Search / george story

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

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

Portrait, engravings on paper

Purchased 2009

George Judah Cohen, 1925

Gift of the National Australia Bank 2002

George Gittoes - last sitting before Peshawar

George Gittoes - last sitting before Peshawar, 2007

'Self Portrait with Gladioli'

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2008

George Lambert

An examination of the life and times of George Lambert through the gesture and pose in his self portrait.

Sir George Coles KT CBE

Sir George Coles CBE (1885–1977) was the founder of the retail concern GJ Coles and Coy.

1 portrait in the collection

George Moore

George Moore (1923-2008), champion jockey, was born in Mackay, Qld and was apprenticed in Brisbane in 1938.

1 portrait in the collection

George Nicholas CBE

George Nicholas CBE (1884-1960), pharmacist and philanthropist, grew up in South Australia and Victoria.

1 portrait in the collection

George Dance

George Dance the Younger, architect, was a founder member of the Royal Academy in 1768.

4 portraits in the collection

George Barrable

George Hamilton Barrable was a painter of portraits and landscapes, active in London in the 1870s and 1880s, who exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy..

1 portrait in the collection

George Coates

George Coates, Melbourne-born artist, started his art career in a stained glass workshop, attending classes with Frederick McCubbin at the National Gallery school at night.

1 portrait in the collection

George Spartels

George Spartels (b. 1954), actor, composer, musician and presenter, was a host on the ABC television children’s program Play School from 1985 to 1999.

1 portrait in the collection

King George V

George Frederick Ernest Albert, The Duke of Cornwall and York and later King George V (1865-1936), was the son of Edward VII, the man for whom the Edwardian era was named.

4 portraits in the collection

George Bellette

George Billett (also Bellett, Bellette and Billet, 1812–1885) was a farmer and landowner, an early settler of Sorell in Tasmania, and the son of two ex-convicts.

1 portrait in the collection

George Foxhill

George Foxhill studied art in his native Austria, attending the Kunstegewerbeschule and the Volkshochschule in Salzburg after the war.

1 portrait in the collection

George Fetting

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

8 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

George Romney

George Romney, painter, was born and trained in the north of England until 1762, when moved to London, where he exhibited at the Society of Arts and later at the Free Society and the Society of Artists.

2 portraits in the collection

George A. Highland

George A Highland (1874-1954), theatrical producer, grew up in England, where, as a choirboy, he came to the attention of Arthur Sullivan.

1 portrait in the collection

George Bell OBE

George Bell studied in Melbourne and Paris, and was elected a member of the Modern Society of Portrait Painters, London, in 1908.

1 portrait in the collection

George Milpurrurru

George Milpurrurru (1934-1998), Ganalbingu (Yolgnu) painter, was one of the most important bark painters of the twentieth century.

1 portrait in the collection

George Gregan

George Gregan (b. 1973) is arguably the best rugby union half-back in the world today.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir George Grey

Sir George Grey (1812-1898), originally an explorer of the West Australian coast, became Governor of the near- bankrupt colony of South Australia in 1840.

2 portraits in the collection

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

George Molnar AO OBE

George Molnar AO OBE (1910–1998), cartoonist, artist, architect and social commentator, was born in Hungary and studied architecture at Budapest University, graduating in 1932.

1 portrait in the collection

George Garrard

George Garrard ARA, born in London, trained under the animal painter Sawrey Gilpin and enrolled at the Royal Academy Schools at the end of 1778.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir George Hayter

Sir George Hayter (1792-1871), English portrait and historical painter, studied briefly at the Royal Academy Schools as a teenager, running away to sea before returning to assist his father, an artist who tutored Princess Charlotte.

1 portrait in the collection

George Rose

George Rose, joint Secretary of the British Treasury at the time of the First Fleet, joined the civil service after leaving the Royal Navy in 1762.

1 portrait in the collection

George B. Kerferd

George Briscoe Kerferd (1831–1889), politician, lawyer and judge, came to Victoria in 1853 and established himself as a wine and spirits merchant in Beechworth having spent several months on the Bendigo diggings.

1 portrait in the collection

George Bonnor

George Bonnor (1855–1912), cricketer, made his debut for Australia in the first official Test match between Australia and England, held at The Oval in September 1880.

1 portrait in the collection

George Baxter

George Baxter, a Londoner, is credited with inventing the first commercially viable colour printing process.

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

George Finey

George Finey, one of Australia's best-known cartoonists, was born in Auckland and was selling drawings to local newspapers by the time he was 14.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir George Fisher CMG

Sir George Fisher CMG (1903-2007), mining industry executive, began work at the Zinc Corporation at Broken Hill in 1925 after having completed a mining engineering degree in Adelaide.

1 portrait in the collection

Making Sense of Place #4 (Portrait of Professor George Seddon)

George Seddon AM

George Seddon AM (1927-2007), scholar and academic, studied English at Melbourne University before spending several years abroad, travelling and teaching at universities in Europe and North America.

1 portrait in the collection

Mr George Watson

George John Watson (1829–1906), racing entrepreneur, was born at Ballydarton in Co.

1 portrait in the collection

George Barrington

George Barrington (1755-1804) was the best-known 'gentleman thief' of late eighteenth-century London.

3 portraits in the collection

Sir George Knibbs CBE

Sir George Knibbs CBE (1858-1929), statistician, was born into a working-class Sydney family and nothing is known of his early education.

1 portrait in the collection

George Tjungurrayi

George Tjungurrayi (b. c. 1943–1947) is a highly respected senior Pintupi artist.

2 portraits in the collection

George Lambert

George Lambert (1873–1930), artist, was born in St Petersburg and lived in Germany and England before coming to Australia with his family at the age of fourteen.

7 portraits in the collection

George Gittoes AM

George Gittoes AM (b. 1949), artist, photographer and filmmaker, has documented some of the world's most notorious conflicts.

4 portraits in the collection

George Case

George Case (life dates unknown) and his wife Grace Egerton (d. 1881), variety performers, made several successful tours of Australia in the 1860s and 1870s, although the precise dates of their visits are unknown.

1 portrait in the collection

George Pell AC

George Pell AC (1941–2023), former Roman Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney, was born and educated in Ballarat, Victoria.

1 portrait in the collection

George Perry

George William Perry (1824–1900) was born in London and arrived in Victoria via South Africa around 1852.

2 portraits in the collection

George Johnston OBE

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

1 portrait in the collection

George Hurrell

George Hurrell, born in Kentucky, began his working life studying painting at the Art Institute of Chicago.

1 portrait in the collection

George Mealmaker

George Mealmaker (1768–1808), convict and activist, became involved in radical politics in his native Dundee in the 1780s.

1 portrait in the collection

George Brown

George Brown (1835-1917), clergyman, established numerous Methodist missions in the Pacific from the late 1880s.

1 portrait in the collection

George Duncan

Recorded 1965

George Bell

Recorded 1965

George Johnston

Recorded 1964

George Finey

Recorded 1967

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2007

Emma Hamilton

George Romney

Self portrait with gladioli, 1922

Gift of John Schaeffer AO 2003. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Stephen and Angelo

George Andronicus, 1985 (printed 2018)

Gary Ede

Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2018

Sir George Coles, 1935

W B McInnes

Gift of Coles Myer Ltd 2002. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

George French Angas

George French Angas (1822-1886) was an artist and shell collector, who published many illustrations of the plants, native animals and peoples of the southern hemisphere.

2 portraits in the collection

George Baird Shaw

George Baird Shaw (1812-1883), painter and printmaker, arrived in Australia in 1856.

2 portraits in the collection

George Moore, 1957

Ern McQuillan OAM

Portrait, pen and ink, brush and ink on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

George Lambert in London, c. 1912

Alf Vincent

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

George Judah Cohen

George Judah Cohen (1842-1937), banker, took over the Maitland office of his father's wholesale firm David Cohen and Co.

1 portrait in the collection

George Selth Coppin

George Coppin (1819-1906), comedian, entrepreneur and politician, cut his teeth in the world of the English itinerant theatre.

2 portraits in the collection

George Hoyningen-Huene

Baron George Hoyningen-Huene (1900–1968) was a high-profile American fashion photographer and Hollywood figure.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir George Hubert Wilkins

Sir George Hubert Wilkins (1888-1958), photographer, cinematographer, polar explorer and naturalist, spent his childhood on a farm in South Australia and became interested in photography while studying engineering and music at the University of Adelaide.

1 portrait in the collection

Frederick George Reynolds

Frederick George Reynolds was born in London, the son of a watercolourist, Frederick G Reynolds senior, who was a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy.

1 portrait in the collection

George Rrurrambu Burarrwanga

George Rrurrambu Burarrwanga (1957–2007) was a Yolngu singer, activist and a founding member of the Warumpi Band.

2 portraits in the collection

George Milpurrurru, 1986

Purchased 2005

Alfred George Stephens

Alfred George Stephens (1865–1933), editor, journalist and publisher, was born and educated in Toowoomba.

1 portrait in the collection

George Gotardo Foletta

George Gotardo Foletta CMG (1892-1973), manufacturer, worked as a travelling salesman for his father, a fancy goods commission agent, before setting up the Atlas Knitting and Spinning Mills Pty Ltd in Brunswick in 1920.

2 portraits in the collection

George Michael Prendergast

George Michael Prendergast (1854-1937), printer and premier, was born to an Irish goldminer and his wife and was apprenticed to the printer of the Pleasant Creek News in 1868.

1 portrait in the collection

George Highland, 1925

Tom Glover

Portrait, papercut silhouette drawing

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

George Chow Bow, 2017

Pamela See

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2019

George Mealmaker, 1798 (printed c. 1838)

John Kay

Portrait, etching on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

William Morris

George Frederic Watts

Self portrait, 1846

George French Angas

Purchased 1999

Lee Lin Chin, 2004 (printed 2021)

Portrait, ink and gouache on paper

Gift of the artist 2021

Federal Statistician Knibbs, 1919

David Low

Purchased 2011

George Reid paperweight, c. 1910

unknown artist

Portrait, painted cast iron

Purchased 2006

George Reid paperweight, c. 1910

unknown artist

Portrait, painted cast iron

Purchased 2001

Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V)

Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

George Spartels, early 1970s

Ivan Gaal

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2019

George Langley, 1918

James McBey

Portrait, conte on paper

Gift of Pat Lesslie (née Langley), in memory of George Langley and Rob Lesslie 2015

George Sands, c. 1940s

Portrait, oil on hessian laid on cardboard

Purchased 2011

George Duncan, c. 1940

Alison Rehfisch

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mrs Margaret Adams 1999

George Molnar, 1983

Judy Cassab AO CBE

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on masonite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2013

George Miller, 2002 (printed 2004)

Karin Catt

Portrait, oil on cedar panel

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Portrait of George Selth Coppin, c. 1895-1899

Tom Roberts

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds donated by Mary Isabel Murphy 2004

George Trott (George Henry Stevens (Harry) Trott, member of the 1896 Australian Cricket Team)

George Henry Stevens Trott

George Henry Stevens (Harry) Trott (1866–1917) was the captain of the Australian cricket team which toured England and then to the USA and New Zealand from June to November 1896.

1 portrait in the collection

George Johnston, Fleet Street, London, c. 1952 (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

Sir George Grey, c. 1845

Theresa Walker

Portrait, cast wax

Purchased 1999

George Tjungurrayi, 2002

Matthÿs Gerber

Gift of Pamela Hansford 2007. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

George Lambert, c. 1929

Annie May Moore

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

George Tjungurrayi, 2007

Portrait, inkjet print on cotton rag paper

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2020. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Herbert Benjamin George Larkin CBE

Herbert Benjamin George Larkin CBE (c. 1871- 1944), shipping administrator, came to Australia from England and joined the office of the Australian Steam Navigation Company.

1 portrait in the collection

Cardinal George Pell, 2007 (printed 2012)

David Roberts

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Sir George Houston Reid GCB GCMG KC

Sir George Houstoun Reid GCB GCMG KC (1845-1918) was Australian prime minister from August 1904 to July 1905.

3 portraits in the collection

Sir George Fisher, n.d.

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mrs Lily Kahan 2006
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

George Gittoes, 1991

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

George Bell, 1951

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1998

George Barrington, 1820

John Chapman

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

George Gittoes, 1999

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

George Nicholas, 1955

Paul Fitzgerald AM

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Hilton Nicholas AM OBE 2010

George Michael Prendergast, 1926

Tom Glover

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on studio card inside studio folder

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Reverend George Brown DD, 1905

Crown Studios

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Nancy Joyce 2014

Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V), 1901

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on original studio backing card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Making Sense of Place #4 (Portrait of Professor George Seddon), 2007

Peteris Ciemitis

Portrait, watercolour and pastel on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Marli Wallace 2010
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Courage, Self-analysis and Skill

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2002

The story behind George Lambert's Self-portrait with Gladioli.

Tender tragedies

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

George Foxhill's self portraits were the subject of a small focus display at the National Portrait Gallery in 2006.

Portrait of a beautiful mind - Adam Cullen, Blue Mountains

Portrait of a beautiful mind - Adam Cullen, Blue Mountains, 2005 (printed 2019)

Purchased with funds provided by Alan Dodge AM & Neil Archibald 2019

John Waters, 2013

Gift of the artist 2015

Oodgeroo of the Noonuccal Tribe, 1992 (printed 2009)

Gift of the artist 2010

Robyn Archer, 1990

George Gittoes AM

Gift of Robyn Archer AO 2012. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Gulpilil (David) Dreaming - Kakadu 2006, 2006

Gift of the artist 2008

Errol Flynn, 1938 (printed 2008)

George Hurrell

Gift of Michael Desmond 2012

Henry Fullwood (Uncle Remus), 1919

Portrait, pencil on paper

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

Portrait of Norman Lindsay as a student, c. 1896

George Coates

Portrait, oil on cardboard

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Facing Facts

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

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

Tony Bilson, c. 2005

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Tony Bilson 2008

Andrew Gaze, 2018

Magazine article by Tedi Bills, 2016

Commissioned with funds provided by Trent Birkett 2018

Love City; George Gittoes on hilltop 2013

Man of war

Tedi Bills talks to George Gittoes about canvassing conflict.

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.

Reverend William Singleton, 1866

George Perry

Portrait, albumen print photograph, carte de visite format on paper on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2013

Anna Frances Walker, c. 1865

George Perry

Purchased 2022

Charles Windeyer, c. 1846-1849

George B. Goodman

Portrait, daguerreotype

Gift of the Windeyer family 2009

Reverend John Williams, c. 1837

George Baxter

Portrait, wood engraving (Baxter print) on paper

Purchased 2012

Victor Albert George Child-Villiers

Victor Albert George Child-Villiers (1845-1915) succeeded his father George Augustus (1808-1859), 6th earl, who had only held the title for three weeks, as 7th earl of Jersey in 1859.

1 portrait in the collection

George Gregan, 1999 (printed 2001)

Peter Brew-Bevan

Purchased 2001

George Foletta,

Sir William Dargie CBE

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Estate of Alice Myra Foletta 2006

Western Australia (Sir Frederick Bedford)

Sir Frederick George Denham Bedford GCB GCVO

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2004

Sir Frederick George Denham Bedford GCB GCVO (1838–1913) was governor of Western Australia from 1903 to 1909.

1 portrait in the collection

The Multifarious Career of George Selth Coppin

George Selth Coppin (1819-1906) comedian, impresario and entrepreneur, was a driving force of the early Australian theatre.

George Selth Coppin, c. 1863

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Mantuwa Tjungarra George, 2021

Robert Fielding

Portrait, engraving on paper.

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

Sir George Grey, Governor of New Zealand, 1861

William-Wolfe Alais

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

A Premier "The New Man" [The Hon. George Briscoe Kerferd], 1874

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

George Urquhart (Scotty) Allan, 1954

Gift of Danina Dupain Anderson 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Andrew Gaze

'Make it fun'

Basketballer Andrew Gaze and photographer George Fetting.

Master of the Hunt "Steady, Gentlemen, Steady!" [Mr George Watson], 1874

Magazine article by Dr Grace Blakeley-Carroll, 2010

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

Celebrity cutpurse

Grace Carroll discusses the portrait of the late-eighteenth century gentleman pickpocket George Barrington.

Marcie Elizabeth Wilson, 1922

Portrait, pencil on paper

Gift of the Simpson family in memory of Caroline Simpson OAM 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

A G Stephens, c. 1910 (printed later)

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Mr and Mrs Case, 1864

Alexander Fox and Co

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Album of portraits of family of William Taylor Macpherson

Album of portraits of family of William Taylor Macpherson, c. 1880

George S Bryant & Co, Boston

Portrait, 39 tintype photographs in an album

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the family of FW Macpherson 2012

Sir Hubert Wilkins, 1933

Irving Browning

Purchased 2009

H.B.G Larkin, 1928

L E. Reynolds

George French Angas, Thomas McLean

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

South Australian Illustrated (Plate 35), 1847

Portrait, Lithograph

George Trott (George Henry Stevens (Harry) Trott, member of the 1896 Australian Cricket Team), 1896

H Parker Rolfe

Portrait, albumen photograph on cabinet card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2014

The sculptor (George Lambert and Arthur Murch)

The sculptor (George Lambert and Arthur Murch), c. 1929

Purchased 2015

George Hoyningen-Huene and Jessie the Barmaid, 1937

John Cochran after Sir Thomas Lawrence

Gift of Danina Dupain Anderson 2021. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Lt. Genrl. the Rt Honble. Sir George Murray G.C.B., G.C.H. &c.

