Search / james gleeson

Portrait, pencil, charcoal and paper collage on paper

James Gleeson AO was Australia's best-known surrealist artist, and from the late 1930s onwards he was a tireless supporter of Australian modern art.

3 portraits in the collection

James Gleeson

In their own words

Recorded 1962

Study for "Portrait of the artist as an evolving landscape", 1991

James Gleeson

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ray Wilson OAM in memory of James Agapitos OAM 2011
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

James Gleeson, 1995

Greg Weight

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

James Gleeson, 1974 (printed 2014)

Douglas Thompson

Archibald McDonald, Henry Samuel Sadd

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

The Catholic Hierarchy of Australia, 1869

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

James Wilson

James Wilson (1760–1840), naval officer, was the commander of a ship called the Duff, which in 1797 brought a group of missionaries from the London Missionary Society to Tahiti.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir James Martin

Sir James Martin (1820-1886) was fourth Chief Justice of New South Wales.

1 portrait in the collection

James Fairfax AO

James Oswald Fairfax AC (1933-2017) was the eldest son of Sir Warwick Fairfax.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir James Hardy OBE

Sir James Hardy is a highly respected wine maker, sportsman, raconteur, businessman and community leader.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir James McNeill CBE

Sir James McNeill CBE (1916-1987) was chairman of BHP from 1977 to 1984.

1 portrait in the collection

Hon. James G. Francis

James Goodall Francis (1819–1884), a London-born merchant and politician, arrived in Hobart as a steerage passenger in February 1835.

1 portrait in the collection

Clive James AO CBE

Clive James AM (1939-2019), writer, broadcaster and critic, grew up in Sydney, attending Hurstville Opportunity School, Sydney Tech.

1 portrait in the collection

James Morrison

James Morrison (b. 1962), known internationally as a jazz recording artist, composer and flamboyant virtuoso performer, started to play the cornet at the age of seven.

1 portrait in the collection

James Gillray

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

1 portrait in the collection

Sir James Fergusson

Sir James Fergusson (1832–1907), governor, was educated at Rugby School and was still a student there when he succeeded his father as Baronet of Kilkerran in 1849.

1 portrait in the collection

James Buller

James Buller (1812-1884), Wesleyan missionary, emigrated to Australia in 1835 from Helston, Cornwall, hoping to join a mission in the South Seas.

1 portrait in the collection

James Scobie

James Scobie (1860-1940), horse trainer, was born at Ararat, Victoria, and at age 20 he rode his first metropolitan jumping winner at Ballarat.

1 portrait in the collection

James Moore

James Moore (1834-1904) was an undistinguished scholar before he left Ireland for Melbourne in 1862.

1 portrait in the collection

James Quinn

James Quinn was born in Melbourne and trained at the NGV School before studying in Paris from the mid-1890s to 1902.

1 portrait 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

James Donovan

James T Donovan (1861–1922), journalist, Catholic historian and amateur singer, was born into an Irish Catholic family in Sydney and grew up in Womerah Avenue, Darlinghurst.

1 portrait in the collection

James Moorhouse

James Moorhouse (1826-1915), Anglican bishop, had an exceptionally distinguished career and publication record before he came from England to Melbourne to succeed Charles Perry.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir James Balderstone

Sir James Balderstone (1921-2014) was chairman of BHP from 1984 to 1989.

1 portrait in the collection

James Heath

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

2 portraits in the collection

James Raymond

James Raymond (c. 1786–1851), the first postmaster-general in New South Wales, came to Sydney in 1826, his fortunes having declined in Ireland, where he was said to have been a landowner and magistrate.

1 portrait in the collection

James Mollison AO

James Mollison AO (1931–2020) was the inaugural director of the National Gallery of Australia.

2 portraits in the collection

James Angus

James Angus, born in Perth, Western Australia, has consistently explored the complexities inherent in traditions of Western sculpture.

1 portrait in the collection

James G. Beaney

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

1 portrait in the collection

Sir James Dowling

Sir James Dowling (1787-1844), judge, worked as a parliamentary reporter before he was called to the Bar in London in May 1815.

1 portrait in the collection

James McClelland

Jim McClelland (1915-1999) was a lawyer, politician (senator for NSW 1971-1978), judge and columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald (1986).

1 portrait in the collection

James Houston

Portrait, enamel paint on cast aluminium

Scoring first prize in New South Wales for Art in the 1983 HSC was a signal that a talented creative career lay ahead and this has indeed proven the case.

2 portraits in the collection

Geo Face Distributor, 2009

James Angus

Commissioned with funds donated by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2009

Portrait of Private Edward Lello 1915 by Darge Photographic Company

Final frame

Magazine article by Karl James, 2016

Karl James reflects on soldier portraiture during the Great War.

Sir James Reading Fairfax KT

Portrait, inkjet print on rag paper

James Reading Fairfax (1834 -1919) was the second of John Fairfax's sons to join him in business.

1 portrait in the collection

James Iyuna, 1986

Martin van der Wal

Purchased 2005

James T. Donovan, 1892

Tom Roberts

Purchased 2015

Captain James King

James King (c. 1750-1784), naval officer, was born in Lancashire and educated at Clitheroe Grammar School before entering the navy in 1762.

1 portrait in the collection

James Cassius Williamson

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

1 portrait in the collection

James Semple Lisle

Major James Semple Lisle (1759-1799) was a confidence trickster. Convicted of theft, he was sentenced to transportation and embarked on the Lady Shore for Botany Bay in 1797.

1 portrait in the collection

Captain Cook's Tablet at Cape Solander, Botany Bay, New South Wales

Captain James Cook RN

James Cook (1728-1779), maritime explorer, surveyed and claimed the east coast of Australia on the first of his three great voyages of discovery in the Pacific.

12 portraits in the collection

Sir James McCulloch KCMG

Sir James McCulloch KCMG (1819–1893) served four separate terms as premier of Victoria between 1863 and 1877.

1 portrait in the collection

James Alipius Goold

James Alipius Goold (1812-1886), first Catholic bishop and archbishop of Melbourne, volunteered for service in New South Wales having studied in Rome and Perugia.

2 portraits in the collection

James Robert M. Robertson

James Robert M. Robertson (1844-1932), mining engineer and coal magnate, was the son of a Scottish surgeon and colliery owner, and qualified in medicine himself before opting for a career in mining.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir James Vernon, 1978

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

Thomas James Lempriere

Thomas Lempriere came to Tasmania in 1822, received a land grant and became a founding shareholder of the Bank of Van Diemen's Land.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Sir James Oswald Fairfax, 1929

W.A. Bowring

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

Ian Thorpe, 2002

James Houston

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

Ian Thorpe, 2002

James Houston

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

Facing the inferno

About Face article

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

Sir James Reading Fairfax, 1898

Tom Roberts

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

James Robert Millar Robertson, 1926

W.A. Bowring

Portrait, oil and hand-stitching on canvas

Gift of the descendants of James Robert Millar Robertson 2011

James Morrison with flugelhorn, 1994

Kerrie Lester

Purchased 1999 . Courtesy of the Corrigan family and Stuart Purves.

