fang Lijun

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2022

Born 1963, Handan, Hebei Province China. Lives and works in Beijing.

The story of us

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

I'm not there

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2008

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

101 photographic portraits

Magazine article by Michelle Fracaro, 2004

Pat Corrigan's generous gift of 100 photographic portraits by Greg Weight.

Reflections

All that fall: Sacrifice, life and loss in the First World War exhibition co-curators Dr Anne Sanders and Dr Christopher Chapman reflect on the evolution of the Gallery’s Anzac Centenary exhibition.

Yu Hong

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2011

Born 1966 in Beijing, China. Lives and works in Beijing.

How to be a boy

Christopher Chapman profiles Chris Lilley, actor and creator of Angry Boys.

Trucaninny [Trukanini], wife of Woureddy [Wurati]

Trucaninny [Trukanini], wife of Woureddy [Wurati], 1836

Benjamin Law

Portrait, cast plaster, painted

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Tim Fairfax, 2018

by Russell Shakespeare

Commissioned with funds provided by The Calvert-Jones Foundation 2018

Very fine and very like

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2013

When did notions of very fine and very like become separate qualities of a portrait? And what happens to 'very like' in the age of photographic portraiture?

Pop poet

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

Friends and Acquaintances

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

Nicholas Paspaley Jnr, 2018

by Andrew Bonneau

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2019

Commissioned with funds provided by Ross Adler AC 2018

Eating the seasons

Anne Sanders imbibes Tony Bilson’s gastronomic revolution.

Before Too Long

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2004

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

Melanie Faith Dove

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

I had been watching Agnes with intrigue, her face and profile were so mesmerizing. On our final day together I pulled her aside and convinced her that she had such an amazing face that I needed to get a photograph for myself. It was very spontaneous in that I decided quickly how it would best look and shot it in only two frames.

You are who?

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

Venetia, Lady Digby, circa 1633-1634 by Sir Anthony van Dyck

Love in the extreme

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2020

Joanna Gilmour reveals love’s more intense manifestations in the tale of Lord Kenelm and Venetia Digby.

Mia Wasikowska as Robyn Davidson at Hamelin Pool, 2013 by Matt Nettheim

Hump days

Magazine article by Jessica Bolton, 2017

Jessica Bolton navigates the parallel tracks documenting Robyn Davidson’s astonishing journey.

Director John Duigan and actor Judy Davis on the set of ‘Winter of our Dreams’, Sydney, 1981 by Robert McFarlane

Natural born stiller

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2016

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

Krystal Seigerman

Magazine article by Emeritus Professor Jaynie Anderson AM, 2015

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.

Sitter still

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

Jessica Mauboy, 2018

by David Rosetzky

Commissioned with funds provided by Sony Music Entertainment Australia 2018

Nadiah Bamadhaj

by Beverly Yong

Born in Malaysia in 1968, to a Malaysian Muslim father and a New Zealander mother of Scottish descent Nadiah Bamadhaj studied Fine Arts in New Zealand, and is currently working on a PhD from Curtin University, Western Australia.

The boy, the bed and the gun

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2002

Christopher Chapman contemplates the provocative performance art of Chris Burden.

No Laughing Matter

The biographical exhibition of Barry Humphries was the first display of its kind at the National Portrait Gallery.

Pat and Richard Larter, Luddenham, 1970s

Pin-ups

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2008

Christopher Chapman describes the art and life of Australian artist Richard Larter.

Velasquez Touch

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2004

Former NPG Director, Andrew Sayers, explores the creative collaborations between four Australian artists living in Paris during the first years of the twentieth century.

Be bold

Magazine article by Katherine Russell, 2007

The name of Florence Broadhurst, one of Australia’s most significant wallpaper and textile designers, is now firmly cemented in the canon of Australian art and design.

Stevie

Magazine article by Gregory McBean, 2005

Gregory McBean writes about photographing recent ARIA Hall of Fame inductee, singer Stevie Wright.