Lt. Genrl. the Rt Honble. Sir George Murray G.C.B., G.C.H. &c., 1838

Dickinson Monteath Studio

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

George Foletta, n.d.

Portrait, cast plaster, painted

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Estate of Alice Myra Foletta 2006

Sir George Reid, c. 1895

Nelson Illingworth

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

H.M. King George V at his desk, c. 1921

E.O. Hoppé, Raphael Tuck and Sons Ltd

Portrait, postcard print on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

Jack Lang, c. 1930-1940

George Finey

Portrait, collage of coloured paper, pencil on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Charles Warman Roberts, 1878

George Baird Shaw

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Thoms family 2011

Annie Roberts, 1878

George Baird Shaw

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2012

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Reg, Lesley, Glen and Paul Thoms 2011

Real close

Peter Ciemitis breached regulations when creating the portrait of the polymath environmental scientist George Seddon.

Two painters

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2007

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

Francis Russell Nixon, c. 1845-1855

an unknown artist after George Richmond

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

Purchased 2009

Sir Joseph Banks, 1811

Portrait, soft ground etching on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

The Right Honourable Lord Viscount Melbourne

The Right Honourable Lord Viscount Melbourne, 1839

Charles Turner after Sir George Hayter

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2013

Alexander Dalrymple, 1809

Portrait, soft ground etching on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family 2012

Robert Henderson Croll, 1927

Frederick George Reynolds

Portrait, oil on canvas on board

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

Australian Cricket (George John Bonnor), 1884

Purchased 2013

George Burarrwanga, Warumpi Band, 1984 (printed 2021)

Purchased 2021

Sir George Ferguson Bowen, c. 1873

Bardwell's Royal Studio

Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

Vice-Royalty. "A Quoter of Poetry" [George Bowen, Governor of Victoria], 1873

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Warumpi Band, Sydney Opera House, 1984 (printed 2021)

George Beldam, Sun Electric Engraving Company

Purchased 2021

Victor Trumper, 1905

Portrait, photogravure on paper

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

Professor George Dracoulis, 1996

Robin Wallace-Crabbe, Dianne Fogwell

Portrait, etching

Gift of the artist 2000. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

David Brown Dignam [and] George Barrington drawn from the life

David Brown Dignam [and] George Barrington drawn from the life, 1777

an unknown artist, The London Magazine

Portrait, copperplate engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

The Right Honourable Charles Lord Hawkesbury, Chancellor of the Duchy and County Palatine of Lancaster

The Right Honourable Charles Lord Hawkesbury, Chancellor of the Duchy and County Palatine of Lancaster, 1788

John Murphy after George Romney

Magazine article by Gareth Knapman, 2017

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

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.

Australia v England, 1887

Goupil & Cie after Sir Robert Ponsonby Staples, George Barrable

Portrait, photogravure on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

The Right Honourable Viscount Keppel, Admiral of the White Squadron

The Right Honourable Viscount Keppel, Admiral of the White Squadron, 1802

William Ridley, Bunney & Gold after George Romney

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2002

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

All in the Family

Portrait launch of Major-General Paul Cullen AC CBE DSO and Bar ED (Rtd) and George Judah Cohen.

Statesmen No. 83 "By birth a man, by inheritance a Marquis and a Governor by his Sovereign's favour, he fills all his positions with credit" (Marquis of Normanby), 1871

an unknown artist, J Bird & Simmonds

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

The Memoirs of George Barrington, 1790

Portrait, octavo in fours, with an engraved frontispiece

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

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

Blood, Joyce Gold Naval Chronicle Office after John Smart

Sir Leslie Ward, Vanity Fair Magazine

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

New South Wales (Earl of Jersey Victor Albert George Child-Villiers), 1890

Sir Leslie Ward, Vanity Fair Magazine

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Western Australia (Sir Frederick Bedford), 1903

Portrait, albumen silver photograph

Purchased 2015

The First Ministry under Responsible Government in New South Wales

The First Ministry under Responsible Government in New South Wales, 1856

Freeman Brothers

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2009

Profile of a marriage

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

Dr Sarah Engledow explores the lives of Sir George Grey and his wife Eliza, the subjects of a pair of wax medallions in the National Portrait Gallery's collection.

George Rose, 1811

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

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

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Woburn Sheepshearing, 1811

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

William Hodges RA, 1808 (dated 1810)

Portrait, etching on paper

Purchased 2010

William Westall, 1854

Portrait, etching on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

George and Jemima Billet with family, c. 1852

C.H.T. Costantini

Purchased 2016

The Sands Brothers, c. 1940s

Purchased 2011

Professor Gilbert Murray, OM, Oxford, c. 1957 (printed 2000)

David Moore

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

Set of 129 Royal Christmas Cards and three miscellaneous items, 1951-2001

Portrait, offset print (tipped in), letter press (greeting), pen and ink (signature), embossed (royal emblem) on cardboard

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

Story Time

The Chalk Rainbow

Event, Wednesday 27 September

Celebrate difference and diversity by listening to a reading of The Chalk Rainbow by Deborah Kelly and Gwynneth Jones. After hearing this story about Zane who has Autism, you’ll have the chance to make a colourful creative response.

Death mask of George Melville courtesy of National Trust of Australia (Victoria), Old Melbourne Gaol Collection

A colourful story from Sideshow Alley

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

Brainwave interactive artwork by George Khut

From infamous bushranger to oyster shop display, curator Jo Gilmour explores the life of George Melville.

Behind your eyes, between your ears

Previous exhibition, 2016

As the subject changes the quality of their attention and mental focus, the portrait transforms, both appearance and sound.

Story Time Online

The Chalk Rainbow

Event, Wednesday 4 October

George and Donny, 2008

by Justin Spiers

George Foxhill

Self Portraits

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2002

Foxhill's portraits are more concerned with describing an emotional and psychological state than the surface topography of the human face.

The Story So Far...

A reflection on the National Portrait Gallery's first four years.

Virtual Highlight Tour

Oh George

Event, Tuesday 31 October

Join our Senior Curator Joanna Gilmour as she explores the life of celebrated portraitist George Lambert. You’ll be glad(ioli) you did.

Portrait story

Magazine article by Polly Borland, 2022

Photographer Polly Borland on capturing Queen Elizabeth II.

An Australian story

Magazine article by Hon. 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.

The story of us

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2022

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

Portrait of Dr Johann Reinhold Forster and his son George Forster

Portrait of Dr Johann Reinhold Forster and his son George Forster, c. 1780

Jean Francois Rigaud

Magazine article by Vincent Fantauzzo, 2022

Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family, the Ian Potter Foundation and John Schaeffer AO 2009

Portrait story

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

Andrew Gaze, 2018

by George Fetting

Commissioned with funds provided by Trent Birkett 2018

Lord George Stuart, 9th Seigneur of Aubigny

Sir Anthony van Dyck

The Bare story

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

Family portrait

Fiona Bowring

Magazine article by Ellie Cole OAM, 2022

Portrait Story

For me, swimming was particularly special because it was the only sport that I could participate in as a kid where I could take my prosthetic leg off, jump in the water, and I could be the same as all the other kids.

The inside story

The photographers reveal the technical side of their work and reflect on changes in their profession. Now everyone has a camera in their pocket, is everyone a photographer? What is it like to sustain a career as a photographer in the entertainment industry? How do you work with celebrity subjects, negotiate the complex logistics of big shoots, and create captivating portraits under pressure?

Drought story

Joel B. Pratley

Mohammad D and Sam Biddle

My story, 2019

'Everyone wants to know the story about the Queen'

Polly Borland

Australian photographer, Polly Borland, describes the hectic experience of photographing Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The Story Teller (Noni Hazlehurst), 2017

Jaq Grantford

Gift of the artist 2022

Dayannah, 2018

by Raphaela Rosella

Sir Douglas Mawson Kt OBE FRS, Heinemann, London

The Home of the Blizzard: being the story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914 (2 volumes), 1915

Portrait, two volumes illustrated with colour and black and white plates, three folding maps

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Nothing black and white about the Greys

It's Complicated

Marriage: a prolonged disaster

Sir Edgar Barton ‘EB’ Coles

Sir Edgar Barton ‘EB’ Coles (1899-1981) was the longest-serving chief executive of the Coles retail group.

2 portraits in the collection

Cullabaa, native of Lake George, Five Islands tribe

Cullabaa, native of Lake George, Five Islands tribe, 1836

William Fernyhough

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Robert Edwards AO 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Men of the Day No. 27 "La Reyne le veult" (Sir John George Shaw-Lefevre), 1871

Purchased 2015

Sir William Beechey

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

1 portrait in the collection

Suze DeMarchi, Baby Animals, St George Leagues Club, 1991

Tony Mott

Sir Arthur Coles, c. 1971

Sir William Dargie CBE

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

Marlon Williams, 2015

by Dean Golja

The Butcher's Daughter, 2013

by Paul Raymond Beutel

Little Darlings Youth Portrait Prize

Prizes and awards

The competition is open to Australian school students and home-schooled students aged from 5-18 years.

Norm Provan

Norm Provan (1932-2021), footballer and coach, played junior rugby league for Sutherland and trialled unsuccessfully for Eastern Suburbs before being signed by the St George Dragons in 1951.

1 portrait in the collection

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu (1970–2017), a man of the Gumatj clan of north east Arnhem Land, was born blind but learned to play guitar, keyboard, drums and didgeridoo as a child.

1 portrait in the collection

Paddy Dhathangu, 1986

Purchased 2005

Paddy Dhathangu

Paddy Dhathangu (1914-1993), Liyagawumirr (Yolgnu) painter, was one of the Ramingining-based artists who contributed to the Aboriginal Memorial (1987-8), comprising two hundred painted burial poles now on permanent display in the National Gallery of Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company

The London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company was founded in 1854 by George Swan Nottage.

2 portraits in the collection

Robert Fielding

Magazine article by Avraham Vofsi, 2022

Recorded 2022

Lucinda, Tram Driver, 2021 Avraham Vofsi

Observation point

For me, portraiture is all about connection. If we can connect deeply to another person’s story, it can be a profoundly moving experience.

Jack Charles

Recorded 2022

Frank McIlwraith

Frank McIlwraith was the London representative for the Australian periodical Smith's Weekly in the late 1930s.

1 portrait in the collection

The Australian Tom Thumb (John David Armstrong)

The Australian Tom Thumb (John David Armstrong), c. 1880

J D. Cooper

Purchased 2014

Buckley discovering himself to the early settlers

William Buckley

Mondays and Fridays until 9 October

William Buckley (1780-1856), known as 'the wild white man', was transported for life in 1802 for receiving stolen cloth.

1 portrait in the collection

Little Darlings Online Workshop

Current programs for school groups

For students aged 5 to 18 years and their teachers, this program aims to encourage students to create a “My story” portrait. Book your class (or entire cohort) in for a $30 one hour making session delivered via Zoom, WebEx or Teams.

Buckley discovering himself to the early settlers, 1869

S Calvert, Gibbs, Shallard and Co after O.R. Campbell

Portrait, colour wood engraving on paper

Purchased 2009

Walter Lindrum

'Wally and the game of billiards'

A portrait story exploring the life of Walter Lindrum, one of the greatest billiard players of all time.

Nancy Wake

'The White Mouse'

The creation of 'Our Don'

A portrait story describing the amazing life of World War II resistance fighter, Nancy Wake.

Don Bradman

A portrait story that explores the life and times of legendary Australian cricketer Sir Donald Bradman.

Duchess of Cornwall and York (later Queen Mary)

Duchess of Cornwall and York (later Queen Mary), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Duchess of Cornwall and York (later Queen Mary), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Duchess of Cornwall and York (later Queen Mary), 1903

Magazine article by Peter Brew-Bevan, 2004

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

In the most correct style

Nearest & Dearest

Desirable outcomes, undesirable origins

In Sync

Peter Brew-Bevan discusses two experiences where his plans for his portraits produced surprising results.

My Dad the People Smuggler, 2013

by Phuong Thai Hoang Ngo

Finalist, MDPA 2013

Stan Grant and Tracey Holmes

Nic Walker

December 2007 - February 2008

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, 2009

Guido Maestri

Portrait, oil on linen

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

Portrait 26

This issue of Portrait Magazine features Matthew Perceval, Tom Uren, George Tjungurrayi, silhouette portraiture, pop art portraits and more.

The mystery of Enoch Arden

Tennyson's Enoch Arden was inspired by a story that Thomas Woolner passed on to him – but whose story and of whom?

Cindy Kavanagh

September - November 2006

The portrait, the priestess, is of a friend, Floria, and it's part of a project I've been working on for two years, which is 50 at 50.

Portrait 21

This issue of Portrait Magazine features Margaret Cameron, the 'Truth and Likeness' exhibition, Reg Mombassa, Patrick White, George Foxhill and more.

Jessie Whyte

Portrait, archival pigment print on Canson Edition Etching cotton rag paper

Jessie Whyte (née Walker, 1779–1864). Born in Berwickshire, Scotland, Jessie married George Whyte (d.

1 portrait in the collection

Stan Grant and Tracey Holmes, 2020

Nic Walker

Gift of the artist 2021

Jeremiah Ware

Jeremiah Ware (1792–1878) arrived in Van Diemen’s Land in 1822 with his wife, Mary (née Brooks, c.

1 portrait in the collection

Mary Ware

Jeremiah Ware (1792–1878) arrived in Van Diemen’s Land in 1822 with his wife, Mary (née Brooks, c.

1 portrait in the collection

G. H. Dancey

George Henry Dancey began his career as a stained glass designer in the UK and Australia, but ended it as the chief cartoonist for Melbourne Punch over 23 years to 1919..

1 portrait in the collection

Rob, Homeless in Cooma, NSW, 2016

by Greg Nelson

Archived media releases 2016

Artist in residence creates portraits using brainwave zctivity

29 June 2016

Digital media artist, George Khut, is creating a spectacular form of digital portraiture involving public participants.

William Evans

The draftsman and engraver William Evans reproduced many of Sir William Beechey’s portraits including that of King George..

3 portraits in the collection

Portrait 4

June - August 2002

September - November 2004

This issue of Portrait Magazine features articles on Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, George Lambert's self-portrait, Professor Peter Doherty, the man behind the Dr. Who theme, and more.

Portrait 13

This issue of Portrait Magazine features Nancy Wake, Jon Campbell's portrait of Paul Kelly, George Selth Coppin, Henri Cartier-Bresson and more.

Madame Praeger

Laura Praeger (née Blundell) was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, and was about twelve years old when her father brought his family to Australia, settling in Queensland.

1 portrait in the collection

Am I living in Hell?, 2018

Lauren Horwood

Adela R. Walker

Adela Russell Walker (1847–1932), the youngest of her parents' thirteen children, was born in Longford and was 22 when she married George Coleridge Nixon, who was the son of Francis Russell Nixon – an amateur artist and Anglican Bishop of Tasmania from 1843 to 1862.

1 portrait in the collection

In the mirror: self portrait with Joy Hester (detail), 1939 Albert Tucker

Australian Love Stories online

#PortraitureComesHome

Lust and longing, drama and devotion, seduction and scandal! Delve into an enticing array of tales of the heart.

Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2004

Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool (1729–1808), statesman, was educated at Oxford and entered parliament in 1761.

1 portrait in the collection

Hop, skip, shoot

Former NPG Deputy Director, Simon Elliott talks with Ern McQuillan about his life and career as a sports photographer.

James Heath

James Heath commenced an apprenticeship with an engraver named Joseph Collyer at the age of fourteen.

2 portraits in the collection

The heart that is theirs, 2008

by Lisa Tomasetti

Jemima Bellette

George Billett (also Bellett, Bellette and Billet, 1812–1885) was a farmer and landowner, an early settler of Sorell in Tasmania, and the son of two ex-convicts.

1 portrait in the collection

Queen Mary

George Frederick Ernest Albert, The Duke of Cornwall and York and later King George V (1865-1936), was the son of Edward VII, the man for whom the Edwardian era was named.

3 portraits in the collection

Robert Drewe

Robert Drewe (b. 1943), author, grew up in Perth, where he worked as a junior reporter with the West Australian from 1961 to 1964.

1 portrait in the collection

Dr G Yunupingu

Magazine article, 2017

Dr G Yunupingu (1970-2017), a man of the Gumatj clan of north-east Arnhem Land, learned to play guitar, keyboard, drums and didgeridoo as a child.