James Oswald Fairfax, c. 1991

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

Clive James, 1999

Polly Borland

Purchased 2001

James Mollison, c. 1973 (printed 2004)

Wesley Stacey

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of James Mollison AO 2004

James Mollison, c. 1973 (printed 2004)

Wesley Stacey

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of James Mollison AO 2004

Reverend James Buller, 1864

Batchelder & O'Neill

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Sir James Hardy, c. 1975 (printed 2002)

Lewis Morley

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

James Raymond, c. 1845-1850

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Gift of Lydia Raymond Day 2010. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Sir James Gobbo, 1983

Paul Fitzgerald AM

Gift of Mercy Health and Aged Care 2006

Blue Mountain, Owner, Trainer, Jockey, James Scobie, 1887

Frederick Woodhouse

Portrait, chromolithograph on paper

Purchased 2008

'A Postmaster General' (Sir James Fergusson) (Image plate from Vanity Fair), 1892

Sir Leslie Ward

Purchased 2014

James McClelland, 1946

Nancy Borlase AM

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Gillian Appleton (McClelland) 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

James Macpherson Grant, c. 1870s

Paterson Brothers

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of John McPhee 2018

James Macarthur, c. 1836-1838

Portrait, black and bronze ink with white bodycolour highlight on buff board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2019

James Swan, c. 2000

Penny Tweedie

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004

Sir James Balderstone, 1989

Sir William Dargie CBE

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

Sir James McNeill, 1980

Sir William Dargie CBE

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

Major James Semple-Lisle, c. 1799

J. Harding

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Tracey Moffatt dreaming, 2017

James Horan

Gift of the artist 2019

Adam Goodes, 2019

James Brickwood

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

Purchased 2022

The Fairfax Gift

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

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

Portrait, etching, hand coloured on paper

Gift of Douglas Stewart Fine Books 2013

Abstraction and figuration

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

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

Madame Sibly, Phrenologist and Mesmerist

Madame Sibly, Phrenologist and Mesmerist, c. 1870

James E. Bray

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite photograph

Purchased 2017

Introversion from High Jinks in the Hydrangeas, 2020 Tamara Dean

In our nature

Magazine article by Tara James, 2022

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

Therese Desmond, 1919-1920

James Burnside

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Madeleine Howell 2013

Captain Wilson, 1819

Freeman, T Hamilton

Portrait, Engraving on paper

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

George Langley, 1918

James McBey

Portrait, conte on paper

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

Captain James King, engraving after Webber, 1784

Francesco Bartolozzi

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Robert Oatley AO 2007

A Chief Secretary "Blunt, but Honest" [The Hon. James Goodall Francis], 1874

Portrait, white on blue Jasper Ware in oval shaped wood and gilt frame

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

Jasperware medallion of Captain James Cook

Jasperware medallion of Captain James Cook, 1779

Wedgwood and Bentley

Purchased with funds provided by Robert Oatley AO 2007

Captain James Cook, engraving after John Webber

Captain James Cook, engraving after John Webber, 1784

Francesco Bartolozzi

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Robert Oatley AO 2007

Sir James Forrest, 1978

William Boissevain

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Alcoa World Alumina Australia 2005
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Portrait of Captain James Cook RN, 1782

John Webber

Purchased by the Commonwealth Government with the generous assistance of Robert Oatley AO and John Schaeffer AO 2000

Sir James Martin, c. 1880s

Henry Samuel Sadd

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

A Politician "Unlock the Lands!" [The Hon. James MacPhearson Grant], 1874

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

Archbishop James Goold, c. 1870

Archibald McDonald

Thomas Foster Chuck and Son

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Dr James Moorhouse, 1878-1879

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

The Hon. James Whyte, c. 1874

John Hubert Newman

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

The Hon. Sir James Dowling, c. 1860

Henry Samuel Sadd

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Bishop James Moore, c. 1888-1889

Thomas Foster Chuck

Portrait, pencil and gouache on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Archbishop James Knox, n.d.

Louis Kahan AO

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

The Royal Society medal in commemoration of Captain James Cook

The Royal Society medal in commemoration of Captain James Cook, 1784

Lewis Pingo

Portrait, silver medal

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Robert Oatley AO 2007

A Right Worshipful. "He objects to Ladies" [James Gatehouse, Mayor of Melbourne, 1874-1875], 1874

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Nick Farr-Jones, 2019

James Brickwood

Commissioned with funds from the Patrick Corrigan Portrait Commission Series 2019

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

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

J.C. Williamson, c. 1913

John Longstaff

'The photojournalists of their time'

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

Captain Cook

Portrait story

An exploration of the role of artists such as John Webber who, whilst a member of Cook’s crew over many voyages, created paintings and drawings of the situations and people the explorers encountered.

Omai, 1777

William Hodges, James Caldwall

Portrait, copper-line engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Le Cap.ne Jacques Cook, Membre de la Société Royale des Londres

Le Cap.ne Jacques Cook, Membre de la Société Royale des Londres, c. 1778

Robert Bénard

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on board

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

Douglas Mawson, 1933

Henry James Haley

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 hand of Captain Cook

Google Arts and Culture

Learning resources

Take a close look at a portrait with a hidden message in its hands. For Year 7 – 9 students.

A Victorian Knight "Thrice Chief Secretary" [Sir James McCulloch K.C.M.G.], 1874

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

James Horatio Nelson Cassell, late 1840s to early 1850s

An interview with Betty Churcher

Portrait, daguerreotype

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

'The portraits of Captain Cook'

Portrait story

Betty Churcher describes the creation of the portrait of Captain James Cook in the National Portrait Gallery.

Sure thing

Blue Mountain, Owner, Trainer, Jockey, James Scobie 1887 by Frederick Woodhouse Snr. is a portrait of James Scobie, well known jockey and eminent horse trainer.

Captain W Kinghorne, 1834

Thomas James Lempriere

Samuel Shelley, James Heath

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

Portrait of Captain Edward Riou, 1801

Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Lauded legacy

Magazine article by Karl James, 2015

Karl James gives short shrift to doubts about the profile of General Sir John Monash.

John Monash, 1919

James Quinn

G E. Madeley after John Lhotsky

Gift of John Colin Monash Bennett 2007. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Captain Cook's Tablet at Cape Solander, Botany Bay, New South Wales, 1839

James Watson after Sir Joshua Reynolds

Purchased 2018

John Hawkesworth LLD, c. 1850 (originally 1776)

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2007

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Cook in context

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

View of Owhyhee in the Sandwich Islands in the south Seas (The Death of Cook)

View of Owhyhee in the Sandwich Islands in the south Seas (The Death of Cook), 1787-1788

Francis Jukes after John Cleveley

Portrait, aquatint, hand coloured on paper

Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family 2012

Capturing Cook

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2003

In focussing on the importance of gifts in the building of the collection, prominence must be given to the most spectacular of the National Portrait Gallery's acquisitions; the portrait of Captain James Cook RN by John Webber R.A.

Thrown together

James Heath, G G & J Robinson

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

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

an unknown artist after Antoine Maurin

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

Cook, n.d.

Portrait, engraving, hand coloured on paper

Gift of Ted and Gina Gregg 2012

Captain James Cook, 1837

Nathaniel Dance, William Holl, Fisher, Son & Co London

James Faed, W Wilding after John Watson Gordon

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

General Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1850 (published)

Francesco Bartolozzi, William Byrne after John Webber

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

The Death of Captain Cook, 1784

Nathaniel Dance, William Holl, Peter Jackson, London & Paris

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Robert Oatley AO 2007

Captain James Cook from the original in the Naval Gallery, Greenwich Hospital

Captain James Cook from the original in the Naval Gallery, Greenwich Hospital, c. 1837

Magazine article by Leslie Moran, 2007

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

Judicial portraits

Leslie Moran investigates the portraits of judges in the National Portrait Gallery's collection.