Crikey!

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

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

Richard Flanagan

Richard Flanagan (b. 1961) was born in Longford in northern Tasmania, the second youngest of the six children of Archie Flanagan, a primary school principal, and his wife Helen.

1 portrait in the collection

Feel the music

Archived media releases 2019

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

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

Winner announced for National Photographic Portrait Prize 2019

22 February 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.

Insightful

Magazine article by Robert McFarlane, 2004

Henri-Cartier-Bresson invented the grammar for photographing life in the 20th century.

Self-nature is subtle and mysterious - Tree Woman / Woman Tree

Nell

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2020

Born in Maitland, New South Wales in 1975, Nell is a multidisciplinary artist working across painting, sculpture, video and performance.

3 portraits in the collection

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

Mother’s muse

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

The life of Bryant

Magazine article by Tenille Hands, 2018

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

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018 winner announced

23 March 2018

Archived media releases 2018

Finalists have been eagerly awaiting the announcement of the Winner and Highly Commended for the National Photographic Portrait Prize since December. It is our pleasure to announce the Winner for 2018 is Lee Grant for her portrait titled Charlie and Highly Commended has been awarded to Filomena Rizzo for her portrait titled My Olivia.

The 1950s to the present day

Mo and beard timeline

Certain European leaders (needless to name) had the effect of making certain styles of facial hair decidedly undesirable in the years immediately after World War 2.

Stand Proud

Magazine article by Anne O'Hehir, 2023

Anne O’Hehir chats with artist Kim Leutwyler about courage, community and the ethics of looking.

CommBank Matildas Clare Wheeler, Courtney Nevin, Teagan Micah, Clare Hunt, artist Angela Tiatia and National Portrait Gallery Director Bree Pickering.

National Portrait Gallery commissions major new video portrait of the CommBank Matildas FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ Squad

3 June 2025

Media

CommBank Matildas players Clare Hunt, Clare Wheeler, Courtney Nevin and Teagan Micah joined National Portrait Gallery Director Bree Pickering today to announce a major new video portrait of all 23 players from the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ Final Squad.

Everybody, look serious

NPPP 2014 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Tedi Bills, 2016

Dr Sarah Engledow, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2014 Prize.

Love City; George Gittoes on hilltop 2013

Man of war

Tedi Bills talks to George Gittoes about canvassing conflict.

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.

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

Lovingly observed

Sarah Engledow previews the beguiling summer exhibition, Idle hours.

Simon Harsent

Magazine article by Stephen Valambras Graham, 2021

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?

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.

Head, hand, heart

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2007

An extensive selection of portraits by John Brack were on display at the National Portrait Gallery in late 2007.

Flash mob

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

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

Untitled, Rome, c. 1977–78 Francesca Woodman

Portraits to dream in

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2023

Magda Keaney on entwining the work of Francesca Woodman and Julia Margaret Cameron, two photographers working a century apart.

Sharon Zwi

Archived media releases 2020

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.

Announcing.... In their own words

24 November 2020

Inspiring Australians tell their own stories in a unique new gallery audio tour, developed in collaboration with the National Library of Australia.

Albert Jonas and John Xiniwe of The African Choir, 1891 London Stereoscopic Co.

Back in black

Magazine article by Krysia Kitch, 2017

Krysia Kitch reviews black chronicles at the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Happy New Year

This year (in March) we will celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the formal establishment of the National Portrait Gallery. In the life of institutions, twenty years is not a long time.

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.

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

Selected images

Take a peek at a selection of the portraits you can see in the exhibition.

Rupert Bunny

Rupert Charles Wulsten Bunny (1864–1947) was one of the most celebrated Australian expatriate artists of his generation, achieving a degree of success in Paris in the 1890s and early 1900s that was unmatched by his peers.

