Search / henry robinson smith

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

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

Portrait of Henry Vernon Crock AO, 1988

David Smith

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Henry Vernon Crock AO in memory of David Smith 2007
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Private practice

David Smith portrayed Dr Henry Crock without the accoutrements of an orthopaedic surgeon, adding to the National Portrait Gallery's collection of eminent Australian medical practitioners.

(James Smith / Joshua Smith) Chain of being, 2023-2024

Emily Hunt

Portrait, etching on paper

Purchased 2024

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

Francis Holl after Henry William Pickersgill

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

The Right Honourable Henry Goulburn MP, c. 1850

Portrait, steel engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Henry Bathurst, Earl Bathurst, 1810

Henry Meyer after Thomas Phillips

Portrait, soft ground etching on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Regarding Henrys

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

Sally Robinson

Sally Robinson, born in England, studied at the National Art School in Sydney from 1970 to 1973, and in the following year took up a position as designer at the Australian Museum in Sydney.

3 portraits in the collection

William Robinson AO

Portrait, colour lithograph on paper

William Robinson AO (b. 1936) is one of Australia's most distinguished and influential contemporary painters, known for his distinctive and prolific output as landscape painter in particular.

3 portraits in the collection

Self portrait with goose feathers, 2004

William Robinson AO

Purchased 2022

Midday in the squat, 2009

by Hannah Robinson

Portrait, colour lithograph on paper

Equestrian self portrait, 2004

William Robinson AO

Purchased 2022

Kevin at Midnight

James J. Robinson

Magazine article by Sally Robinson, 2017

The Artist's Mother, 2012 by Sally Robinson

Observation point

Every face is different and every face is fascinating, but I find an elderly one particularly intriguing.

Sally Robinson

'Expect a polite refusal'

Artist Sally Robinson describes her career and the creation of her portrait of Tim Winton.

Dorothy Robinson Napangardi

Dorothy Robinson Napangardi (c. 1956–2013) was an influential Pintupi/Warlpiri artist who developed a distinctive abstract monochromatic style across the course of her career.

1 portrait in the collection

Tim Winton, 2019

Tim Winton, 2019

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal 2020

William Robinson

Explore The Popular Pet Show

Unique in the world, perhaps, is a bronze sculpture that fuses the age-old human portrait bronze tradition, and the later genre of the bronze pug figurine: that’d be William Robinson’s Self-portrait with pug.

William Robinson, 1994

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

Judy, 2012

by Sally Robinson

Glenn McGrath, 2003

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Gift of the artist 2003

Angry Anderson, 2006

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2010

Dorothy Robinson Napangardi, 2010

Portrait, inkjet print on cotton rag paper

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

Pigeon coup

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2006

Glenn McGrath makes a strong impact on the English batsmen and the walls of the National Portrait Gallery.

Jean Francois de Galaup de la Perouse, Commodore in the French Navy

Jean Francois de Galaup de la Perouse, Commodore in the French Navy, 1798

James Heath, G G & J Robinson

Magazine article by Gareth Knapman, 2017

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

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.

Study for Portrait of W S Robinson, 1952

Sir William Dobell OBE

Portrait, oil on board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2003

Joshua Smith

Joshua Smith studied sculpture with Rayner Hoff and took classes in drawing and painting at Julian Ashton's Sydney Art School.

6 portraits in the collection

Ben Roberts-Smith VC MG

Ben Roberts-Smith VC MG (b. 1978), former Australian Army soldier, is the recipient of the Medal for Gallantry in 2006, the Victoria Cross in 2011 and the Commendation for Distinguished Service in 2013.In 2017, Roberts-Smith’s military service came under scrutiny as a result of an inquiry – commonly known as the Brereton Report – into questions of unlawful conduct on the part of Australian military personnel in Afghanistan.

1 portrait in the collection

The painter transmogrified and Mrs Smith

The painter transmogrified and Mrs Smith, 1973

Portrait, oil on canvas laid down on masonite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Estate of Eric Smith 2019

Dick Smith

Dick Smith (b. 1944), businessman, aviator, film-maker and explorer, developed interests in radio and the bush as a boy.

2 portraits in the collection

Eric Smith

Eric Smith (1919-2017), painter, was born in Brunswick, Melbourne, and trained in commercial art at the Brunswick Technical College before serving in the army during World War 2.

6 portraits in the collection

Julian Smith

Julian Smith, surgeon and photographer, came to Australia with his family from England at the age of three.

2 portraits in the collection

Tommy Smith

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

2 portraits in the collection

David Smith

David Smith, painter, draughtsman, printmaker and teacher, was born in Lowestoft, Suffolk, where he attended the Technical School and the Lowestoft and Norwich Schools of Art.

1 portrait in the collection

Will, 2010

by Martin Smith

Bernard Smith

Bernard Smith (1916-2011) was one of Australia's most important twentieth-century art historians and an influential cultural commentator.

2 portraits in the collection

Sydney Ure Smith

Sydney Ure Smith, publisher, was responsible for the establishment of Art in Australia in 1916-1942 and the journals The Home and Australian National Journal.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Gerard Smith

Sir Gerard Smith (1839-1920), governor, was educated at Eton before purchasing a commission as an ensign and lieutenant in the Scots Fusilier Regiment of Foot Guards, with whom he served in Canada in 1863-1864.

1 portrait in the collection

Robin Smith

Robin Smith (1927-2024) grew up in rural New Zealand, and studied arts and fine arts at Canterbury University before beginning to write and illustrate adventure and natural history stories.

1 portrait in the collection

Heide Smith

Heide Smith took up photography as a young girl in Germany in 1948, when her uncle gave her a Zeiss Ikon camera.

3 portraits in the collection

Beau D. Smith

Beau Dean Riley Smith is a Wiradjuri and Gamillaraay man, born in Dubbo.

1 portrait in the collection

Shirley Smith AO MBE

Portrait, oil on primed masonite

Shirley 'Mum Shirl' Smith AO OBE (1921–1998), humanitarian, was a Wiradjuri woman.

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait at 85, 1990

Joshua Smith

Gift of the late May Ralph 2019

Joshua Smith

Recorded 1965

Bernard Smith

Recorded 1975

Eric Smith

Recorded 1962

Henry Gibson Dan AM (1929–2020), universally known as Seaman Dan, was a Torres Strait Islander singer/songwriter who grew up on Thursday Island.

1 portrait 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

Sydney Ure Smith, 1948

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, half tone on paper

Purchased 1999

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Captain Charles Ulm

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith MC AFC

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith MC AFC (1897- last seen 1935) and Captain Charles Ulm (1898-last seen 1934) together founded Australian National Airlines.

3 portraits in the collection

John Firth Smith

John Firth-Smith (b. 1943) is a Sydney abstract painter. In the early 1960s he won a number of 'young artist' prizes for his paintings of yachts on Sydney Harbour, but by 1968 his work was becoming increasingly abstract, featuring large fields of opaque colour.

2 portraits in the collection

Grace Cossington Smith OBE

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

1 portrait in the collection

Stephen Murray-Smith

Stephen Murray-Smith (1922-1988), writer and editor, was educated at Geelong Grammar and the University of Melbourne before serving in New Guinea during World War 2.

1 portrait in the collection

TJ Smith and Tulloch, 1960 (printed 2003)

Ern McQuillan OAM

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

John Raphael Smith

John Raphael Smith worked in various drapery establishments and painted miniatures before turning to engraving in London.

1 portrait in the collection

Dick Smith, 1999 (printed 2012)

Rob Tuckwell

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Mike Smith, 2007 (printed 2013)

Peter Eve

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Eve 2013

Leah King-Smith

Contributing artists

Born: 1957, Gympie, QLD
Works: Brisbane

Joshua Smith, c. 1955

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

Tommy Smith, 1986 (printed 2018)

Gary Ede

Purchased 2018

Stephen Murray-Smith

Recorded 1961

Grace Cossington Smith

Recorded 1965

Little family, 2019

Gene Hart-Smith

Untitled 11, 2018

by Daniel Boetker-Smith

Grace Cossington Smith OBE

Self portrait, 1948

Portrait, oil on cardboard

Purchased 2002

'Mal' Meninga, Rugby League, 1991 (printed 2017)

Heide Smith

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, hand coloured on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Henry Weigall Jnr

Henry Weigall Junior (1829-1925) was the son of sculptor, cameo engraver and medallist Henry Weigall (1800-1883).

1 portrait in the collection

Henry Talbot

Henry Fox Talbot (1920-1999), photographer, was born Henry Tichauer. The son of a middle-class Jewish family, he changed his name after fleeing Germany and being 'volunteered' out of England on the Dunera.

2 portraits in the collection

Henry Bosch, National Security Commission

Henry Bosch AO

Henry Bosch AO is the former Chairman of the National Companies and Securities Commission and was Chairman of the Working Group on Corporate Practices and Conduct.

1 portrait in the collection

Henry Bathurst KG PC

Henry Bathurst, Third Earl Bathurst KG PC (1762-1834) was a lord of the Admiralty from 1783 to 1789; a lord of the Treasury from 1789 to 1791; and commissioner of the Board of Control from 1793 to 1802.

1 portrait in the collection

Henry H. Glover

English lithographer and watercolourist Henry Heath Glover (c. 1810-1858) emigrated to South Australia in 1848 with his two sons - one of whom, Henry Heath Glover Junior (1828-1904) was also an illustrator and printmaker.

1 portrait in the collection

Henry Kendall

Henry (Thomas Henry) Kendall (1839-1882) was once regarded as the finest poet Australia had produced.

1 portrait in the collection

Henry Room

Henry Room, painter, grew up in Birmingham, connected with a prominent evangelical family.

2 portraits in the collection

Delegates to the Constitutional Convention, Sydney 1891

Sir Henry Norman

Sir Henry Norman was Governor Queensland at the Constitutional Convention, Sydney, 1891.

1 portrait in the collection

Henry Lawson

Henry Lawson (1867-1922), one of Australia's defining authors, is best known for his short stories and ballads depicting the hardship of bush life.

6 portraits in the collection

Henry Meyer

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

2 portraits in the collection

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

Henry (Harry) Donnan (member of the 1896 Australian Cricket Team)

Henry Donnan

Henry (Harry) Donnan (1864-1956) notched up a total of 94 first class cricket matches between 1887 and 1901.

1 portrait in the collection

Henry Hopkins

Henry Hopkins (1787–1870), merchant and philanthropist, opened his first shop on Elizabeth Street in Hobart soon after arriving in the colony in September 1822.

1 portrait in the collection

Henry Mundy

Artist Henry Mundy arrived in Van Diemen’s Land in 1831 and took up a position as teacher of drawing, French and music at Ellinthorp Hall, a school near Ross established ‘with a view to the improvement of Young Ladies’.

4 portraits in the collection

Henry Mayer

Henry Mayer (1919-1991) was Professor of Government at Sydney University from the 1960s to 1980s.

2 portraits in the collection

Henry Crock AO

Henry 'Harry' Crock AO (1929-2018), surgeon and educator, attended school and university in Perth and studied further in Melbourne, where he won the Rector's Medal for Debating at Newman College as well as academic honours including the Gold Medal for Anatomy and the Ryan Scholarship and Medal in Medicine and Surgery.