Chest piece, 2014

by Jeremy Shaw

John Davis

Alan Davies' and Peter Stanbury's The Mechanical Eye in Australia lists Sydney photographer John Davis (life dates unknown) as having a carte-de visite studio on King Street, and as working from addresses on Pitt and George Streets between 1870 and 1873..

1 portrait in the collection

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

Two iBooks of authentic records

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother (1900–2002) was born the Honourable Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon.

2 portraits in the collection

Prison and death in the 19th century

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2002

These books include sixteen inmates including Ned Kelly, Captain Moonlite and Frederick Deeming and twelve sketches of the deceased, including several children. For Year 7 – 9 students.

Dame Elisabeth Murdoch

The story behind the commissioning of the tapesty portrait of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch.

Me and My Place

Emily Ma

Portraits & Other Stories

Sam Haskins

Haskins is known for his poetic combinations of images and this exhibition of 'extended' portraits builds on this approach.

Rayner Hoff, 1924

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

The arrival, 2017

by Renée Stamatova

The Cosmopolitans

In Gallery Two

Current exhibition

Spanning the 1880s to the 1930s, this collection display celebrates the innovations in art – and life – introduced by the generation of Australians who travelled to London and Paris for experience and inspiration in the decades either side of 1900.

Jessie Sinden

Jessie Sinden was a barmaid at the Brooklyn Hotel on George Street in Sydney when she was 'discovered' by Baron George Hoyningen-Huene, a high-profile American fashion photographer and Hollywood figure.

1 portrait in the collection

John David Armstrong

John David Armstrong (1857–1943) was a sideshow and vaudeville performer known as ‘The Australian Tom Thumb’.

2 portraits in the collection

Bern Emmerichs

Contributing artists

Born: 1961, Melbourne
Works: Melbourne

Sir Thomas Lawrence

Portrait, etching, hand coloured on paper

Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) was one of the leading portrait painters of the Georgian era.

8 portraits in the collection

The great South Sea caterpillar transformed into a Bath Butterfly (Sir Joseph Banks)

The great South Sea caterpillar transformed into a Bath Butterfly (Sir Joseph Banks), 1795 (printed 1851)

James Gillray

Gift of Douglas Stewart Fine Books 2013

The Australian Cricket Team 1882

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

1 portrait in the collection

Gail Kelly

Gail Kelly (b. 1956), former banking executive, was born in South Africa and gained degrees in arts and education from the University of Cape Town before working as a high-school Latin teacher.

1 portrait in the collection

Cordy in the Clouds 2021

Adam Haddrick

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Julian Rossi Ashton, 1933

Eric Wilson

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Philip Bacon AM 2012

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017

Previous exhibition, 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.

Robert Kermode

Robert Quayle Kermode (1812-1870), politician, was born on the Isle of Man and educated at Castletown.

1 portrait in the collection

House painters, 2019

Graham Monro

Jean Goldberg

Jean Nethercote (now Goldberg) first met Ola Cohn when she took a life class in Cohn's studio in the mid-50s.

1 portrait in the collection

Tokyo, 2010

by Lisa Tomasetti

Gail Kelly, 2018

Paul Newton

Commissioned with funds provided by Westpac Group and Optus 2018

Rayner Hoff

George Rayner Hoff (1894-1937), sculptor, was born in England and trained at the Royal College of Art, London.

2 portraits in the collection

Mrs Woods and ‘Ere, 2013

Karla Dickens

Portrait, coloured chalk on artist board

Purchased 2019

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother), 1943-1944

Charles Wheeler

Purchased 2019

Ruby Hunter, 1996 (printed 2012)

Jacqueline Mitelman

Purchased 2012

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

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, 2002

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

2 portraits in the collection

Angela Belgiorno-Zegna, 2001 by Salvatore Zofrea

Intimate Portraits

Intimate Portraits is an exhibition of paintings, drawings and prints that explore the less public side of portraiture

Leaving Lost, 2013

by Frazer Bull-Clark

Finalist, MDPA 2013

The Gladiators (Norm Provan and Arthur Summons), 1963 (printed 1970s)

John O'Gready

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Joyful sadness

Rozalind Drummond’s photographs in the exhibition Tough and tender let us bring our imagination to the act of looking.

Martha Knox, c. 1855

Portrait, daguerreotype

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Peter Halliday in memory of Norah Knox 2010

Carlos Soyos, 34, a migrant from Guatemala City, Guatemala and his son, Enderson Soyos, 8, take a self portrait at El Buen Samaritano migrants shelter, Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico

Adam Ferguson

Meredith Rogers

Meredith Rogers, theatre director and academic, studied at the University of Melbourne and worked between 1974 and 1979 with Kiffy Rubbo at the Ewing and George Paton Galleries.

1 portrait in the collection

Dr Brenda Niall AO

Brenda Niall AO (b. 1930), writer, academic and reviewer, is one of Australia's foremost biographers.

1 portrait in the collection

Kate Grenville AO

Kate Grenville AO (b. 1950), novelist, studied in Sydney and worked as a film editor before spending several years in the UK and Europe, where she began to write.

2 portraits in the collection

Adelaide, Königin von Grossbritranien u Irland

Adelaide of Saxe-Coburg Meiningen

Adelaide of Saxe-Coburg Meiningen (1792–1849) was the consort of King William IV of England.

1 portrait in the collection

Mrs Woods, 2013

Karla Dickens

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

Shaun: Warda Kadak, Becoming

Melissa Clements

Destination Dissociation

Perri Lawson

Kate Grenville

Recorded 2014

Shane Balcomb aka. Sasha Trajik-Mole, drag queen, 2011

by David Kelly

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2021

Living Memory

Previous exhibition, 2021

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.

Julian Ashton CBE

Julian Rossi Ashton CBE (1851-1942), art teacher, artist and critic, trained in art in London and at the Académie Julian in Paris before coming to Australia to work on the Illustrated Australian News in 1878.

4 portraits in the collection

Johann Zoffany

Johann Zoffany, painter of portraits and conversation pieces, grew up in the court of the Prince von Thurn und Taxis in Germany, where his father was employed.

1 portrait in the collection

Tom Durkin

Thomas Coleman Durkin trained at the Williamstown School of Design and started work in Melbourne as an apprentice to an engraver and then a jeweller.

27 portraits in the collection

Portrait of Minika, 2013

by Grace Costa

Magazine article by Fiona McMonagle, 2016

Observation point

Fiona McMonagle considers her reasons for painting portraits.

Susie Porter, 2019

Dee Smart

Gordon Glenn

Gordon Glenn worked as an assistant cameraman on the television show Homicide before becoming the stills photographer for the pioneering Australian journal Cinema Papers.

3 portraits in the collection

Lady Maisie Drysdale

Previous exhibition, 2020

Lady Maisie Drysdale (1915–2001), children's librarian and artists' muse, developed an interest in art as a child, and attended both the University of Melbourne and George Bell's art school.

1 portrait in the collection

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.

William Yang

Australian Chinese

Previous exhibition, 2001

William Yang's art is about the telling of stories, his work is an intriguing mixture of philosophy, autobiography, social history and documentary imbued with a sense of the artist's own curiosity, humanity and humour

Julian Ashton Life Class, 1920

Archived media releases 2016

Purchased 2015

Gallery unveils Portrait of Mark Ella

12 May 2016

Last night in Sydney, the National Portrait Gallery unveiled a newly commissioned portrait of Australian sporting legend Mark Ella AM.

Patrick White at Centennial Park, 1979–1980

White Whiteley

The portrait of Patrick White by Brett Whiteley

Previous exhibition, 2012

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

Clem Sands, c. 1940s

Purchased 2011

Russell Sands, n.d.

Purchased 2011

Alfie Sands, c. 1940s

A cross-curriculum learning resource

Purchased 2011

Awesome Achievers

Learning resource archive

What makes someone awesome? And how does a portrait tell a person's story? Bring your students up close and personal with some great Australians. For upper primary school students.

Annie May Moore

by Kellie Maree Leczinska

Annie May Moore (1881-1931) was born in New Zealand and studied at the Elam School of Art and Design in Auckland.

5 portraits in the collection

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

Geoff Cousins, 2017

David Naseby

Gift of Geoff Cousins AM 2007

Thomas Forster Knox

Previous exhibition, 2011

The Knox's third son, Thomas Forster Knox (1849-1919) followed his father and older brother into business, and became prominent in the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Tea time, c.1898–1902 by Rupert Bunny (1864–1947)

Impressions

Painting light and life

Impressions: Painting light and life presents portraits by, and of, artists at the heart of Australian impressionism including Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Frederick McCubbin.

Ruby Hunter

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

1 portrait in the collection

Lina Bryans

Magazine article by Andrew Maccoll, 2012

Lina Bryans OAM (1909-2000), artist, was born into a prosperous Melbourne family and grew up moving freely between Toorak and Europe.

3 portraits in the collection

Beach scene

Photographer Andrew Maccoll tells the story behind his portrait of dual world champion pro surfer Mick Fanning.

The Swiss Studios, Sydney

The Swiss Studios opened in King Street, Sydney in early 1898, operating from a building described as a 'pleasing reminder of one of those delightful old Swiss chalets, which one always associates with Alpine travel.' The elaborate establishment boasted a first-floor reception room, 'beautifully decorated and luxuriously furnished', 'tastefully arranged dressing rooms, one for ladies and the other for gentlemen', and a 'lofty, cool and well-lit gallery' where 'the best artists in the photographic line' were at work.

1 portrait in the collection

Johnny Warren OAM MBE

Johnny Warren OAM MBE (1943-2004), footballer, football administrator and commentator, grew up in southern Sydney where he played his first games of soccer, as his game was then known, for the Botany Methodists.

1 portrait in the collection

Mary MacQueen

Mary MacQueen studied for a year at the George Bell School after the war, and for another year at RMIT a decade later.

2 portraits in the collection

Felix, Petty Cash Café Marrickville, 2019

Fiona Wolf-Symeonides

Negotiating a family portrait-a study of history, myth and identity, 2015 Family, 2015

by Marzena Wasikowska

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2005

True Stories

The story behind the creation of the portrait of Helen Garner by Jenny Sages.

The Photographic Society of Victoria, Melbourne

The Photographic Society of Victoria was formed in 1876 to 'bring photographers together in a friendly spirit, in order to advance the art and science of photography in the colony, without any attempt at binding or dictating to members any special trading rules, such as charges for photographs or hours or days for closing or opening their respective establishments.' At the time of the first annual meeting on 9 March 1877 there were 61 members, five whom were ladies.

1 portrait in the collection

Esther Erlich and Joe

Joe is my grandson, he's the youngest of my son's kids, and the other two have been painted already so I did him.

Robert T. Carter

Robert Thomas Carter (1843–1917) was a leading Sydney cabinetmaker and furniture warehouseman, and later an antique dealer.

2 portraits in the collection

Martha Knox

Magazine article by Jessica Smith, 2009

Martha Knox (née Rutledge, d. 1903), was the sister of merchant, landowner and banker William Rutledge.

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

Justin C. Tjungurrayi

Justin Corby Tjungurrayi (b. 1982) is a Luritja artist who was born in Kintore on the border of the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Ngambri Woman

Narelle Zeller

Who’s that lady?, 2014

by Ferne Millen

A Portrait of Colonial Australia

Bungaree, late chief of the Broken Bay tribe, Sydney

Heads of the People

Previous exhibition, 2000

For Tom Roberts - Australia's best nineteenth-century portrait painter - neither a proto-national portrait gallery nor more popular collections of portrait heads, were sufficient public celebrations for the notables of Australian history

A. Henry Fullwood

Albert Henry Fullwood (1863-1930), artist, trained in art in his native Birmingham before moving to Sydney in 1883, aged 20.

1 portrait in the collection

William Barak at work on the drawing ‘Ceremony’ at Coranderrk

Beruk

Beruk (William Barak) (1824-1903), an elder of the Wurundjeri clan of the Woi-worung, was the most famous Aboriginal person in Victoria in the 1890s.

1 portrait in the collection

Victor Greenhalgh

Pleasures from the studio of Hilda Rix Nicholas

Victor Greenhalgh (1900-1983) was a sculptor and teacher who greatly influenced tertiary art education; he was one of the first Victorian sculptors to adopt a modern style.

5 portraits in the collection

Autumn evenings golden glow, c.1942 by Hilda Rix Nicholas

Paris to Monaro

Previous exhibition, 2013

After successfully exploring the art scenes of London, France and Morocco, Hilda Rix Nicholas settled at Knockalong, a property near Delegate, on the Monaro plain in the 1920s.

Kew House 2: Bedtime, 2009

by Bronek Kozka

Dr John Yu

An interview with the acclaimed pediatrician Dr. John Yu who describes the process of having his portrait sculpture created by artist Ah Xian.

Kiffy Rubbo

Kiffy Rubbo (1944-1980) was director of the Ewing and George Paton Gallery at the University of Melbourne from 1973 to 1980.

1 portrait in the collection

Margaret Robertson

Faces of the Twentieth Century

Margaret Robertson (née Whyte, 1811–1866) was the daughter of settlers George and Jessie Whyte, who emigrated to Van Diemen’s Land from Scotland in 1832.

4 portraits in the collection

Karsh

Previous exhibition, 1998

Yousuf Karsh - the most famous portrait photographer in the world - has photographed the statesmen, artists, literary and scientific figures who have defined the 20th century and shaped our lives, In this, his 90th year, the National Portrait Gallery is thrilled to present an exhibition of Karsh's photography of 20th century figures.

Tommy Smith

Tommy Smith (1916-1998), racehorse trainer, was born at Jembaicumbene near Braidwood, NSW.

2 portraits in the collection

Francis (Pat) Quinn

Francis (Pat) Quinn (1914–2010), showman and hypnotist, was born in Christchurch, New Zealand.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir William John Macleay

Celebrating 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection

Sir William John Macleay (1820-1891), pastoralist, politician, collector and promoter of science, had just begun to study medicine in his native Scotland when family circumstances dictated his migration to New South Wales.

1 portrait in the collection

Of Kings and men

Previous exhibition, 2011

This display celebrates 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection and its role in commissioning portraits of parliamentary and judicial figures in Australia.

Who's that?

Michael Desmond discusses the iconic picture of two Rugby League players which became known as 'The Gladiators'.

William Daniell

William Daniell (1769-1837) worked mostly as a topographical draftsman and engraver in aquatint.

4 portraits in the collection

Nick Cave, Susie Bick and Luke Cave, 1998 (printed 2020) Dominique Issermann. Courtesy of the artist © Dominique Issermann

Stepping out

Devotion

Beautiful punk love

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

Bob Ansett Robert Ansett

Australian-born but schooled in the United States, he returned to Australia in 1965 to start the Budget Rent a Car System.

1 portrait in the collection

Falk Studios

Falk Studios was established by Melbourne-born photographer H. Walter Barnett in George Street, Sydney in 1885.

5 portraits in the collection

Amanda King

by Nat Thomas & Concettina Inserra

Amanda King is a Sydney-based visual artist and producer and director of film documentaries.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of mother (after Mirka), 2008

Samuel Shelley

Contemporary women artists make Australian history

Samuel Shelley entered the Royal Academy Schools as a seventeen year-old in 1774 and exhibited at the Academy regularly from this time until 1804.

2 portraits in the collection

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

So Fine

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2007

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.

Cook in context

Robert Oatley's continuing benefaction has helped the National Portrait Gallery acquire works that add another layer to the story of Captain Cook.

Henry Meyer

Magazine article by Stuart Purves, 2016

Henry Hoppner Meyer, thought to be the son of an engraver, was a nephew of the painter John Hoppner.

2 portraits in the collection

Bonfire of the vanities

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

Kiffy Rubbo 2, 1979, 1979 (printed 2012)

Robert Rooney

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Janine Burke, c. 1980, 1980 (printed 2012)

Robert Rooney

Portrait, ambrotype, hand coloured on glass plate with black paint backing

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Mr and Mrs R. T. Carter, c. 1863

Milligan Bros (Studio)

Gift of Mr and Mrs James Bain 2000. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Alan Sumner MBE

Alan Sumner MBE (1911-1994) was a painter, printmaker, teacher and stained glass designer.

1 portrait in the collection

Natalie Bassingthwaighte by Peter Brew-Bevan

Stealing moments

On-set stills photographers have no control over the momentum of filming that surrounds them. Using 'blimp' housings so camera clicks are inaudible, the photographers are a subtle presence on set.

Portrait 55

Summer 2016-2017

Explore convict art, photography by Ruth Hollick and Collier Schorr, an interview with neurosurgeon Charlie Teo, portraiture on money, and more!

Lady Eliza Lucy Grey

Portrait, pastel on paper

Eliza Lucy Spencer (c. 1819-1898) was the daughter of the Government Resident at Albany, who was succeeded by George Grey.