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

Milligan Bros (Studio)

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

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

Theresa and James Laidley Mort, 1844

William Nicholas

Portrait, watercolour and gouache on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Mort family 2009

Captain James Cook FRS, 1784

Thomas Cook

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

Betina Fauvel-Ogden and James Graham

Vox pops

Well, James is my partner's son-in-law, and I've known him for quite a long time.

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

Bruce Pollard

Bruce Pollard (b. 1936), gallerist, established the Pinocotheca Gallery in a St Kilda mansion in 1967, and relocated it to an old hat factory in Richmond in 1970.

1 portrait in the collection

Geoffrey Graham, 1941

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

Eric Thake

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

7 portraits in the collection

The rock and the flies, 1952

Gift of Professor Van Sommers 2011

Sunshine and rain, Lygon Street, 1964

Gift of Professor Van Sommers 2011

Epstein/Einstein? I can never remember!, 1962

Gift of Professor Van Sommers 2011

Mr Thake - Dr So and So, 1959

Gift of Professor Van Sommers 2011

Figure in a rocky landscape, 1965

Gift of Professor Peter Van Sommers 2011

Self portrait among the ant hills, 1950

Gift of Professor Peter Van Sommers 2011

Desert Island, 1967

Portrait, papercut silhouette drawing

Gift of Professor Peter Van Sommers 2011

James Chung Gon, 2017

Pamela See

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2019

Art Handlers' Award 2020

James & Jessica

The Art Handlers' Award for 2020 went to Gemma Baxter (right view), 2019 by Shea Kirk.

Art Handlers' Award NPPP 2019 video: 1 minute

Art Handlers' Award 2019

James & Michelle

The Art Handlers' Award for 2019 went to A Calm So Deep, 2018 by Elizabeth Looker.

Art Handlers' Award 2021

James & Jessica

The Art Handlers' Award for 2021 went to Kristina Kraskov for I'm just a suburban fashionista.

Fragility my freedom – Ink blot mind, 2011

by Aaron James McGarry

Finalist, iD2012

Annual lecture 2012 photos

1 August 2012

With James Holloway, former Director of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

Sir Warwick Oswald Fairfax

Sir Warwick Oswald Fairfax (1901-1987), grandson of Sarah and James Fairfax, was the only son of Sir James Fairfax, who had become a partner in the company in the 1880s.

1 portrait in the collection

Lady Ellen Stirling

Portrait, drypoint on paper

Lady Ellen Stirling (1807-1874) was the third daughter of James Mangles of Woodbridge in Surrey, a Director of the East India Company and later an MP.

1 portrait in the collection

John Perceval painting, 1958

Fred Williams

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of James Mollison AO 2007

Hon. William McLellan

William McLellan (1831–1906), miner and parliamentarian, served on the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1859 to 1877, and again between 1883 and 1897.

1 portrait in the collection

Jessie Whyte

December 2009 - February 2010

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

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait 31

March - May 2009

Magazine

This issue features the new National Portrait Gallery building, James Cook and John Banks, Cate Blanchett, Irina Baranova, Annette Kellerman, Shepard Fairey and more.

Portrait 34

Magazine

This issue features Australian cricketers, surfing legend Isabel Letham, Christos Tsiolkas, Bob Brown's portrait by Harold 'The Kangaroo' Thornton, James Angus, virtual portraits and more.

Finalist interviews

Tara James, Exhibitions Coordinator at the National Portrait Gallery interviews Finalists from the Living Memory National Photographic Portrait Prize.

A Goldfields Member "The Dove of Ararat" [The Hon. William McLellan M.L.A], 1874

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

Sir Warwick Fairfax, 1981

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of John Fairfax Holdings Ltd 2002
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa

Theresa Mort

Archived media releases 2016

Theresa Shepheard Mort (née Laidley, 1820-1869), colonial spouse, was one of eight children of civil servant James Laidley and his wife Eliza Jane (née Shepheard).

2 portraits in the collection

Don’t judge a book by its cover

Lust

You saucy minx

Provocative talks on Saturdays in September

29 August 2016

Join The Saturday Paper’s chief political correspondent, Karen Middleton, for A Month of Saturdays – afternoon conversations bringing current affairs experts to the Gallery for engaging, real-time discussions about the topics that matter.

Elizabeth Fairfax

Elizabeth Fairfax (née Jesson, 1778–1861), colonial free settler, was born in Birmingham and around 1800 married William Fairfax, whose family had previously held estates in Barford, Warwickshire.

1 portrait in the collection

Kate Fitzpatrick, 1983

William Yang

Previous exhibition, 1999

Purchased 2003

A Tribute to William Dobell

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

Samuel Bellin

Portrait, pastel and chalk on paper laid down on cotton over Cedar strainer

Samuel Bellin, printmaker and engraver, trained in England under James Basire the Younger before travelling to Rome, where he honed his drafting skills and made the acquaintance of JMW Turner and other artists.

2 portraits in the collection

Jessie Whyte, c. 1840

Thomas Bock

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Tim Jarvis, 2018

Doug Gimesy

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2019

Bart Cummings AM

James Bartholomew (Bart) Cummings OAM (1927-2015) was Australia's most successful thoroughbred racehorse trainer.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Mrs Fairfax, n.d.

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2017

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of John Fairfax Holdings Ltd 2002
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

The mind's eye

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

Contemporary Australian Portraits

Previous exhibition, 2002

Contemporary Australian Portraits is a cross section, a sampling, of some of the present-day directions in Australian portrait practice

Freeman Brothers

Archived media releases 2015

James Freeman, who is credited with bringing the wet-plate photographic process to New South Wales, arrived in Sydney in 1854 to join his brother William, who had arrived the year before.

8 portraits in the collection

Portrait 50 hits the shelves

1 September 2015

With contributions from Julia Gillard, Fiona Gruber, and Dr Karl James, the National Portrait Gallery’s 50th edition of Portrait has something for everyone.

Captain William Kinghorne

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen on paper

William Kinghorne (1796-1878) came to the colonies from Scotland some time before 1824.

1 portrait in the collection

'awk' (Bob Hawke), 1972

Frank Hinder

Gift of HOTA (Home of the Arts), Gold Coast 2019 with the encouragement of Patrick Corrigan AM

Annie Edensor Roberts

Charles Warman Roberts married Annie Edensor Marsden (1824-1895) in Sydney in June 1845.

1 portrait in the collection

Winner announcement

Director Karen Quinlan AM announces the winner at the National Portrait Gallery.

Sir Leslie Ward

Sir Leslie Ward (1851-1922), signing his work 'Spy', was the most famous of the stable of caricaturists, including Sir Max Beerbohm and Carlo Pellegrini, who worked for the weekly English magazine Vanity Fair from 1869 to 1914.

31 portraits in the collection

Donors

$10,000 - $49,999

Omai

Omai (Mai) (c. 1750-1778), the first Polynesian to visit Britain, was a young man of middling social standing who volunteered to sail from Huahine to England with Captain Furneaux on the Adventure (the ship accompanying James Cook's Resolution on Cook's second voyage of discovery (1772-1775).