1 portrait in the collection

Henry Searle

Henry Searle (1886–1889), a sculler known as the ‘Clarence River Comet’, took up rowing as a boy as a means of getting himself and his siblings to and from school.

1 portrait in the collection

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

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

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

Sir Tim Berners-Lee

Sean Henry

Bernard Smith, 1985

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on cardboard

Purchased 1998

Ben Roberts-Smith, 2017

Julian Kingma

Commissioned in 2018 with funds raised through the 2020 project

Treania Smith, c. 1937

Helen Stewart

Gift in memory of Tesse Lang by her husband Moshe Lang and family 2024. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Dick Smith, Sydney, 2000 (printed 2004)

John Elliott

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

The Surgeon (Dr Julian Smith), 1934

Harold Cazneaux

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Bernard Smith, n.d.

Arthur Boyd AC OBE

Gift of an anonymous donor 2002

Mum Shirl (Mrs Shirley Smith), 1988

Juno Gemes

Gift of the artist 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Hendrik Kolenberg, 1995

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Estate of Eric Smith 2019

Joshua Smith, 1994

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

Get Wet series (Greedy Smith)

Joshua Smith, Woolloomooloo, Sydney, 1985 (printed 2000)

Portrait, calico, glazed ceramic, gold lustre, wood, nylon string, synthetic wig, found textiles and bronze

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

(James Smith) Homunculus trance, 2023-2024

Emily Hunt

Purchased 2024

Creatures of Leisure series (Greedy Smith)

Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Gerard Smith, Governor of Western Australia, c. 1890

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on cabinet card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Peter Sculthorpe, 1982

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2004

Richard Divall OBE in the church mantle of the Order of Malta

Richard Divall OBE in the church mantle of the Order of Malta, 1999

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Bequest of Richard Divall AO OBE 2017

Bill Northam, 1964 (printed 2004)

Robin Smith

Magazine article by Jessica Smith, 2009

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2004

Sketches and sermons

Jessica Smith looks at the 'fetching' portrait of Tasmania's first Anglican Bishop, Francis Russell Nixon by George Richmond

Neville Gruzman, 1968

Magazine article by Eric Smith, 2004

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2007

Creative space

Eric Smith describes the agony and finally the ecstasy of winning the 1982 Archibald Prize with the portrait of Peter Sculthorpe.

Portrait of Florence Broadhurst, 1968

Joshua Smith

Purchased 2007

Dymphna Clark, 1991

Heide Smith

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

The hoodie, 2021 (printed 2023)

Portrait, pigment print on paper

Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2023

John Shirlow, c. 1937

Julian Smith

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on cabinet card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Portrait of Henry Kendall, c. 1890-1894

S. Milbourn Jnr

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Jules Henry Roy Rousel

Jules Henry Roy Rousel (1897-1985) studied at the Royal Art Society School from 1912 to 1918 and the Slade School and RAS in London from 1935-1938.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Henry Brougham Loch

Henry Brougham Loch (1827-1900), governor, served in the British military and was involved in campaigns in India and the Crimea and missions to China.

1 portrait in the collection

Henry Stafford Northcote

Henry Stafford Northcote, Baron Northcote of Exeter (1846-1911), governor general, was educated at Eton and Oxford and joined the Foreign Office in his early twenties.

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

Hon. Sir Henry Parkes GCMG

The Hon Sir Henry Parkes GCMG (1815-1896) was five times premier of New South Wales between 1872 and 1891, and a consistent advocate for union of the colonies (Federation).

4 portraits in the collection

Richard Henry Horne

Poet Richard Henry Horne (1802–1884) arrived in Melbourne in 1852 hoping to make money on the goldfields but ended up instead in a variety of less remunerative prospects.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Henry Wylie Norman

Sir Henry Wylie Norman (1826–1904), governor and army officer, was born in London, the son of a merchant who conducted his business chiefly in India and the Caribbean.

1 portrait in the collection

Henry "Seaman" Dan, 2009

Nathan Kelly

Purchased 2010

The Cape of Good Hope ( Sir Henry Barkly)

Sir Henry Barkly GCMG KCB

Sir Henry Barkly GCMG KCB (1815-1898) started his career in business and politics before serving terms as governor of British Guiana and then Jamaica.

4 portraits in the collection

Henry John Rous

Henry John Rous (1795–1877), naval officer, racing enthusiast and politician, arrived in Sydney in February 1827 as the commander of the frigate HMS Rainbow.

1 portrait in the collection

Thomas Henry Huxley

Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–1895) travelled to Australia as a member of the expedition conducted by Owen Stanley on the Rattlesnake between 1846 and 1850.

2 portraits in the collection

William Henry Harvey

Portrait, watercolour, crayon, coloured pencil, gouache and fibre-tipped pen on paper

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

Henry Lawson,

Joe Greenberg

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001

Henry Bosch, National Security Commission,

Joe Greenberg

Portrait, watercolour, crayon, coloured pencil and gouache on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001

Aubrey Beardsley

Frederick Henry Evans

Stephen Murray-Smith, 1980

Fred Williams

Portrait, cast plaster, patinated

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lyn Williams AM 2011
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, 1932

Enid Fleming

Gift of the Sydney Airports Corporation 2001

John Firth-Smith, 1974

Lewis Morley

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

Manning's red socks, 1989 (printed 2012)

Heide Smith

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Heide Smith 2012

John Firth Smith, 1995

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

Surrounded by music, 2008

by Heide Smith

by Alan Hill and Kelly Hussey-Smith

Queen's Birthday Weekend, 2013

Magazine article by Dimity Goldie, 2003

Portrait of a Modernist

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

Henry Lingham, early 1900s

Mendelssohn of Melbourne

Portrait, sepia toned carbon print on card

Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

Henry Lawson, c. 1915

William Johnson

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Henry Lawson, c. 1915

William Johnson

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Henry Baynton Somer Gullett AM MC

Portrait, pencil, charcoal, pen and ink on paper

Henry Baynton Somer ‘Jo’ Gullett AM MC (1914-1999), soldier, politician, ambassador, farmer and author, was the son of Sir Henry Gullett, who was one of the Australian official historians of the First World War.

1 portrait in the collection

Henry Lawson, c. 1919

Lionel Lindsay

Purchased 2010

Henry Lawson, 1915

William Johnson

Purchased 2009

Henry Reynolds, 2012

Dave Tacon

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

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

Henry Wade, c. 1841

Portrait, oil on paperboard

Gift of the Wade and Hannah families 2013

Henry (Harry) Donnan (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

Henry Fullwood (Uncle Remus), 1919

George Lambert

Portrait, pencil on paper

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

Henry Lawson, 1919

Lionel Lindsay

Portrait, etching on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ted and Gina Gregg 2011

Henry Edwards, c. 1874

Bradley and Rulofson

Portrait, albumen photograph on cabinet card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Henry Mayer, 1965

Hugo Wolfsohn

Portrait, pen and ink on music sheet paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mrs Elaine Mayer and Ms Vicky Mayer 2011

Henry Krips, n.d.

Louis Kahan AO

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

Henry Mayer, 1965

Hugo Wolfsohn

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mrs Elaine Mayer and Ms Vicky Mayer 2011

Henry Baynton Somer ‘Jo’ Gullett

Recorded 1990

Henry Figueira, Glebe Island Bridge, Sydney

Henry Figueira, Glebe Island Bridge, Sydney, 1995 (printed 2000)

Portrait, oil on galvanised iron

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.

Young Mo (Roy Rene), 1977

Martin Sharp

Gift of Richard Wherrett 1998. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Susan Lord, c. 1840

Purchased 2015

Robert Kermode, c. 1840

Purchased 2008. The original frame for this work was donated to the National Portrait Gallery of Australia by the National Gallery of Victoria 2009.

Martha Kermode, c. 1840

Portrait, enamel on copper plate

Purchased 2008. The original frame for this work was donated to the National Portrait Gallery of Australia by the National Gallery of Victoria 2009.

Portrait of William Manning, c. 1821

Henry Bone

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2017

Political Cartooning

An interview with cartoonist Ron Tandberg about the tradition of caricature.

Major Thomas Lord, c. 1840

Purchased 2015

Carol Jerrems, 1973

Henry Talbot

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2015

Hendrik Kolenberg and Hector Gilliland in Eric's studio

Hendrik Kolenberg and Hector Gilliland in Eric's studio, c. 1993

International News Photos Inc

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Estate of Eric Smith 2019

Charles Kingsford Smith and crew of the Southern Cross before the east-west crossing of the Atlantic, June 1930

Charles Kingsford Smith and crew of the Southern Cross before the east-west crossing of the Atlantic, June 1930, 1930

Portrait, gouache on paper

Purchased 2019

Maisie, 1938-1939

Peter Purves Smith

Bequest of Lady Maisie Drysdale 2001

Be bold

Magazine article by Katherine Russell, 2007

The name of Florence Broadhurst, one of Australia’s most significant wallpaper and textile designers, is now firmly cemented in the canon of Australian art and design.

Sir Henry Barkly

Portrait, painted terracotta

An interview with former National Portrait Gallery Director, Andrew Sayers, who describes the portrait of Sir Henry Barkly by Thomas Clark.

'The crimson thread of kinship' Henry Parkes

'The crimson thread of kinship' Henry Parkes, c. 1898

Nelson Illingworth

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

Henry Bolte, 1969

Les Tanner, Gus McLaren

Portrait, glazed ceramic

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2004

Henry Parkes, 1892

H. Walter Barnett

Portrait, platinum photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Sir Henry Barkly, c. 1863

Batchelder & O'Neill

Portrait, albumen photograph carte de visite on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Portrait of Henry Hopkins, c. 1845

Thomas Griffiths Wainewright

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2013

Portrait of His Excellency Sir Henry Barkly, Governor of Victoria

Portrait of His Excellency Sir Henry Barkly, Governor of Victoria, c. 1864

Thomas Clark

Portrait, albumen silver photograph

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

Henry Chamberlain Russell and family at Sydney Observatory

Henry Chamberlain Russell and family at Sydney Observatory, c. 1895

Charles Bayliss

Gift of Joanna Russell Maher (née Windeyer) 2018

Sir Henry Parkes, c. 1889

Portrait, glass plate positive

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Adrian McGlusky 2013

Henry Parkes, 1900

Percy Spence

Portrait, pencil and pastel over brown ink wash on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Thomas Henry Huxley, c. 1870

Maull & Co Photographers

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2013

William Baker Ashton, First Governor of Adelaide Gaol

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

Henry H. Glover

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Matthew Burnett, c. 1865

Portrait, steel engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Douglas Mawson, 1933

Henry James Haley

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Gareth Mawson Thomas and Pamela Karran-Thomas of the Mawson family 2010
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

The Hon. Sir Francis Forbes, c. 1860

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on brown cardboard presentation mount

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

J.H. Roy Rousel, 1915

Appleby Studio

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Richard King 2008
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

The Hon. Sir James Dowling, c. 1860

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on brown cardboard presentation mount

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

JH Roy Rousel, 1915

Teslar Studios

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Richard King 2008
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Edward Hargraves, c. 1884

Henry King

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on cabinet card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

The Honorable Sir Frederick Darley, c. 1887

John Raphael Smith after Sir Benjamin West

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

Sir Joseph Banks, c. 1788

Batchelder & Company Photo

Purchased 2010

Richard Henry Horne, mid 1860s

Dalton's Royal Photographic Gallery

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

Henry Squires, c. 1861

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

Purchased 2009

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

William Henry Harvey, c. 1850

Thomas Herbert Maguire

Tom Durkin, The Weekly Times

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

A Low Comedian. "Keep your eye on your Father" [Henry Richard Harwood], 1874

Portrait, pencil on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

H. B. Gullett, c. 1939

Nora Heysen AM

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the family in memory of Penne Hackforth-Jones 2014

Reverend Robert Ross MD, Sydney, New South Wales

Reverend Robert Ross MD, Sydney, New South Wales, n.d.