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait, 1981

Michael Shannon

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Les Rowe 1998
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Self portrait, 1921

Thea Proctor

The Photographic Society of Victoria, Melbourne

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

Thomas Pearce, c. 1878

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite on card

Purchased 2010

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.

David Cossini

Godfrey's amazing man. I've known him for four years now. He has a very tough story.

Shane Dye

Portrait, cast bronze, patinated

Shane Dye (b. 1966), jockey, was born in Matamata, New Zealand, and served his apprenticeship in New Zealand before coming to Australia in 1985.

2 portraits in the collection

Bust of Frank McIlwraith, 1937

Barbara Tribe

Gift of the Estate of the late Barbara Tribe 2009

Margaret Robertson, c. 1852

Portrait, ambrotype, hand coloured

Gift of Fiona Turner (née Robertson) and John Robertson 2011. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Ron Tandberg

Ron Tandberg (1943-2018), cartoonist, was working as a teacher when he contributed his first cartoon to the Education section of the Age in the early 1970s.

1 portrait in the collection

Rosalie Kunoth-Monks OAM

Rosalie Kunoth-Monks OAM (1937-2022), Arrernte and Anmatjere woman, Aboriginal activist, former actress and nun, was born at Artekerre soak on Utopia Cattle Station in the Northern Territory, the daughter of Allan and Ruby Kunoth.

2 portraits in the collection

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.

Elizabeth Jolley AO

Portrait drawings from colonial Australia

Elizabeth Jolley AO (1923-2007) was a West Australian writer. Born in England, she worked as a nurse during the war and after migrating to Western Australia in 1959, when she also worked as a cleaner and saleswoman.

1 portrait in the collection

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.

Wendy Whiteley in conversation with Janet Hawley

19 October 2015

Archived media releases 2015

Wendy Whiteley in candid conversation with Janet Hawley to celebrate the release of the book Wendy Whiteley and The Secret Garden.

Goollabal (Rainbow Serpent), 2018 by Shirley Purdie

Memories

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

Richard von Marientreu

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

Richard von Marientreu was born in Poland and attended military academies in Cracow and Vienna before leaving for Prague, where he studied at the Academy of Painting.

2 portraits in the collection

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

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

A & G Taylor

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2013

A & G Taylor

Photographers Andrew Taylor and George Taylor opened their first studio in Cannon Street in east London in 1866.

1 portrait in the collection

Adrian Lawlor

Adrian Lawlor, critic and artist, came to Australia from his native England at the age of about twenty.

2 portraits in the collection

Prime Ministers

On the day before the Hon. E. G. Whitlam, AC, QC, died last month, at the great age of 98, there were seven former prime ministers of Australia still living, plus the incumbent Mr. Abbott – eight in all.

James Cassius Williamson

James Cassius Williamson (1845-1913), actor and theatrical entrepreneur, worked and performed in theatres in his native USA before coming to Victoria under contract to George Selth Coppin in 1874.

1 portrait in the collection

David Campese AM

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2008

David Ian Campese (b. 1962) is the world's leading representative rugby union footballer, having played 101 tests for Australia between 1982 and 1996.

1 portrait in the collection

Lionel Rose, World Champion Bantam Weight Boxer before departing to the USA to defend his title

The champs

Two lively portrait photographs reflect the agility of their subjects: world champion Australian sportsmen Lionel Rose and Anthony Mundine.

Art Handler's Award 2023

The Art Handlers' Award for 2023 went to Ugandan Ssebabi, 2022 by David Cossini.

Betina Fauvel-Ogden

Betina Fauvel-Ogden was born in Adelaide and lives and works in Melbourne.

2 portraits in the collection

Joanna Gilmour

Joanna Gilmour is the Curator, Collection & Research at the National Portrait Gallery.

Peter Brew-Bevan Portraits

Previous exhibition, 2003

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

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

Who's Jo?

Find out about the curator of the exhibition.

Arthur Summons

Portrait, steel engraving with later hand-colouring on paper

Arthur Summons (1935-2020), footballer, played fly-half in ten rugby union test matches for the Wallabies between 1956 and 1960 before joining rugby league's Western Suburbs Magpies in 1960.

1 portrait in the collection

Wylie, 1840-1841

Robert Neill

Purchased 2018

William Yang

Portrait photography by John Elliott

Recorded 2022

Thousand Mile Stare

Previous exhibition, 2004

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

Portrait jug of Stanley Melbourne Bruce, 1925-1928

Ashtead Potters Limited, Surrey, UK, Percy Metcalfe

Portrait, glazed ceramic

Purchased 2006

Karin Catt

Magazine article by Tamsin Hong, 2016

Karin Catt grew up in Newcastle, where she began taking photographs of touring bands while a schoolgirl, and also in London and Hong Kong.

9 portraits in the collection

Roy and HG: John Doyle as Roy Slaven (L) and Grieg Pickhaver as HG Nelson: in studio (radio), c. 1990 Reproduced by permission of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation – Library Sales. © 1990 ABC

Relationship boundaries breed marathon success

Nearest & Dearest

A bromance in banter

Rev. Victor B. Walls and Mrs. Walls, Trinidad, B.W.I., c.1930

The first nurse

Tamsin Hong recounts the tale of Marion Smith, the only known Australian Indigenous servicewoman of World War One.

fresh from the Channel Fleet (Sir Harry Holdsworth Rawson)

Sir Harry Holdsworth Rawson GCB GCMG

Sir Harry Holdsworth Rawson GCB GCMG (1843–1910) was appointed governor of New South Wales in January 1902 having distinguished himself in the course of various conflicts as an officer of the Royal Navy.

1 portrait in the collection

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

Marion Halligan

Marion Halligan AM (b. 1940) is a novelist, short story writer, reviewer and essayist.

1 portrait in the collection

Nick Enright AM

Nick Enright (1950-2003), playwright and screenwriter, attended Sydney University and the New York University School of the Arts before establishing himself as a dramatist with plays such as Summer Rain and Mongrels.

2 portraits in the collection

Don Bachardy

Don Bachardy (b. 1935) is a portraitist who chronicles literary, musical, artistic and film personalities associated with Los Angeles.

3 portraits in the collection

John Schaeffer AO

Magazine article by William Yang, 2022

John Schaeffer AO (1940–2020), businessman, connoisseur and philanthropist, was a founding benefactor of the National Portrait Gallery.

1 portrait in the collection

Miscellaneous obsessions

William Yang shares the stories behind his autobiographical self portraits that celebrate his cultural heritage and identity.

Ina Gregory, c. 1895

E. Phillips Fox

Portrait, conté crayon and charcoal on paper

Purchased 2012

Margaret Anderson GM

Margaret Anderson GM (1915–1995) served with the Australian Army Nursing Service during the Second World War in Singapore.

1 portrait in the collection

Lowe Kong Meng

Lowe Kong Meng (1831–1888), merchant, was born and grew up in the British colony of Penang and came to Melbourne in 1853.

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait (Full Length in front of Easel)

Hugh Ramsay

Support your Portrait Gallery

Hugh Ramsay (1877-1906), painter, was born in Scotland but arrived in Australia as a baby.

3 portraits in the collection

Sid Myer AM in front of Helena Rubinstein in a red brocade Balenciaga gown 1957 by Graham Sutherland. Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC, Tim Fairfax AC and the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2015.

Foundation

The Foundation encourages gifts, donations, bequests and legacies in service of the Gallery's mission.

Self portrait in plus fours, c. 1939 (cast 2003)

Lyndon Dadswell CMG

Portrait, cast bronze

Purchased 2004

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.

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

Ina Gregory

Georgina ‘Ina’ Gregory (1874-1964) grew up with her sister Ada at Rosedale, her family home in East St Kilda.

1 portrait in the collection

David Jones

David Jones (1793-1873), merchant, began his retail career in Pembrokeshire and London before emigrating to Sydney via Hobart.

1 portrait in the collection

Crown Studios

The Crown Studio was a Sydney-based firm situated on the corner of Market and George streets.

3 portraits in the collection

Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool

Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl Liverpool, Lord Hawkesbury (1770–1828), statesman, was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827.

2 portraits in the collection

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

Lyndon Dadswell, with his sculpture 'Native'

Lyndon Dadswell CMG

Lyndon Dadswell CMG (1908-1986) studied at the Julian Ashton School before working with Rayner Hoff from 1926 to 1929 and Paul Montford from 1929 to 1935.

3 portraits in the collection

Patrick White with Tom Jones, 1956

Axel Poignant

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

John Kaldor AO

John Kaldor, textile designer and manufacturer, was born in Hungary. He came to Australia with his family in 1948.

1 portrait in the collection

Henry Samuel Sadd

Henry Sadd was born in London and exhibited engravings there before emigrating to the USA some time around 1840.

8 portraits in the collection

The New Arrivals at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art

Peter Purves Smith

Peter Purves Smith (1912–1949), artist, went to Geelong Grammar with his lifelong friend Russell Drysdale.

2 portraits in the collection

Wainburranga

Archived media releases 2017

Wainburranga (Paddy Fordham) (c. 1932-2006), Rembarrnga painter, sculptor, printmaker and dancer, lived in the bush before moving to Maranboy, where he first saw white people.

1 portrait in the collection

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.

Neville Gruzman AM

Neville Gruzman AM (1925–2005), architect and lecturer, was born in Sydney, the son of immigrants of Russian heritage.

1 portrait in the collection

Norman Lindsay, 1921

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

Henry Reynolds

Henry Reynolds (b. 1938), historian, studied at the University of Tasmania before taking up a lectureship at Townsville University College (later James Cook University) in 1965.

1 portrait in the collection

David Malangi Daymirringu

David Malangi Daymirringu (1927-1999), Manharrngu, bark painter, printer and designer, was born at Mulanga, near the mouth of the Glyde River, just before Christian missionaries arrived on the nearby island of Milingimbi.

1 portrait in the collection

Ken Done, 1987

Rennie Ellis

Purchased 2006

A very great and stimulating thrill

It's Complicated

Just good friends?

Horatio S. Wills

Horatio Spencer Howe Wills (1811–1861), pastoralist, politician and newspaper proprietor, was born in Sydney, several months after the death of his father, Edward Spencer Wills, a merchant and shipowner who'd arrived in New South Wales under a life sentence for highway robbery in 1799.

2 portraits in the collection

Stable Scene with Shane Dye, 2000

Noel McKenna

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

Longest reign

Queen Elizabeth II is now the longest-reigning British sovereign

Samuel Woolf

Samuel Johnson Woolf, American painter, lithographer and illustrator, was born in New York City and named after the English essayist Samuel Johnson.

1 portrait in the collection

Chris Lilley, Ja’mie, Private School Girl publicity by John Tsiavis

Working with the stars

Photographic portraiture constructs, projects and reinforces images of Australian personalities. The public persona, brand or personal image of an actor, comedian, presenter or musician is partly defined by their portrait – at least for a moment.

Jessica Mauboy

Recorded 2018

Charles Joseph La Trobe

Charles Joseph La Trobe (1801-1875), colonial administrator, travelled widely in Europe and America before beginning his colonial career in the West Indies in 1837.

3 portraits in the collection

Professor Leslie Wilkinson, 1970

Anthony Browell

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

'words are the daughters of the earth' Marion Halligan

'words are the daughters of the earth' Marion Halligan

'words are the daughters of the earth' Marion Halligan

'words are the daughters of the earth' Marion Halligan

'words are the daughters of the earth' Marion Halligan

'words are the daughters of the earth' Marion Halligan

'words are the daughters of the earth' Marion Halligan

'words are the daughters of the earth' Marion Halligan

'words are the daughters of the earth' Marion Halligan

Portrait, woodcut on paper

Patrick White, 1990

Rick Amor

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

Fetteresso (Sir Robert Duff), 1883

Francois Verheyden, Vanity Fair Magazine

Previous exhibition, 2022

Purchased 2015

National Photographic Portrait Prize 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.

Miss Florrie Ford (Christmas pantomime with toy cat)

Florrie Forde

Florrie Forde (1875–1940), singer and music hall performer, was born in Melbourne and was sixteen when she sang publicly for the first time, in Sydney, in late 1891.

9 portraits in the collection

Tjayanka Woods

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

2 portraits in the collection

Patrick White, 1987

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Timothy Fairfax AC 2003

Cooey! An Australian Song

"Coo-ey, Coo-ey, Coo-ey, Coo-ey—Love has caught the strain, Coo-ey, Coo-ey, Coo-ey, Coo-ey—it whispers back again." The “Australian lady” who composed these fruity lyrics was none other than Desda— Jane Davies, sometime Messiter (née Price) of Leddicott, Lavender Bay.

Glenn Murcutt

Ben Hall and his gang outdone, 6 February 1865

Recorded 2017

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’.

Captain Matthew Flinders

Matthew Flinders (1774–1814), was one of the world’s most accomplished navigators.

2 portraits in the collection

The Bushranger Tragedy (from The Australasian Sketcher, 23 November 1878)

Dan Kelly

A police party comprising Sergeant Kennedy and Constables Lonigan, Scanlan and McIntyre was dispatched to capture the Kelly gang in 1878.

1 portrait in the collection

Thomas McIntyre

A police party comprising Sergeant Kennedy and Constables Lonigan, Scanlan and McIntyre was dispatched to capture the Kelly gang in 1878.

1 portrait in the collection

Thomas Lonigan

A police party comprising Sergeant Kennedy and Constables Lonigan, Scanlan and McIntyre was dispatched to capture the Kelly gang in 1878.

1 portrait in the collection

Sergeant Michael Kennedy

A police party comprising Sergeant Kennedy and Constables Lonigan, Scanlan and McIntyre was dispatched to capture the Kelly gang in 1878.

1 portrait in the collection

Michael Scanlan

Ludwig Lang after Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

A police party comprising Sergeant Kennedy and Constables Lonigan, Scanlan and McIntyre was dispatched to capture the Kelly gang in 1878.

1 portrait in the collection

Lowe Kong Meng, c. 1887

Portrait, tinted lithograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

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

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

Billy Hughes paperweight, n.d.

Portrait, cast iron, painted

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ric Techow and Jenny Techow-Coleman in memory of Roy and Bet Techow 2001

Jim Rolon

New Jersey-born Jim Rolon (b. 1956) began working as a photographer for a family portrait company in his twenties.

6 portraits in the collection

Arthur Streeton, Nora Streeton (nee Clench) and Pat, the dog

The Streetons’ rich serenade

Passion

If music be the food of love

Adam Knott

Adam Knott (b. 1966) began taking photographs for local newspapers as a schoolboy in St George, South Sydney.

7 portraits in the collection

David Foster OAM

David Foster OAM (b. 1957), champion axeman, is the most successful competitor in the history of the sport of woodchopping.

1 portrait in the collection

Norman Lindsay

Now on display in Gallery Two

Norman Lindsay (1879-1969), artist, cartoonist, and writer, came from a family that produced five artists.

14 portraits in the collection

The Cosmopolitans

Walala Tjapaltjarri

Walala Tjapaltjarri (c. 1965–1975) and his family shot to fame in 1984 when they left their nomadic desert life and joined family in the community of Kiwirrkura in Western Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Roy de Maistre CBE

Roy de Maistre (Roi (Leroy) de Mestre) CBE (1894-1968), painter, studied music at the Sydney Conservatorium, but was also a student at the RAS School with Dattilo Rubbo and later the Sydney Art School with Julian Ashton.

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait, 1911

Evelyn Chapman

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2003

Gift of Pamela Thalben-Ball 2007

Australians in Hollywood

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

Julia Margaret Cameron

Julia Margaret Cameron was of the most important photographers of the nineteenth century.

1 portrait in the collection

Governor Sir Robert Duff with Lady Duff, Lord Hopetoun and Vice-Regal Party

Sir Robert William Duff

Sir Robert William Duff (1835–1895) was governor of New South Wales from May 1893 until March 1895.

2 portraits in the collection

Penny Tweedie

Aboriginal people and their culture have been the focus of much of Penny Tweedie's photography during the last period of her career.

47 portraits in the collection

Round the World (Thomas Brassey), 1877

Portrait, cast plaster, patinated on wooden base

Purchased 2015

Alfred Hill, 1936

Rayner Hoff

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2000

William Francis King, 'The Flying Pieman'

William Francis King, 'The Flying Pieman', c. 1869

John Davis

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite

Gift of the family of FW Macpherson 2010

Jane Franklin, c. 1866-1875

an unknown artist after Thomas Bock

Portrait, carved marble relief

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

The Hinders: doyens of Australian modernism

Passion

Progressive partnership

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

Thomas Phillips

Thomas Phillips was born in Dudley, Warwickshire and initially trained as a glass painter before moving to London, aged 20, with a letter of introduction to the painter Benjamin West.

6 portraits in the collection

Gustavus Brooke

Gustavus Vaughan Brooke (1818-1866), actor, was a seasoned theatre performer by his early teens; at fourteen, he played Richard III.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Asher Joel

Sir Asher Joel (1912-1998), public relations entrepreneur and state politician, started out as a copyboy at Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.