2 portraits in the collection

W.A. Bowring

Walter Bowring, born and educated in Auckland, contributed cartoons to the New Zealand observer and The weekly press, exhibited with the Canterbury Society of Arts and studied with Orpen and John in London, where he contributed to Punch, before arriving in Sydney in 1925.

3 portraits in the collection

Sir William Ashton OBE

Sir William (Will) Ashton OBE (1881-1963) was the son of James Ashton, who founded Adelaide's Norwood Art School in 1885 and its Academy of Arts in 1895.

1 portrait in the collection

Figurative foundation

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

Akira Isogawa

Inside the patterns

Portrait story

Iconic Australian fashion designer, Akira Isogawa discusses the development of his unique style.

Robert T. Carter

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

2 portraits in the collection

Joel Pratley

An interview with Joel Pratley, Winner of the Living Memory National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Dion Georgopoulos

An interview with Dion Georgopoulos, Finalist in the Living Memory National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Leith Alexander

An interview with Leith Alexander, Finalist in the Living Memory National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Glen Braithwaite

An interview with Glen Braithwaite, Finalist in the Living Memory National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Sandy Scheltema

An interview with Sandy Scheltema, Finalist in the Living Memory National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Jessica Hromas

An interview with Jessica Hromas, Finalist in the Living Memory National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Tajette O'Halloran

An interview with Tajette O'Halloran, Finalist in the Living Memory National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Clare M. Lapworth

An interview with Clare Lapworth, Finalist in the Living Memory National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Franky Tsang

An interview with Franky Tsang, Finalist in the Living Memory National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Glenn Homann

An interview with Glenn Homann, Finalist in the Living Memory National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Julian Kingma

An interview with Julian Kingma, Finalist in the Living Memory National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Jarrod Vero

Previous exhibition, 2006

An interview with Jarrod Vero, Finalist in the Living Memory National Photographic Portrait Prize.

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.

Tim Jarvis AM

Tim Jarvis AM (b. 1966), environmental scientist, author and adventurer, was the Australian Geographic Society’s Adventurer of the Year in 2013 and its Conservationist of the Year in 2016 – the only person ever to have received both awards.

1 portrait in the collection

Antoine Maurin

Antoine Maurin, lithographer, is little known. He was born in Perpignan, France, and died in Paris.

6 portraits in the collection

George Bell OBE

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

1 portrait in the collection

Kristina Kraskov

An interview with Kristina Kraskov, Finalist and Art Handlers' Award winner in the Living Memory National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Elliott and Fry

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

Dora Toovey

Magazine article by Brian Dale, 2001

Dora Toovey, born in Bathurst, trained in Sydney under Antonio Dattilo-Rubbo, James R Jackson (whom she married) and John Passmore.

2 portraits in the collection

The Quiet Australian

Robert Oatley talks about the repatriation of the John Webber portrait of Captain James Cook.

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa, c. 1847

an unknown artist, Thomas Wharton

Portrait, daguerreotype in a pinchbeck case

Purchased 2001

Lieutenant John Watts

Lieutenant John Watts (1755-1801) joined the Navy in 1770 and embarked with James Cook in 1776 on the fatal voyage of the Resolution.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Dr Johann Reinhold Forster and his son George Forster

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

Jean Francois Rigaud

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

Daniel Solander

Daniel Solander (1733-1782), naturalist, was a student of Carl Linnaeus, the Swede who devised and systemised the classification of plants and animals used today.

3 portraits in the collection

William Ashton, c. 1940s

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

Clive Shakespeare

Clive Shakespeare formed the soul/Tamla Motown cover group the Downtown Roll Band in 1968.

3 portraits in the collection

Sarah Fairfax

Sarah Reading (1808-1875) came to Sydney from England in 1838 with her husband, John Fairfax (1805-1877), who had left school at the age of twelve and been apprenticed to a printer and bookseller.

1 portrait in the collection

Ambrose Hallen, 1937

Lina Bryans

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Sir James and Lady Cruthers 2001

Michael Meszaros

Michael Meszaros has worked full-time as a sculptor for thirty years.

5 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

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

Ellen Stirling, c. 1828

Thomas Phillips

Purchased with funds from the Ian Potter Foundation 2008

Herb Elliott AC MBE

James Herbert 'Herb' Elliott AC MBE (b. 1938), runner, won the gold medal in the 1500 metres at the Rome Olympics in 1960.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Arvi Parbo AC

Sir Arvi Parbo AC (1926-2019) succeeded James Forrest as chairman of Alcoa of Australia in 1978.

3 portraits in the collection

John Fairfax, 1873

Charles Summers

Portrait, carrara marble

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

Sir Joshua Reynolds

National Portrait Gallery touring exhibitions

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

Hosting a touring exhibition

Information for galleries who would like to host an NPG exhibition.

Marcie Elizabeth Fairfax

Previous exhibition, 2002

Marcie Elizabeth 'Betty' Fairfax (1907–1995) was a leading figure in fashionable circles in Sydney in the 1920s and 1930s.

1 portrait in the collection

Angela Belgiorno-Zegna, 2001 by Salvatore Zofrea

Intimate Portraits

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

Sir John Young, c. 1862

Freeman Brothers

Portrait, albumen paper photograph on carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Tough & Tender

Previous exhibition, 2016

Art by Warwick Baker, Chris Burden, Larry Clark, Rozalind Drummond, Nan Goldin, Robert Mapplethorpe and Collier Schorr explores personal relations, individual expression and fluid identity.

Achille Simonetti

Achilles Simonetti (1838-1900) was a sculptor. Born in Rome, the son of sculptor Louis Simonetti, he trained as a religious sculptor.

1 portrait in the collection

John Schank

John Schank (1740–1823), naval officer, joined the Royal Navy at age 17, having served in the merchant service as a boy.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir George Young

Sir George Young (1732–1810), naval officer, first went to sea at the age of fourteen and saw action in Europe and India before joining the East India Company’s marine in 1753.

1 portrait in the collection

John Webber

When John Webber R.A. (c. 1752-1793), the son of a Swiss sculptor, living in London, submitted his work to the Royal Academy Schools, one of the first to admire his paintings was Dr Daniel Solander, the Swedish naturalist who had accompanied Cook and Banks on the first voyage.

3 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

The Sculling Match at Sydney for the Championship of the World [Edward Trickett] (from the Australasian Sketcher, 4 August 1877)

The Sculling Match at Sydney for the Championship of the World [Edward Trickett] (from the Australasian Sketcher, 4 August 1877), 1877

Portrait, wood engraving on paper

Purchased 2015

Sketch for portrait of Bart Cummings, 1986

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2002

Burnum Burnum, 1987 (printed 2010)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by James Bain AM and Janette Bain 2010

Tiga Bayles

Harold James Phillip 'Tiga' Bayles (1953–2016), a Birri Gubba Gungalu man, was a broadcaster and Aboriginal rights activist.

1 portrait in the collection

George Baird Shaw

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2011

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

2 portraits in the collection

The inner voice

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

In the National Interest

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

To Look Within

Self Portraits in Australia

Previous exhibition, 2004

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

Jemima Bellette

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

1 portrait in the collection

A. D. Hope OBE

Previous exhibition, 2005

AD Hope OBE (1907-2000), poet, literary critic and academic, was educated at Sydney University before winning a scholarship to Oxford.

