Penelope Grist speaks to Bill Henson and Simone Young to discover the origins of the artist’s stunning photographic triptych.
Bon Scott and Angus Young photographed by Rennie Ellis are part of a display celebrating summer and images of the shirtless male.
Photographer Gary Grealy discusses his passion for portraiture.
Dr Sarah Engledow explores the early life and career of John Brack.
Paul Cézanne, Bill Henson and Simone Young, Australian cinema’s iconic women, and feminist portraits by Kate Just.
Stevie Wright (1947-2015), singer-songwriter, came to Australia from England at the age of nine.
Artist Tessa Jones recalls creating her portrait of Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock singer and music producer, Ross Wilson.
Anthony Browell reminisces about meeting Rose Lindsay, the wife of Australian artist Norman Lindsay.
Rineke Dijkstra's photographic series of her subject, Almerisa Sehric, evolved over the course of 14 years.
Chris Chapman explains how Matthys Gerber bridges the gap between abstraction and portraiture.
Christopher Chapman immerses himself in Larry Clark’s field of vision.
Michael Desmond profiles a handful of the entrants in first National Photographic Portrait Prize and notes emerging themes and categories.
Dr Christopher Chapman examines Scott Redford's photographic portrait of Australian surfer David 'Rasta' Rastovich.
Nathalie Latham's exhibition Australia's Creative Diaspora explores Australians, in the arts, who live and work internationally.
In April 2006 the National Portrait Gallery showcased Australian portraits at the Fredenksborg Castle in Denmark.
Michael Desmond explores the life of ballerina Irina Baranova through the portrait by Australian artist Jenny Sages.
Christopher Chapman looks at influences and insight in the formative years of Arthur Boyd.
A short visual essay of some of the works in the National Youth Self Portrait Prize 2010.
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.
The bronze sculpture by Julie Edgar reflects through both the material and representation the determined and straight-forward nature of Brabham.
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.
Patrick McCaughey explores a striking Boyd self portrait.
A newly acquired work by Stella Bowen adds to the National Portrait Gallery's growing collection of important Australian self-portraits.
Alistair McGhie reminisces about three Australian rugby greats commissioned for the Portrait Gallery collection by Patrick Corrigan AM.
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.
Jessica Smith looks at the 'fetching' portrait of Tasmania's first Anglican Bishop, Francis Russell Nixon by George Richmond
The National Portrait Gallery acquired the self-portrait by Grace Cossington Smith in 2003.
Lauren Dalla examines the life of Australian painter Roy de Maistre and his portrait by Jean Shepeard.
Christopher Chapman discusses Rod McNicol's photographic portrait series Newcomers to my village.
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).
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.
Magda Keaney speaks with Lewis Morley about his photographic career and the major retrospective of his work on display at the NPG.
James Holloway describes the first portraits you encounter when entering the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
Sarah Hill introduces the portrait busts of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Captain Charles Ulm by Enid Fleming.
Scott Redford discusses his dynamic portrait commission of motorcycling champion and 2008 Young Australian of the Year Casey Stoner.
Christopher Chapman considers photographer Rozalind Drummond's portrait of author Nam Le.
Magda Keaney explores the symbolism in eX de Medici's portrait of Midnight Oil.
The National Portrait Gallery joins the Big Draw, a program dedicated to promoting drawing as a tool for thought, creativity, social and cultural engagement.
Roger Neill delves into the life of a lesser-known Australian diva, Frances Alda.
Dr Sarah Engledow tells the story of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee portrait by Australian artist Ralph Heimans.
Julia Gillard pays poignant tribute to her friend and mentor, the late Joan Kirner, Victoria’s first and only female premier.
Peter Jeffrey trips the hound nostalgic.
Olivier Krischer in conversation with photographer Wei Leng Tay.
Michael Wardell’s personal insight into Jacques van der Merwe’s New Arrivals.
Christopher Chapman reveals the intersection of iconoclastic Japanese figures Yukio Mishima and Tamotsu Yato.
Former NPG Director Andrew Sayers discusses the art of commissioning portraits.
Close encounters are the genesis for Graeme Drendel’s enticing portraiture.