John Cochran after Henry Room

Antoine Fauchery, Richard Daintree

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

Sir Henry Barkly KCB, Governor of the Colony of Victoria (Plate 1)

Sir Henry Barkly KCB, Governor of the Colony of Victoria (Plate 1), 1858

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on paper laid on cardboard

Purchased 2014

Sir James Martin, c. 1880s

Henry Samuel Sadd after Freeman Brothers

Magazine article by Gillian Raymond, 2005

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

Modern Australian Women

Close contemporaries, Thea Proctor, Margaret Preston and Grace Cossington Smith were frequently sources of inspiration and irritation to each other.

Men of the Day No.19 "A great Med'cine-Man among the Inqui-ring Redskins" (Thomas Henry Huxley), 1871

Carlo Pellegrini, Vanity Fair Magazine

Alfred Thompson, Vanity Fair Magazine

Purchased 2015

Men of the Day No. 5 "As straight as a reed" (Henry John Rous), 1870

John Cochran after Henry Room

Purchased 2015

Captain R.C. Morgan, Missionary ship 'John Williams'

Captain R.C. Morgan, Missionary ship 'John Williams', n.d.

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on paper

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

Aborigines, the last of the race, Tasmania

Aborigines, the last of the race, Tasmania, c. 1866

Henry Frith

Purchased 2006

The Right Reverend Lord Bishop of Melbourne (Dr. Charles Perry)

The Right Reverend Lord Bishop of Melbourne (Dr. Charles Perry), 1876

Thomas Atkinson, Samuel Mullen after Henry Weigall Jnr

Sir Leslie Ward, Vincent Brooks, Day & Son, Vanity Fair Magazine

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

H. Searle Professional Champion Sculler of the World (Henry Searle), 1889

Portrait, coloured chalk with black ink highlight on artist board

Purchased 2014

His Royal Highness Prince Henry William Frederick Albert, Duke of Gloucester (Governor General of Australia)

His Royal Highness Prince Henry William Frederick Albert, Duke of Gloucester (Governor General of Australia), 1943-1944

Charles Wheeler

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2019

The considered life

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2010

Andrew Sayers asks whether a portrait can truly be the examination of a life.

Creatures of Leisure, 1982

Portrait, 5 screenprints on paper

Get Wet Series, 1979

Portrait, five screenprints on paper

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

The Australian Commonwealth (Henry Stafford Northcote), 1904

Sir Leslie Ward, Vincent Brooks, Day & Son, Vanity Fair Magazine

Sir Leslie Ward, Vincent Brooks, Day & Son, Vanity Fair Magazine

Gift of Ronald A Walker 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Chelsea Hospital (Sir Henry Wylie Norman), 1903

Sir Leslie Ward, Vincent Brooks, Day & Son, Vanity Fair Magazine

Purchased 2015

The Cape of Good Hope ( Sir Henry Barkly), 1887

Sir Leslie Ward, Vincent Brooks, Day & Son, Vanity Fair Magazine

Purchased 2015

The Cape High Commissioner (Sir Henry Brougham Loch), 1894

Henry Seppings-Wright, Vincent Brooks, Day & Son, Vanity Fair Magazine

Gift of Ronald A Walker 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Sammy (Samuel Wood), 1892

Henry Samuel Sadd, Fergusson & Mitchell, Melbourne after Thomas Adams Hill

Purchased 2010

William John Wills, 2nd in command of the Victorian Expedition

William John Wills, 2nd in command of the Victorian Expedition, 1860-1861

Henry Samuel Sadd, Fergusson & Mitchell, Melbourne after Thomas Adams Hill

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2007

Robert O'Hara Burke, Leader of the Victorian Expedition

Robert O'Hara Burke, Leader of the Victorian Expedition, 1860-1861

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2007

The golden girls: Jodie Henry, Lisbeth 'Libby' Trickett (née Lenton), Giaan Rooney, Alice Mills, Brooke Hanson, Leisel Jones

The golden girls: Jodie Henry, Lisbeth 'Libby' Trickett (née Lenton), Giaan Rooney, Alice Mills, Brooke Hanson, Leisel Jones, 2004

Robin Sellick

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2011

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Painting mates

Michael Desmond discusses Fred Williams' portraits of friends, artist Clifton Pugh, David Aspden and writer Stephen Murray-Smith, and the stylistic connections between his portraits and landscapes.

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Captain Charles Ulm, 1961

Sir William Dargie CBE

Magazine article by Sarah Hill, 2001

Gift of the Sydney Airports Corporation 2001

The Wonder Years

Sarah Hill introduces the portrait busts of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Captain Charles Ulm by Enid Fleming.

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

Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family 2014

John Roper, 1860s

John Buchanan Smith

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of John Sandefur 2019

Society of Artists Selection Committee, 1907

Henry King

Unknown artist Publisher Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News

Purchased 2008

'The Australian Cricketers' from The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News June 1882, page 2

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on original lithograph title sheet

Australian Aboriginal Cricketers, 1867

Patrick Dawson

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2009

Henry Moore, Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, c. 1955 (printed 2000)

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

Fits of delicacy and despair

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

The New Arrivals at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, 1941

Russell Drysdale

Portrait, pen and pencil on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Bequest of Lady Maisie Drysdale 2001

The Catholic Hierarchy of Australia, 1869

Archibald McDonald, Henry Samuel Sadd

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

The Last Picture Show (Lewis Morley and Henry Talbot), 1999

Lewis Morley

an unknown artist, Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News

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

'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

Delegates to the Constitutional Convention, Sydney 1891, 1891

Portrait, engravings on paper

Purchased 2009

Peter Robinson, Lingerie Importer, 2006

by Vasili Vasiliadis

King Henry VIII

Unknown artist

Grace Cossington Smith, OBE

Carol Jerrems

Henry James

John Singer Sargent

H B. Hall

Anthonis Mor (Antonio Moro)

Henry Bryan Hall grew up in England and began his trade as an apprentice to the engravers Benjamin Smith and Henry Meyer.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Henry Lee

Beau Dean Riley Smith, Wiradjuri and Gamilaraay nations, Bennelong

Beau Dean Riley Smith, Wiradjuri and Gamilaraay nations, Bennelong

Gwendolene Pratt

Gwen Pratt FRAS (b.1917) is a traditional painter and portraitist in oil, watercolour and pastel.

1 portrait in the collection

Frank McIlwraith

Goupil & Cie after Carl Kahler

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

1 portrait in the collection

The Lawn at Flemington on Melbourne Cup Day

The Lawn at Flemington on Melbourne Cup Day, c. 1889

Portrait, photogravure on paper

Purchased 2009

Dickinson Monteath Studio

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

The Dickinson Monteath Studio operated at 296 Collins Street Melbourne during the 1930s and into the 1940s.

1 portrait in the collection

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

An international troupe of two

It's Complicated

Office romance

Trukanini

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

6 portraits in the collection

Ben Roberts-Smith, 2018

by Julian Kingma

Commissioned in 2018 with funds raised through the 2020 project

Blue Wolf, 2014

by Imogen Henry

'We're village elders on Smith Street'

Finalist, MDPA 2014

Rod McNicol and Jack Charles

J.W. Beattie after Charles Woolley

Rod and Jack on the series of portraits they created together.

Trukanini, n.d.

Portrait, albumen silver photograph

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

Contact sheet (Kate Fitzpatrick; Grace Cossington-Smith)

Carol Jerrems

Our only concern is the void, 2013

by Nik Lee

Winner, MDPA 2013

Single parent Robert Smith-Goode, housing commission flats, 2009

by Jenny Hodge

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema

Tracey, 2018

by Rod McNicol

Portrait, cast plaster, painted

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

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

Benjamin Law

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Benjamin Duterrau

Benjamin Duterrau, who arrived in Tasmania in 1832 at the age of 65, created the first Australian history paintings with his images celebrating Robinson's conciliatory relocation project.

2 portraits in the collection

Mashman Bros Ltd

Portrait, bromide print on photographic paper

Mashman Bros Ltd was established by William and Henry Mashman in Sydney in 1885.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir John Cornforth, 1993 (printed 2003)

Nick Sinclair

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2004

Major General Alan Stretton, 1987

Gwendolene Pratt

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Stretton family 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Those trees came back to me in my dreams

Joan Ross

Portrait, cast plaster, painted

Sir George Reid, c. 1895

Nelson Illingworth

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

Sir Alexander C. Onslow

Portrait, cast plaster, painted

Sir Alexander Campbell Onslow (1842-1908), judge, was educated at Cambridge and practised law in England before being appointed attorney general of British Honduras in 1878.

1 portrait in the collection

Trucaninny [Trukanini], wife of Woureddy [Wurati]

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

Benjamin Law

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Lady Maisie Drysdale

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on card

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

Lady Loch, c. 1890

Tuttle & Co

Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

Peter Elliott AM

Peter Elliott AM (1927–2014) was an obstetrician, gynaecologist and gynaecological oncologist as well as a significant art collector and patron.

6 portraits in the collection

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

I like to name everything after myself

Joan Ross

Portrait, albumen photograph on card

Minnie Walton (photograph of Miss Rose Massey on verso)

Minnie Walton (photograph of Miss Rose Massey on verso), 1876

Lock & Whitfield, London

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

Francis Houssemayne de Boulay, n.d.

J Fisher

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on paper

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

Self portrait, 1858-1860

George Fordyce Story

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

Portrait 27

March - May 2008

Magazine

This issue of Portrait Magazine feature Lucian Frued, John Witzig, colonial death portraits, William Kinghorne, Henry Crock, and more.

Francis Lymburner, c. 1946

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

Portrait 7

March - May 2003

Magazine

This issue of Portrait Magazine features Grace Cossington Smith, the Fairfax portrait gift and Lewis Morley's photographs.

Francis Lymburner

Francis Lymburner (1916-1972) was a Queensland-born artist who was educated at Brisbane Grammar and took art classes at Brisbane Technical College.

2 portraits 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

Harriet, blind, 2010

by Charles McKean

Sidney Nolan, 1982

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas board

Purchased with funds provided by Ross Adler AC 2022

Frank Gardiner

Portrait, cast plaster, patinated

Francis Gardiner (Christie) (1830-c. 1903), bushranger, came to New South Wales with his family as a child.

1 portrait in the collection

Captain Ulm, 1932

Enid Fleming

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Sydney Airports Corporation 2001

Icons Syndicate

Listed alphabetically

The ‘Mad Dentist of Wynyard Square’ in court, 18 December 1865

Henry Louis Bertrand, ca. 1865 photographed by the Milligan Brothers. Collection of the State Library of NSW

A passion eating into your vitals

The salacious and sordid details of Henry Kinder’s death transfixed Sydneysiders with a case combining murder with seduction, mesmerism, blackmail and poisoning.