2 portraits in the collection

Headspace 6

Who Am I?

The sixth in the National Portrait Gallery’s series of student exhibitions, will feature 200 portrait artworks, both two and three-dimensional, from secondary school students from across Australia

Portrait of Dr John Bradfield, c. 1920-1924

Reginald Jerrold-Nathan

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the family of Dr J J C Bradfield 2006
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Paul Partos

Portrait Sculpture in Australia

Paul Partos (1943-2002) came to Australia with his family in 1949, spending six months in a Perth orphanage before being reunited with his parents for their move to Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Decorative portrait – Len Lye, c.1925 by Rayner Hoff (1894-1937)

Presence and Absence

Previous exhibition, 2003

This exhibition focuses on exploring national and communal identity through sculptural production in Australia, from the early decades of settlement through to the present day

Raelene Sharp

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Raelene Sharp (b. 1957), artist, was born in Melbourne and began her career as a graphic artist in advertising.

2 portraits in the collection

Charles Warman Roberts, 1878

George Baird Shaw

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Thoms family 2011

'Timbere sauvage de la nouvelle galles du sud en grand costume (Relache au Port Jackson)'

'Timbere sauvage de la nouvelle galles du sud en grand costume (Relache au Port Jackson)', 1822

Jacques Etienne Victor Arago, Pierre Langlume

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Judith O'Conal-Prinz

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite

Judith O’Conal grew up in Sydney’s Rocks area and became interested in art as she repeatedly passed the plaque advertising the Julian Ashton School.

1 portrait in the collection

In memory of the Rev William Hill, 1869

Charles Wherrett

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Annie Roberts, 1878

George Baird Shaw

Portrait, watercolour on paper

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

Sir Arvi Parbo, 1992

Brian Dunlop

Portrait, engraving, hand coloured on paper

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

Corroboree, or Dance of the Natives of New South Wales

Corroboree, or Dance of the Natives of New South Wales, 1820

Walter Preston

Purchased 2013

Lewis Miller

Lewis Miller (b. 1959), artist, won the Archibald Prize in 1998 with one of his many portraits of fellow artist Allan Mitelman, and has been a finalist seventeen times.

4 portraits in the collection

Sir Arvi Parbo, 1993

Sir William Dargie CBE

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Alcoa World Alumina Australia 2005
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Anders Ousback, 1986 (printed 2018)

Gary Ede

Purchased 2018

Dr Solander, 1772

Portrait, copper-line engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Joseph Banks and Dr Solander, 1778

Previous exhibition, 2018

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

Collection: Icons

Volume Two

The second instalment of a display featuring bold contemporary portraits drawn from the collection. For the Gallery’s 20th birthday this display brings together a group contemporary photographic portraits of inspiring women and men.

Self portrait, 1909

Bess Norriss Tait

Portrait, watercolour and bodycolour on cardboard

Purchased with funds provided by Barbara and Jim Higgins 2010

Betty Churcher, 2008

Adam Knott

Purchased 2013

Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker OM

Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker OM GCSI CB MD FRS (1817-1911), botanist, explorer and medical doctor, visited Australia as a member of James Clark Ross's Antarctic expedition of 1839 to 1843.

2 portraits in the collection

Henry Reynolds, 2012

Dave Tacon

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Francis Nixon

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

2 portraits in the collection

Charles Warman Roberts

Magazine article by Christopher Baker, 2013

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

1 portrait in the collection

Hot Scots

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

Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground'. M.O. Ranger 3

Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground'. M.O. Ranger 3, 2001

eX de Medici

Portrait, watercolour, gouache and pencil on paper

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

John Darling

John Darling (1923-2015), businessman, company director and media producer was the son of Harold Gordon Darling, chair of BHP.

1 portrait in the collection

Bess Norriss Tait

Bess Norriss Tait (1879-1939), artist, was born in Melbourne and studied under Frederick McCubbin and Bernard Hall at the National Gallery School between 1897 and 1901.

1 portrait in the collection

Douglas Kirkland

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

Douglas Kirkland, photographer, was born in Canada and started his career on small newspapers there.

1 portrait in the collection

Pre-Raphaelite Profile

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

George Bellette

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

1 portrait in the collection

George Rrurrambu Burarrwanga

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on cabinet card

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

2 portraits in the collection

Sir John Hay, 1887

Freeman Brothers

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Oui-re-kine, 1807-1817

Nicolas-Martin Petit

Portrait, colour transparency on lightbox

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Marilyn Darling AC, 2010

Anne Zahalka

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2010

Bonita Mabo

Portrait, hand-cut acetate stencil, aerosol enamel on canvas

Bonita Mabo AO (c. 1943–2018), South Sea Islander reconciliation activist, was the widow of Torres Strait Islander land claimant Eddie Mabo.

1 portrait in the collection

Bob Hawke, 2012

Luke Cornish

Purchased 2013

Sir George Fisher CMG

Previous exhibition, 2018

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

1 portrait in the collection

Collection: Icons

Volume One

When a portrait communicates determination and individuality as boldly as these do, it has the potential to become an iconic image. For the Gallery’s 20th birthday this display brings together a group contemporary photographic portraits of inspiring women and men.

A man and his music: Peter Weiss and the Australian Chamber Orchestra

Peter Weiss AO

William Daniell after George Dance

Peter Weiss AO (1935–2020), cultural benefactor, was born into a well-to-do family in Vienna, which they fled in the late 1930s.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Joseph Banks, 1811

Portrait, soft ground etching on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

Vlase Zanalis

Palassis (Vlase, Vlazio or Vlasio) Zanalis (1902–1973) arrived in Western Australia as a twelve-year-old, accompanied by an uncle, from the Greek island of Kastellorizo in 1914.

1 portrait in the collection

Tribute

Betty Churcher

Magazine article, 2015

Betty Churcher AO (1931–2015), gallery director, author, painter and lecturer, was educated in Brisbane before studying art in London.

Lady Mary Hay

Portrait, pastel on paper laid on canvas

Lady Hay, née Chalmers (c. 1806-1892) was reported at the time of her death to have been about ten years older than Hay.

1 portrait in the collection

Charles John Fairfax, c. 1860

Edwin Dalton

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of John Fairfax Holdings Ltd 2002
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

The Honorable Sir Frederick Darley, c. 1887

Henry Samuel Sadd

Valentine Green after Johann Zoffany

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

John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, c. 1774

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Art Handlers' Award 2016

unknown artist after Sir Joshua Reynolds

The winner of our Art Handlers' Award receives $1000 and free return transport for their photograph, courtesy of International Art Services.

Portrait of Dr John Hawkesworth, c. 1770

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family 2018

Edward Trickett

Edward 'Ned' Trickett (1851- 916), sculler and hotelier, was the best sculler in New South Wales by 1875.

1 portrait in the collection

2021 Annual Appeal

Portrait, pencil on paper

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

Marcie Elizabeth Wilson, 1922

George Lambert

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Simpson family in memory of Caroline Simpson OAM 2008
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Walter Preston

Archived media releases 2015

Walter Preston, engraver and convict, came to New South Wales aboard the Guildford in 1812.