3 portraits in the collection

Wylie

Wylie (c. 1824–unknown) is thought to have been born near King George’s Sound in south-west Western Australia, which would make him a Noongar man.

1 portrait in the collection

The play’s the thing

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2006

Penelope Grist charts an immersive path through Stuart Spence’s photography.

Ready , set... shoot

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

The Good Doctor

Magazine article by Alexandra Roginski, 2015

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

Getting a head

Alexandra Roginski gets a feel for phrenology’s fundamentals.

Portrait of Kym Bonython/Portrait of Mr Bonython's speedway cap

Somewhere to hang your cap

Magazine article by Beatrice Thompson, 2007

A pair of portraits by John Brack; Portrait of Kym Bonython and Portrait of Mr Bonython's speedway cap combine to create a quirky depiction of their subject.

Off the wall

Magazine article by John Witzig, 2008

Photographer and surf mag editor John Witzig tells the stories behind his iconic surf images.

Of human clay

Magazine article by Stuart Purves, 2016

The first collaborative commission has arrived. It's a self portrait, it's ceramic and it's from Hermannsburg.

Bonfire of the vanities

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

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.

Splendid, many-splendoured

Magazine article by Sandra Bruce, 2021

Sandra Bruce gazes on love and the portrait through Australian Love Stories’ multi-faceted prism.

The painter and the princess

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

Michael Desmond interviews Ralph Heimans about his portrait of Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.

Portrait of Lady Eyre Williams (Jessie Gibbon)

Chance encounter

Portrait, steel engraving with later hand-colouring on paper

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

Wylie, 1840-1841

Robert Neill

Purchased 2018

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.

Emblems of beauty

Magazine article by Keith Christiansen, 2012

Keith Christiansen introduces the exhibition The Renaissance Portrait from Donatello to Bellini on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Murray frees himself from straightjacket in public, 1928 by Sam Hood

Risky business

Magazine article by John Zubrzycki, 2016

John Zubrzycki lauds the characters of the Australian escapology trade.

Untitled (girl on chair with red shoes) by Violet Frisby

Finding Mrs Frisby

Magazine article by Robyn Sweaney, 2016

Robyn Sweaney's quiet Violet obsession.

9 lives of Karin Catt

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2006

Australian photographer Karin Catt has shot across the spectrum of celebrity, her subjects including rock stars, world leaders and actors.

Fine and dandy

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

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.

The National Photographic Portrait Prize turns ten

It is now a little more than 178 years since the French Academy of Sciences was made aware of the invention of the daguerreotype process.

I walk the line

Magazine article by Tom Fryer, 2021

Bruce Petty's animated self portrait captures a life's journey compressed into a few minutes.

Face House – Kyoto, Japan Architect: Kazumasa Yamashita

Alter ego

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

Bushrangers, Victoria, Australia, 1852, 1887 by William Strutt

Strutt your stuff

Magazine article by Matthew Jones, 2016

Matthew Jones on the upshot of a St Kilda Road outrage.

Capturing Cook

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2003

In focussing on the importance of gifts in the building of the collection, prominence must be given to the most spectacular of the National Portrait Gallery's acquisitions; the portrait of Captain James Cook RN by John Webber R.A.

Diamond Doll

Magazine article by Karen Vickery, 2016

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

Beguiling impressions

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2012

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

Earth to earth

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

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

Inditchenous beestes of New Olland

Magazine article by Barrie Cassidy, 2019

A remarkable undated drawing by Edward Lear (1812–88) blends natural history and whimsy.

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

The intellectual larrikin

Barrie Cassidy pays textured tribute to the inimitable Bob Hawke.

Facing Facts

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

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

James Baldwin, writer, Harlem, New York 1945 by Richard Avedon

The Avedon effect

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2013

Dr Christopher Chapman explores how we can understand Richard Avedon's photographs.

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.

Jim Cobb at Chroma factory Mt Kuring-gai, NSW, 2017 by Mark Mohell

The alchemist’s profile

Magazine article by John Zubrzycki, 2017

John Zubrzycki meets Australian paint pioneer Jim Cobb.