Sir William Dargie, painter and eight times winner of the Archibald Prize for portraiture, died in Melbourne on July 26, 2003, aged 91.
Martin Sharp fulfils the Pop art idiom of merging art and life.
The theme of the seventh annual survey of secondary school student portraiture, Headspace, was Me and My Place.
Christopher Chapman previews the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009.
Katherine Russell examines the art of Australian artist Paul Newton, referencing the portraiture of John Singer Sargent.
Stella Ramage on Father McHardy’s Bougainville portraiture.
Christopher Chapman delights in the intimacy of Robert Mapplethorpe's photography
Two professionals; Australian surfer Layne Beachley and photographer Petrina Hicks, combine their strengths to achieve a remarkable portrait.
Barry York charts the course from childhood request to autographed celebrity portrait anthology.
Andrew Sayers explores the self-portraits created by Australian artist Sidney Nolan.
Former NPG Director, Andrew Sayers celebrates the support given to the Gallery by Gordon and Marilyn Darling.
Angus Trumble provides poignant context for Aña Wojak’s portrait of Tony Carden.
Robert Hannaford has completed around 400 portraits over the span of his career.
John Elliott talks about his photographic portrait practice, including his iconic image of Slim Dusty arm-in-arm with Dame Edna Everage.
Tim Storrier describes the influences on the development of his artistic style.
Curator Michael Desmond introduces the exhibition Truth and Likeness, an investigation of the importance of likeness to portraiture.
Dr Chistopher Chapman discusses the portrait of Australian author Christos Tsiolkas taken by John Tsiavis.
Michael Riley’s early portraits by Amanda Rowell.
Australian artist Shaun Gladwell discusses his portraits of champion athletes.
Christopher Chapman examines the battle of glamour vs. grunge which played out in the fashion and advertising of the 1990s.
Emanuel Solomon gave shelter to the Sisters of St Joseph upon the excommunication of St Mary MacKillop.
The exhibition California Video at the J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles demonstrated how video artists expand the boundaries of portraiture.
Pat Corrigan's generous gift of 100 photographic portraits by Greg Weight.
Christopher Chapman profiles Chris Lilley, actor and creator of Angry Boys.
Dr. Sarah Engledow discusses a collection of drawings and prints by the Victorian artist Rick Amor acquired in 2005.
Dr Anne Sanders previews the works in the new focus exhibition Paul Kelly and The Portraits.
Anne Sanders imbibes Tony Bilson’s gastronomic revolution.
The story behind the creation of the portrait of singer-songwriter Paul Kelly by the artist Jon Campbell.
Joanna Gilmour reveals love’s more intense manifestations in the tale of Lord Kenelm and Venetia Digby.
Jessica Bolton navigates the parallel tracks documenting Robyn Davidson’s astonishing journey.
Penelope Grist speaks to Robert McFarlane about shooting for the stars.
Jaynie Anderson reflects on her experience as sitter for Reshid Bey’s 1962 portrait.
Christopher Chapman contemplates the provocative performance art of Chris Burden.
The biographical exhibition of Barry Humphries was the first display of its kind at the National Portrait Gallery.
Christopher Chapman describes the art and life of Australian artist Richard Larter.
Former NPG Director, Andrew Sayers, explores the creative collaborations between four Australian artists living in Paris during the first years of the twentieth century.
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.
Gregory McBean writes about photographing recent ARIA Hall of Fame inductee, singer Stevie Wright.
Robin Sellick captured a rare moment of quietude from the late conservation star Steve Irwin.
Dr Christopher Chapman discusses the portrait of Australian composer Paul Grabowsky by photographer Martin Philbey.
Henri-Cartier-Bresson invented the grammar for photographing life in the 20th century.
Inga Walton traces the poignant path of photographer Polixeni Papapetrou, revealed in the NGV’s summer retrospective.
Tenille Hands explores a portrait prize gifted to the National Screen and Sound Archive.
Tedi Bills talks to George Gittoes about canvassing conflict.
Sarah Engledow previews the beguiling summer exhibition, Idle hours.
Stephen Valambras Graham traverses the intriguing socio-political terrain behind two iconic First Nations portraits of the 1850s.
An extensive selection of portraits by John Brack were on display at the National Portrait Gallery in late 2007.