1 portrait in the collection

Welcome home, Captain Bligh

27 March 2015

The National Portrait Gallery will, next Tuesday, unveil an exciting new acquisition of irrefutable importance to all Australians. Portrait of William Bligh, in master’s uniform c. 1776, attributed to John Webber, is one of the earliest portraits of the contentious, historical figure, and extends the Gallery’s remarkable collection of early colonial portraits.

Greg Chappell, 1985 (printed 2010)

Johann Paul Georg Fischer

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by James Bain AM and Janette Bain 2010

Portrait of Augustus Leopold Küper, 1823

Portrait, watercolour over pencil on artist board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Annual Appeal

Listed by year

Norman Gunston and Denise Drysdale, 1976 (printed 2010)

Archived media releases 2018

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by James Bain AM and Janette Bain 2010

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018

8 March 2018

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

Max Walker, 1976 (printed 2010)

Previous exhibition, 2010

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by James Bain AM and Janette Bain 2010

National Youth Self Portrait Prize

NYSPP 2010

An annual event, the National Youth Self Portrait Prize seeks to encourage young people to embrace self portraiture and its expressive possibilities.

Nelson Illingworth

Portrait, pen and ink, brush and ink and pencil on paper

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

Yellow portrait (portrait of Alex Jelinek)

Yellow portrait (portrait of Alex Jelinek), 1955

Lina Bryans

Portrait, oil on plywood

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Paul and James Bryans 2015. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Margel and Tarquin, Canberra, c. 1945

Frank Hinder

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by the Ross family in memory of Noel and Enid Eliot 2014

John Fairfax, c. 1860

Edwin Dalton

Portrait, pastel on paper laid on canvas

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

Tommy Woodcock and Reckless, 1977 (printed 2010)

Portrait, oil and hand-stitching with diamantes on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by James Bain AM and Janette Bain 2010

Margaret Fink, 1989

Kerrie Lester

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

2013-14 Acquisition Fund

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

Icons

Parliament House

Touring exhibition, 2019

Evonne Goolagong (Cawley) AC MBE

Evonne Goolagong Cawley AC MBE (b. 1951), Wiradjuri tennis champion, was the number one women's tennis player in the world in 1971 and 1976.

3 portraits in the collection

Nicholas Paspaley Jnr

Nicholas Paspaley Jnr AC (b. 1948) is chair of the Paspaley Group of Companies, with interests in pearling, aviation, retail, pastoral holdings and commercial properties in Australia and internationally.

2 portraits in the collection

Harold Parker

Harold Parker (1873-1962), sculptor, came to Brisbane with his English parents as a three-year old.

1 portrait in the collection

Margaret Fink

Margaret Fink (b. 1933), film producer, was a key figure in the renaissance of Australian cinema in the 1970s.

2 portraits in the collection

Joseph Dalton Hooker, c. 1880s

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

Thomas Joseph Carr

Portrait, cast bronze on granite base

Thomas Joseph Carr (1839–1917) was the second Catholic archbishop of Melbourne, the successor to James Alipius Goold.

2 portraits in the collection

Portrait 66

Summer 2021/22

Magazine

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

Sir Robert Gibson, 1934

Paul Montford

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of The Australian Industry Group 2012

Ben Chifley, n.d.

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

Tom E Lewis [Balang T E Lewis], n.d.

Juno Gemes

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2002

Purchased 2021

Dr Who?

It is not well known that the person who composed the famous theme music for the BBC's Doctor Who series was Australian Ron Grainer.

Nicholas Paspaley Jnr, 2018

Andrew Bonneau

Commissioned with funds provided by Ross Adler AC 2018

The Destruction of the Kelly gang (from The Australasian Sketcher, 17 July 1880)

Joe Byrne

Joe Byrne (1857-1880), born to Irish Catholic parents like the others in Ned Kelly’s ‘gang’, showed promise at school but left as a twelve year old, after his father died.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir John Hay

Sir John Hay (1816-1892), pastoralist and politician, graduated in law in his native Scotland before emigrating to New South Wales with his new wife, Mary, in 1838.

1 portrait in the collection

Betty Churcher AO

(Elizabeth) Betty Churcher AO (1931–2015), gallery director, author, painter and lecturer, was educated in Brisbane before studying at the Royal College of Art in London.

3 portraits in the collection

Lina Bryans

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

3 portraits in the collection

The Dissecting Room

Previous exhibition, 2005

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

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

Alexander Dalrymple

Alexander Dalrymple (1737-1808), hydrographer and writer, began work with the East India Company in Madras in 1752.

1 portrait in the collection

Mr Robert Oatley AO

Photographic Portraits from 19th Century Australia

Robert Oatley AO (1928–2016), businessman, was one of Australia’s most successful wine industry figures.

Husbands and Wives

Previous exhibition, 2010

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

Portrait of Leslie Walford, 1970s

Vaike Liibus

Portrait, oil and hand-stitching on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Sally Hardy 2019

Fred Hollows, 1993

Kerrie Lester

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

Miss Robertson of Colac (Dolly), 1885-86

Brothers on farms

Magazine article by Malcolm Robertson, 2011

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

Sir John Young

Portrait, ceramic and cork

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

Billy Hughes bottle stopper, 1911-1921

Mashman Bros Ltd

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Nick Cave, 1994

Bleddyn Butcher

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

John Bradfield

Percy Leason's Aboriginal Portraits

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

1 portrait in the collection

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

A Calm So Deep, 2018 by Elizabeth Looker

The National Portrait Gallery Announces Art Handlers’ Award

18 February 2019

Archived media releases 2019

The National Portrait Gallery is excited to announce that Perth photographer Elizabeth Looker has won the Art Handlers’ Award for this year’s National Photographic Portrait Prize.

George Hurrell

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

1 portrait in the collection

Supporters

$5,000 - $9,999

Previous exhibition, 1999

Glossy - Faces Magazines Now

Magazines are the portrait galleries of the 90s... Glossy is about magazines. The exhibition presents the work of eight photographers, Australian by birth or long-term residency, who are producing portraits for publication in magazines around the world.

Dennis Lillee, 1977 (printed 2010)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by James Bain AM and Janette Bain 2010

Sir Ian McLennan, c. 1978

Previous exhibition, 2020

Portrait, oil on board

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

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020

The exhibition is selected from a national field of entries, reflecting the distinctive vision of Australia's aspiring and professional portrait photographers and the unique nature of their subjects.

Ian Roberts (after Coypel 1709), 2003

Ross Watson

Portrait drawings from colonial Australia

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

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.

Portrait of Sir Joseph Banks, c. 1814

Thomas Phillips

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

Purchased 2011

Woburn Sheepshearing, 1811

Portrait, aquatint with stipple and etching and engraving, hand coloured on chine colle on paper laid down on cotton stretched over wooden strainer

Purchased 2018

Primed

Some Prime Ministers

Previous exhibition, 2019

Seventeen of Australia’s thirty prime ministers to date are represented in the contrasting sizes, moods and mediums of these portraits.

All you can eat

Magazine article by Lauren Dalla, 2003

In February 2003 the National Portrait Gallery Circle of Friends brought Sir Robert Strong to Australia to present a series of lectures entitled The Artists & The Banquet- A History of Dining, which focused on the links between gardens and table decoration from the Renaissance to the Victorian Era.