Practising the Minuet (Miss Hilda Spong)

An actress and her fans

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

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

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.

Grateful admiration and brotherly love

In the earliest stages of the Great War, the Royal Pavilion in Brighton was turned into a military hospital, and arrangements made there to accommodate the different dietary and other requirements of Hindu, Sikh and Muslim patients.

Worth her salt

Magazine article by Annette Twyman, 2021

Jerrold Nathan's portrait of Jessie Street shows the elegant side of a many-faceted lady.

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.

Royal Solomon Islands Police Force recruits, Maranatha Hall, Honiara by Sean Davey

The art of peace

Magazine article by Sven Knudsen, 2018

Sean Davey captures the portrait of a nation renewed.

Shadows of light

Magazine article by Mark Haworth-Booth, 2002

Mark Haworth-Booth explains why Bill Brandt is one of the most important British photographers of the Twentieth Century.

Fiona McMonagle

Magazine article by Roger Benjamin, 2015

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.

Yellow portrait (portrait of Alex Jelinek)

Fugue in Yellow

Roger Benjamin explores the intriguing union of Lina Bryans and Alex Jelinek.

Asiel Timor Dei, ca. 1728 by a master of Calamarca

The Viceroyalty of New Spain

Magazine article by Gael Newton, 2017

European painters always enjoyed a good deal of latitude in the representation of angels, those asexual, bodiless, celestial regiments of God, so long as they were young and beautiful.

In and out of focus

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

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 art of Inner Worlds

Lecture, 7 May 2011

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

NPPP 2016 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2017

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

Progressive pictures

Athol Shmith’s photographs contributed to the emergence of a new vision of Australian womanhood.

The inner voice

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2011

Dr Christopher Chapman, curator of Inner Worlds: Portraits & Psychology looks at Albert Tucker's Heidelberg military hospital portraits.

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.

Announcing... Jonathan Jones Bogong Cluster: Physically distant, socially connected

5 January 2021

Archived media releases 2021

A new light installation by Jonathan Jones reflects on the importance of community through the lens of his Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi heritage, whilst also acting as a prompt for gallery visitors to maintain social distancing.

Coming into being

NPPP 2018 exhibition essay

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

200 Years of Portraiture

Magazine article by Barbara Blackman AO, 2003

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

All in the Family

In 2000, Barbara Blackman donated a portrait of her close friends - poet Judith Wright, her husband Jack McKinney and their daughter Meredith - painted by Charles Blackman.

Shall I raise my eyebrows and gasp? (Alex), 2011 by TextaQueen

Pen power

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2015

Politics and personae in the portraiture of TextaQueen by Jane Raffan.

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.

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.

Heartfelt

Magazine article by Dr David Hansen, 2022

The portrait of Janet and Horace Keats with the spirit of the poet Christopher Brennan is brought to life by artist Dora Toovey.

Unheroic Materialism: little harmless fragments of memory and association: a portrait of Angus Trumble, 2019 Evert Ploeg

The last word

David Hansen’s tribute to his close friend, prince of words and former National Portrait Gallery director, the late Angus Trumble.

Being Cate

Magazine article by Margot Anderson, 2005

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

Kylie

The Kylie exhibition celebrated the significant achievements of one of Australia's most internationally recognisable faces and gave the general public a rare glimpse into her glamorous life.

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

Petal to the mettle

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

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

Arianne McNaught

Magazine article by John Elderfield, 2017

An interview with the photographer.

Self-portrait with bowler hat, 1885–6 by Paul Cézanne

Hail Cézanne

John Elderfield lauds the portraiture of Paul Cézanne, the artist described by both Matisse and Picasso as ‘the father of us all’.

Naked nostalgia

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2016

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

Home truths

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

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.

