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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

Marianne Egan and her children Gertrude Evans Cahuac and Henry William Cahuac
Marianne Egan and her children Gertrude Evans Cahuac and Henry William Cahuac
Marianne Egan and her children Gertrude Evans Cahuac and Henry William Cahuac

Marianne Egan and her children Gertrude Evans Cahuac and Henry William Cahuac, 1857

an unknown artist
Portrait, oil on canvas

Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family 2014

Len Evans
Len Evans
Len Evans

Len Evans, 1978 (printed 2003)

Jon Lewis
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Cadel Evans

Cadel Evans

In their own words
In their own words

Recorded 2016

Cadel Evans

'I believed in myself'
Portrait story

Australian champion cyclist Cadel Evans discusses his career.

Aubrey Beardsley, c. 1894 Frederick Henry Evans

Aubrey Beardsley

Frederick Henry Evans
Image
Cadel Evans
Cadel Evans
Cadel Evans

Cadel Evans, 2008

Matthÿs Gerber
Portrait, oil on canvas

Commissioned 2008

Ada Evans
Ada Evans
Ada Evans

Ada Evans, c. 1902-1911

The Swiss Studios, Sydney
Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper mounted on card

Purchased 2021

Sir Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks

Sir Joseph Banks, 1810

William Evans, Anthony Cardon after Sir Thomas Lawrence
Portrait, engraving on paper

Purchased with funds provided by the Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Society Canberra 2000

Cadel Evans

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.

George Rose
George Rose
George Rose

George Rose, 1811

Giovanni Vendramini, T Cadell & W Davies after William Evans, Sir William Beechey
Portrait, engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

The Rt Hon. Henry Robert Stewart, Lord Viscount Castlereagh, MRIA & FRS
The Rt Hon. Henry Robert Stewart, Lord Viscount Castlereagh, MRIA & FRS
The Rt Hon. Henry Robert Stewart, Lord Viscount Castlereagh, MRIA & FRS

The Rt Hon. Henry Robert Stewart, Lord Viscount Castlereagh, MRIA & FRS, 1814

Henry Meyer, T Cadell & W Davies after Sir Thomas Lawrence, William Evans
Portrait, engraving on paper

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

Robert Fitzgerald
Robert Fitzgerald
Robert Fitzgerald

Robert Fitzgerald, c. 1860s (printed c. 1890s)

an unknown artist
Portrait, albumen silver photograph

Gift in memory of Richard Kelynack Evans 2010. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Portrait 30

December 2008 - February 2009
Magazine

This issue of Portrait Magazine features the inaugural hang of the new National Portrait Gallery, Cadel Evans, Stuart O'Grady, Robbie McEwen, Casey Stoner, Bruce Petty and more.

Mia Boe standing on striped rugs on a concrete floor, in a room with scattered paintings around the walls

Mia Boe

Artists and Collectives

Mia Boe is a Narrm/Melbourne-based artist known for her haunting and evocative painting practice, informed by her Butchulla and Burmese ancestry.

Atong Atem standing behind a wooden table and next to a large leafy green plant

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.

Marianne Egan and her children Gertrude Evans Cahuac and Henry William Cahuac

Maritime disaster leaves poignant picture

Devotion

Absence rends the heart asunder

Sir Sidney Kidman
Sir Sidney Kidman
Sir Sidney Kidman

Sir Sidney Kidman, 1932

Samuel Woolf
Portrait, charcoal heightened with white chalk on paper

Purchased 2009

Richard Fitzgerald
Richard Fitzgerald
Richard Fitzgerald

Richard Fitzgerald, c. 1838

Edmund Edgar
Portrait, pencil and watercolour on paper

Gift in memory of Richard Kelynack Evans 2010. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Anders Ousback
Anders Ousback
Anders Ousback

Anders Ousback, 1986 (printed 2018)

Gary Ede
Portrait, inkjet print on paper

Purchased 2018

Lauren in Red, 2003

Is the truth of portraiture vested exclusively in likeness?

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

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

Portrait of Charles Blackman
Portrait of Charles Blackman
Portrait of Charles Blackman

Portrait of Charles Blackman, 1979

Judy Cassab AO CBE
Portrait, oil on canvas

Gift of Warwick Evans 2021. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Dave Tice
Dave Tice
Dave Tice

Dave Tice, 1978 (printed 2018)

Gary Ede
Portrait, inkjet print on paper

Purchased 2018

Ned Kelly death mask

Sideshow Alley

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait
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.