Sarah Engledow trains her exacting lens on the nine photographs from 20/20.
Krysia Kitch reviews black chronicles at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Dr Sarah Engledow delves into the life of union leader Pat Mackie who is depicted in a portrait by Nancy Borlase AM.
The exhibition Flash: Australian Athletes in Focus offers various interpretations of sporting men and women by five Australian photographers.
Dr Sarah Engledow describes the achievements of internationally renowned burns and trauma surgeon Professor Fiona Wood.
Alexandra Roginski gets a feel for phrenology’s fundamentals.
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.
The first collaborative commission has arrived. It's a self portrait, it's ceramic and it's from Hermannsburg.
Australian Galleries Director Stuart Purves tells the story of two portraits by John Brack.
Sandra Bruce gazes on love and the portrait through Australian Love Stories’ multi-faceted prism.
Michael Desmond interviews Ralph Heimans about his portrait of Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.
Joanna Gilmour explores the life and times of one of Melbourne's early socialites, Jessie Eyre Williams.
The Glossy 2 exhibition highlights the integral role magazine photography plays in illustrating and shaping our contemporary culture.
Keith Christiansen introduces the exhibition The Renaissance Portrait from Donatello to Bellini on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
John Zubrzycki lauds the characters of the Australian escapology trade.
Robyn Sweaney's quiet Violet obsession.
Australian photographer Karin Catt has shot across the spectrum of celebrity, her subjects including rock stars, world leaders and actors.
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.
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.
Bruce Petty's animated self portrait captures a life's journey compressed into a few minutes.
Tom Fryer surveys the twentieth-century architectural project, and finds representation and the portrait were integral elements.
Matthew Jones on the upshot of a St Kilda Road outrage.
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.
Karen Vickery delights in a thespian thread of the Australian yarn.
Sarah Engledow is seduced by the portraits and the connections between the artists and their subjects in the exhibition Impressions: Painting light and life.
Dr Sarah Engledow discusses the recent gift of works by David Campbell.
Barrie Cassidy pays textured tribute to the inimitable Bob Hawke.
Former NPG Director, Andrew Sayers describes the 1922 Self-portrait with Gladioli by George Lambert.
Dr Christopher Chapman explores how we can understand Richard Avedon's photographs.
The full-length portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark by artist Jiawei Shen, has become a destination piece for visitors.
John Zubrzycki meets Australian paint pioneer Jim Cobb.
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.
National Portrait Gallery director Karen Quinlan AM nominates her quintet of favourites from the collection, with early twentieth-century ‘selfies’ filling the roster.
Jerrold Nathan's portrait of Jessie Street shows the elegant side of a many-faceted lady.
Charting a path from cockatiel to finch, Annette Twyman explores her family portraits and stories.
Sean Davey captures the portrait of a nation renewed.
Mark Haworth-Booth explains why Bill Brandt is one of the most important British photographers of the Twentieth Century.
Roger Benjamin explores the intriguing union of Lina Bryans and Alex Jelinek.
Gael Newton looks at Australian photography, film and the sixties through the novel lens of Mark Strizic.
Traudi Allen discovers sensitivity, humour and fine draughtsmanship in the portraiture of John Perceval.
Athol Shmith’s photographs contributed to the emergence of a new vision of Australian womanhood.
Dr Christopher Chapman, curator of Inner Worlds: Portraits & Psychology looks at Albert Tucker's Heidelberg military hospital portraits.
April Thompson explores an exhibition of Ingvar Kenne’s global portrait project.
Politics and personae in the portraiture of TextaQueen by Jane Raffan.
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.
One half of the team that was Eltham Films left scarcely a trace in the written historical record, but survives in a vivid portrait.
Beatrice Gralton looks at a larger than life portrait by Chinese artist Song Dong.
The portrait of Janet and Horace Keats with the spirit of the poet Christopher Brennan is brought to life by artist Dora Toovey.
A moving portrait of Cate Blanchett unfolds as an inspired pairing of medium and subject.
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.
Sarah Engledow lauds the very civil service of Dame Helen Blaxland.
John Elderfield lauds the portraiture of Paul Cézanne, the artist described by both Matisse and Picasso as ‘the father of us all’.