Personal Politics

Magazine article by Dr Frances Borzello, 2001

Dr Frances Borzello, British art historian and author discusses the uniqueness of women's self-portraits.

Clay, water, fire

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2005

Ah Xian's porcelain portrait of paediatrician Dr. John Yu reflects Yu's heritage and interests.

Exhibition opening speech

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2007

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

The highest honour

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

The Philosophy of Teapots and Ducks

Magazine article by Gillian Raymond, 2005

Cartoonist Michael Leunig's insights into the human condition and current affairs have become famous Australia-wide.

Big bouquet of Blackmans

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

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

Portrait of Truganini, daughter of the Chief of Bruny Island, Van Diemens Land, c. 1835

Black and white history

English artist Benjamin Duterrau took up the cause of the Indigenous peoples of Tasmania with his detailed and sympathetic renderings.

Wicked but Virtuous

Faith Stellmaker shares pioneering artist and restaurateur Mirka Mora’s lasting legacy on Melbourne’s art, dining and culture.

An evening at Yarra Cottage, Port Stephens

Maria Caroline Brownrigg

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

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

Cultural kaleidoscope

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

Exposed: Voyeurism Surveillance and the camera since 1870

Magazine article by Sandra Phillips, 2010

The Tate/SFMOMA exhibition Exposed examined the role of photography in voyeurism and how it challenges ideas of privacy and propriety.

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.

Vintage Max

Magazine article by Gael Newton, 2003

Gael Newton delves into the life and art of renowned Australian photographer, Max Dupain.

School portraits

Magazine article by Raimond Gaita, 2015

Inga Walton sheds light on a portraiture collection usually only seen by students and teachers at Melbourne University.

Have you forgotten yet? 2014 by Lee Grant

All that fall

Raimond Gaita comments on war and truth in the context of the First World War.

Portraits and other stories

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2006

As the National Portrait Gallery opens its exhibition of portrait and figurative work by veteran photographer Sam Haskins, the artist reflects on the highlights of his fifty-year career so far.

Living landscape

Magazine article by Gillian Raymond, 2016

Gillian Raymond ponders landscapes as self-portraiture in Michael Taylor’s intimate expressionism.

Portrait of Kang Sehwang, 1783 by Yi Myeonggi

The artist, the scholar and the gentleman

Magazine article by Kwon Hyeeun, 2019

Kwon Hyeeun introduces Korean portraits of Kang Sehwang, and five generations of the Kang family.

The art of dress

Magazine article by Dr Emma Kindred, 2023

Emma Kindred examines fashion as a representation of self and social ritual in 19th-century portraiture.

Hyperversity

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

Dr Sarah Engledow writes about the larger-than-life Australian performance artist, Leigh Bowery.

Sibly irresistible

Magazine article by Alexandra Roginski, 2019

Alexandra Roginski reveals a forceful feminist figure in the colonial period’s slippery science, phrenology.

S Teddy D

by Elly Kent

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2019

S Teddy D was born in Padang, Sumatra in 1970, and studied painting at the Institut Seni Indonesia (Indonesian Institute of Art) in Yogyakarta.

A spectral sentience

Aimee Board reveals method, motivation and mortality in the portraiture of Rod McNicol.

The personal and the historical

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2015

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.

A.I.

Christopher Chapman ponders our digital identity and selfhood.

Noel McKenna

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2011

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.

Beautiful bones

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

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.

The world of Thea Proctor

Magazine article by Jane Kinsman, 2007

The world of Thea Proctor was the National Portrait Gallery's second exhibition to follow the life of a single person, following Rarely Everage: The lives of Barry Humphries.

Themes and variations (Annelies) A13, 1946

Listening to form

National Gallery of Australia curator Jane Kinsman discusses the portraiture of Henri Matisse.

The National Portrait Gallery's 20th birthday party

The National Portrait Gallery's 20th Anniversary

Magazine article by Phil Manning, 2017

Last month we marked the twentieth anniversary of the formal establishment of the National Portrait Gallery, the tenth of the opening of our signature building, and the fifth of our having become a statutory authority under Commonwealth legislation.