1 portrait in the collection

Wainburranga (Paddy Fordham), 1986

Purchased 2005

Don Watson

Don Watson (b. 1949), writer, is an authority on aspects of Australian history, culture, politics and language.

1 portrait in the collection

Justin Tjungurrayi, 2007

Portrait, inkjet print on cotton rag paper

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2020. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Nam Le, 2010

Rozalind Drummond

Purchased 2010

John Schaeffer AO - art collector and philanthropist, 2014

Evert Ploeg

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

Purchased with funds provided by Harold Mitchell AC

Rt. Honourable Lord Hawkesbury, 1808

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

Nam Le

Nam Le (b. 1978), writer, came to Australia as a baby with his Vietnamese refugee parents.

1 portrait in the collection

Nick Enright, c. 1976 (printed 2004)

Robert McFarlane

Magazine article by Ellen Kent, 2007

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pours soil into the hand of traditional land owner Vincent Lingiari

A handful of sand

Ellen Kent examines the portrait of Vincent Lingiari and Prime Minister Gough Whitlam taken by photographer Mervyn Bishop.

Of Burke, Wills ... and wills

It's Complicated

Infatuation and (ill-fated) exploration

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.

Tommy Tycho AM MBE

Tommy Tycho AM MBE (1928-2013), musician, began studying at the Conservatorium of Music in his native Budapest at the age of eight.

1 portrait in the collection

She saved his life. He showed her painting.

Nearest & Dearest

Leaders, painters, friends

John Newcombe and family, 1973

Lewis Morley

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

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

Storytelling

Learning resource archive

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

Free Range Cousins, 2015 by Jennifer Stocks

Children of the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2016

Learning resource

Senses, movement and imagination in portraits of children from the 2016 Prize. For Year 1 - 3 students.

Collection: Icons

Volume One

Billy Cook and Pride of Egypt, 1954

Ern McQuillan OAM

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

Talma Studios, Sydney

Portrait, photographic print from film on paper

Talma Studios opened in Sydney in March 1899 in a George Street premises next door to the GPO.

1 portrait in the collection

Atong Atem

Artists and Collectives

Atong Atem is an Ethiopian-born, South Sudanese artist and writer living in Narrm/Melbourne. Her work explores migrant narratives and postcolonial practices in the African diaspora.

David Gulpilil's Hands, 2004

Ross Honeysett

Gift of the artist 2021

Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, 1827

Charles Turner after Sir Thomas Lawrence

Previous exhibition, 2017

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

To coin a (farewell) phrase

Devotion

A penny for their thoughts

Collection in focus: Brook Andrew

Experience the artistic clout of Brook Andrew’s portraits of Marcia Langton AM and Anthony Mundine.

Warumpi Band

The Warumpi Band burst onto the Australian music scene in 1984 with the release of their first album Big Name, No Blankets.

2 portraits in the collection

'words are the daughters of the earth' Marion Halligan, 2002

Portrait, watercolour and gouache on vellum

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004

Potters' Portrait Pot, 2009

Hermannsburg Potters, Irene Mbitjana Entata, Virginia Mbitjana Rontji, Lindy Panangka Rontji, Rahel Kngwarria Ungwanaka, Rona Panangka Rubuntja, Dawn Ngala Wheeler, Judith Pungarta Inkamala, Anita Ratara Mbitjana, Hayley Panangka Coulthard, Clara Ngala Inkamala

Portrait, fired terracotta clay, underglaze

Commissioned 2009

Henry Reynolds, 2012

Dave Tacon

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Rt Hon. Sir Robert Menzies, c. 1962

Victor Greenhalgh

Portrait, cast bronze

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lady Bunting in honour of Sir John Bunting and the Menzies Foundation 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Ada Bird Petyarre

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2002

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

A Meeting of Great Minds

The story behind Rick Amor's portrait of Professor Peter Doherty.

The Tichborne Claimant (Arthur Orton), c. 1872

Maull & Co Photographers

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

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

Ngarranggarni

N Schiavonetti after Thomas Phillips

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

Portrait of Sir Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society

Portrait of Sir Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society, 1812

Portrait, line engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Us Mob

Us Mob were an Aboriginal rock band active in the 1970s and 1980s. The band's members Rodney Ansell, Pedro Butler, Carroll Karpany and Wally McArthur formed the band at the Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music in Adelaide.

2 portraits in the collection

Eric Thake

Eric Thake (1904-1982), printmaker, painter and photographer, trained at the National Gallery School and the George Bell School and showed with the Contemporary Group in Melbourne between 1932 and 1938 before serving as an official war artist in the RAAF.

7 portraits in the collection

Centenary of ANZAC

Previous exhibition, 2000

Just now we pause to mark the centenary of ANZAC, the day when, together with British, other imperial and allied forces, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed at Gallipoli at the start of the ill-starred Dardanelles campaign.

Sporting Archibald

Celebrating the focus on sport during 2000, this special exhibition features our national sporting heroes and heroines immortalised on canvas

Dorothy Gordon OBE

Dorothy Gordon (Jenner) OBE, ‘Andrea’ (1891-1985), actress, dressmaker, stuntwoman, journalist, radio broadcaster and charity fundraiser, grew up on a property near Narrabri and attended boarding school in Sydney before gaining a part as a chorus girl in Girl in a Train in Melbourne in 1912.

2 portraits in the collection

Michelle de Kretser

Michelle de Kretser (b. 1957), author, came to Melbourne with her Sinhalese Dutch parents in 1972.

1 portrait in the collection

Vali Myers, 2001

Eva Collins

Previous exhibition, 2011

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2003

Indecent exposure

Annette Kellerman

'Diving Venus' and 'the perfect woman' are two of the numerous descriptions applied to Annette Kellerman, who achieved international fame during the early decades of the twentieth century.

Ray Crooke AM

Ray Crooke AM grew up in Melbourne, where after army service in WA, North Queensland and Borneo, he trained at Swinburne Tech from 1946 to 1948.

3 portraits in the collection

Sir Joseph Banks, 1802

William Ridley

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

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.

Harry Williams

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

1 portrait in the collection

Rosie Batty AO

Rosie Batty AO (b. 1962), campaigner against family violence, became well known to the Australian public in early 2014, when her eleven-year-old son Luke was murdered by his father as she stood waiting to take him home from cricket practice.

1 portrait in the collection

Ted Dyson, Bill Dyson (with pipe) and Percy

Ted Dyson, Bill Dyson (with pipe) and Percy, c. 1899

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Anthony Mundine, 1992 (printed 2008)

Mervyn Bishop

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2006

Purchased 2008

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.

Peter Hudson

Peter Hudson (b. 1950), is a landscape and portrait painter who lives and works in Maleny, Queensland.

4 portraits in the collection

Rosalie Kunoth, 1953 printed 1958

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2008

Purchased 2016

Alexander Pearce
executed for murder
July 19th 1824

Public hanging

As a convict Thomas Bock was required to sketch executed murders for science; as a free man, fashionable society portraits.

Francis Nixon

Previous exhibition, 2007

Francis Russell Nixon (1803-1879) photographer, artist and Anglican clergyman, arrived in Hobart in 1843 to take up the role of Bishop of Tasmania.

2 portraits in the collection

Portrait Paintings by Matthew Perceval

From 1967 until 1981 Matthew Perceval lived and painted in France and during those years produced a large body of portrait paintings.

Charles Warman Roberts

Charles Warman Roberts (1821–1894), publican, was born in Sydney, the eldest son of free settler parents who emigrated to Australia in 1821.

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait (Full Length in front of Easel), 1901-1902

Hugh Ramsay

Portrait, charcoal heightened with white chalk on paper

Gift of the Estate of John Oswald Wicking 2003

Sir Sidney Kidman, 1932

Samuel Woolf

Purchased 2009

Miranda Otto, 1997

Montalbetti + Campbell

Portrait, direct positive colour photograph on paper

Gift of the artists 2003

Governor Sir Robert Duff with Lady Duff, Lord Hopetoun and Vice-Regal Party, 1893

Kerry & Co

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

Alfred William Cox

Alfred William Cox (1857–1919), racehorse owner and breeder, was born in Liverpool, England, the son of a successful cotton broker.

1 portrait in the collection

Julian Kingma

Julian Kingma (b. 1968), photographer, began his career in 1988 as a cadet for the Herald newspaper in Melbourne, and later worked for the Sunday Age as Head Features Photographer.

11 portraits in the collection

Sir William John Lyne

Little Darlings Youth Portrait Prize

Sir William John Lyne (1844-1913), politician, was a Premier of New South Wales and a minister in the first Australian parliament.

1 portrait in the collection

Entry guidelines 2024

Read the full requirements for entering the prize.

Jon Lewis

Jon Lewis (1950-2020) was born in Maryland, USA, and came to Australia in 1951.

3 portraits in the collection

Evert Ploeg

Evert Ploeg began his career as a commercial illustrator in the mid-1980s.

7 portraits in the collection

Naomi Hobson

Artists and Collectives

Multidisciplinary artist Naomi Hobson, of the Kaantju language group and Patta skin group, after the Death Adder snake, lives and works on Country in Coen, Cape York Peninsula addressing powerful links between Country and identity.

Elle Macpherson

Elle Macpherson (b. 1964) is an entrepreneur, model, actor and television host.

1 portrait in the collection

Narelle Autio

Recorded 2018

Paul Kelly, 2007

Peter Brew-Bevan

Gift of the artist 2012

Portrait of Rosie Batty Unveiled at Portrait Gallery

24 January 2018

The National Portrait Gallery has unveiled a newly commissioned portrait of Australian domestic violence campaigner and 2015 Australian of the Year Rosie Batty.

Ningali Lawford-Wolf

Thomas Woolner in Australia

Recorded 1996

Missing Persons

Desperately seeking Woolner medallions

Tamara Tchinarova

Previous exhibition, 2009

Tamara Tchinarova (1919–2017), dancer, was one of the original 'baby ballerinas' of the Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo.

2 portraits in the collection

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.

Portrait of Marjorie Cotton, 1969

Jean Isherwood OAM

Portrait, direct positive colour photograph

Gift of Marjorie Cotton Isherwood 2002

Miranda Otto, 1997

Montalbetti + Campbell

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artists 2003

Tan Le

Recorded 2018

Phillip Gudthaykudthay, 1986

Portrait, direct positive colour photograph on paper

Purchased 2005

Miranda Otto, 1997

Montalbetti + Campbell

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artists 2003

Simon Tedeschi unplugged, 2002

Cherry Hood

Portrait, watercolour on canvas

Gift of Tim Olsen 2010. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

John Bell, c. 1968

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

David Malangi Daymirringu, 1986

Purchased 2005

Clif Peir

Clif Peir (b.1905) was a Sydney painter and teacher, who studied at the Julian Ashton School under Ashton and H.C.Gibbons.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark

Tribute: Mary Isabel Murphy

The Chairman, Board, Director and all the staff of the National Portrait Gallery mourn the loss of our Benefactor, Mary Isabel Murphy.

Wenten Rubuntja AM

Wenten Rubuntja AM (1923–2005) was an Arrernte law man, committee and board member, artist, historian, storyteller and intermediary.

2 portraits in the collection

Ken Done

Portrait, pencil and oil on canvas laid on chipboard

Ken Done (b. 1940), painter, studied at East Sydney Tech before becoming an advertising graphic designer.

3 portraits in the collection

Zelman Cowen, c. 1977

Ray Crooke AM

Gift of David Crooke 2011. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Charles Wheeler

Charles Wheeler OBE (1881–1977), artist, won the Archibald Prize in 1933 for a portrait of the popular Melbourne-based writer Ambrose Pratt.

8 portraits in the collection

Robert Drewe (in the swell), 2006

Nicholas Harding

Purchased 2010

Portraits for Posterity

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

Mr Thake - Dr So and So, 1959

Gift of Professor Van Sommers 2011

The rock and the flies, 1952

Gift of Professor Van Sommers 2011

Sunshine and rain, Lygon Street, 1964

Gift of Professor Van Sommers 2011

Epstein/Einstein? I can never remember!, 1962

Portrait, synthetic polymer and enamel paint on canvas

Gift of Professor Van Sommers 2011

Paul Kelly, 2004

Jon Campbell

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2004

Jim Paterson

Portrait, oil on canvas board

Jim Paterson, painter, printmaker and sculptor, was born in Melbourne and completed his diploma in Fine Arts at Prahran Technical College in 1969.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of an Artist (Self portrait), 1944

David Strachan

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Mel Gibson AO

Mel Gibson (b. 1956), actor, was born in New York state, the sixth of eleven children of a railroad brakeman and an Australian opera singer.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Bennilong, a Native of New Holland

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

Purchased 2014

Dave Sands, c. 1940s

Purchased 2011

Figure in a rocky landscape, 1965

Gift of Professor Peter Van Sommers 2011

Self portrait among the ant hills, 1950

Gift of Professor Peter Van Sommers 2011

Desert Island, 1967

Gift of Professor Peter Van Sommers 2011

William St Leonards Robertson and the Oxford boat race crew

William St Leonards Robertson and the Oxford boat race crew, early 1880s

Hills & Saunders

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Malcolm Robertson in memory of William Thomas Robertson 2018
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Greg Weight

Greg Weight is a Sydney-based photographer who grew up in Dee Why. He opened his own studio in 1968, taking advertising and magazine photographs and working with the Australian Opera and the Australian Ballet.

113 portraits in the collection

Malarndirri Barbara McCarthy

Previous exhibition, 2013

Malarndirri Barbara McCarthy is a Yanyuwa woman from Borroloola in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

1 portrait in the collection

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.

Margaret Anderson, 1942

Napier Waller CMG OBE

Portrait, pastel on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Pat Mackie, 2004

Nancy Borlase AM

Purchased 2004

Louise Sauvage OAM

Louise Sauvage OAM (b. 1973) is a four-time Paralympian who dominated international wheelchair track racing from the early 1990s.

1 portrait in the collection

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022

Let’s look closely at the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022 together! For students and family groups.

Alan Marshall, n.d.

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen and pen and ink on paper laid down on cardboard

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

Ben McNamara

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.

Anthony Mundine

Anthony Mundine (b. 1975), Bundjalung boxer and former rugby league player, was born in Newtown in Sydney's inner south and began his career playing league for Hurstville United.

2 portraits in the collection

David Alexander Stewart Campbell

David Alexander Stewart Campbell (1898-1970), wool buyer and journal editor, undertook a woolclassing course in Sydney, worked as a jackeroo, served in the AIF in Egypt and gained further experience with wool in England before he was inducted into the wool trade in Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

D.I.Y. bow tie with Maxine Benba Clarke

Portrait, etching, printed in black ink from one copper plate on paper

Maxine, a featured writer in the Portrait23: Identity publication, invites you to create your own bow tie!

Woureddy [Wurati], a wild native of Brune Island

Woureddy [Wurati], a wild native of Brune Island, 1835

Benjamin Duterrau

Purchased with funds provided by The Ian Potter Foundation 2009

Truggernana [Trukanini], a native of southern part of V.D. Land

Truggernana [Trukanini], a native of southern part of V.D. Land, 1835

Benjamin Duterrau

Portrait, etching, printed in black ink from one copper plate on paper

Purchased with funds provided by The Ian Potter Foundation 2009

The life of Bryant

Magazine article by Tenille Hands, 2018

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

Bill Neidjie OAM

Bill Neidjie OAM (c. 1913-2002), a Gagadju man, was the traditional custodian of the Kakadu area of the Northern Territory and spent most of his childhood in this region.

1 portrait in the collection

Nambin (black headed python), 2018 by Shirley Purdie

Skin names

The first row of paintings depict stories relating to kinship, introducing significant women relatives.

Henry Wade, c. 1841

Portrait, oil on paperboard

Gift of the Wade and Hannah families 2013

Jane Campion DNZM

Jane Campion DNZM (b. 1954), director, producer and screenwriter, is the first woman to win the Palme d'Or at Cannes and the second woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, both for her acclaimed film The Piano (1993).

1 portrait in the collection

Arcadia (Wayne Lynch and Bob McTavish), 1969 (reprinted 2011)

John Witzig

Gift of the artist 2011

Ralph Barton

Ralph Barton, American cartoonist and caricaturist, produced a body of work that epitomises American high life in the 1920s.

1 portrait in the collection

Turia Pitt

Portrait, oil on canvas on board

Turia Pitt (b. 1987), author, businesswoman, motivational speaker and athlete, grew up in Ulladulla, New South Wales and studied engineering and science at the University of NSW, graduating in 2010.