William Robertson, c. 1852

Thomas Bock

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

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

Sir Ian Potter, 1973

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lady Primrose Potter 2006
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

First Australian first-class cricket team

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

1 portrait in the collection

Noel Fraser Hickey

Previous exhibition, 2003

Noel Fraser Hickey (1921–2010) was born in Kensington, in Sydney, New South Wales, a stone's throw from the Royal Randwick Racecourse.

1 portrait in the collection

Australians in Hollywood

Although perceived to be a recent phenomenon, the 'Aussie invasion' of Hollywood can actually be traced as far back as the early 1900s

Margel Hinder AM

Archived media releases 2013

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

1 portrait in the collection

In their own words

Audio-guide

Apps

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

Angus Trumble National Portrait Gallery Director

National Portrait Gallery Director announced

20 December 2013

The National Portrait Gallery welcomes Angus Trumble

Sir Edward Wheewall Holden

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

hey, Betty (Portrait of Betty Churcher), 1990

Davida Allen

Portrait, oil on plywood

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

Elizabeth Cosson AM CSC

Elizabeth Cosson AM CSC (b.1958) enlisted in the Australian Army in 1979 and was the first woman to be promoted to the rank of Major General in the Australian Army in 2007.

1 portrait in the collection

W. B. Gould

Liverpool-born William Buelow Gould (1803-1853) had worked as a draftsman for the London printmaker, Rudolph Ackermann, and as a painter for a Staffordshire pottery before being transported to Van Diemen’s Land for theft in 1827.

1 portrait in the collection

David Unaipon

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

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

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.

Nicholas Harding

28 Portraits

Previous exhibition, 2017

Nicholas Harding: 28 portraits features paintings of Robert Drewe, John Bell and Hugo Weaving alongside gorgeously coloured recent oil portraits, delicate gouaches and bold ink and charcoal drawings.

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

So Fine

Contemporary women artists make Australian history

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.

J.R. Vickery

Archived media releases 2012

James Richard Vickery OBE (1902-1997), food scientist, saw the field of his life’s research grow from non-existence to world recognition.

1 portrait in the collection

Animation 1 from the series Hereinbefore, 2012 by Laura Moore

iD Digital Portraiture Award winner announced

2 August 2012

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

Protest!

How can we dance when our earth is turning?

Portrait, pencil, chalk and gouache on paper

Rock’s raw potency made it the ideal medium for fomenting protest. The 1970s, 80s and onwards saw calls for social and environmental justice ring out through song.

Jessie Robertson, c. 1849

Thomas Bock

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG and Marilyn Darling AC 2013

Mr John Eason, 1838

W. B. Gould

Previous exhibition, 2006

Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family 2013

Australian Visit

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.

Uncommon Australians

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Previous exhibition, 2015

This exhibition showcases portraits acquired through the generosity of the National Portrait Gallery’s Founding Patrons, L Gordon Darling AC CMG and Marilyn Darling AC.

Showing character

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2016

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

Dr J.R. Vickery, O.B.E., 1967

William Pidgeon

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2002

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the CSIRO Agriculture and Food Division 2017

Golden Jubilee

Polly Borland's photograph of The Queen was commissioned by Buckingham Palace as part of a series of high profile celebrations to mark the Golden Jubilee.

Sir Thomas Gore-Browne, 1864

J Walch & Sons

Portrait, tinted lithograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Giving and getting

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

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.

Myles Nelson

It was definitely a candid encounter as was the expression on the face. It was constructed insofar as the image was deliberately taken from a distance so as to minimize intrusion and to magnify the effect of the image.

Edward Hammond Hargraves

Edward Hammond Hargraves (1816–1891), adventurer and speculator, claimed credit for the discovery of payable goldfields in New South Wales.

1 portrait in the collection

Reverend Daniel Draper, c. 1866

Fredrick Charles Burman

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Georg von Neumayer, c. 1860

Johnstone & Co

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

Chandler P. Coventry AM

Magazine article by David Sequeira, 2004

Chandler Phillip Coventry AM (1924–1999), grazier, gallerist, art collector and arts patron, was born in Armidale, New South Wales to an established New England grazing family.

1 portrait in the collection

Super League

The portrait of Ian Roberts by Ross Watson.

Finalists announced for National Photographic Portrait Prize

14 November 2018

Archived media releases 2018

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

William Robertson and Martha Mary Robertson

William Robertson and Martha Mary Robertson, 1863

William Edward Kilburn

Portrait, carte de visite photograph on card

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

The bright-eyed Mariner

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

A new colonial portrait brings a zealous captain near.

String of Pearls

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2001

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

The Cutmear sisters, Jane and Lucy, c. 1842

A man of superior attainments

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

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

Joan Kerr, 2004

Peter Drewett

Portrait, pokerwork on spotted gum

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of James Semple Kerr 2004

Dovima with elephants, evening dress by Dior, Cirque d'Hiver, Paris, August 1955 by Richard Avedon

Richard Avedon People media information

8 August 2013

Archived media releases 2013

Press releases and images downloads for media.

Patrick Corrigan AM

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

Patrick Corrigan AM (b. 1932), businessman, art collector and arts patron, was born in Hanghow (Hankou) in China.

3 portraits in the collection

The spirit of the gift

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

C.H.T. Costantini

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2016

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

Boyd to man

Christopher Chapman looks at influences and insight in the formative years of Arthur Boyd.

2020 Annual Appeal

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

Arnold Shore

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

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

Martha Mary Robertson, 1866

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

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

William St. Leonards Robertson, c. 1869

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2002

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

The Story So Far...

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

Nicholas Chevalier, c. 1867

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

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

Glamour vs grunge

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2010

Christopher Chapman examines the battle of glamour vs. grunge which played out in the fashion and advertising of the 1990s.

Edward Riou

Edward Riou (1762-1801), naval officer, began his career with the Royal Navy at the age of twelve.

2 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

Nicholas Paspaley Jnr, 2018

by Andrew Bonneau

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

Commissioned with funds provided by Ross Adler AC 2018

Big bouquet of Blackmans

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

Melanie Faith Dove

Tom Carrington, The Australasian Sketcher

I had been watching Agnes with intrigue, her face and profile were so mesmerizing. On our final day together I pulled her aside and convinced her that she had such an amazing face that I needed to get a photograph for myself. It was very spontaneous in that I decided quickly how it would best look and shot it in only two frames.

The Destruction of the Kelly gang (from The Australasian Sketcher, 17 July 1880), 1880

Portrait, wood engraving on paper

Purchased 2017

Bob Hawke

Magazine article by Lilly Koltun, 2004

Robert James Lee (Bob) Hawke (1929-2019) moved with his family from South Australia to Perth in 1939.

9 portraits in the collection

Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil de Cavagnial, Marquis de Vaudreuil, ca.1753-55

Canadian identities

An exploration of national identity in the Canadian context drawn from the symposium Face to Face at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in 2004.

Old Blighty

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2016

Angus Trumble ponders the many faces of William Bligh.

Australian visit in Denmark

Magazine article by Mette Skougaard, 2006

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

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Portrait, aquatint on paper

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

Part of the crew of His Majesty's Ship Guardian endeavouring to escape in the boats, 1790

Robert Dodd

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Virtual lives

Magazine article by Gillian Raymond, 2007

A brief introduction to the Weird, Wired World of Internet Portraiture.

Small worlds

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

Through blue eyes

Works by Arthur Boyd and Sidney Nolan bring the desert, the misty seashore and the hot Monaro plains to exhibition Open Air: Portraits in the landscape.