Thomas Mathewson (inset) and his studio on Queen Street, c. 1908 by Thomas Mathewson & Co

Northern exposure

Phil Manning celebrates a century of Brisbane photographic portraiture.

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.

Seeing stars

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

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

Nikhil Chopra

by Rattanamol Johal

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2017

Nikhil Chopra was born in 1974, in Calcutta. His first degree was in commerce, but in 1997 he took up fine art studies, eventually gaining a Masters in Fine Art from Ohio State University, United States.

Sarah Bernhardt, 1876 by Georges Clairin

Demimonde liaisons

Jane Raffan feasts on modernity’s entrée in the Belle Époque theatre of the demimonde.

Small worlds

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2010

Bess Norriss Tait created miniature watercolour portraits full of character and life.

Poison pen

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

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.

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.

Mural of Italian/Roman actress Anna Magnani (1908–1973) with face mask, April 2020 Unknown artist

Of plague and portraits

Magazine article by Stephen Phillips, 2017

Corinna Cullen on the symbolic power of pandemic-related imagery over the ages.

Charlie's angles

Stephen Phillips talks to neurosurgeon Charlie Teo about his practice, perspectives and the anatomy of hope.

General Birdwood, the Idol of Anzac, taking a dip in the sea after a hard days work 1915

In the thick of it

Projecting the splendour of the empire, and the resolve of its subjects, the bust of William Birdwood keeps a stiff upper lip in the National Portrait Gallery.

Suave

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

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

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

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.

Each morning when I wake up I put on my mothers face, 2000

Paths to portraiture

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2003

The life and art of Australian artist Jenny Sages is on display in the exhibition Paths to Portraiture.

Australians in Hollywood

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

Something old, something new

Magazine article by Andrew Mayo, 2017

Andrew Mayo considers the changing face of modern wedding photography through the eyes of two of its finest exponents, Dan O’Day and Kelly Tunney.

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

A rogue's calling card

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

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

Amy Johnson wearing a woollen suit from the collection of flight clothes designed by Madame Schiaparelli for her solo flight from London to Cape Town, 1938 unknown photographer

Air wear

Magazine article by Esther Agostino, 2015

Aviation carried women’s roles in society to greater heights – fashion followed suit.

Ken Done

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2006

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.

Aussies all

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

HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, 2006 Ralph Heimans AM

Dane reign

Magazine article by Mette Skougaard and Thomas Lyngby, 2018

Mette Skougaard and Thomas Lyngby bring eloquent context to Ralph Heimans’ portraits of Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark.

Thrown together

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2019

Shipmates for years, James Cook and Joseph Banks each kept a journal but neither man shed light on their relationship.

Karl Robert, Count Nesselrode, 1818 by Sir Thomas Lawrence

The Lawrence lustre

Angus Trumble salutes the glorious portraiture of Sir Thomas Lawrence.

The stately lotus

Magazine article by Graeme Dix, 2016

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.

Portrait of the Gallery

A design diary retrospective.

Rock Island Bend. Franklin River, South West Tasmania, 1979 by Peter Dombrovskis

Written in Water

Olegas Truchanas and Peter Dombrovskis, photographers and conservationists, shared a love of photography and exploring wilderness areas of Tasmania.

Monument to Mrs. Moore St. Luke’s Church, Liverpool, Sydney

Waterloo and Mrs. Moore

Magazine article by Leslie Ureña, 2020

Beyond the centenary of the ANZAC landings at Gallipoli, a number of other notable anniversaries converge this year. Waterloo deserves a little focussed consideration, for in the decades following 1815 numerous Waterloo and Peninsular War veterans came to Australia.

Marian Anderson, contralto, New York, June 30, 1955 Richard Avedon

The right note

Marian Anderson’s glorious voice thrust her into stardom, and a more reluctant role as American civil rights pioneer.