1 portrait in the collection

Mary Ware, c. 1854

Robert Dowling

Purchased with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy and Rosalind Blair Murphy 2014

Omai, A Native of Ulaietea, 1774

Francesco Bartolozzi after Nathaniel Dance

Portrait, pastel on paper laid on canvas

Purchased with funds provided by Robert Oatley AO 2007

Portrait of Mrs Sarah Fairfax, c. 1864

Edwin Dalton

Gift of John Fairfax Holdings Ltd 2002. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Maisie, 1938-1939

Peter Purves Smith

Portrait, gouache on paper

Bequest of Lady Maisie Drysdale 2001

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009

Previous exhibition, 2009

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.

The Bushranger Tragedy (from The Australasian Sketcher, 23 November 1878), 1878

an unknown artist, The Australasian Sketcher

Portrait, wood engraving on paper

Purchased 2003

Hedda Morrison, 1941 (printed 2004)

Alastair Morrison

Portrait, type C photograph from an original negative on paper

Gift of the artist 2004

Sir Asher Joel, n.d.

Portrait, pencil on paper

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

OBEY

Shepard Fairey Posters

Previous exhibition, 2009

Shepard Fairey is best known for his iconic poster Obama/Hope which he made in support of Barack Obama for the 2008 US election.

Helen Garner, 2004

Julian Kingma

Portrait, cast plaster, painted

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

Trucaninny [Trukanini], wife of Woureddy [Wurati]

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

Benjamin Law

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Portrait of Alan Marshall, 1955

Lina Bryans

Portrait, oil on cardboard

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

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

Tamara Tchinarova, 1938

Portrait, inkjet print and oil on canvas, mounted with inset axe pendant

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

What the tree saw: David Foster, 2018

Jacqui Stockdale

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

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

Diseased curiosity

Captain Moonlite et al on trial for murder

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

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

James Gillray

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2004

James Gillray, caricaturist and printmaker, was born in Chelsea and learned the art of engraving as a youth in London.

1 portrait in the collection

Before Too Long

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

Person and Place

The connection between land and identity holds great significance in Australia. While for First Nations people, person and place are intertwined both culturally and spiritually, forming an intrinsic union between Country and self, stories of colonisation and migration are also deeply bound to this nation.

Alex Mitchell

Alexander George Mitchell (1911-1997), academic, studied English literature and language at the University of Sydney and the University of London before joining the English department of the University of Sydney, where he assumed the McCaughey Chair of Early English Literature and Language in 1947.

1 portrait in the collection

Leisel Jones, 2015 (printed 2021)

Peter Brew-Bevan

Portrait, oil on composition board

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2021

Portrait of Elizabeth Jolley, 2003

Mary Moore

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2003

Big shots

Magazine article by Djon Mundine OAM, 2017

Djon Mundine OAM brings poignant memory and context to Martin van der Wal’s 1986 portrait photographs of storied Aboriginal artists.

Charles Abraham

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

John Kaldor, 1975 (printed 2002)

Lewis Morley

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

Patrick White

Patrick White (1912–1990), acknowledged as Australia’s pre-eminent novelist of the 20th century, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1973 for The Eye of the Storm, ‘for an epic and psychological narrative art which has introduced a new continent into literature’.

7 portraits in the collection

Shirley Hazzard

Shirley Hazzard (1931-2016) writer, spent her childhood in Sydney but left with her parents at the age of sixteen for South East Asia and New Zealand.

1 portrait in the collection

Elizabeth Rouse

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

Elizabeth Rouse (née Adams, 1772–1849), colonial spouse, arrived in New South Wales as a free settler in 1801 with her husband, Richard Rouse (1774–1852) and their first two children, one of whom had been born on the voyage out.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Brenda Niall, 1997

Judy Cassab AO CBE

Gift of Dr Brenda Niall AO 2019. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018

Portrait, pen and ink, pencil on paper laid on cardboard

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.

Self portrait, n.d.

Ada May Plante

Gift of Dr Penny Olsen, Peter Woollard and Artemis Georgiades 2015

Audio description

Access

Hear and read detailed audio descriptions of selected artworks from our Collection as we turn the visual into the verbal.

Noni Hazlehurst, 1977 (printed 2011)

Lorrie Graham

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

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.

Bill Neidjie, 2000 (printed 2008)

Mark Lang

Gift of the artist 2008

Thomas Brassey

Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey (1836–1918), politician and governor, studied law and modern history at Oxford, but abandoned law for a career in politics two years after being called to the Bar.

1 portrait in the collection

Heath Bergersen

Heath Bergersen (b. 1976) is an Indigenous actor working across Australian television series and movies.

1 portrait in the collection

John Passmore

John Passmore (1904-1984), painter, studied with Julian Ashton in Sydney between the ages of fourteen and twenty-nine, and took some instruction from George Lambert.

1 portrait in the collection

Ruth Cracknell

Ruth Cracknell AM (1925–2002), actor, became a household name through her character Maggie Beare in the ABC comedy Mother and Son, which ran from 1985 to 1994.

1 portrait in the collection

Nancy Wake - The White Mouse, 2001

Melissa Beowulf

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2004

Her Majesty, The Queen, Elizabeth II (Blue)

Her Majesty, The Queen, Elizabeth II (Blue), 2001

Polly Borland

Portrait, oil on masonite

Purchased 2021

Peter Elliott, 1964

Jon Molvig

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

With a Little Help from my Friends

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2004

The story behind the acquisition of the portrait of Danish architect Jørn Utzon.

Ernest Hutcheson

Ernest Hutcheson (1871-1951), pianist, composer and music teacher, started performing at the age of five.

1 portrait in the collection

William Edward Harney

William Edward (Bill) Harney (1895–1962), bushman and raconteur, spent his childhood in Charters Towers and Cairns and started working as a stockman and boundary rider at the age of twelve.

2 portraits in the collection

Edward Knox Jnr and Thomas Forster Knox., c. 1855

Self Portraits in Australia

Portrait, daguerreotype

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Peter Halliday in memory of Norah Knox 2010

To Look Within

Previous exhibition, 2004

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

Andrew Campbell

NPPP 2012 learning resource

An interview with the photographer.

Wenten Rubuntja, 2001

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

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

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.

TJ Smith and Tulloch, 1960 (printed 2003)

Ern McQuillan OAM

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Caroline Jones AO

Caroline Jones AO (1938–2022), journalist and broadcaster, joined the ABC in 1963 and five years later became Australia's first female current affairs reporter when she began working on This Day Tonight.

2 portraits in the collection

Peter Skrzynecki OAM

Portrait, charcoal and oil on canvas

Of Polish/Ukrainian descent, Peter Skrzynecki was born in 1945 in Germany and came to Australia with his parents in 1949.

1 portrait in the collection

Elizabeth, 2019

Anthea da Silva

Gift of the artist 2020

Kenneth Wyatt AM

Noongar, Yamatji, Wongi man, Kenneth George Wyatt AM (b. 1952) is an Australian politician.

1 portrait in the collection

Rick Smolan

Rick Smolan (b. 1949) began his career as a photographer for Time, Life and National Geographic.

2 portraits in the collection

The Bath Butterfly

The caricaturist and engraver James Gillray's biting satires about Sir Joseph Banks.

Pat Mackie

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

Ivan Gaal

Current programs for school groups

Ivan Gaal came to Australia as a refugee from his native Hungary in 1957.

1 portrait in the collection

Virtual Excursions

Live, interactive learning programs coming soon wherever you are.

Murray Bail

Magazine article by Karl James, 2016

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

Portrait of Private Edward Lello 1915 by Darge Photographic Company

Final frame

Karl James reflects on soldier portraiture during the Great War.

Thea Proctor

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

2 portraits in the collection

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

Ada May Plante

Portrait, pastel and coloured pencil on paper

Ada May Plante (1875–1950), artist, was born in New Zealand and came to Melbourne with her family in 1888.

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait (Hilda in the Chinoise hat)

Self portrait (Hilda in the Chinoise hat), c. 1913

Hilda Rix Nicholas

Gift of Bronwyn Wright 2013. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Murray Bail, 1980-1981

Fred Williams

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

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

Meryl Tankard AO

NPPP 2020 exhibition essay

Meryl Tankard AO (b. 1955) is an internationally renowned dancer, choreographer, director and filmmaker.

1 portrait in the collection

Writing on the Wall, 2019 Dr Christian Thompson AO

To arrive at hope

Penelope Grist, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2020 Prize.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2023

We encourage you to look, to feel, to think, to question and most importantly, to identify and connect.

Gail Kelly, 2018

by Paul Newton

Commissioned with funds provided by Westpac Group and Optus 2018

Wurati

Wurati (active 1830s, d. 1842), was a Nuennone man from Bruny Island, a skilled hunter, boat builder and renowned storyteller who spoke five dialects.

2 portraits in the collection

Do you know more?

an unknown artist after Albert Chevallier Tayler

The National Portrait Gallery is calling on family history enthusiasts and amateur historians to help reveal more about the people in Dempsey’s People: A folio of British street portraits from 1824-1844.

Joe Darling (image plate from The Empire's Cricketers. London: Fine Art Society), 1905

Portrait, chromolithograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Ann Moyal, 1957

Pamela Thalben-Ball

Gift of Ann Moyal 2012. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Anne Summers AO

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2004

Anne Summers AO (b. 1945), writer and feminist, became involved in women's rights while studying politics at the University of Adelaide in the 1960s.

7 portraits in the collection

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.

2013-14 Acquisition Fund

Annual Appeal

This 1910 portrait of Elizabeth Sarah (Lillie) Roberts by Tom Roberts was brought into the Gallery's collection with the assistance of the Acquisition Fund in 2013.

The Huxleys

Will Huxley grew up in the suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, and Garrett Huxley was raised on the Gold Coast, Queensland.

3 portraits in the collection

Meryl Tankard, 2005

Ingvar Kenne

Gift of the artist 2006

Portrait 64

Summer 2019/20

Disability Inclusion Action Plan 2023–25

Marian Anderson, emerging photographer Charles Dennington, piscatorial portraits, and the poignant path of photographer Polixeni Papapetrou and more.

National Portrait Gallery staff creating a rainbow for WorldPride 2023

Who we are and what we do

The National Portrait Gallery is an award-winning building situated within Canberra’s Parliamentary Triangle, the symbolic centre of Australia’s capital city on Ngunnawal and Ngambri land.

Barton and Watson, 1902

G. H. Dancey

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

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.

D.A.S. Campbell (David Alexander Stewart Campbell), 1963

Sir William Dargie CBE

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Mary Newlinds and Sheena Simpson in memory of their father, D.A.S. Campbell, 2014

Gooseberry, widow of King Bungaree, 1836

William Fernyhough

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Robert Edwards AO 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

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

The selfie stick

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.

Portrait 66

Summer 2021/22

Brook Andrew, Larry Rawling

The Huxleys, National Portrait Gallery London’s masterpieces, Jennifer Higgie on portraits of women by women, Tamara Dean, Bangarra, Glynis Jones on fashion photographers, and NPG/NGV collaboration.

Peace, the Man and Hope, 2005

Portrait, screenprint on five sheets of paper

Gift of Brook Andrew in memory of Emmaline Rose Charnock 2012. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Rachel Griffiths, 2002 (printed 2004)

Karin Catt

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Irina Baronova

Irina Baronova (1919–2008) was one of the three legendary 'baby ballerinas' of the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo, who created an international dance sensation in the 1930s and 1940s.

1 portrait in the collection

Walala Tjapaltjarri, 2009

Portrait, inkjet print on cotton rag paper

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2020. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Stevie Wright

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

2 portraits in the collection

Peter Elliott AM

Peter Elliott AM (1926–2014) was an obstetrician, gynaecologist and gynaecological oncologist as well as a significant art collector and patron.

6 portraits in the collection

Helen Garner

Previous exhibition, 2020

Helen Garner (b. 1942), author and journalist, is one of Australia's best-known writers.

8 portraits in the collection

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020

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.

Wesley Enoch AM

Wesley Enoch AM (b. 1969) is a theatre director and playwright and was the director of the Sydney Festival from 2017 to 2021.

1 portrait in the collection

New exhibition tells big stories through pint-sized portraits

2 November 2018

The National Portrait Gallery is bringing the Victorian era back to life in a special exhibition exploring the colour and character of post-goldrush Australia.

Dr Elizabeth Cameron Dalman OAM

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on resin-coated paper

Dr Elizabeth Cameron Dalman OAM (b. 1934), choreographer, teacher and performer, was born in Adelaide and trained in classical ballet and modern dance with Nora Stewart.

1 portrait in the collection

Harry Williams, 2005

Sahlan Hayes

Purchased 2006

Us Mob, Rock Against Racism Concert, Paddington Town Hall

Us Mob, Rock Against Racism Concert, Paddington Town Hall, 1980 (printed 2021)

Purchased 2021

Us Mob, Paddington Town Hall, 1980 (printed 2021)

an unknown artist, Joyce Gold Naval Chronicle Office

Purchased 2021

Captain Matthew Flinders RN, 1814

Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

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

Ria Murch

Ria Murch (1918-2014), writer and muse, was brought up in King’s Cross and attended the Thosophist school in Mosman before acquiring secretarial skills at Miss Hales Business College.

1 portrait in the collection

Charles Teo AM

Previous exhibition, 2019

Charles Teo AM (b. 1957) is a neurosurgeon. Born in Sydney, where he attended Scots College and graduated in medicine and surgery from the University of New South Wales, he worked for some years at the Children’s Medical Center, Dallas, Texas and was Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Arkansas.

1 portrait 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.

Janine Burke

Janine Burke (b. 1952) art historian, biographer, novelist and curator, graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1974.

1 portrait in the collection

Magda Szubanski AO

Magda Szubanski AO (b. 1961), actor and writer, was born in Liverpool, England and moved to Australia when she was four.

1 portrait in the collection

Maurice Felton

Photographic Portraits from 19th Century Australia

Maurice Appleby Felton (1803-1842) arrived in Sydney with his wife and four children in late 1839 as surgeon to the immigrant ship the Royal Admiral.

3 portraits in the collection

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa

Husbands and Wives

Magazine article by Lauretta Morton, 2006

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

The news from Washington

Australia's former Cultural Attache to the USA, Ron Ramsey, describes the mood at the opening week of the revitalised American National Portrait Gallery.

Time and light

In Gallery Seven

Current exhibition

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.

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.

True fella

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2011

Michael Desmond profiles the Australian songwriter and performer Neil Murray and his contribution to Australian music.

Nicholas Harding

28 Portraits

Previous exhibition, 2017

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.

Vali Myers

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

1 portrait in the collection

Study for a portrait of Dame Merlyn Myer DBE

Dame Margery Merlyn Baillieu Myer DBE

Dame Margery Merlyn Baillieu Myer DBE (1900–1982), philanthropist and fundraiser, was the daughter of a hotelier, George Baillieu.

1 portrait in the collection

Garrett Huxley

an unknown artist, Joyce Gold Naval Chronicle Office

Garrett Huxley (b. 1973) was born in Melbourne and raised on the Gold Coast.

3 portraits in the collection

Captain Matthew Flinders RN, 1814

Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

Corporate Support

Support your Portrait Gallery

Our partners play a vital role in the expansion of the Gallery’s programs, exhibitions and the ongoing development of the collection.

Will Huxley

Magazine article by Jessica Bolton, 2017

Will Huxley (b. 1982) was born in Bath, England, emigrating with his family at the age of seven to grow up in the suburbs of Perth.

3 portraits in the collection

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

Hump days

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

The Dissecting Room

Percy Leason's Aboriginal Portraits

Though initially developed by physicians, phrenology was taken up by certain non-medical practitioners who applied the theory to social questions such as education and criminal reform.

William Johnson (1873—1948) by Percy Leason

Recognition

Previous exhibition, 1999

Originally conceived as an anthropological record, Percy Leason’s powerful 1934 portraits of Victorian Aboriginal people are today considered to be a highlight of 20th century Australian portraiture

Four from the 30s

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

Australia's tradition of sculpted portraits stretches back to the early decades of the nineteenth century and continues to sustain a group of dedicated sculptors.

Portrait 67

Winter 2022

William Yang on his autobiographical self portraits, David Parker's 1970s and 80s Melbourne music photographs, seven-time NPPP finalist Chris Budgeon, and Benjamin Warlngundu Ellis.

Trukanini

Previous exhibition, 2022

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

6 portraits in the collection

Darling Portrait Prize 2022

The Darling Portrait Prize is a biennial national prize for Australian portrait painting honouring the legacy of Mr L Gordon Darling AC CMG (1921-2015). The winner receives a cash prize of $75,000.

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

Ben Mendelsohn

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2011

Ben Mendelsohn (b. 1969), actor, spent much of his early childhood abroad as his father, a leading medical researcher, worked in Europe and the USA.

2 portraits in the collection

The numbers man

Dr. Sarah Engledow tells the story of Australia's first Federal statistician, Sir George Knibbs.

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.

At the Pantechnetheca, Exhibition, Eastern Arcade, Dominick Sonsee, the smallest man in the world

The Freak Show

Many performers availed themselves of the services of photographic studios, posing for carte de visite portraits that served as souvenirs and as instruments in the making of renown and notoriety.