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 Moore

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

1 portrait in the collection

Extraordinary airmen make aviation history

Passion

Charles is my wingman

Monkey business, 2011

by Alina Gozin'a

Previous exhibition, 2016

The Popular Pet Show

This exhibition expresses the joy and warmth that many of us derive from our animal companions, and celebrates their trusting, unpretentious ways, with portraits of Australians and their furry, feathered and fluffy friends.

Les Darcy

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2009

Les Darcy (1895-1917), boxer, was one of Australia's earliest sporting heroes.

3 portraits in the collection

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

Black and white history

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

Sir Rupert Hamer AC KCMG ED

Sir Rupert ‘Dick’ Hamer AC KCMG (1916-2004) was premier of Victoria from 1972 to 1981.

1 portrait in the collection

G Ziegler

Very little is known as yet about the artist G Ziegler, who may have been related to the painter Henry Bryan Ziegler.

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

2021 Annual Appeal

In 2021 the Annual Appeal was focussed on Peter Brew-Bevan's portraits of athletes Turia Pitt, Leisel Jones OAM and Ellie Cole OAM.

Les Darcy, c. 1916

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Alec Murray

Alec Murray was a photographer whose Alec Murray's Album: Personalities of Australia was published by Sydney Ure Smith in about 1948.

1 portrait in the collection

Hon. Edward Cohen

Edward Aaron Cohen (1822–1877), merchant, politician and community leader, came to Australia with his mother and nine siblings in 1833, his father, Henry, having been transported to New South Wales that year.

1 portrait in the collection

John Chapman

Little is known of John Chapman, who engraved fine allegorical subjects after the designs of J Smith and Richard Corbould and worked closely with Thomas Macklin on his Shakespeare series.

2 portraits in the collection

Harry Hudson

Harry Hudson (1907-1974) was a Melbourne-based painter. His work was included in a number of group exhibitions at the Bridget McDonnell Gallery, Carlton in the 1980s along with those of such notable artists as Roland Wakelin, Grace Cossington-Smith and James Gleeson.

1 portrait in the collection

Alan Sumner MBE

Tom Durkin, The Weekly Times

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

1 portrait in the collection

A Commissioner of Customs "Faithful to Francis" [The Hon. Edward Cohen M.L.A.], 1874

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

Alfred George Stephens

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

1 portrait in the collection

The hoodie

Kate Girard, c. 1885

Mora of New York

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

Sir William Dobell OBE

Magazine article by Tamsin Hong, 2016

Sir William Dobell (1899–1970), painter, studied art and was apprentice to an architect in Sydney before leaving Australia for Europe in 1929.

10 portraits in the collection

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.

William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp

William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp (1872-1938), governor, was appointed to the position of Governor of NSW in 1899.

1 portrait in the collection

William Fernyhough

an unknown artist after Thomas Bock

William Henry Fernyhough (1809-1849) was a sketcher, silhouette artist, lithographer and draughtsman who immigrated to Sydney in 1836.

13 portraits in the collection

Jane Franklin, c. 1866-1875

Portrait, carved marble relief

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Enid Fleming

Enid Fleming was a pupil of Rayner Hoff's at the East Sydney Technical College at the time these works were made (Hoff and several of his other students were working on the Anzac Memorial at the time).

2 portraits in the collection

Richard Howe

Richard Howe (1st Earl Howe, 1726–1799), naval commander, served in the Royal Navy for over fifty years, seeing action in the Seven Years War, the American Wars of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars.

1 portrait in the collection

Troye Sivan, 2018

by James Brickwood

Minnie Walton, c. 1874

Fradelle & Marshall

Portrait drawings from colonial Australia

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

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.

A G Stephens, c. 1910 (printed later)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Louise Forthun

Dalton's Royal Photographic Gallery

Louise Forthun (b. 1959), artist, works primarily in painting and printmaking and has an aesthetic and conceptual focus on the architectural landscape of Australia's urban environments.

1 portrait in the collection

Lucy Escott, c. 1861

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

Purchased 2009

Contributing artists

Find out more from each of the artists reinterpreting and reimagining elements of Australian history.

William B. Latimer

William Latimer (1851-1934) was a portrait photographer who worked in Melbourne in the latter part of the nineteenth century.

1 portrait in the collection

Favourite portraits

National Portrait Gallery staff introduce their favourite portraits from the exhibition.

In the mirror: self portrait with Joy Hester

In the mirror: self portrait with Joy Hester, 1939

Gift of the artist 1999. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

2020 Annual Appeal

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

Danelle Bergstrom

Danelle Bergstrom (b. 1957) was born in Sydney. She studied art and art education at the Julian Ashton school (1974-1979) and at Alexander Mackie CAE.

2 portraits in the collection

London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company

Percy Leason's Aboriginal Portraits

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

2 portraits in the collection

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

Joy Hester

Previous exhibition, 2023

Joy Hester (1920-1960) was the only female member of the Angry Penguin movement, which included artists Tucker, Sidney Nolan and Arthur Boyd.

1 portrait in the collection

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2023

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.

Paul Haefliger

Paul Haefliger (1914-1982) trained in Sydney and then in London with Bernard Meninsky and Mark Gertler.

1 portrait in the collection

Dave Sands, c. 1940s

Purchased 2011

The Lawson

Moustaches

It’s curious that one of the writers most associated with the toughness of Australian bush life was himself not an exponent of the matted, rugged bushman sort of beard.

Reginald Jerrold-Nathan

Reginald Henry Jerrold-Nathan (1889-1979) arrived in Australia from London in 1924, having studied under John Singer Sargent and William Orpen at the Royal Academy, where he was awarded a medal for portrait painting.

2 portraits in the collection

Charles Ulm

Charles Ulm (1898-1934) began work as a clerk in a stockbroking office after he left school, but enlisted under a false identity in the 1st Battalion of the AIF just before his 16th birthday.

2 portraits in the collection

Self portrait, c. 1984

Portrait, watercolour and pastel on paperboard

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Barbara Tucker 2004

Roland Wakelin

Roland Wakelin was born in New Zealand and studied at the RAS school in Sydney under Dattilo Rubbo from 1912 to 1914.

1 portrait in the collection

Elliott and Fry

Previous exhibition, 2003

Elliott & Fry, a photography studio and photographic film manufacturer, was founded in 1863 at 55-56 Baker Street, London by Joseph John Elliott and Clarence Edmund Fry.

2 portraits in the collection

Australia and the Nobel Prize

This unique exhibition will give an insight into the private lives, pursuits and work of all the Nobel laureates associated with Australia

Sister Mary Brady

Sister Mary Brady OP (1922-2014), born in Tamworth, is a self-taught painter, though she did receive critiques from Joshua Smith and Norman Carter.

1 portrait in the collection

Georg von Neumayer, c. 1860

Johnstone & Co

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

Celine Céleste, c. 1860

Charles Clarkington

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

Carl Kahler

Previous exhibition, 2005

Carl Kahler was born in Austria and trained in Munich, Paris and Italy, where he won several important prizes.

2 portraits in the collection

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

Paul Fitzgerald AM

Paul Fitzgerald AM, a Melbourne-based artist, made his career as a professional portraitist.

4 portraits in the collection

Peter Elliott, 1964

Jon Molvig

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

HRH Prince Alfred

William B. Latimer, W B Latimer Photo Art Studio

Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (1844–1900) was the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria.

4 portraits in the collection

Reverend Nathaniel Kinsman, c. 1880

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite

Purchased 2013

Livingston Hopkins

Livingston Hopkins, cartoonist, was born in Ohio and fought in the American Civil War before beginning his cartooning career in New York.

3 portraits in the collection

William Pidgeon

William Edwin 'Wep' Pidgeon, cartoonist, illustrator and painter was born in Paddington and studied art at the JS Watkins School and East Sydney Technical College.

2 portraits in the collection

James Horan

Irish-born James Horan (b. 1976) is an editorial and advertising photographer whose many clients include banks, hotel chains, medical supply companies, museums and charities such as The Salvos and The Smith Family.

1 portrait in the collection

The Parkes

Beards

It wasn’t uncommon for the pro-beard fraternity of the mid nineteenth century to cite beards as a sign of wisdom on the grounds that Socrates and other ancient philosophers had worn them.

Hera Roberts

Batchelder & Company Photo

Hera Roberts (1892-1969) was a painter, illustrator, designer, commercial artist and milliner.

1 portrait in the collection

Charles Summers, late 1860s

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

Hattie Shepparde, 1872

Bardwell's Royal Studio

Sir Leslie Ward, Bemrose Dalziel Ltd, Vanity Fair Magazine

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

Small Holdings (The Earl Carrington Baron Charles Robert Carrington)

Small Holdings (The Earl Carrington Baron Charles Robert Carrington), 1907

Gift of Ronald Walker 2002

Annual Appeal

Listed by year

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite on card

Lady Barkly, 1863

Batchelder & O'Neill

Purchased 2014

Adrian Feint

Adrian Feint (1894-1971) studied at the Sydney Art School with Julian Ashton after having served in the AIF in France and Belgium in World War I, during which he was praised for gallantry.

1 portrait in the collection

Arthur Horner

Celebrating 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection

Arthur Horner was born in Malvern, Victoria, and attended Sydney High School and the National Art School.

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.

Ola Cohn OBE

Portrait, glass plate negative

Ola Cohn OBE (1892-1964), sculptor, was born in Bendigo and studied in Melbourne and London, where Henry Moore, her lecturer in sculpture, predicted that she would progress to make 'works of a very high order'.

2 portraits in the collection

Trukanini, 1866 (printed 1890s)

Charles Woolley

Purchased 2011

Garry Shead

Born in Sydney, Garry Shead studied at the National Art School in 1961-2.

4 portraits in the collection

Marianne Egan

Mary Anne Egan (also Marianne or Marian, née Cheers, 1818–1857), was born in Sydney, the daughter of ex-convicts.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir William Windeyer

Sir William Windeyer (1834-1897) was a politician and judge. One of the first undergraduates to study at the University of Sydney, he developed a particular interest in education and the rights of women - he was responsible for the Married Women's Property Act of 1879, and was Founding Chairman of the university's Women's College.

4 portraits in the collection

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Johnstone, O’Shannessy & Co was founded in Melbourne in 1864 by Henry James Johnstone and a photographer known as ‘Miss O’Shaughnessy’, who had previously been in partnership with her mother in their own photographic business in Carlton.

12 portraits in the collection

Colin Wills

Colin Wills (1906–1965), journalist and author, was born in Toowoomba, Queensland and grew up in Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Jill Ker Conway, 1987

Sarah Belchetz-Swenson

Gift of an anonymous donor 2001

Sir Colin Syme AK

Sir Colin Syme AK (1903-1986) was chairman of BHP from 1952 to1971. Born in Perth, he attended Scotch College in Claremont, the universities of Perth and Melbourne and the University of New South Wales before becoming a solicitor in the Melbourne firm of Hedderwick, Fookes and Alston in 1923.

1 portrait in the collection

Russell Drysdale

Sir Russell Drysdale AC (1912-1981), painter, developed eye trouble in 1929, and had to leave boarding school for the first of many eye treatments which left him fearful of total blindness.