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.

Money and swat

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2007

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

Adam’s Prize Apples

Magazine article by Pamela Gerrish Nunn, 2016

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

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.

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

Portraiture in a Bleak House

NPPP 2017 exhibition essay

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.

Trevor Jamieson, 2016 by Brett Canet-Gibson

The more things change...

Magazine article by Peter Wilmoth, 2016

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

Peter Wilmoth, age 12, with copies of Our World 1974 Courtesy of the author

Paper, boy

Peter Wilmoth’s boy-journalist toolkit for antagonising an Australian political giant.

Self Portrait with Stetson, 2011 by Darren McDonald

Painting them gently

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2015

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

Giving a dam

True south #1

Ensconced and meditative in crisp Tasmania, Joanna Gilmour pays tribute to passionate green advocate and photographer Olegas Truchanas.

Inner Worlds and psychoanalysis

Lecture, 4 June 2011

Magazine article by Kate Fullagar, 2019

Inner Worlds evokes a broad view of psychology as a discipline. However, the specific interests of the practitioners whose portraits are included in the exhibition incorporate specialist areas including psychoanalysis.

Rethinking foundational histories

A focus on Indigenous-European relationships underpins Facing New Worlds. By Kate Fullagar.

Anne-Louise Lambert as Miranda Courtesy Picnic Productions

Rock star

Magazine article by Jennifer Coombes, 2018

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

Lovers of light

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

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

All dressed up

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2013

Jane Raffan asks do clothes make the portrait, and can the same work with a new title fetch a better price?

A nose by any other name

Magazine article by Jane Kinsman, 2013

In the exhibition William Kentridge: Drawn from Africa at the National Gallery of Australia, the artist marries Gogol's Tsarist Russia, with that of Stalin and the damaging history of his homeland, South Africa.

Studio portrait of servicewoman Lance Corporal Kathleen Jean Mary (Kath) Walker, c.1942

Past present

Magazine article by Krysia Kitch, 2016

Krysia Kitch celebrates Oodgeroo Noonuccal.

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

Love scars

Magazine article by Katrina Osborne, 2016

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

Private virtues public lives

Magazine article by Robert Cook, 2018

Family affections are preserved in a fine selection of intimate portraits.

Snap decisions

NPPP judge Robert Cook provides irreverent insight into this year’s fare, and having to be a bit judgemental.

The Window Seat, 1907 by Frances Hodgkins

Kiwi magpie

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2018

Penelope Grist finds inspiration in pioneering New Zealand artist, Frances Hodgkins.

Ryan Presley

In conversation

Magazine article by April Phillips, 2024

April Phillips (Wiradjuri-Scottish, kalari/galari) yarns with Marri Ngarr artist Ryan Presley about portraiture, resilience and the spirit held within fire.

Off grid

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2019

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

William Charles Wentworth -The Australian Patriot

The Wentworths – Hidden in Plain Sight

Magazine article by Dr Grace Blakeley-Carroll, 2015

Grace Carroll on the gendered world of the Wentworths.

Their brilliant careers

Magazine article by Jenny Gall, 2017

Jenny Gall delves into Starstruck to celebrate some of Australian cinema’s iconic women.

Uncommon Australians

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2021

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

Self-portrait in white jacket , 1901-02 Hugh Ramsay

Wunderkind lost

Inga Walton on the brief but brilliant life of Hugh Ramsay.

Dr Edward MacMahon, 1959 by William Dobell

Bill and Ted's excellent portrait.

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2016

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

Of ice and men

Magazine article by Stephen Phillips, 2016

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

Shop Talk

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

Less than six degrees of separation

Lecture, 28 May 2011

Magazine article by Gareth Knapman, 2017

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

The Conciliation, 1840 by Benjamin Duterrau

The art of conciliation

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

The portrait writ large

Magazine article by Karen Vickery, 2015

Karen Vickery on Chang the Chinese giant in Australia.