To the end of the earth

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2021

The portrait of Dr. Johann Reinhold Forster and his son George Forster from 1780, is one of the oldest in the NPG's collection.

Self-portrait in white jacket , 1901-02 Hugh Ramsay

Wunderkind lost

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

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.

Queen Victoria, 1901

The Illustrated London News after Jean Joseph Benjamin-Constant

Portrait, photogravure on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

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.

Blue Collar Icon

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

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

In the galleries

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

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

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

Imagination

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

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

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.

2022 Annual Appeal

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

In 2022 the Annual Appeal was focussed on Mayatjara by Robert Fielding, a series of 24 photographs of Elders of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara community.

The Stories Beneath

The Alcoa World Alumina Australia gift.

Hottie's Snifter to port

Magazine article by Peter Jeffrey, 2016

Peter Jeffrey trips the hound nostalgic.

You beauty

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

Joanna Gilmour explores the fact and fictions surrounding the legendary life of Irish-born dancer Lola Montez.

Promise Fulfilled

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

Study for Aunty Mary King, 2010 by Mathew Lynn

The animating signature

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

Joanna Gilmore delights in the affecting drawings of Mathew Lynn.

I walk the line

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2004

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

Reflections on castles

Andrew Sayers describes the unique characteristics of the international band of portrait galleries.

Andrew Sayers AM FAHA

13 October 2015

Archived media releases 2015

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

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.

James Baldwin, writer, Harlem, New York 1945 by Richard Avedon

The Avedon effect

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2013

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

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.

The Conciliation, 1840 by Benjamin Duterrau

The art of conciliation

Magazine article by Gareth Knapman, 2017

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

M H Wednesday 11.15am from the series Self-harm, 2004

Big it up

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2005

Former National Portrait Gallery Curator Magda Keaney was a member of the selection panel of the Schwepes Photographic Portrait Prize 2004 at the National Portrait Gallery London.

Where the wild things are

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2019

Michael Desmond explores the complex portrait of Dr Bob Brown by Harold 'The Kangaroo' Thornton.

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

The Royal she

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

Mutiny on the Bounty (The Mutineers turning Lieutenant Bligh and part of the officers and crew adrift from His Majesty's Ship the Bounty)

High & Bligh

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

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

International issue

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2022

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

The story of us

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

Reflections

Magazine article by Alexandra Roginski, 2019

All that fall: Sacrifice, life and loss in the First World War exhibition co-curators Dr Anne Sanders and Dr Christopher Chapman reflect on the evolution of the Gallery’s Anzac Centenary exhibition.

Sibly irresistible

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

NPPP 2016 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Paul Moorhouse, 2007

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

"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.

Vincent Brady leading anti Bicentenary Protest, Brisbane, 1987 Michael Aird

Activating the space

Magazine article by Sandra Phillips, 2020

Sandra Phillips on portraits of Indigenous activism from Cairns Art Gallery’s 2019 Queen’s Land Blak Portraiture exhibition.

History

About us

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

The fat of the land

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2011

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

The more things change

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

Uncommon Australians

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Magazine article by Ashleigh Wadman, 2012

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

Vanity fair

Ashleigh Wadman rediscovers the Australian characters represented with a kindly touch by the British portrait artist Leslie Ward for the society magazine Vanity Fair.

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

In the thick of it

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

Projecting the splendour of the empire, and the resolve of its subjects, the bust of William Birdwood keeps a stiff upper lip in the National Portrait Gallery.

Technical terminology

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2010

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

The art of Inner Worlds

Lecture, 7 May 2011

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2011

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

Omai, Sir Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander, 1775-76

First encounters

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

Something old, something new

Magazine article by Andrew Mayo, 2017

Andrew Mayo considers the changing face of modern wedding photography through the eyes of two of its finest exponents, Dan O’Day and Kelly Tunney.

Guidelines for entrants

Darling Portrait Prize

These terms and conditions govern your entry to the National Portrait Gallery’s Darling Portrait Prize.

Duty bound

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

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

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.

The shipwright's arms

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

Joanna Gilmour explores the life and times of convict-turned-artist William Buelow Gould.

The Multifarious Career of George Selth Coppin

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2004

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

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.

Untitled (girl on chair with red shoes) by Violet Frisby

Finding Mrs Frisby

Magazine article by Robyn Sweaney, 2016

Robyn Sweaney's quiet Violet obsession.

Fine and dandy

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2015

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.

Self Portrait with Stetson, 2011 by Darren McDonald

Painting them gently

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

Rethinking foundational histories

Magazine article by Kate Fullagar, 2019

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

Dupain detective

Magazine article by Johanna McMahon, 2019

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

All dressed up

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2013

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

Snap decisions

Magazine article by Robert Cook, 2018

NPPP judge Robert Cook provides irreverent insight into this year’s fare, and having to be a bit judgemental.

Fugue in Yellow

Magazine article by Roger Benjamin, 2015

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

Dr Edward MacMahon, 1959 by William Dobell

Bill and Ted's excellent portrait.

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2016

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

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

Take thy face hence

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

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

The portrait writ large

Magazine article by Karen Vickery, 2015

Karen Vickery on Chang the Chinese giant in Australia.

20 20

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2017

Sarah Engledow picks some favourites from a decade of the National Photographic Portrait Prize.

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.

Heartfelt

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2012

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

The importance of being bearded

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.

Drawing inspiration

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2017

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

Unbuttoning uniforms

Magazine article by Sharon Peoples, 2017

Sharon Peoples contemplates costumes and the construction of identity.

Costantini's convictions

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2017

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

First-Class Marksman, 1946 by Sidney Nolan

Money for Myth

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2015

Australian character on the market by Jane Raffan.

Earth to earth

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

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

Eileen Dunne in The Hospital for Sick Children, 1940

The incomparable Beaton

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

To accompany the exhibition Cecil Beaton: Portraits, held at the NPG in 2005, this article is drawn from Hugo Vickers's authorised biography, Cecil Beaton (1985).

The Dissecting Room

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

Joanna Gilmour accounts for Australia’s deliciously ghoulish nineteenth century criminal portraiture.

Some prime ministers

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2019

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

A spectral sentience

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

Mugshots

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

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

Untitled #21/09 (after Ricci, 1700; featuring Matthew Mitcham)

Getting bare

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2015

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

Little women

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

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

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.

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.

Naked nostalgia

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2016

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

Trevor Jamieson, 2016 by Brett Canet-Gibson

The more things change...

NPPP 2017 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

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

The Right Honourable Sir Ninian Stephen KGAK GCMG GCVO KBE QC, 2006 by Rick Amor

Prima facie

Sarah Engledow casts a judicious eye over portraits in the Victorian Bar’s Peter O’Callaghan QC Portrait Gallery.

Material culture

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2018

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

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

Petal to the mettle

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

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

Inner Worlds and psychoanalysis

Lecture, 4 June 2011

Inner Worlds evokes a broad view of psychology as a discipline. However, the specific interests of the practitioners whose portraits are included in the exhibition incorporate specialist areas including psychoanalysis.

Faces of war

Lecture, 14 May 2011

Lesley Harding, Curator, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne explores Albert Tucker’s experience of World War II, his interests in the intersection between psychology and creativity, and their influence on his portrait making.

Less than six degrees of separation

Lecture, 28 May 2011