6 portraits in the collection

Livingston Hopkins, n.d.

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Mervyn Horton

Previous exhibition, 2009

Mervyn Horton AM (1917-1983), editor, art writer and entrepreneur, founded the journal Art and Australia in 1963 and edited it until his death in 1983.

1 portrait in the collection

Wendy drunk 11pm, 1983 by Brett Whiteley

Idle Hours

Idle hours is an exhibition of luxurious beauty. Paintings, prints and drawings represent subjects in quiet moods and situations arranged according to the time of day they depict - reading, drawing, snoozing, bathing, sewing, gardening, sitting, looking, making love and spending tranquil time with companions. Works in the exhibition range from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present.

Thomas Purves

Portrait, etching on paper

Thomas Purves (1909-1969), known as Tam, founded the Australian Galleries in Smith Street, Collingwood, Melbourne with his wife Anne in 1956.

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait, 1894

Livingston Hopkins

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

Nicholas Chevalier, c. 1867

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Photography and mortality

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

Reveries

Previous exhibition, 2007

Featuring works by Australian and New Zealand photographers from the late 1970s up to the present day Reveries focuses on images made in the presence of or consciousness of death.

Stella Bowen

Stella Bowen, painter and writer, grew up in Adelaide, where she studied with Margaret Preston.

1 portrait in the collection

Ethel Anderson and her daughter, Bethia, c. 1912

G.W. Lawrie

Gift of Mrs SM Asplin 2011

D. H. Souter

David Henry Souter (1862-1935) was a cartoonist, painter and art editor.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Joshua Reynolds

Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), acknowledged as one of the world's great portraitists, was master of portraits in the 'Grand Manner', replete with moral and heroic symbolism.

3 portraits in the collection

Hera Roberts, 1936

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

Paul Haefliger, 1974

Sir Leslie Ward, Vincent Brooks, Day & Son, Vanity Fair Magazine

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

Sydney (Sir Daniel Cooper), 1882

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Athol Shmith, 1985

Michel Lawrence

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Adrian Feint, 1939

Portraits of Australian Visual Artists

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Richard King 2008
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

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

The Reflecting Eye

Touring exhibition, 1996

As the first National Portrait Gallery travelling exhibition, The reflecting eye: portraits of Australian visual artists represents an important milestone in the history of Australia's National Portrait Gallery.

Ready , set... shoot

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2006

The exhibition Flash: Australian Athletes in Focus offers various interpretations of sporting men and women by five Australian photographers.

Fetteresso (Sir Robert Duff), 1883

Francois Verheyden, Vincent Brooks, Day & Son, Vanity Fair Magazine

Purchased 2015

Ola Cohn, 1961

Jean Goldberg

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

Roderick Shaw

Roderick Shaw (1915-1992) is perhaps best known for his worker paintings of the social realist school, such as Cable Layers (in the Art Gallery of NSW).

2 portraits in the collection

William Dobell, 1943

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Gift of Danina Anderson, daughter of Max Dupain 2017.
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

George and Jemima Billet with family, c. 1852

C.H.T. Costantini

Purchased 2016

Anthony Dattilo Rubbo, 1935

Arthur Murch

Portrait, ciment fondu, patinated

Purchased 2000

Self portrait in green hues, c. 1962

Roland Wakelin

Portrait, oil on composition board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Philip Bacon AM 2001
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

The Capel Family

Cornelius Johnson

William Dobell, 1942

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Richard King 2008
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

John Gaden AM

John Gaden AM (b. 1941), actor, studied arts and law at the University of Sydney, but when he joined the Sydney University Players, he abandoned his other pursuits for the stage.

1 portrait in the collection

Gai Waterhouse AO

associated with Nicholas Hilliard

Gai Waterhouse AO, thoroughbred racehorse trainer, is the daughter of legendary trainer Tommy Smith.

1 portrait in the collection

Queen Elizabeth I

Dame Mary Gilmore, 1961

Purchased with funds provided by Timothy Fairfax AC 2003

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

Roy de Maistre CBE

Goupil & Cie after Carl Kahler

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

The Derby Day at Flemington, c. 1890

Portrait, photogravure on paper

Purchased 2001

Cecil Beaton

Portraits

Previous exhibition, 2005

Accomplished illustrator, painter, writer and diarist, set designer and one of the most distinguished photographers of the twentieth century, Cecil Beaton is renowned for his portraits of well known faces from the worlds of fashion, literature, and film.

The National Portrait Prizes

29 January 2020

Archived media releases 2020

The National Portrait Gallery today announced finalists for the inaugural Darling Portrait Prize, a national new $75,000 prize for Australian portrait painting, and released selected images from the final prize pool for the popular National Photography Portrait Prize.

Angela Belgiorno-Zegna, 2001 by Salvatore Zofrea

Intimate Portraits

Previous exhibition, 2002

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

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

Self Portraits in Australia

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

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

Rt. Honourable Lord Hawkesbury, 1808

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

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

The 1890s to the 1940s

Mo and beard timeline

Although the tough, weathered, hard-drinking bushmen of the kind mythologised by writers like Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson are popularly associated with the character of late nineteenth century Australia, it was also a time when alternative ideas about identity began to come into play.

John Schaeffer AO - art collector and philanthropist

John Schaeffer AO - art collector and philanthropist, 2014

Evert Ploeg

Purchased with funds provided by Harold Mitchell AC 2015

Brian Fitzpatrick

N Schiavonetti after Thomas Phillips

Brian Fitzpatrick (1905-1965) was educated at state schools in regional Victoria and Melbourne before gaining his BA from Melbourne University in 1925.

1 portrait in the collection

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

Purchased 2010

Sir William Charles Windeyer, 1892

Tom Roberts

Gift of the family of Sir Victor and Lady Windeyer 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

John Le Gay Brereton

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite

John Le Gay Brereton junior (1871–1933), writer and academic, was born in Sydney, the son of a doctor, also John, who had emigrated to Australia in the late 1850s.

1 portrait in the collection

The Tichborne Claimant (Arthur Orton), c. 1872

Maull & Co Photographers

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Centenary of ANZAC

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.

Hugo at home (Hugo Weaving), 2011

Nicholas Harding

Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family 2012

Rev. Edward Puckle

The Reverend Edward Puckle (c. 1800-1898), Anglican clergyman, took holy orders in Exeter and officiated in Cornwall before sailing on the Randolph to Canterbury, NZ in 1850.

1 portrait in the collection

Jack Charles

Recorded 2022

Vali Myers, 2001

Eva Collins

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2003

Maritime disaster leaves poignant picture

Devotion

Absence rends the heart asunder

Sir Joseph Banks, 1802

William Ridley

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

Will Dyson

Will (William Henry) Dyson, cartoonist, caricaturist, writer and draughtsman, was born in Alfredtown, near Ballarat, and studied for a short time in Melbourne, where he worked closely with his older brother Ambrose.

11 portraits in the collection

Sir George Ferguson Bowen, c. 1873

Bardwell's Royal Studio

Portrait, charcoal heightened with white chalk on paper

Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

Sir Sidney Kidman, 1932

Samuel Woolf

Purchased 2009

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

Kerry & Co

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

The Honourable J.J. Carlton with Cravat, 2000

Esther Erlich

Portrait, pastel and gouache on paper laid down on backing sheet

Gift of an anonymous donor 2001. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Ann Mary Windeyer, 1847

G Ziegler

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Joanna Russell Maher (née Windeyer) 2018

Anthony Dattilo Rubbo

Previous exhibition, 2003

Anthony Dattilo Rubbo (1870-1955) was born in Naples and received classical art training in Italy.

1 portrait in the collection

Max Dupain

The Vintage Years

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

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

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

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

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

2 portraits in the collection

Justin O'Brien

Magazine article by Rod Kemp, 2003

Justin O'Brien (1917-1996) was one of the major Australian artists of his generation.

3 portraits in the collection

A gift for all ages

The then Minister for the Arts and Sport, Rod Kemp, reflects on the value of the Cultural Gifts Program.

Study for John Bell as King Lear, 1998-2001

Nicholas Harding

Portrait, ink, charcoal and conté on paper

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

In the most correct style

Nearest & Dearest

Desirable outcomes, undesirable origins

Drusilla Modjeska

Portrait, etching, hand coloured on paper

Drusilla Modjeska (b. 1946), writer, feminist and academic, was born in England and moved to Australia in 1971 after several years in Papua New Guinea.

1 portrait 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

Sir Charles Lloyd Jones

Sir Charles Lloyd Jones (1878-1958), merchant and arts patron, grew up in Sydney, where he studied at Julian Ashton's art school in 1895.

1 portrait in the collection

Two grounps of three people standing in a studio with walls and shelves filled with artworks

Arts Project Australia

Artists and Collectives

Arts Project Australia is a creative social enterprise based in Naarm/Melbourne that supports neurodiverse artists, promoting their work and advocating for inclusion within contemporary arts practice.

Eric Westbrook

Eric Westbrook was the Director of the National Gallery of Victoria from 1956 to 1973.

1 portrait in the collection

David Lloyd Jones, 1944

Sir William Dobell OBE

Gift of David Lloyd Jones, in memory of his father, David Lloyd Jones 2021. Donated through Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Thomas Archbold, Durham, 1826 by John Dempsey

Street fare

Sir Leslie Ward, Vincent Brooks, Day & Son, Vanity Fair Magazine

The late Georgian and early Victorian working classes often bought their food in ale-houses, chop-houses and ‘penny pie shops’, or purchased their meals day after day in the streets.

New South Wales (Earl Beauchamp), 1899

Gift of Ronald A Walker 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

William Dobell, Potts Point, Sydney, 1960 (printed 2000)

Sir Richard Owens

Sir Richard Owen (1804–1892), naturalist, anatomist and palaeontologist, was born in Lancaster and apprenticed to surgeon-apothecaries there before completing his studies in medicine in Edinburgh and London.

1 portrait in the collection

Hugo Weaving AO

Hugo Weaving AO (b. 1960), actor, spent his childhood in England, Australia and South Africa before returning to live in Australia in 1976.

1 portrait in the collection

Nancy Bird Walton - Pioneer, 2003

Danelle Bergstrom

Portrait, oil on canvas on board

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2004

Mary Ware, c. 1854

Robert Dowling

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

N.T. Ranger Uranium: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground'

N.T. Ranger Uranium: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground', 2001

eX de Medici

Portrait, pencil on paper

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Janice McIllree

Janice McIllree (nee Wakely) (1935-2022), fashion model and photographer, began her modelling career in Melbourne in 1954, having graduated from Sydney's Mannequin Academy in 1952.

4 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

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

Harold Cazneaux

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2002

Purchased 2015

Courage, Self-analysis and Skill

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

Portrait of Charles Blackman, 1979

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

Portrait of Mr Frank Packer, 1956

Portrait, oil on composition board

Gift of the Packer family 2006

Mary Windeyer, c. 1891

Freeman Brothers

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on studio mount

Gift of J.B. Windeyer 2018

Gnoung-a-gnoung-a Mour-re-mour-ga (dit Collins)

Gnoung-a-gnoung-a Mour-re-mour-ga (dit Collins), 1807-1817

Barthélemy Roger after Nicolas-Martin Petit

Purchased 2009

The sitter (Drusilla Modjeska), 2001

Jo Bertini

Purchased with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2002

Ethel Anderson

Batchelder & Company Photo

Ethel Anderson (née Mason, 1883-1958), writer and artist, was an important figure in the Sydney modern art scene of the 1920s and 30s.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, c. 1870

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

Robert Lowe, Viscount Sherbrooke

Robert Lowe, Viscount Sherbrooke (1811-1892), politician, studied and tutored in law at Oxford before coming to Australia in 1842.