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.

The mind's eye

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2017

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

Fits of delicacy and despair

Magazine article by Diana O'Neil, 2017

Henry Mundy's portraits flesh out notions of propriety and good taste in a convict colony.

Revd Dr Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch, c.1795 by Sir Henry Raeburn

Great Scots

Diana O’Neil samples the tartan treats on offer in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

Australia’s great internationalists

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2016

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

Judy Davis and Sam Neill in ‘My Brilliant Career’, 1979 David Kynoch

Moving still

Magazine article by Anne O'Hehir, 2022

Anne O’Hehir on the seductive power of the film still to reflect and shape ourselves and our cultural landscape.

Drawing inspiration

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2017

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

See through me

Magazine article by Penelope Grist and Rebecca Ray, 2022

Penelope Grist and Rebecca Ray talk to the artists in Portrait23: Identity about transcending modes of portraiture.

Women make history

Magazine article by Jennifer Higgie, 2022

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

The Bare story

Magazine article by Glynis Jones, 2022

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

Lyndall Hobbs and Marilyn at the Come as your favourite blonde party, Blitz Club, London, 1979 Robert Rosen

Shiny, happy people

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

Portrait of Dr Johann Reinhold Forster and his son George Forster

To the end of the earth

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

The portrait of Dr. Johann Reinhold Forster and his son George Forster from 1780, is one of the oldest in the NPG's collection.

In good company

Jean Appleton’s 1965 self portrait makes a fine addition to the National Portrait Gallery’s collection writes Joanna Gilmour.

Staying home

True south #2

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

Naked ambition

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2011

Joanna Gilmour dives into the life of Australian swimming legend Annette Kellerman.

In a good paddock

Celebrating a new painted portrait of Joseph Banks, Sarah Engledow spins a yarn of the naturalist, the first kangaroo in France and Don, a Spanish ram.

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.

Kristin Headlam

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 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.

Out of the shadows

Joanna Gilmour profiles the life and times of the shutter sisters May and Mina Moore.

More cash than dash

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2011

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

Starry knight

Magazine article by David Friend, 2009

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

Mick Jagger, Madonna and Tony Curtis, 1997

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.

Anna Culliton

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2022

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.

History

About us

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

Virginia Woolf, 1902 George Charles Beresford

Love my way

Inga Walton delves into the bohemian group of artists and writers who used each other as muses and transformed British culture.

20/20 launch speech

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

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

Portrait of Thea Proctor, 1905 by George Lambert

The real Thea

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

Nicholas Harding

Magazine article by Judith Pugh, 2005

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.

A sketch for some portraits

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

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.

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, 1885-86 by
John Singer Sargent

A feast of friends

Magazine article by Richard Ormond, 2015

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

Omai, Sir Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander, 1775-76

First encounters

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2011

Representations of the inhabitants of the new world expose the complexities of the colonisers' intentions.

Through thick and thin

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2017

Sarah Engledow likes the manifold mediums of Nicholas Harding’s portraiture.

Helena Rubinstein in a red brocade Balenciaga gown

Study in scarlet

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2018

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

Regarding Henrys

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

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

Some prime ministers

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2018

Sarah Engledow explores the history of the prime ministers and artists featured in the exhibition.

Material culture

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

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.

Nicholas Harding: 28 Portraits

Exhibition essay

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

A non-material and non-physical portrait

Lecture, 21 May 2011

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

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.

Forest Creek, Mount Alexander Diggings, 1852 by S. T. Gill

The Rothschilds, the Montefiores, and the Victorian Gold Rush

Some years ago my colleague Andrea Wolk Rager and I spent several days in the darkened basement of a Rothschild Bank, inspecting every one of the nearly 700 autochromes created immediately before World War I by the youthful Lionel de Rothschild.

Faces of war

Lecture, 14 May 2011