Nancy Menetrey

Previous exhibition, 2003

Nancy Menetrey (née Wilkinson) was born in Sydney in 1924. After serving with the Australian Women's Land Army, formed during the Second World War to address labour shortages in the agricultural sector, she travelled overseas in the early 1950s, living and working in London for a number of years.

1 portrait in the collection

Max Dupain

The Vintage Years

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

Open Air

Portraits in the Landscape

Previous exhibition, 2008

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

Omai

Portrait, colour photolithograph

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

Tommy Tycho, 1986

Calvin Winetroube

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Vicky Tycho 2013

E.O. Hoppé

Emil Otto Hoppe (1878–1972) is considered one of the most important and influential portrait and documentary photographers of the twentieth century.

2 portraits in the collection

Marjorie Cotton Isherwood

Marjorie Cotton Isherwood (1913–2003) was the first professionally qualified children's librarian in New South Wales and many of her initiatives continue today.

1 portrait in the collection

William Hardy Wilson

William Hardy Wilson (1881-1955) - or Hardy Wilson, as he styled himself - is regarded as one of the most significant and visionary Australian architects of the twentieth century.

1 portrait in the collection

Ken Wyatt, 2019 (printed 2020)

Alex Ellinghausen

Purchased 2022

Zhou Xiaoping

Zhou Xiaoping, born and educated in China, is a Melbourne-based artist.

1 portrait in the collection

Pixie O'Harris

Pixie O’Harris MBE (1903–1991), author and illustrator, was born Rona Olive Harris in Cardiff, one of the eight children of painter, George Frederick Harris.

1 portrait in the collection

William Robertson, c. 1852

Portrait, 1/6 plate daguerreotype, hand coloured with case

Gift of Fiona Turner (née Robertson) and John Robertson 2011. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

James G. Beaney

James George Beaney (1828–1891), doctor and philanthropist, completed an apprenticeship to a surgeon in his home town of Canterbury, Kent, before leaving to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh.

1 portrait in the collection

William Strutt

William Strutt arrived in Melbourne in 1850 having undertaken his training in art in Paris in the late 1830s.

1 portrait in the collection

Hilda Rix Nicholas

Magazine article by David Ward, 2010

Emily Hilda Rix left Australia in March 1907, having trained for three years at the National Gallery School.

1 portrait in the collection

Hide/Seek

David Ward writes about the exhibition Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture on display at the National Portrait Gallery, Washington.

The Right Honourable William Pitt

Magazine article by Sarah Rhodes, 2019

William Pitt the Younger (1759-1806) was Tory prime minister of Great Britain from 1783 to 1801, and of United Kingdom from 1804 to 1806.

1 portrait in the collection

After Dante’s Inferno, 2018 Sarah Rhodes © the artist

Observation point

I met Clara while teaching photomedia at the University of Tasmania last year. One of her assignments focused on her relationship with her former boyfriend, who she now works for as his live-in carer.

Subtle emotion

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2010

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

Grace Cossington Smith OBE

Magazine article by Peter Wilmoth, 2016

Grace Cossington Smith OBE (1892–1984) was a pioneer of modernist art in Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

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.

Duke of Wellington, 1841

John Lucas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

John Bradfield

John Bradfield (1867-1943), engineer, was a key figure in the development of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and inner city transport network.

1 portrait in the collection

Ben Quilty

Carrington Photo Galleries

Ben Quilty (b. 1973), painter, gained bachelor’s degrees in painting and visual communication at Sydney College of the Arts and the University of Western Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Clara Crosbie, aged 12 years, now on exhibition at the Australian Waxworks

Clara Crosbie, aged 12 years, now on exhibition at the Australian Waxworks, c. 1885

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of John McPhee 2018

Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri AO

Portrait, oil on masonite

Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri AO (c. 1932–2002) was a founding member of the artists cooperative established at Papunya in the early 1970s and one of the most renowned practitioners within the Western Desert art movement.

2 portraits in the collection

Neville Gruzman, 1968

Eric Smith

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2007

Stevie Wright, 1975 (printed 2011)

Gary Ede

Australian Athletes in Focus

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Flash

Significant Australian Women 1913–2013

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

First Ladies

Previous exhibition, 2013

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

Peter Goldsworthy AM

Peter Goldsworthy AM (b. 1951), medical doctor and writer, was born in Minlaton, South Australia, and grew up in various country towns as his father, a school teacher, moved for work.

2 portraits in the collection

Andres Serrano

J.W. Beattie after Charles Woolley

Andres Serrano, photographer, grew up in New York. After leaving school at fifteen to pursue a career as an artist he attended the Brooklyn Museum Art School between 1967 and 1969.

1 portrait in the collection

Trukanini, n.d.

Portrait, albumen silver photograph

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

Winning in technicolor

Magazine article by Alistair McGhie, 2009

Alistair McGhie writes about the portraits of three of Australia's top professional cyclists: Cadel Evans, Stuart O'Grady and Robbie McEwen painted by Matthys Gerber.

Frequently asked questions 2024

Little Darlings Youth Portrait Prize

Answers to your questions about entering the prize.

Bon Scott & Angus Young, Atlanta, Georgia

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

Rennie Ellis

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Purchased 2010

A Collins Street Surgeon "Patients and Diamonds" [Dr Beaney F.R.C.S.], 1874

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

Gary Foley

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

2 portraits in the collection

Self portrait, 2002

Barry Humphries

Portrait, glass plate negative

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Margaret Olley Art Trust 2003

Trukanini, 1866 (printed 1890s)

Charles Woolley

Purchased 2011

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.

Self portrait, c. 1934

Stella Bowen

Portrait, oil on cardboard

Purchased 2003

Shirley Purdie

Contributing artists

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

Australian Visit

Disability Inclusion Action Plan 2023–25

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.

National Portrait Gallery and Access2Arts staff presenting on audio description at the Australian Museums and Galleries Association National Conference

Our achievements to date

During the period 2018–20, the Gallery implemented our first Access Action Plan.

Copeman, gardener, Great Yarmouth by John Dempsey

Calling all family history buffs

3 July 2017

Archived media releases 2017

The National Portrait Gallery is calling on family history enthusiasts and amateur historians to tell it more about the people in its new show, Dempsey’s People: A folio of British street portraits from 1824-1844.

Philip Williams

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

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

1 portrait in the collection

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

Imagination

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

The Mutineers turning Lieut Bligh and part of the Officers and Crew adrift from His Majesty's Ship the Bounty

High & Bligh

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

Joanna Gilmour explores the 1790 portrait of William Bligh by Robert Dodd.

David Williamson, 1974 (printed 2001)

Gordon Glenn

Purchased 2001

Rennie Ellis

Aussies All

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

200 Years of Portraiture

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

William Baker Ashton

William Baker Ashton (1800-1854) was the first governor of Adelaide Gaol.

1 portrait in the collection

John Gould

John Gould (1804–1881) is known as the ‘father of Australian ornithology’ for his Birds of Australia, published in seven volumes between 1840 and 1848.

1 portrait in the collection

Tim Winton, 2004

Quentin Jones

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2001

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Tribute

Stevie Wright

Magazine article, 2016

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

Me Myself I

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

John Russell

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2020

John Russell, 1st Earl Russell KG GCMG PC (1792 –1878) was Secretary of State for War and the Colonies from 1839 to 1841 and served twice as Prime Minister of Great Britain, in 1846-1852 and 1865-1866.

1 portrait in the collection

About grace

Penelope Grist finds philanthropy and fashion underpin the story of Susan Wakil AO.

Caroline Jones, 1978

David Campbell

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2021

Gift of Elizabeth Campbell-MacKenzie on behalf of the family of David Campbell 2012

2022 Annual Appeal

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.

Drawn from life

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

Jane Mander Jones, 1853

Henry Robinson Smith

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

Gift of Susanna de Vienne, Sarah Wood and David Lloyd Jones 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

David Jones, 1853

Henry Robinson Smith

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

Gift of Susanna de Vienne, Sarah Wood and David Lloyd Jones 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Kerry Walker, c. 1979

Stuart Campbell

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Estate of Stuart Campbell 2012

Caroline Jones, 2009

Salvatore Zofrea OAM

Gift of the artist 2009

Noni Hazlehurst AM

Actor, presenter and broadcaster Noni Hazlehurst AM (b. 1953) studied drama at Flinders University in South Australia, and after graduating gained roles in the television cop shows Division 4, Homicide and Matlock Police.

2 portraits in the collection

J.C. Williamson, c. 1913

John Longstaff

Gift of the family of Aimée Viola Horsley, daughter of J.C. Williamson 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

R. M. Williams AO CMG

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

1 portrait in the collection

Herra Pahlasari

by Aminudin TH Siregar

Artist essays

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

Ethel Marian (Maie) Casey AC

Ethel Marian (Maie) Casey AC, Baroness Casey (1892-1983), chatelaine, artist, pilot and author, was born in Melbourne, the daughter of the Surgeon General, Sir Charles Ryan.

1 portrait in the collection

20/20 launch speech

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

Clifton Pugh

Australians

Portrait, cast plaster, painted

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.

Woureddy [Wurati], an Aboriginal Chief of Van Diemen's Land, 1835

Benjamin Law

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Portrait of Sir Joseph Banks, c. 1814

Thomas Phillips

Purchased 2011

Anne Zahalka

Photo media artist Anne Zahalka was born in Sydney in 1957, following her parent’s migration to post-war Australia.

18 portraits in the collection

Wally (Wouter) De Backer, 2013 (printed 2014)

Julian Kingma

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

First Australian first-class cricket team

The ‘first Australian first-class cricket team to tour England and North America’ was in fact the second Australian cricket side to contest matches internationally (a team of Indigenous players having done so in 1868), but it is considered the first official national representative team to tour overseas.

1 portrait in the collection

In their own words

Audio-guide

Apps

In their own words is an audio-guide with a difference. We let the portraits of these remarkable Australians speak for themselves.

William Baker Ashton, First Governor of Adelaide Gaol, c. 1849

Henry H. Glover

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

David Strachan

David Strachan (1919–1970), painter and printmaker, was educated at Geelong Grammar School and then studied art at the Slade School in London.

2 portraits in the collection

Arthur Murch

Arthur Murch, artist, is best-known as a painter in a colourful cubistic style, but he was occupied with sculpture throughout his career.

8 portraits in the collection

Patrick White and Manoly Lascaris, 1987

Gift of Danina Dupain Anderson 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Face the Music

Australia has become recognised for the range and talent of its musicians, composers, conductors and celebrities in general associated with the music industry

Alan Marshall AM OBE

Archived media releases 2013

Alan Marshall AM OBE (1902-1984), writer, began life in Victoria’s Western District.

4 portraits in the collection

Peace, the Man and Hope (Anthony Mundine), 2005 by Brook Andrew and Larry Rawling (printer)

In focus

Magazine article, 2017

Brook Andrew, Marcia Langton and Anthony Mundine.

Angus Trumble National Portrait Gallery Director

National Portrait Gallery Director announced

20 December 2013

The National Portrait Gallery welcomes Angus Trumble

Charles (still from video) by Amiel Courtin-Wilson

The Winner of the Digital Portraiture Award 2016 is...

2 December 2016

Archived media releases 2016

The winner of the Digital Portraiture Award 2016 has been announced. Congratulations to Amiel Courtin-Wilson for his submission titled Charles.

Patrick White #1, 1980

William Yang

Purchased 1998

Henry Edwards

Henry (Harry) Edwards (1827–1891), actor and entomologist, arrived in Melbourne in 1853 after a short-lived attempt at studying for a career in law.

1 portrait in the collection

Kerry Walker AM

Kerry Walker AM, actor, graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1974 and made her professional stage debut in a melée in Act 1 of Romeo and Juliet with the Australian Ballet.

1 portrait in the collection

Dora Byrne, 1951

Richard von Marientreu

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Estate of Leslie Walford AM 2013

May Emmeline Wirth

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2016

May Emmeline Wirth (1894–1978), circus performer, was once described as the ‘greatest lady bareback rider of all time’.

1 portrait in the collection

Naked nostalgia

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

Australian of the Year

Inspiring a Nation

Portrait, coloured chalk on artist board

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

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022)

9 September 2022

Media

The National Portrait Gallery is deeply saddened by the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history. Throughout her 70-year reign, Her Majesty represented graciousness, humanity and stability during times of enormous social change.

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary (future Queen Elizabeth II)

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary (future Queen Elizabeth II), 1942-1943

Charles Wheeler

Purchased 2019

Brett Whiteley - portrait 1, 1975

NPPP 2012 learning resource

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

Adrian Brown

An interview with the photographer.

David Unaipon

Five Years of National Portrait Gallery Commissions

David Unaipon (1872-1967) writer, public speaker and inventor, was a Ngarrindjeri man, fourth of nine children of the evangelist James Ngunaitponi and his wife Nymbulda, both of whom were Yaraldi speakers.

1 portrait in the collection

Making Portraits

Previous exhibition, 2004

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

Nancy Wake AC

Nancy Wake AC (1912–2011) was one of the most-decorated women of the Second World War.

1 portrait in the collection

Vivan Sundaram

by Rakhee Balaram

Artist essays

Born in 1943 in Simla, Vivan Sundaram’s long career has given him opportunities to work in a range of mediums – painting, installation, assemblage, photography, digital media and film.

International issue

Michael Desmond looks at the history of the Vanity Fair magazine in conjunction with the exhibition Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008

Grateful admiration and brotherly love

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite

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.

Margaret Robertson, c. 1863

Batchelder & O'Neill

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Malcolm Robertson in memory of William Thomas Robertson 2018
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Self portrait as Sarah Wisse, Transported

Self portrait as Sarah Wisse, Transported, 1996

Margaret Woodward

Magazine article by Malcolm Robertson, 2011

Gift of the Karmel family in memory of Lena and Peter Karmel 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Miss Robertson of Colac (Dolly), 1885-86

Brothers on farms

Malcolm Robertson tells the family history of one of Australia's earliest patrons of the arts, his Scottish born great great great grandfather, William Robertson.

Stevie Wright, 2003 (printed 2005)

Gregory McBean

Magazine article by India Bednall, 2015

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Dan the man

Martin Philbey’s portrait of Dan Sultan.

Lady Anne Maria Barkly

Archived media releases 2012

Anne Maria Barkly (1838-1932) was the second wife of Sir Henry Barkly, Governor of Victoria from December 1856 to September 1863.

1 portrait in the collection

Animation 1 from the series Hereinbefore, 2012 by Laura Moore

iD Digital Portraiture Award winner announced

2 August 2012

The inaugural winner of the $10,000 iD Digital Portraiture Award was announced this morning at the National Portrait Gallery.

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.

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

For the boys

Magazine article by Alistair McGhie, 2011

The photographs from Matthew Sleeth's tour of duty series look more like advertisements than images of war.

Ned Kelly death mask, date unknown

an unknown artist after Maximilian Kreitmayer

Portrait, cast plaster

Collection: National Portrait Gallery Study Collection, Canberra
Gift of John Molony 2018

Angus and the late Peter C. Trumble, 1965, still then a firm advocate of the detachable collar.

Dementia and the arts

That principle of equity of access has ever since been a noble aspiration for all public art museums, as it is for us here at the National Portrait Gallery.

Henry Wade

Henry Wade (1810–1854), surveyor, was trained in surveying at Dublin College before being employed as a civilian assistant by the Royal Engineers Corps.

1 portrait in the collection

Dr B Marika AO

Archived media releases 2014

Dr B Marika AO (1954–2021), Yolgnu leader, printmaker, arts administrator, environmentalist and cultural activist, was a member of the renowned Marika family of artists and activists.

2 portraits in the collection

Macquarie Digital Portraiture Award 2014

22 August 2014

Press releases for media.

William P. Dowling

William Paul Dowling (1824–1877) is thought to have studied art in his native Dublin before settling in London, where he worked as a draughtsman while trying to establish himself as a portraitist.

1 portrait in the collection

Elizabeth Roberts

Elizabeth Roberts (1812–1833) was the daughter of Warwickshire-born William Roberts (1754–1819) and his wife, Jane (née Longhurst, c.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Ambrose Patterson, 1901-1902

Hugh Ramsay

Magazine article by Andrew Mayo, 2020

Gift of the Estate of John Oswald Wicking 2003

Fly fishing for Atlantic Salmon, Iceland, 2015 Josh Hutchins

Fisheye

Andrew Mayo explores the portrait piscatorial, with help from two of its most creative practitioners.

Lustre, held by a Groom, ca. 1762 by George Stubbs

Stubbs and the horse

One of the chief aims of George Stubbs, 1724–1806, the late Judy Egerton’s great 1984–85 exhibition at the Tate Gallery was to provide an eloquent rebuttal to Josiah Wedgwood’s famous remark of 1780: “Noboby suspects Mr Stubs [sic] of painting anything but horses & lions, or dogs & tigers.”