4 portraits in the collection

George Nicholas CBE

Portrait, mangrove bark pigment, watercolour and gouache on vellum

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

1 portrait in the collection

Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground

Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground, 2001

eX de Medici

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Inside Heide’s lives

It's Complicated

Happiness to heartache

Mary Windeyer on the verandah at Tomago, NSW

Mary Windeyer on the verandah at Tomago, NSW, c. 1880s

Portrait, glass plate negative

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Windeyer family 2012

Sir Hudson Fysh KBE DFC

Sir Hudson Fysh KBE DFC (1895-1974) was one of Australia's great aviation administrators.

3 portraits in the collection

The Honourable Chief Justice Susan Kiefel AC

The Honourable Chief Justice Susan Kiefel AC, 2018

Yvonne East

Portrait, oil on linen

Gift of the artist 2019 acknowledging Herbert Smith Freehills for supporting the creation of the portrait

Dame Mary Gilmore, c. 1938

Lyall Trindall

Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2001

Master Molteno, c. 1866

Townsend Duryea

Portrait, oil on cardboard

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

Portrait of Alan Marshall, 1955

Lina Bryans

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Judy Cassab

The artist's diary

Previous exhibition, 2013

The artist's diary profiles six decades of Cassab's work, from the early portrait commissions of the 1950s to later paintings that have helped confirm her eminent place in the canon of Australian portraiture.

Study for self portrait, c. 1965

Jean Appleton

Previous exhibition, 2010

Gift of Laurie Curley OAM and Mrs Robyn Curley 2012

Australian of the Year

Inspiring a Nation

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

Barton and Watson, 1902

G. H. Dancey

Portrait, pen and ink on paper

Purchased 2012

Thomas and John Clarke, bushrangers, photographed in Braidwood Gaol

Thomas and John Clarke, bushrangers, photographed in Braidwood Gaol, 1867

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on laid down on a section cut from a nineteenth century album page

Purchased 2019

Sir William Dargie

A Ninetieth Birthday Tribute

Previous exhibition, 2002

As a tribute to Sir William Dargie's singular contribution to Australian art and cultural institutions, and on the occasion of his birthday, The Australian War Memorial, Parliament House and the National Portrait Gallery will mount exhibitions of his work between May and October

Nelson Illingworth

Nelson Illingworth trained in sculpture in England and worked as a modeller at the Royal Doulton potteries for nine years before moving to Australia.

3 portraits in the collection

Bradley and Rulofson

Bradley & Rulofson was a partnership between photographers Henry W Bradley (1813–1891), a native of North Carolina, and Canadian-born William H Rulofson (1826–1878).

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Skrzynecki OAM

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

Gooseberry, widow of King Bungaree, 1836

William Fernyhough

Gift of Dr Robert Edwards AO 1999. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Hon. Saul Samuel

Magazine article by Celina Fox, 2006

The Hon Sir Saul Samuel Bart KCMG CB (1820-1900), merchant, politician, company director and landowner, was the first Jewish legislator in New South Wales and the first Jew to become a minister of the Crown.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of an English Woman c. 1532-5 (detail)

A new perspective

An exhibition devoted to Hans Holbein's English commissions shows the portraitist bringing across the Channel new technical developments in art - with a dazzling facility.

Aden Ridgeway & pallbearers entering Sydney Town Hall, State Funeral for Kwementyaye Perkins AO, 25th October 2000

Aden Ridgeway & pallbearers entering Sydney Town Hall, State Funeral for Kwementyaye Perkins AO, 25th October 2000, 2000

Mervyn Bishop

Purchased 2001

Mary Windeyer, 1850s

Portrait, watercolour and gouache on ivory

Gift of the Windeyer family 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

A blackguard rehearsing - Max Cullen, 2001

David Naseby

Contemporary women artists make Australian history

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Nigel Naseby 2007
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

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

So Fine

Previous exhibition, 2018

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.

John Dease

Portrait, cast bronze relief medallion

Conly John Paget Dease (1906-1979), actor and broadcaster, spent thirty years as one of the signature voices of the ‘Golden Age’ of Australian radio.

1 portrait in the collection

Charles Joseph La Trobe, 1853

Thomas Woolner

Purchased 2006

A Tribute to William Dobell

Previous exhibition, 1999

Adapted from A Tribute to William Dobell an exhibition presented by the Australian National University's Drill Hall Gallery in association with the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation, The National Gallery of Australia, and the Australian War Memorial. Dobell is of course, celebrated for his achievements in portraiture, winning the Archibald prize (1943, 1948 and 1959), the Wynne Prize (1948), and representing Australia at the 1954 Venice Biennale. Curator Mary Eagle concludes her essay in the catalogue of the exhibition thus, "Overall I see a dissonance in Dobell’s art and life

Les Tanner

Les Tanner was one of Australia’s best-known caricaturists. Born in Glebe, New South Wales, he is said to have taken up drawing portraits as early as age five, and as a teenager contributed cartoons to the school newspaper.

4 portraits in the collection

Mary Windeyer

Mary Windeyer (née Bolton, 1837-1912), women's rights campaigner, was one of the nine children of Robert Thorley Bolton, a clergyman who emigrated to New South Wales in 1839.

3 portraits in the collection

Nancy Bird Walton, c. 1973

Previous exhibition, 2023

Gift of Nancy Bird Walton AO OBE 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Time and light

In Gallery Seven

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.

George Lambert, c. 1928

Annie May Moore

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

2012-13 Acquisition Fund

The Circle of Friends Acquisition Fund for 2012 was dedicated to purchasing a portrait of David Malouf by Rick Amor.

Dame Mabel Brookes, c. 1955

Sir William Dargie CBE

Gift of Rodney Davidson AO OBE 2014. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

'Come + see the real thing, come + see' Conquistadors parts Hong. Ranger 3: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground'

Peter Garrett AM

Archived media releases 2016

Peter Garrett AM (b. 1953), musician, environmental and social activist, and former politician, is the lead singer of the band Midnight Oil, which originated in Sydney's northern beaches in the mid-1970s.

12 portraits in the collection

Pets of all types take over the National Portrait Gallery

3 November 2016

It is not every day that a national gallery turns its walls over to the animal companions that bring unconditional love and joy to their owners but this summer we have opened the doors to 15 contemporary artists with very different ways of depicting our furry, feathered and scaled pets.

Christopher Brennan

Christopher Brennan (1870–1932), poet, was born to Irish parents in Sydney.

2 portraits in the collection

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.

Ben Chifley, n.d.

Gift of Danina Dupain Anderson 2017. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Sir Robert Gibson

Sir Robert Gibson GBE (1863-1934) trained in design and drafting in Glasgow, where he began work as a designer at an iron company; he soon became manager of its London office.

1 portrait in the collection

Frank Hinder

Francis Henry Critchley Hinder (1906-1992) was a pioneer of abstract art in Australia.

18 portraits in the collection

George Judah Cohen, 1925

George Lambert

Gift of the National Australia Bank 2002

William Barak

Portrait, carved marble on travertine marble base

Bust of Peter Garrett, 1991-2016

Peter Schipperheyn

Gift of the artist 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Facing Facts

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

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

Jan Senbergs AM

Jan Senbergs AM (1939-2024) came to Australia from Latvia in 1950. He studied at the Melbourne School of Printing and Graphic Arts, where he was influenced by Leonard French.

2 portraits in the collection

Geoff Cousins, 2017

David Naseby

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Gift of Geoff Cousins AM 2007

Uncommon Australians

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.

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

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Jill Ker Conway AC

Jill Ker Conway AC (1934-2018), academic, writer and company director, was born in Hillston in western New South Wales and spent her early years on her father's sheep station, Coorain, which was so isolated that she was seven years old before she saw another girl.

1 portrait in the collection

Ivy Shore

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

Ivy Shore (1915–1999), painter, was born in Melbourne, daughter of a South Australian suffragette, Elka, and engineer John Williams.

2 portraits in the collection

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.

Barry Jones, 1998

Tristan Humphries

Portrait, digital print on watercolour paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2000

Donors

$10,000 - $49,999

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

George Moore, 1957

Ern McQuillan OAM

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Shigeo Sawada, c. 1915

Kan Studios

Gift of Ron Wylie 2007

Frank Hurley OBE

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

Frank Hurley (1885-1962), photographer, first made his name on Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-14.

2 portraits in the collection

Moving in creative circles

Harold Cazneaux's portraits of influential Sydneysiders included Margaret Preston and Ethel Turner, both important figures in the development of ideas about Australian identity and culture.

Dame Mary Gilmore DBE

Dame Mary Gilmore DBE (1865–1962), poet, journalist and social reformer, was born near Goulburn and had an itinerant childhood as her father moved the family around New South Wales for work.

3 portraits in the collection

Gilbert Eric Douglas

Gilbert Eric Douglas (1902–1970), pilot and air force officer, took part in Sir Douglas Mawson’s British, Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE), which took the form of two ocean voyages conducted over the southern summers of 1929–30 and 1930–31.

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

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

Nancy Menetrey

Nancy Menetrey (née Wilkinson) (1924-2024) was born in Sydney in 1924.

1 portrait in the collection

Australian Visit

Photographic Portraits from 19th Century Australia

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.

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa

Husbands and Wives

Previous exhibition, 2010

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

Jean Appleton

Jean Appleton (1911–2003), painter and art teacher, studied at the East Sydney Technical College, completing a diploma in drawing and illustration in 1932.

5 portraits in the collection

Jan Senbergs, 2015

Jacqueline Mitelman

Portrait, pastel on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2015

Roi de Mestre (Roy de Maistre), c. 1930

Jean Shepeard

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2002

Jan Senbergs, 1976

Keith Looby

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Padraic McGuinness 2001
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Sir John Young

Sir John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar (1807-1876), governor of New South Wales from 1861 to 1867, was the son of a director of the East India Co.

1 portrait in the collection

Nancy Bird Walton AO OBE

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2003

Nancy Bird Walton AO OBE (1915–2009), aviatrix, decided she wanted to be a pilot when, at age eight, she saw a plane make an emergency landing on a beach near her home.

2 portraits in the collection

Mrs Cameron and the V&A

In March 2003 Magda Keaney travelled to London to join the photography section of the Victoria & Albert Museum for three months.

Ron Robertson-Swann OAM

Portrait, oil and oil pastel on canvas

Ron Robertson-Swann (b. 1941), sculptor, teacher and painter, studied at the National Art School (NAS) under Lyndon Dadswell in the late 1950s.

1 portrait in the collection

Lloyd Rees at the Rock in 1975, 1984

Roderick Shaw

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Billy Hughes bottle stopper, 1911-1921

Mashman Bros Ltd

Portrait, ceramic and cork

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Sir Frank Packer

Sir Douglas Frank Hewson Packer KBE (1906-1974), media proprietor, grew up in Sydney and became a cadet journalist on the Daily Guardian, owned by his father RC Packer, in 1923.