Bon Scott & Angus Young, Atlanta, Georgia
Bon Scott & Angus Young, Atlanta, Georgia
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

Gustavus Brooke
Gustavus Brooke
Gustavus Brooke

Gustavus Brooke, c. 1865

Burman and Son
Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

David Combe and the portrait
David Combe and the portrait
David Combe and the portrait

David Combe and the portrait, 1983

Keith Looby
Portrait, oil on canvas

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

Monochromatic Self-Portrait, 2000 by Genevieve Preston

Headspace 1

Previous exhibition, 2000

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

Captain W Kinghorne
Captain W Kinghorne
Captain W Kinghorne

Captain W Kinghorne, 1834

Thomas James Lempriere
Portrait, oil on canvas

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

Lucy Escott
Lucy Escott
Lucy Escott

Lucy Escott, c. 1861

Dalton's Royal Photographic Gallery
Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite, hand coloured on card

Purchased 2009

Michelle Simmons

Michelle Simmons, 2018

by Selina Ou
General content

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

Reg Richardson AM

2015-17 Acquisition Fund

Annual Appeal

From 2015 to 2017 the Acquisition Fund was focussed on Reg Richardson AM by Mitch Cairns, a finalist in the Archibald Prize 2014, and a great example of minimalist portraiture.

Margaret Fulton

Masters of Fare

Chefs, winemakers, providores
Previous exhibition, 2004

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

Baz Luhrmann

Go glossy!

Magazine article by Katherine Russell, 2006

In association with the Glossy 2 exhibition, eight year 10,11 and 12 students spent two days transforming themselves into a variety of alter-egos in the first ever 8x10 Glossy Photo Shoot Workshop.

Audience in the Palace Theater c1943

Exposed: Voyeurism Surveillance and the camera since 1870

Magazine article by Sandra Phillips, 2010

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

Peter, Silverton, NSW, 2012 by Krystal Seigerman

Krystal Seigerman

Finalist interviews

The photograph was a brief, candid moment, which unfolded into a portrait. Peter and I were in Silverton, NSW, chatting as our students explored the town. The weak afternoon light suddenly became dramatic and defined, so I asked Peter if I could take his portrait.

Betty Cuthbert

Hop, skip, shoot

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2004

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

The vigil, 2011 by Anthony Anderton

Anthony Anderton

NPPP 2012 learning resource

An interview with the photographer.

Kaloti Parmjit, 2012 by Louise Whelan

Louise Whelan

Finalist interviews

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

Group photograph taken at the coronation of King George VI including Queen Elizabeth II, Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Queen Mother, 12 May 1937 by Hay Wrightson

Poise and Carats

About Face article

I keep going back to Cartier: The Exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia next door, and, within the exhibition, to Princess Marie Louise’s diamond, pearl and sapphire Indian tiara (1923), surely one of the most superb head ornaments ever conceived.

Leigh Bowery in Fur Coat

Hyperversity

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

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

Self-portrait, 2015 by Rod McNicol

A spectral sentience

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2019

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

Madame du Barry, 1791 by Richard Cosway

Little women

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

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

Chevalier d’Eon, 1792

All dressed up

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2013

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

The family

Big bouquet of Blackmans

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

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

Self portrait, 1980 
Alice Neel

Hard truths

Magazine article by Jennifer Higgie, 2022

Jennifer Higgie reveals how Alice Neel reinvigorated 20th century portraiture with her honest and perceptive depictions of the human experience.

Robyn Sweaney, 2016 by Mark Mohell

Robyn Sweaney

Explore The Popular Pet Show

Robyn's parents had two terriers, Wuff and Snuff. In spite of Snuff’s ominous name and a couple of close shaves – once, he jumped out of a moving car, and another time, on a long road trip, he was accidentally left behind at a petrol station – he outlived Wuff.

Helena Rubinstein in a red brocade Balenciaga gown

Study in scarlet

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2018

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

image not online

Portrait Donors

Listed by year
Honour board
Trevor Jamieson, 2016 by Brett Canet-Gibson

The more things change...

NPPP 2017 exhibition essay
General content

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

Helen Borthwick née Pearson

The personal and the historical

About Face article

Where do we draw a line between the personal and the historical? Although she died in Melbourne in 1975, when I was not quite eleven years old, I have the vividest memories of my maternal grandmother Helen Borthwick.

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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. Copyright in all materials and/or works comprising or contained within this website remains with the National Portrait Gallery and other copyright owners as specified.

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Requests for a reproduction of a work of art or other content can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

The National Portrait Gallery is an Australian Government Agency