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Gary Grealy

Gary Grealy on his portrait photography.

Gary Grealy wins National Photographic Portrait Prize 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.

American dream leads to tragic end

Young love lost, treasured

Rugby great unveiled

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

Larry Clark

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

Treading Water, 2017

Finalist, DPA 2017
Single channel digital video

The Murdoch

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.

Backstage on the way to the top

Living for the moment

The Hinders: doyens of Australian modernism

Progressive partnership

Artist lovers re-united across the seas

Exile burnishes love’s bond

To coin a (farewell) phrase

A penny for their thoughts

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.

Shirley Purdie

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

Oz Rock

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.

NPPP 2009 exhibition essay

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

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.

Blek Bala MJ, 2017

Finalist, DPA 2017
Single channel HD digital video

Annual Appeal

Arthur Boyd’s Mysterious Eyes

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.

Alex Frayne

An interview with the photographer.

Supporters

To Look Away – Tilda, 2015

Finalist, DPA 2016

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.

Cat Leedon

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

Oz Origins

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.

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.

Collier Schorr

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

Seduce, Amuse, Entertain

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

Boxer, Blake Travers, 2017

Finalist, DPA 2017
Single channel HD digital video

Younger Australians more engaged with arts and history

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

Press releases and image downloads for media.

Learning programs

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

‘Never break this heart of stone’

Desired by millions

The artist and the doctor

Art, war, scandal

The most material advantages

A one-in-a-thousand woman

Entry guidelines 2023

Read the full requirements for entering the prize.

Amrita Hepi

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

The actor, the artist, her life and her fantasies

Feeling sexy

Who is Lillie Roberts?

Talented wife for a talented husband

The Legend of Ruby and Archie

A bond in song

An international troupe of two

Office romance

Of Burke, Wills ... and wills

Infatuation and (ill-fated) exploration

Angelica Mesiti

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

2020 Annual Appeal

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

Partners

We are grateful to our supporters who help us care for, exhibit and study the Gallery's Collection and to offer programs that bring our portraits to life.

All that fall artist interviews

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

A photographer’s glamorous friends

Community, arts, activism

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.

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.

Ngarranggarni

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

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018

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

Storytelling

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

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.’

Tan Le, 2018

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

Yang Na

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

Memories

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

Out of the blocks

Dawn Fraser, Lionel Rose, Shane Gould and Cathy Freeman

National arts and history? Yes, please

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.

Call for entries – Digital Portraiture Award

Today, the National Portrait Gallery has opened the Call for Entries for the annual Digital Portraiture Award 2016.

Arcadia: Sound of the sea

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.

All the world's a stage

Joan Sutherland, Robert Helpmann and Raigh Roe

Portrait Donors

Last week to vote for your favourite portrait

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.

Nusra Latif Qureshi

Born: 1973, Lahore, Pakistan
Works: Melbourne

Leah King-Smith

Born: 1957, Gympie, QLD
Works: Brisbane

Elvis at 21 media information

Press releases and images downloads for media.

Matthew Abbott

An interview with the photographer.

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

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.

Rugby great a fine addition to Portrait Gallery Collection

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.

Adrian Brown

An interview with the photographer.

Louise Whelan

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.

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

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

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

Pets of all types take over the National Portrait Gallery

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.

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.

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

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.

Janet Tavener

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.

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.

NPPP 2013 exhibition essay

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

Katherine Bennett

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!

Paul Kelly and The Portraits media information

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

Nikki Toole

An interview with the photographer.

Nusra Latif Qureshi

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

Fang Lijun

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

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

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

Tim Fairfax, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by The Calvert-Jones Foundation 2018

Nicholas Paspaley Jnr, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by Ross Adler AC 2018

Melanie Faith Dove

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.

Krystal Seigerman

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.

Annual Appeal

Supporting contemporary photography. Your support will help us expand our contemporary collection.

Jessica Mauboy, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by Sony Music Entertainment Australia 2018

Nadiah Bamadhaj

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.

Winner announced for National Photographic Portrait Prize 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.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018 winner announced

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

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.

Everybody, look serious

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

Simon Harsent

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?

Sharon Zwi

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

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

Selected images

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

The National Portrait Prizes

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.

Fiona McMonagle

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. 

The art of Inner Worlds

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

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

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

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

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

Herra Pahlasari

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

Arianne McNaught

An interview with the photographer.

Exhibition opening speech

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

S Teddy D

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

Noel McKenna

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

Nikhil Chopra

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.

Ken Done

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

The more things change...

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

Inner Worlds and psychoanalysis

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.

Uncommon Australians

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

Less than six degrees of separation

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

The Bare story

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

Kristin Headlam

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.

Anna Culliton

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

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

Nicholas Harding

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. 

Some prime ministers

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

Nicholas Harding: 28 Portraits

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

A non-material and non-physical portrait

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

Faces of war

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