2 portraits in the collection

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

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

Magazine article by Annette Twyman, 2021

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

1 portrait in the collection

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

Birds of a feather

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

Vintage Max

Magazine article by Gael Newton, 2003

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

Lady Primrose Potter AC

NPPP 2012 learning resource

Lady Primrose Potter AC was born in Sydney in 1931 and lives in Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Alina Gozin'a

An interview with the photographer.

The Australian Cricket Team 1882

Carrington Photo Galleries

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

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

Home and away

Sir William Dobell painted the portraits of Sir Charles Lloyd Jones and Sir Hudson Fysh, who did much to promote the image of Australia in this country and abroad.

Supporters

$5,000 - $9,999

Sir John Gorton GCMG AC CH

Previous exhibition, 1999

The Rt Hon Sir John Gorton GCMG AC CH (1911–2002) was the nineteenth prime minister of Australia and the only senator yet to have served in the office.

5 portraits in the collection

Arthur Boyd Portraits

This is the first in a series of National Portrait Gallery exhibitions to survey the portraits painted by artists who are not thought of, primarily, as portrait painters

Rennie Ellis

Aussies All

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

Sir Colin Syme, 1970

Portrait, oil on composition board

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

Sir Hudson Fysh, 1950

Sir William Dobell OBE

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Australian War Memorial in association with the Fysh family 2008

Tom Roberts

Magazine article by Michelle Fracaro, 2004

Tom Roberts (1856–1931), artist, came to Australia from England at the age of 13, but returned eight years later to study art in London.

9 portraits in the collection

101 photographic portraits

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

R. M. Williams AO CMG

Previous exhibition, 2019

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

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.

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

Mervyn Horton, 1964

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint and oil on canvas

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

First Australian first-class cricket team

Previous exhibition, 2017

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

Nicholas Harding

28 Portraits

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.

Egbert S. Wills

Emily Spencer Wills (1842–1925), Cedric Spencer Wills (1844–1914), Horace Spencer Wills (1847–1928), and Egbert Spencer Wills (1849–1931) the second, third, fourth, and fifth children of Horatio Wills and his wife Elizabeth, were all born at Lexington, spending their childhoods there and at Bellevue, the property acquired by Horatio Wills near Geelong in 1852.

1 portrait in the collection

Horace Spencer Wills and Cedric Spencer Wills

Cedric S. Wills

1 portrait in the collection

Emily S. Wills

1 portrait in the collection

Horace S. Wills

1 portrait 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

Margel Hinder AM

Margel Hinder AM (née Harris) (1906-1995), sculptor, trained in Buffalo and Boston in the 1920s.

1 portrait in the collection

Claude Spurgeon Charlick

Portrait, oil with fibre-tipped pen underdrawing on composition board

Claude Spurgeon Charlick (1893-1974), businessman, was managing director of the Adelaide firm Charlick Ltd for nearly forty years.

1 portrait in the collection

Sketch for portrait of Justin O'Brien, 1980

Bryan Westwood

Gift of the Margaret Olley Art Trust 2002

Sir Edward Wheewall Holden

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

Sir Edward Wheewall Holden (1885-1947), industrialist and politician, was the son of Henry Holden, industrialist and civic leader, and the grandson of James Alexander Holden, Adelaide leather and saddlery business owner.

1 portrait in the collection

In the galleries

Christopher Chapman highlights the inaugural hang of the new National Portrait Gallery building which opened in December 2008.

Thomas Griffiths Wainewright

Thomas Griffiths Wainewright (1794-1847) is one of the most intriguing and talented figures in colonial Australian art.

4 portraits in the collection

Sir Oswald Brierly

Previous exhibition, 2009

Sir Oswald Brierly (1817–1894), marine painter and adventurer, studied art, naval architecture and navigation in England before his fascination with seafaring caused him to sign up as staff artist on the Wanderer – a schooner owned by entrepreneur Benjamin Boyd, who was about to embark on a round-the-world trip.

1 portrait in the collection

Prince William of Wales, by Mario Testino, 2003 publ. September 2003.
Credit: Mario Testino

Vanity Fair Portraits

Photographs 1913-2008

Vanity Fair Portraits traces the birth and evolution of photographic portraiture through the archives of Vanity Fair magazine.

Eric Douglas, c. 1930

Frank Hurley OBE

Gift of Sally Douglas 2009

David Unaipon

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

Betsy (Bessie) Lee

Significant Australian Women 1913–2013

Betsy (Bessie) Lee Cowie (1860–1950), 'Australia's Temperance Queen', spent the early part of her life in Daylesford, Victoria, one of the five children of Henry Vickery, a butcher and miner, and his wife Emma.

1 portrait in the collection

First Ladies

Previous exhibition, 2013

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

Flash

Australian Athletes in Focus

Magazine article by Alison Weir, 2011

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

Icons and imagery

Alison Weir explores the National Portrait Gallery, London and the BP Portrait Award to find what makes a good painted portrait - past and present.

William Charles Wentworth, 1854

Thomas Woolner

Portrait, cast bronze relief medallion

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

In bloom

Magazine article by Susi Muddiman, 2017

Susi Muddiman delights in Michael Zavros’ stunning portrait of the honourable Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO.

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.

Lady Anne Maria Barkly

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2003

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

Sir William Dargie CBE

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

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.

Portrait of William Manning, c.1821 by Henry Bone

Of beef in burgundy

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2017

Angus Trumble reveals the complex technical mastery behind a striking recent acquisition, Henry Bone’s enamel portrait of William Manning.

Macquarie Digital Portraiture Award 2014

22 August 2014

Archived media releases 2014

Press releases for media.

Michael Kimmelman

Magazine article by Pamela Gray, 2002

Michael Kimmelman, Chief Art Critic of The New York Times and author of Portraits: Talking with Artists at the Met, the Modern, the Louvre and Elsewhere, presented the National Portrait Gallery Third Anniversary Lecture on 2 March 2002. He was generously brought to Australia by the Gordon Darling Foundation and Qantas.

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

Clara Crosbie, c. 1885

Arthur William Burman

Gift of John McPhee 2018

Talking heads

Garry Shead, Adrienne Levenson

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

Soffritto di Lucio, 2009

Portrait, oil on linen

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lucio Galletto OAM 2012
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Leigh Bowery, 1984

Robyn Beeche

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite

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

William Saurin Lyster, mid to late 1860s

Davies & Co

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

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.

The fat of the land

Portraits in the Landscape

Sir Sidney Kidman (1857-1935) is inscribed in Australian legend as the ‘Cattle King’.

Open Air

Previous exhibition, 2008

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

Clifton Pugh

Australians

Previous exhibition, 2005

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.

Rosina Carandini, mid 1860s

Charles Hewitt

Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

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

18 October 2018

Previous exhibition, 2022

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.

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.

Starry knight

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

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

Someone to watch over you

Magazine article by Carrie Kibbler, 2013

Carrie Kibbler looks at how portraiture fits into the Australian Artbank Collection.

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

Finalists announced for National Photographic Portrait Prize

14 November 2018

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2001

The National Portrait Gallery would like to congratulate the forty finalists for the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2019.

String of Pearls

Andrew Sayers discusses the portrait of Dr Joan Croll AO by the Australian artist John Brack.

Martin Sharp, 1986

Garry Shead

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

My father-in-law watering his garden, 1986 by Davida Allen

Lovingly observed

Sarah Engledow previews the beguiling summer exhibition, Idle hours.

Arthur T. Woodward

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2016

Arthur Thomas 'A T' Woodward (1865–1943), painter and art scholar, was born in Birmingham, England.

1 portrait in the collection

Dr Edward MacMahon, 1959 by William Dobell

Bill and Ted's excellent portrait.

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

Fannie Carandini, mid 1860s

Charles Hewitt

Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

C.H.T. Costantini

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

Charles Henry Theodore Costantini (also Constantine, Constantini and Costantine) was a Paris-born surgeon of Italian descent who was twice transported to the Australian colonies in the 1820s.

1 portrait in the collection

The Fairfax Gift

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

2015-17 Acquisition Fund

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

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.

Martha Mary Robertson, 1866

Thomas Woolner in Australia

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

Missing Persons

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Desperately seeking Woolner medallions

William St. Leonards Robertson, c. 1869

Five Years of National Portrait Gallery Commissions

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

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

Richard Divall AO OBE

Frà Professor Richard Divall AO OBE (1945–2017), conductor, composer and scholar, grew up in Manly and was educated at Manly Boys’ High School.

1 portrait in the collection

Cocky McGrath

Magazine article by Michelle Fracaro, 2004

The long life and few words of a vice-regal cockatoo

Bloodlines

Michelle Fracaro describes Lionel Lindsay's woodcut The Jester (self-portrait).

Percy Leason

Percy Leason, artist, illustrator and cartoonist, grew up in Victoria's Wimmera region and trained in the rudiments of art in Nhill.

1 portrait in the collection

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

Waterloo and Mrs. Moore

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.

Very fine and very like

Magazine article by Diana O'Neil, 2016

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?

Of jumpers and river gums, red

Diana O’Neil on Noel Counihan’s vivid 1971 portrait of Alan Marshall.

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.

A Singular Line

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2003

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

The Bath Butterfly

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2017

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

Louise Lovely feeding gulls in a park, 1969 Unknown photographer

Jewelled nights

Anne Sanders celebrates the cinematic union of two pioneering australian women.

Anna F. Walker

Magazine article by Paul Moorhouse, 2007

Anna Frances Walker (1830–1913), botanical artist and collector, was one of the thirteen children of Thomas Walker, a high-ranking colonial public servant, and his wife Anna Elizabeth, the daughter of merchant and landowner John Blaxland.

1 portrait in the collection

"Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?", 1956

Pop goes the preconception

A National Portrait Gallery, London exhibition redefines portraiture, shifting the focus towards a new perspective on Pop Art.

L. Gordon Darling AC CMG

31 August 2015

Archived media releases 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.

The world of Thea Proctor

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

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.

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.

The aviatrix

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

Joanna Gilmour explores the extraordinary life of Australian female aviator Nancy Bird Walton AO OBE

Drawing inspiration

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2017

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

Talma Studios, Sydney

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2004

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

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.

Face the music

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2005

Drawn from the Gallery's collection, the exhibition Face the Music explores the remarkable talents and achievements of Australian musicians, composers, conductors and celebrities associated with the music industry.

Waterfall in Australia, c. 1830 by Augustus Earle

Augustus serendipitous

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2016

The London-born son of an American painter, Augustus Earle ended up in Australia by accident in January 1825.

Lady Jane Grey, c.1590-1600 (also known as The ‘Streatham’ portrait) Artist unknown

The Royal she

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2019

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

The Final Frontier

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2002

Magda Keaney talks with Montalbetti+Campbell about their photographic portrait of Australian astronaut Andy Thomas.

NPPP 2009 exhibition essay

NPPP 2012 learning resource

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

Anthony Anderton

An interview with the photographer.

Vintage Cassab

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2017

The oil portrait of Sir Frank Packer KBE by Judy Cassab was gifted to the National Portrait Gallery in 2006.