Clara Crosbie, c. 1885

Arthur William Burman

Portrait, albumen paper photograph on carte de visite

Gift of John McPhee 2018

Sir John Young, c. 1862

Freeman Brothers

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Showing character

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2016

Joanna Gilmour on Tom Durkin playing with Melbourne's manhood.

Captain W Kinghorne, 1834

Thomas James Lempriere

Archived media releases 2019

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by The Ian Potter Foundation 2007

Update on Temporary Closure of the National Portrait Gallery

15 April 2019

The National Portrait Gallery will close its doors from Tuesday 23 April 2019, but the public are still able to experience the home of portraiture during the four-month closure.

Adrian Rawlins

Archived media releases 2020

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

1 portrait in the collection

Presenting… Shirley Purdie’s Ngalim-Ngalimbooroo Ngagenybe

Wednesday 27 May 2020

The National Portrait Gallery this week launches an online exhibition of Shirley Purdie’s remarkable self-portrait Ngalim-Ngalimbooroo Ngagenybe to coincide with Reconciliation Week.

HM Queen Elizabeth II, 2001

Polly Borland

Magazine article by Tara James, 2022

Purchased 2002

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.

Lucy Escott, c. 1861

Dalton's Royal Photographic Gallery

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite, hand coloured on card

Purchased 2009

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.

Twenty new portraits marking Portrait Gallery’s twentieth birthday

21 August 2018

Archived media releases 2019

To celebrate the National Portrait Gallery’s twentieth anniversary as an institution, twenty portraits of outstanding Australian individuals have been commissioned for the permanent collection. This is the largest undertaking for the Gallery’s commissioning program in its twenty-year existence.

Summertime Fun at the National Portrait Gallery

4 January 2019

Escape the heat this summer and step inside the National Portrait Gallery for an array of family-fun activities. From storytelling and drawing to music and art, there’s something for everyone to enjoy at the Gallery.

Gustavus Brooke, c. 1865

Burman and Son

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Installation of ‘Face to Face: The New Normal’ at Wagga Wagga Regional Gallery, 2021 Vic McEwan

Facing the feeling

Portrait, albumen paper photograph on carte de visite

Penelope Grist explores the interplay between medicine and portraiture in Vic McEwan’s Face to Face: The New Normal.

The Burke and Wills Monument, 1869

Thomas Foster Chuck

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Leigh Bowery, 1984

Robyn Beeche

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

Gift of Claudia Hyles, Dr Christiane Lawin-Bruessel, Gwenda Matthews, Gael Newton, Anne O'Hehir, Susan Smith and Dominic Thomas in memory of our friend, Robyn Beeche 2016

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.

Living Memory – National Photographic Portrait Prize extended to January 2022

6 September 2021

Archived media releases 2021

In light of recent and ongoing gallery closures brought on by the COVID pandemic, the NPG’s 2021 National Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition season will be extended until 16 January next year.

Lord Kitchener

Imperial strategist

Magazine article by Karen Quinlan AM, 2019

Once central to military strategy and venerated in patriotic households, Lord Kitchener is now largely forgotten.

Girl with Cigarette, c. 1925 by Agnes Goodsir

Agnes enigma

Karen Quinlan considers the case of Agnes Goodsir, whose low profile in Australia belies her overseas acclaim.

Travis Giles, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia, 2010 by Nikki Toole

Mind and body

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2012

Christopher Chapman interviews photographer Nikki Toole about her bold and controlled portraits of skateboarders in the exhibition Skater.

Kath Walker [Oodgeroo Noonuccal], 1965

Clif Peir

Portrait, oil on board

Gift of Richard Brian Close, Githabul people, Woodenbong 2000. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

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

18 October 2018

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2015

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

A.I.

Christopher Chapman ponders our digital identity and selfhood.

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.

Before hand

Hosting a touring exhibition

How is it done? How do artists capture someone’s presence and personality? What is the nature of this relationship? What does it feel like to be a sitter for a portrait in the national collection?

William Robertson and Martha Mary Robertson

William Robertson and Martha Mary Robertson, 1863

William Edward Kilburn

Portrait, carte de visite photograph on card

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

Star signs

Magazine article by Barry York, 2018

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

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

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

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

Atul Bhalla

by Khavita Singh

Artist essays

Atul Bhalla was born in 1964 in New Delhi. He frequently combines photography, installation, sculpture, video, painting and performance to question the human relationship with the natural and constructed environment.

Surface tension

Joanna Gilmour on the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2013.

Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, 2002

Tim Johnson

Portrait, oil and polymer vinyl paint on canvas

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2002

Madame Sibly, Phrenologist and Mesmerist

Madame Sibly, Phrenologist and Mesmerist, c. 1870

James E. Bray

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite photograph

Purchased 2017

Virginia Woolf, 1902 George Charles Beresford

Love my way

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2022

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

Reflections on portraiture

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2004

An extract from the 2004 Nuala O'Flaaherty Memorial Lecture at the Queen Victoria Musuem and Art Gallery in Launceston in which Andrew Sayers reflects on the unique qualities of a portrait gallery.

Anna Meares, 2018

by Narelle Autio

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

Commissioned with funds provided by King & Wood Mallesons 2018

Mr Movies - Bill Collins OAM, 2009

Evert Ploeg

Portrait, oil on linen

Gift of Joan Collins and the Todd-Wilson family in memory of Bill Collins 2019. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

The Fairfax Gift

This article examines the portraits gifted to the National Portrait Gallery by Fairfax Holdings in 2003.

Queen Elizabeth II

Magazine article by Dr Frances Borzello, 2001

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022) was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, who subsequently became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

4 portraits in the collection

Personal Politics

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

Charles Blondin, 1874

Timothy Noble

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Arnold Shore

Arnold Shore, a lifelong inhabitant of Melbourne, was apprenticed to a stained glass and leadlight company called Brooks, Robinson soon after leaving school at the age of twelve.

2 portraits in the collection

William Henry Harvey

William Henry Harvey (1811-1866), botanist, formed a boyhood passion for natural history which was encouraged at Ballitore School, County Kildare.

1 portrait in the collection

Hattie Shepparde, 1872

Bardwell's Royal Studio

Magazine article by Catherine McDonough, 2006

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

Start Your Engines...

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

Henry Squires, c. 1861

Dalton's Royal Photographic Gallery

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite, hand coloured on card

Purchased 2009

John Flaus

Magazine article by Professor Stephen FitzGerald AO, 2016

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

Recollections of a sinologist sitter

Professor Stephen Fitzgerald, Australia’s first Ambassador to China, traces the historical course from sino-australian cultural engagement to a maturing Australian identity.

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.

William St. Leonards Robertson, c. 1869

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Malcolm Robertson in memory of William Thomas Robertson 2018
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Hugo Weaving as Horatio Farrat by Ben King Film: The Dressmaker, 2015

If you love movies, you’ll love Starstruck!

8 August 2017

Archived media releases 2017

In an unprecedented partnership, the National Portrait Gallery and National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) present a new star-studded exhibition, Starstruck: Australian Movie Portraits.

Intense identity

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

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

Technical terminology

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2010

Michael Desmond introduces some of the ideas behind the exhibition Present Tense: An imagined grammar of portraiture in the digital age.

I'm not there

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2008

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

Queen Alexandra and Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia, Hvidore, circa 1908 by Mary Steen

The cost of living luxuriously

Archived media releases 2021

In 1904, the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia purchased as a gift for her sister, Queen Alexandra, a fan composed of two-color gold, guilloché enamel, mother-of-pearl, blond tortoiseshell, gold sequins, silk, cabochon rubies, and rose diamonds from the House of Fabergé in Saint Petersburg.

Australian Love Stories

4 January 2021

A major new exhibition celebrating love in all its guises. Opening 20 March 2021.

How to be a boy

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2011

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

Peripheral vision

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2020

Aimee Board chats to emerging photographer Charles Dennington.

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

Black and white history

Explore The Popular Pet Show

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

Davida Allen

Going around a gallery with a child, we point to a painting of a dog and brightly ask ‘What’s that?’ If they don’t say ‘A dog’, we tell them that’s what it is. We don’t say it’s a shape inscribed by an artist that’s popularly understood to signify a dog. That’d only serve to foster a smarty-pants.

In good company

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

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

Unboxed

Magazine article by Sandra Bruce, 2022

Sandra Bruce explores a new acquisition that has within it a story of interconnectivities in the Australian art world.

101 photographic portraits

Magazine article by Michelle Fracaro, 2004

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

Darren McDonald

Explore The Popular Pet Show

The wild balancing act of McDonald’s home décor (is that there as a joke? where do I actually sit down? is this ironic or what? what a lovely photo of Darren and Robin in Europe!) is reflected in his own personality.

People are people

Magazine article by Sandra Bruce, 2022

Sandra Bruce chats with seven-time NPPP finalist Chris Budgeon about photography, guitars and representing the human story.

Donated duo

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

Dr Sarah Engledow writes about the gift of two striking paintings by the Australian artist Ken Done AM.

Talking heads

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

Very fine and very like

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2004

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?

Capturing the Mouse

Nancy Wake AC (b. 1912), one of the most decorated women of World War 2, earned the name the 'White Mouse' for her maddening ability to evade the Gestapo.

Top shot that

Magazine article by Gideon Haigh, 2009

Gideon Haigh discusses portraits of Australian cricketers from the early 20th century

The man behind the art

Magazine article by Giles Auty, 2002

Giles Auty introduces British painter John Wonnacott who will talk at the National Portrait Gallery on 2 November 2002.

Duty bound

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

Joanna Gilmour explores the life of colonial women Lady Ellen Stirling, Eliza Darling, Lady Eliza Arthur, Elizabeth Macquarie and Lady Jane Franklin.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018

8 March 2018

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

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

Waterloo and Mrs. Moore

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

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.

Uncommon Australians

Magazine article by Sam Bowker, 2007

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

On active service

The National Portrait Gallery has acquired an evocative depiction of soldier Peter Cosgrove by the Victorian-based painter, printmaker and sculptor Rick Amor.

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Magazine article by Mette Skougaard, 2006

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), army officer and hero, was the prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1828 to 1830.

1 portrait in the collection

Australian visit in Denmark

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

What the tree saw: David Foster, 2018

by Jacqui Stockdale

Magazine article by Dimity Goldie, 2003

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

Portrait of a Modernist

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

Getting a head

Magazine article by Alexandra Roginski, 2015

Alexandra Roginski gets a feel for phrenology’s fundamentals.

Caroline Amelia Elizabeth
of Brunswick, 1804

Around the grounds

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2010

Anne Sanders writes about the exhibitions Victoria & Albert: Art & Love on display at the Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace and the retrospective of Sir Thomas Lawrence at the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Harriet Schwarzrock: spaces between movement and stillness

10 February 2021

Archived media releases 2021

To celebrate the new exhibition Australian Love Stories, renowned Australian glass artist Harriet Schwarzrock has been commissioned to make a large-scale installation reflecting on the role the heart plays as our emotional centre.

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.

The National Portrait Gallery's 20th birthday party

The National Portrait Gallery's 20th Anniversary

Archived media releases 2015

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.

L. Gordon Darling AC CMG

31 August 2015

The Chairman, Board, Director and all the Staff of the National Portrait Gallery mourn the loss of our Founding Patron, who died peacefully in Melbourne this morning. He was 94.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018 winner announced

23 March 2018

Magazine article by Stephen Dupont, 2008

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.

Axe Me Biggie

Australian photojournalist Stephen Dupont's Afghanistan project captures the human experience of a country in reconstruction.

Insightful

Magazine article by Robert McFarlane, 2004

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

Yanyangkari Roma Butler and Yangi Yangi Fox from Irrunyju (Wingellina), Western Australia, 2017 Rhett Hammerton

Weaving identity

Magazine article by Rebecca Ray, 2022

Rebecca Ray explores the way identity, belonging and connectedness are translated through materiality in First Nations portraiture.

Tan Le, 2018

by John Tsiavis

Magazine article by Jane Kinsman, 2013

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

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.

The Writer: Peter Goldsworthy, 2018

by Deidre But-Husaim

Magazine article by Johanna McMahon, 2019

Commissioned with funds provided by Jillian Broadbent AO and Dr Helen Nugent AO 2018.

Dupain detective

Johanna McMahon revels in history and mystery in pursuit of a suite of unknown portrait subjects.

Meeting by Murder

Magazine article by Yvonne Audette AM, 2005

The story behind two colonial portraits; a lithograph of captain and convict John Knatchbull and newspaper illustration of Robert Lowe, Viscount Sherbrooke.

Small worlds

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

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

Figurative foundation

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

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

Their brilliant careers

Magazine article by Jenny Gall, 2017

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

Handing on the baton

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

Mal Meninga, 2018

by Peter Hudson

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

Commissioned with funds provided by Maliganis Edwards Johnson and Alan Dodge AM 2018

Part of the crew of His Majesty's Ship Guardian endeavouring to escape in the boats

South-bound and down

Joanna Gilmour recounts the story of ill-fated sea voyages in the early stages of the Antipodean colony.

Obey

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

Michael Desmond investigates the street art of Shepard Fairey, who was catapulted to fame during the 2008 presidential election with his resonant image of Barack Obama.

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.

Hot Scots

Magazine article by Christopher Baker, 2013

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

Snap chat

Magazine article by Anne O'Hehir, 2019

2019 National Photographic Portrait Prize judge Anne O’Hehir looks beneath the surface of this year’s entries.

The line of fire

Magazine article by Michelle Fracaro, 2005

Michelle Fracaro examines the life of World War II nurse Margaret Anderson, whose portrait by Napier Waller is in the NPG collection.

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

In the thick of it

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

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.

History

About us

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

Fred Hilmer, 2018

by Evert Ploeg

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

Commissioned with funds provided by Dr Helen Nugent AO 2018

Alternative virtue

Joanna Gilmour presents John Kay’s portraits of a more infamous side of Edinburgh.

Simon Harsent

Finalist interviews

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?

Mrs NR Mackintosh (Anne) by Ruth Hollick

Natural, artistic and unselfconscious

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2016

Angus Trumble gazes at the once bright star of photographer Ruth Hollick.

Blue Collar Icon

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

Dr Sarah Engledow delves into the life of union leader Pat Mackie who is depicted in a portrait by Nancy Borlase AM.

Portrait of Elizabeth Gould with a raptor, possibly a red-footed falcon (Falco vespertinus), painted in her lifetime Artist unknown

Birds of a feather

Magazine article by Annette Twyman, 2021

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

Queen Victoria, 1901

The Illustrated London News after Jean Joseph Benjamin-Constant

Portrait, photogravure on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary, 2006 by Ralph Heimans

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.

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.

Louis Claude de Saulces de Freycinet

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

Louis-Claude Desaulses de Freycinet (1779–1842), hydrographer and cartographer, sailed with Nicolas Baudin on the Expédition aux terres australes, a journey of discovery, commissioned by Napoléon, to the unknown southern coast of New Holland.

1 portrait in the collection

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

Take thy face hence

Joanna Gilmour travels through time to explore the National Portrait Gallery London’s masterpieces in Shakespeare to Winehouse.

Jumpstart

Magazine article by Helena Bezzina, 2009

Jessica Herrington won the inaugural National Youth Self Portrait Prize in 2008 with a work about the difficulty we have revealing ourselves in front of the camera.

Portrait of Thea Proctor, 1905 by George Lambert

The real Thea

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

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

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.

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.

Drawing power

Magazine article by Eileen Adams, 2006

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

Beyond the bow tie

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2017

Nathan Faiman delves into the rich life story and legacy of Alan Goldberg.

Costantini's convictions

Jo Gilmour uncovers endearing authenticity in the art of a twice-transported Tasmanian.

The hands have it

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2016

Angus Trumble treats the gallery’s collection with a dab hand.

Une Femme Amoureuse, Self portrait as Mireille Mathieu, 2022 Yvette Coppersmith

You, looking at me

Magazine article by Elspeth Pitt, 2022

Elspeth Pitt chats with Archibald Prize-winning artist Yvette Coppersmith about performance, coincidences and the intersection of art and life.

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

Shiny, happy people

Magazine article by Glynis Jones, 2022

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

Facing the inferno

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

Tara James speaks to Cam Neville about his portrait series, Firefighters.

The bright-eyed Mariner

A new colonial portrait brings a zealous captain near.

Hottie's Snifter to port

Magazine article by Peter Jeffrey, 2016

Peter Jeffrey trips the hound nostalgic.

Through blue eyes

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

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.

Regarding Henrys

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

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

Painter John Brack with Professor Alex Mitchell and Sir Garfield Barwick, c. 1977

Jozef Vissel

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2006

Gift of the Jozef Vissel 2015

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.

Andrew Sayers AM FAHA

13 October 2015

Archived media releases 2015

The Chairman, Board, Director and staff mourn the loss of the National Portrait Gallery's inaugural director.

Alison Rehfisch