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Conduct becoming

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

No shirt, no service

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

Observation point

Photographer Gary Grealy discusses his passion for portraiture.

Portrait of the artist as a young man

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

Portrait 58

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

Tribute

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

Now Listen...

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

Charmed by the Rose

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

Interview

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

Emerging realities

Two painters

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

City boys

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

Seduce Amuse Entertain

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

Golden boy

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

Here and there

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

Australian visit in Denmark

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

Handing on the baton

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

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.

1 to 6

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.

Start Your Engines...

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

Big it up

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.

Arthur as Alyosha?

Patrick McCaughey explores a striking Boyd self portrait.

A Singular Line

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

Full time

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

Time is precious

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.

Let’s dance

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

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

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

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.

Village people

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

The incomparable Beaton

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).

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.

Myself and Eye

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

Hot Scots

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

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.

Subtle emotion

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

In our nature

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

Seduce and Destroy

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

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.

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.

Bewitching

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

Imagination

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

Joan Alone

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

Hottie's Snifter to port

Peter Jeffrey trips the hound nostalgic.

Insight and identity

Olivier Krischer in conversation with photographer Wei Leng Tay.

Look who's coming to dinner

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

Way of the body

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

On commission

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

Be frank

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

Sir William Dargie CBE

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

Oz and beyond

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

Situated self-portraits

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

Interiors

Christopher Chapman previews the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009.

Inspiration + Realisation: John Singer Sargent

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

Missionary positions

Stella Ramage on Father McHardy’s Bougainville portraiture.

Apollo's breath

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

Everybody's heard about the bird

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

Star signs

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

Me Myself I

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

The spirit of the gift

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

Stigma stigmata

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

Anatomist's eye

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

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.

Observation point

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

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.

Intense identity

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.

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.

Moving pictures

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

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

101 photographic portraits

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

How to be a boy

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

Friends and Acquaintances

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

Pop poet

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

Eating the seasons

Anne Sanders imbibes Tony Bilson’s gastronomic revolution.

You are who?

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

Before Too Long

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

Love in the extreme

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

Hump days

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

Natural born stiller

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

Sitter still

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

The boy, the bed and the gun

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.

Pin-ups

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

Velasquez Touch

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

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

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

Crikey!

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

Feel the music

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

Insightful

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

Mother’s muse

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

The life of Bryant

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

Man of war

Tedi Bills talks to George Gittoes about canvassing conflict.

Lovingly observed

Sarah Engledow previews the beguiling summer exhibition, Idle hours.

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

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

Flash mob

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

Back in black

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

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.

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

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.

Somewhere to hang your cap

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

Of human clay

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.

Splendid, many-splendoured

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

The painter and the princess

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

Chance encounter

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

Glossy too

The Glossy 2 exhibition highlights the integral role magazine photography plays in illustrating and shaping our contemporary culture.

Emblems of beauty

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

Risky business

John Zubrzycki lauds the characters of the Australian escapology trade.

Finding Mrs Frisby

Robyn Sweaney's quiet Violet obsession.

9 lives of Karin Catt

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.

I walk the line

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

Alter ego

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

Strutt your stuff

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

Capturing Cook

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

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

Beguiling impressions

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

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

The intellectual larrikin

Barrie Cassidy pays textured tribute to the inimitable Bob Hawke.

Facing Facts

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

The Avedon effect

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

Australian Princess

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

The alchemist’s profile

John Zubrzycki meets Australian paint pioneer Jim Cobb.

An actress and her fans

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

Give me five

National Portrait Gallery director Karen Quinlan AM nominates her quintet of favourites from the collection, with early twentieth-century ‘selfies’ filling the roster.

Worth her salt

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

Birds of a feather

Charting a path from cockatiel to finch, Annette Twyman explores her family portraits and stories.

The art of peace

Sean Davey captures the portrait of a nation renewed.

Shadows of light

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

Fugue in Yellow

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

In and out of focus

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

The family scene

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

Progressive pictures

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

The inner voice

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

Citizen Kenne

April Thompson explores an exhibition of Ingvar Kenne’s global portrait project.

Pen power

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

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.

The silent partner

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

Family collective

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

Heartfelt

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

Being Cate

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. 

Petal to the mettle

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

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

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

Home truths

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

Personal Politics

Clay, water, fire

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

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

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

Big bouquet of Blackmans

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

Black and white history

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

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

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

Painting writing

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

Vintage Max

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

All that fall

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

Portraits and other stories

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

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

The artist, the scholar and the gentleman

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

Hyperversity

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

Sibly irresistible

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

A spectral sentience

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

A.I.

Christopher Chapman ponders our digital identity and selfhood.

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

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.

Listening to form

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

Northern exposure

Phil Manning celebrates a century of Brisbane photographic portraiture.

The more things change

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

Seeing stars

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

Demimonde liaisons

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

Small worlds

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.

The Royal she

Traversing paint and pixels, Inga Walton examines portraits of select women in Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits.

Getting bare

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

Charlie's angles

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

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

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

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.

Paths to portraiture

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

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.

A rogue's calling card

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

Air wear

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

Aussies all

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

Dane reign

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

Thrown together

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

The Lawrence lustre

Angus Trumble salutes the glorious portraiture of Sir Thomas Lawrence.

Portrait of the Gallery

A design diary retrospective.

Written in Water

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

The right note

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

Less than six degrees of separation

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

Money and swat

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

Adam’s Prize Apples

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

An Australian story

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.

Paper, boy

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

Painting them gently

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

Rethinking foundational histories

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

Rock star

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

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

All dressed up

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

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.

Past present

Krysia Kitch celebrates Oodgeroo Noonuccal.

Love scars

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

Private virtues public lives

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.

Kiwi magpie

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

Off grid

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

The Wentworths – Hidden in Plain Sight

Grace Carroll on the gendered world of the Wentworths.

Their brilliant careers

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

Wunderkind lost

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

Bill and Ted's excellent portrait.

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

Of ice and men

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.

The art of conciliation

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

The portrait writ large

Karen Vickery on Chang the Chinese giant in Australia.

Us being ourselves

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

The mind's eye

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

Fits of delicacy and despair

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

Great Scots

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

Australia’s great internationalists

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

Moving still

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

Drawing inspiration

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

Women make history

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

Shiny, happy people

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

To the end of the earth

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.

Naked ambition

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.

Money for Myth

Australian character on the market by Jane Raffan.

Flesh, figure and rock

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

Out of the shadows

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

More cash than dash

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

Starry knight

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

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.

Love my way

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

The real Thea

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

A sketch for some portraits

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

Little women

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

A feast of friends

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

First encounters

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

Through thick and thin

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

Study in scarlet

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

Regarding Henrys

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

Material culture

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