Costantini's convictions

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

Queen Victoria

Last Sunday I had the privilege of appearing at the Canberra Writers’ Festival in conversation with Julia Baird. The subject of our session was Julia’s recent biography, Victoria the Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman who Ruled an Empire.

A real Pratt

The death of a gentlewoman is shrouded in mystery, a well-liked governor finds love after sorrow, and two upright men become entangled in the historical record.

So Fine

17 May 2018

Magazine article by Peter Jeffrey, 2016

The National Portrait Gallery is pleased to announce its winter exhibition is So Fine: Contemporary women artists make Australian history. It will open to the public from 29 June 2018.

Hottie's Snifter to port

Peter Jeffrey trips the hound nostalgic.

What price self?

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2013

Jane Raffan investigates auction sales of self portraits nationally and internationally.

A guy from Paris

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2018

Sarah Engledow on a foundational gallery figure who was quick on the draw.

The importance of being bearded

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2012

Joanna Gilmour discovers that the beards of the ill-fated explorers Burke and Wills were as epic as their expedition to traverse Australia from south to north.

Promise Fulfilled

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2016

The life and achievements of Sir Edward Holden, who is represented in the portrait collection by a bust created by Leslie Bowles.

Benny (42nd Street Series), 1979–80 by Larry Clark

City boys

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

Opening of the First Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia by H.R.H. The Duke of Cornwall and York, May 9, 1901, 1903 by Tom Roberts

Empire records

Magazine article by Kylie Scroope, 2011

Celebrates the centenary of the first national art collection, the Historic Memorials Collection, housed at Australia's Parliament House.

Pre-Raphaelite Profile

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

In 2006 the National Portrait Gallery acquired a splendid portrait of Victoria's first governor, Lieutenant Governor Charles Joseph La Trobe by Thomas Woolner.

A potpourri of portraits

Magazine article by Natalie Wilson, 2023

Archie 100 curator (and detective) Natalie Wilson’s nationwide search for Archibald portraits unearthed the fascinating stories behind some long-lost treasures.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2023

Learning resources

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

So Fine

28 June 2018

Archived media releases 2023

Ten women artists explore the possibilities of portraiture as a contemporary art form; and reinterpret and reimagine Australian history in the Portrait Gallery’s new exhibition So Fine: Contemporary women artists make Australian history.

The 2023 National Photographic Portrait Prize

16 June 2023

Shea Kirk’s portrait of friend and fellow-artist Emma Armstrong-Porter has won the 2023 National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Dupain detective

Magazine article by Johanna McMahon, 2019

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

In the round

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2009

Andrew Sayers outlines the highlights of the National Portrait Gallery's display of portrait sculpture.

Shakespeare to Winehouse: Icons from the National Portrait Gallery, London

Announcing Shakespeare to Winehouse

24 November 2021

Archived media releases 2021

More than eighty treasures from the National Portrait Gallery London will travel to Canberra for a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from March 2022.

Shadows of light

Magazine article by Mark Haworth-Booth, 2002

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

Showing character

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2016

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

Sir Thomas Gore-Browne, 1864

J Walch & Sons

Portrait, tinted lithograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Cachasunghia, Osage Warrior 1804–06 by Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin

Political profiles

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2016

Joanna Gilmour examines the prolific output of Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin, and discovers the risk of taking a portrait at face value.

Sydney Cove medallion, 1789 by Josiah Wedgwood

The medallion

In recent years I have become fascinated by the so-called Sydney Cove Medallion (1789), a work of art that bridges the 10,000-mile gap between the newly established penal settlement at Port Jackson and the beating heart of Enlightenment England.

200 Years of Portraiture

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

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

Giving and getting

The exhibition Portraits for Posterity celebrates gifts to the Gallery, of purchases made with donated funds, and testifies to the generosity and community spirit of Australians.

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.

Heartfelt

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2018

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

The artist and her family, c. 1854 by Martha Berkeley

Presence and absence

The art of Australia’s colonial women painters affords us an invaluable, alternative perspective on the nascent nation-building project.

Apollo's breath

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2016

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

Judy Davis and Sam Neill in ‘My Brilliant Career’, 1979 David Kynoch

Moving still

Magazine article by Anne O'Hehir, 2022

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

Studio of the American & Australasian Photographic Co., Hill End, 1872

A rogue's calling card

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

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

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, 1885-86 by
John Singer Sargent

A feast of friends

Magazine article by Richard Ormond, 2015

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

The bright-eyed Mariner

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

A new colonial portrait brings a zealous captain near.

In a good paddock

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2011

Celebrating a new painted portrait of Joseph Banks, Sarah Engledow spins a yarn of the naturalist, the first kangaroo in France and Don, a Spanish ram.

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.

The Saint and the merchant

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

Emanuel Solomon gave shelter to the Sisters of St Joseph upon the excommunication of St Mary MacKillop.

Top shot that

Magazine article by Gideon Haigh, 2009

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

The art of dress

Magazine article by Dr Emma Kindred, 2023

Emma Kindred examines fashion as a representation of self and social ritual in 19th-century portraiture.

Madame Sibly, Phrenologist and Mesmerist

Sibly irresistible

Magazine article by Alexandra Roginski, 2019

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

Oz and beyond

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2007

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

Pushpamala N

by Ajay Sinha

Artist essays

Pushpamala N. was born in 1956 in Bangalore. Her early training was in sculpture, but as her practice progressed she brought an early enthusiasm for narrative figuration into her photographic work.

Some prime ministers

Magazine article by Jane Kinsman, 2007

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

Themes and variations (Annelies) A13, 1946

Listening to form

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

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.

Poison pen

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2010

Michael Desmond examines the career of the eighteenth-century suspected poisoner and portrait artist Thomas Griffiths Wainewright.

Material culture

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2018

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

Portrait of a Pioneer , 1917
Violet Teague

Off her own bat

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

Joanna Gilmour profiles Violet Teague, whose sophisticated works hid her originality and non-conformity in plain sight.

Speed demon

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

Scott Redford discusses his dynamic portrait commission of motorcycling champion and 2008 Young Australian of the Year Casey Stoner.

Alternative virtue

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

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

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.

Amy Johnson wearing a woollen suit from the collection of flight clothes designed by Madame Schiaparelli for her solo flight from London to Cape Town, 1938 unknown photographer

Air wear

Magazine article by Esther Agostino, 2015

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

Aussies all

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2006

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

Abstraction and figuration

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

James Angus discusses his major sculpture commission Geo Face Distributor with Christopher Chapman.

Tiny Trace of a Colonial Giant

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2004

At just 7.8 x 6.2 cm, the daguerreotype of Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa is one of the smallest works in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery.

Mental as everything

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2006

Chris O'Doherty, also known as Reg Mombassa, is best-known for his Mambo imagery but he also paints a lot of self portraits.

Sandor Ferenczis 50th birthday dinner, Budapest, 1923

Less than six degrees of separation

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2011

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

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.

Adam’s Prize Apples

Magazine article by Pamela Gerrish Nunn, 2016

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

Beyond the bow tie

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

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

Uncommon Australians

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

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

The Cutmear sisters, Jane and Lucy, c. 1842

A man of superior attainments

Joanna Gilmour explores the life of a colonial portrait artist, writer and rogue Thomas Griffiths Wainewright.

Fine and dandy

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

Whether the result of misadventure or misdemeanour, many accomplished artists were transported to Australia where they ultimately left a positive mark on the history of art in this country.

Private virtues public lives

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

Family affections are preserved in a fine selection of intimate portraits.

Worth her salt

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

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

The Window Seat, 1907 by Frances Hodgkins

Kiwi magpie

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2018

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

William Charles Wentworth -The Australian Patriot

The Wentworths – Hidden in Plain Sight

Magazine article by Dr Grace Blakeley-Carroll, 2015

Grace Carroll on the gendered world of the Wentworths.

One hundred days at 7pm 2015 by Fiona McMonagle

Self-effacing

Magazine article by Michael Wardell, 2016

Michael Wardell samples the fare in the University of Queensland National Self-portrait Prize.

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.

Albert Jonas and John Xiniwe of The African Choir, 1891 London Stereoscopic Co.

Back in black

Magazine article by Krysia Kitch, 2017

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

Some women you may not know

Alison Alder

‘Everybody’s lives are built by so many influences, and for me, it is writers, artists and activists who have influenced how I think about the world.’

The mind's eye

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2017

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

Revd Dr Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch, c.1795 by Sir Henry Raeburn

Great Scots

Magazine article by Diana O'Neil, 2017

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

Secure the shadow ere the substance fade

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

The tragic tale of Tom Wills, the ‘inventor’ of Australian Rules Football.

Cover, first minute book of the Tasmanian Society of Natural History

Embrace your inner nerd

Explore The Popular Pet Show

The southern winter has arrived. For people in the northern hemisphere (the majority of humanity) the idea of snow and ice, freezing mist and fog in June, potentially continuing through to August and beyond, encapsulates the topsy-turvidom of our southern continent.

Robyn Sweaney

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.

Less than six degrees of separation

Lecture, 28 May 2011

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

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

Home truths

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

The Art Lovers - Megan, 2013 by Gary Grealy

Everybody, look serious

NPPP 2014 exhibition essay

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

Cultural kaleidoscope

Magazine article by Alexandra Roginski, 2015

The complex connections between four creative Australians; Patrick White, Sidney Nolan, Robert Helpmann and Peter Sculthorpe.

Getting a head

Alexandra Roginski gets a feel for phrenology’s fundamentals.

Mick Jagger, Madonna and Tony Curtis, 1997

The Vanity model

Magazine article by David Friend, 2009

Vanity Fair Editor David Friend describes how the rebirth of the magazine sated our desire for access into the lives of celebrities and set the standard for the new era of portrait photography.

NPPP 2016 exhibition essay

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

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.

Mugshots

A toast to the acquisition of an unconventional new portrait of former Prime Minister, Stanley Melbourne Bruce.

Portrait of Thea Proctor, 1905 by George Lambert

The real Thea

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

The art of Inner Worlds

Lecture, 7 May 2011

Magazine article by Judith Pugh, 2005

Dr Christopher Chapman NPG Curator of Inner Worlds explains the development of an exhibition that spans from Surrealism to contemporary art.

A sketch for some portraits

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

Practising the Minuet (Miss Hilda Spong)

An actress and her fans

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

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

Generous Janice

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

Dr Sarah Engledow puts four gifts to the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection in context.

Trevor Jamieson, 2016 by Brett Canet-Gibson

The more things change...

NPPP 2017 exhibition essay

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

The personal and the historical

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.

Christmas Island

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

This is my last Trumbology before, in a little more than a week from now, I pass to my successor Karen Quinlan the precious baton of the Directorship of the National Portrait Gallery.

Helen Blaxland judging flower arrangements, c. 1940s photographer unknown

Petal to the mettle

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

The silent partner

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

The Bare story

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

Forest Creek, Mount Alexander Diggings, 1852 by S. T. Gill

The Rothschilds, the Montefiores, and the Victorian Gold Rush

Some years ago my colleague Andrea Wolk Rager and I spent several days in the darkened basement of a Rothschild Bank, inspecting every one of the nearly 700 autochromes created immediately before World War I by the youthful Lionel de Rothschild.

Rick Amor: 21 Portraits