Penelope Grist reminisces about the halcyon days of a print icon, before the infusion of the internet’s shades of grey.
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.
Ah Xian's porcelain portrait of paediatrician Dr. John Yu reflects Yu's heritage and interests.
Bringing eminent scientist Frank Fenner and artist Jude Rae together for the National Portrait Gallery commission was like matchmaking.
Cartoonist Michael Leunig's insights into the human condition and current affairs have become famous Australia-wide.
Dr. Sarah Engledow explores the context surrounding Charles Blackman's portrait of Judith Wright, Jack McKinney and their daughter Meredith.
English artist Benjamin Duterrau took up the cause of the Indigenous peoples of Tasmania with his detailed and sympathetic renderings.
The complex connections between four creative Australians; Patrick White, Sidney Nolan, Robert Helpmann and Peter Sculthorpe.
The Tate/SFMOMA exhibition Exposed examined the role of photography in voyeurism and how it challenges ideas of privacy and propriety.
Dr Sarah Engledow explores the portraits of writers held in the National Portrait Gallery's collection.
Gael Newton delves into the life and art of renowned Australian photographer, Max Dupain.
Raimond Gaita comments on war and truth in the context of the First World War.
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.
Gillian Raymond ponders landscapes as self-portraiture in Michael Taylor’s intimate expressionism.
Kwon Hyeeun introduces Korean portraits of Kang Sehwang, and five generations of the Kang family.
Dr Sarah Engledow writes about the larger-than-life Australian performance artist, Leigh Bowery.
Alexandra Roginski reveals a forceful feminist figure in the colonial period’s slippery science, phrenology.
Aimee Board reveals method, motivation and mortality in the portraiture of Rod McNicol.
Christopher Chapman ponders our digital identity and selfhood.
Sarah Engledow reflects on the shared life and writing of Dorothy Porter and Andrea Goldsmith.
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 was the National Portrait Gallery's second exhibition to follow the life of a single person, following Rarely Everage: The lives of Barry Humphries.
National Gallery of Australia curator Jane Kinsman discusses the portraiture of Henri Matisse.
Phil Manning celebrates a century of Brisbane photographic portraiture.
National Photographic Portrait Prize curator, Sarah Engledow, finds reward in a difficult task and ultimately uncovers the essence of portraiture.
Joanna Gilmour explores photographic depictions of Aboriginal sportsmen including Lionel Rose, Dave Sands, Jerry Jerome and Douglas Nicholls.
Jane Raffan feasts on modernity’s entrée in the Belle Époque theatre of the demimonde.
Bess Norriss Tait created miniature watercolour portraits full of character and life.
Michael Desmond examines the career of the eighteenth-century suspected poisoner and portrait artist Thomas Griffiths Wainewright.
Traversing paint and pixels, Inga Walton examines portraits of select women in Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits.
How seven portraits within Bare reveal in a public portrait parts of the body and elements of life usually located in the private sphere.
Stephen Phillips talks to neurosurgeon Charlie Teo about his practice, perspectives and the anatomy of hope.
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.
Charles Haddon Chambers the Australian-born playboy playwright settled permanently in London in 1880 but never lost his Australian stance when satirising the English.
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.
The life and art of Australian artist Jenny Sages is on display in the exhibition Paths to Portraiture.
The exhibition Australians in Hollywood celebrated the achievements of Australians in the highly competitive American film industry.
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.
Joanna Gilmour explores the stories behind the ninteenth-century carte de visites of bushrangers Frank Gardiner and Fred Lowry.
Aviation carried women’s roles in society to greater heights – fashion followed suit.
The exhibition Aussies all features the ecclectic portrait photography of Rennie Ellis which captures Australian life during the 70s and 80s.
Mette Skougaard and Thomas Lyngby bring eloquent context to Ralph Heimans’ portraits of Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark.
Shipmates for years, James Cook and Joseph Banks each kept a journal but neither man shed light on their relationship.
Angus Trumble salutes the glorious portraiture of Sir Thomas Lawrence.
A design diary retrospective.
Olegas Truchanas and Peter Dombrovskis, photographers and conservationists, shared a love of photography and exploring wilderness areas of Tasmania.
Marian Anderson’s glorious voice thrust her into stardom, and a more reluctant role as American civil rights pioneer.
Anne Sanders finds connections in Inner Worlds between Hungarian expatriates and the development of psychoanalysis in Australia.
Andrew Sayers discusses the real cost of George Lambert's Self portrait with gladioli 1922.
Pamela Gerrish Nunn explores New Zealand’s premium award for portraiture.
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.
Peter Wilmoth’s boy-journalist toolkit for antagonising an Australian political giant.
Penny Grist on motivation, method and melancholy in the portraiture of Darren McDonald.
A focus on Indigenous-European relationships underpins Facing New Worlds. By Kate Fullagar.
Jennifer Coombes explores the lush images of Picnic at Hanging Rock, featuring Anne-Louise Lambert’s Miranda, the face of the film.
Dr Sarah Engledow traces the significant links between Antonio Dattilo-Rubbo and Evelyn Chapman through their portraits.
Jane Raffan asks do clothes make the portrait, and can the same work with a new title fetch a better price?
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.
Krysia Kitch celebrates Oodgeroo Noonuccal.
Katrina Osborne immerses herself in one of photography’s most fearless chronicles.
Family affections are preserved in a fine selection of intimate portraits.
NPPP judge Robert Cook provides irreverent insight into this year’s fare, and having to be a bit judgemental.
Penelope Grist finds inspiration in pioneering New Zealand artist, Frances Hodgkins.
Aimee Board ventures within and beyond to consider two remarkable new Gallery acquisitions.
Grace Carroll on the gendered world of the Wentworths.
Jenny Gall delves into Starstruck to celebrate some of Australian cinema’s iconic women.
Inga Walton on the brief but brilliant life of Hugh Ramsay.
Sarah Engledow on Messrs Dobell and MacMahon and the art of friendship.
Frank Hurley's celebrated images document the heroism and minutiae of Australian exploration in Antarctica.
Angus and the arbiters talk (photo) shop for the National Photographic Portrait Prize.
Gareth Knapman explores the politics and opportunism behind the portraits of Tasmania’s Black War.
Karen Vickery on Chang the Chinese giant in Australia.
Christopher Chapman takes a trip through the doors of perception, arriving at the junction of surrealism and psychoanalysis.
Henry Mundy's portraits flesh out notions of propriety and good taste in a convict colony.
Diana O’Neil samples the tartan treats on offer in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
Penelope Grist explores the United Nations stories in the Gallery’s collection.
Christopher Chapman absorbs the gentle touch of Don Bachardy’s portraiture.
The portrait of Dr. Johann Reinhold Forster and his son George Forster from 1780, is one of the oldest in the NPG's collection.
Jean Appleton’s 1965 self portrait makes a fine addition to the National Portrait Gallery’s collection writes Joanna Gilmour.
Joanna Gilmour dives into the life of Australian swimming legend Annette Kellerman.
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.
Australian character on the market by Jane Raffan.
Aimee Board traces Judy Cassab’s path to the Australian outback, arriving at the junction of inspiration and abstraction.
Joanna Gilmour profiles the life and times of the shutter sisters May and Mina Moore.
Joanna Gilmour describes how colonial portraitists found the perfect market among social status seeking Sydneysiders.
Aircraft designer, pilot and entrepreneur, Sir Lawrence Wackett rejoins friends and colleagues on the walls of the National Portrait Gallery.
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.
Long after the portraitist became indifferent to her, and died, a beguiling portrait hung over its subject.
Judith Pugh reflects on Clifton Pugh's approach to portrait making.
Joanna Gilmour looks beyond the ivory face of select portrait miniatures to reveal their sitters’ true grit.
John Singer Sargent: a painter at the vanguard of contemporary movements in music, literature and theatre.
Representations of the inhabitants of the new world expose the complexities of the colonisers' intentions.
Sarah Engledow likes the manifold mediums of Nicholas Harding’s portraiture.
Angus Trumble reflects on the force of nature that was Helena Rubinstein.
Sarah Engledow ponders the divergent legacies of Messrs Kendall and Lawson.
The Rajah Quilt’s narrative promptings are as intriguing as the textile is intricate.
