Search / joan collins

Bill Collins OAM

Bill Collins OAM (1934-2019), television movie host and critic, was a high school English teacher and lecturer at teachers’ college before beginning a record 55-year stint on Australian television.

1 portrait in the collection

David Collins

David Collins (1756–1810), lieutenant-governor, began his career in the British Navy, rising to the rank of captain before being returning to dry land and being placed on half-pay in late 1783.

1 portrait in the collection

Margaret Lyttle, 2000

Eva Collins

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2003

Vali Myers, 2001

Eva Collins

Anthony Cardon after John T. Barber

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2003

Mr Movies - Bill Collins OAM, 2009

Evert Ploeg

Portrait, oil on linen

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

David Collins Esq, 1804

Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Joan Croll

Portrait story

An interview with the indomitable Joan Croll, subject of John Brack's portrait.

Joan Kirner

Joan Kirner AC (1938-2015) was the first female premier of Victoria. Daughter of a fitter and turner and a homemaker, she attended the selective University High School, graduating from the University of Melbourne to teach in state schools.

1 portrait in the collection

Joan Croll AO

Dr Joan Croll AO (1928–2022), radiologist and physician, studied medicine at the University of Sydney and commenced practising in 1975.

2 portraits in the collection

Joan Kerr

Joan Kerr (1938-2004), art historian, writer and lecturer, was responsible for several key reference texts on Australian art.

1 portrait in the collection

Joan Redshaw AM

Joan Redshaw AM (1921–1994), medical practitioner, chose her career in opposition to her father, a judge, who thought the University of Sydney medical school was a hotbed of women's activists.

1 portrait in the collection

Dame Joan Sutherland OM AC DBE

Portrait, conté crayon on paper

Dame Joan Sutherland OM AC DBE (1926–2010) was one of the world's greatest operatic divas.

3 portraits in the collection

Joan Croll, 1976

John Brack

Portrait, oil on canvas

Gift of Frank Croll and Dr Joan Croll AO 2001. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Study for portrait of Joan Croll, 1976

John Brack

Gift of Dr Joan Croll AO 2007. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Joan Alone

Magazine article by Julia Gillard AC, 2015

Julia Gillard pays poignant tribute to her friend and mentor, the late Joan Kirner, Victoria’s first and only female premier.

Joan Kerr, 2004

Peter Drewett

Portrait, pokerwork on spotted gum

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of James Semple Kerr 2004

Joan Kirner, c. 1990

Rennie Ellis

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006

Dr Joan M Redshaw AM, 1982

Barbara Tribe

Portrait, terracotta

Purchased 2016

Dame Joan Sutherland, c. 1977

Robert Hannaford AM

Portrait, oil on board

Gift of William Bowmore AO OBE 2003. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Joan Sutherland, n.d. (printed 1992)

Lewis Morley

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2001

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

String of Pearls

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

Great stylists: Caruso, Melba, Pavarotti, Bonynge and Sutherland

Great stylists: Caruso, Melba, Pavarotti, Bonynge and Sutherland, 1983

Arthur Horner

Portrait, pencil on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Eric Harding and Athol Hawke 2002

Joan Collins

Andy Warhol

Portrait, inkjet print on paper

Mirka and Philippe - 9 Collins Street, c. 1966 (printed 2015)

Lazar Krum

Gift of the artist 2015

Mirka - 9 Collins Street, c. 1966 (printed 2015)

Lazar Krum

Portrait, inkjet print on paper

Gift of the artist 2015

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

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

Nicolas-Martin Petit after Barthélemy Roger

Portrait, engraving on paper

Purchased 2009

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

Tom Durkin, The Weekly Times

Portrait, lithograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

Portrait 2

December 2001 - February 2002

Magazine

This issue of Portrait Magazine features David Moore, Midnight Oil, Dr Joan Croll by John Brack, the acquisition of the Captain Cook portrait, and more.

Portrait 50

Spring 2015

Magazine

This issue features Julia Gillard on the late Joan Kirner, Julian Opie’s digital portraiture, Nicholas Harding’s Godot gouaches and more.

Rollo Thomson

Rollo Thomson, a Melbourne artist, shared a studio with Constance Stokes at 9 Collins Street.

1 portrait in the collection

All the world's a stage

Joan Sutherland, Robert Helpmann and Raigh Roe

Dickinson Monteath Studio

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

1 portrait in the collection

Max Meldrum, c. 1937

Max Dupain OBE

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

Alice Mills

Victorian-born Alice Mills was one of a significant number of women photographers in business between 1900 and 1920.

1 portrait in the collection

The little beachcomber, 2015

by Nicholas Samartis

Thomas Townshend, Lord Viscount Sydney

Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney PC (1733-1800) was British Home Secretary in the Pitt Government, given responsibility for devising a plan to settle convicts at Botany Bay.

1 portrait in the collection

Amanda McGuigan from the 'Sydney Opera House at Rest' series

Daniel Boud

John Vickery

John Vickery (1906-1983), illustrator, designer and painter was the only Australian to be part of the New York School in 1960s which includes painters such as Jackson Pollock, Joan Mitchell and Willem de Kooning.

1 portrait in the collection

Supporters

$5,000 - $9,999

Honour board

Alf Vincent

Alfred Vincent began working for the Bulletin in 1896, taking over from the renowned Phil May, his idol, with whom he was often - inevitably - unfavourably compared.

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

Gordon Powell AM KCSJ

Archived media releases 2015

Gordon Powell AM KCSJ (1911-2005) Presbyterian minister, broadcaster and writer, is regarded as one of the most influential Australian Presbyterians.

1 portrait 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.

Andrew Mitchell Ramsay

Andrew Mitchell Ramsay (1809-1869), clergyman, was Melbourne's first Presbyterian minister.

1 portrait in the collection

Edward Richards

Edward Richards, photographer, has lived and worked in Canberra for most of his life.

1 portrait in the collection

Michael Meszaros

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

5 portraits in the collection

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Previous exhibition, 2005

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

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

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.

Antoine Fauchery

Antoine Fauchery (1823–1861) was a Parisian artist and writer, an occasional collaborator with Henri Murger, author of Scènes de la vie de bohème which was a chief source of the opera La bohème.

2 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

Peter Schipperheyn

Peter Schipperheyn (b. 1955), Melbourne-based sculptor, is well known for his contemporary marble and bronze sculptures of the human form.

1 portrait in the collection

John Noone

John Noone, photographer and lithographer, began advertising the services of his ‘Photographic Establishment’ in the Melbourne Argus in September 1858, and worked from two separate addresses on Collins Street from this time until 1862.

1 portrait in the collection

John Brack

John Brack (1920–1999), artist, grew up in Melbourne and studied at the National Gallery School at night while working as a junior insurance clerk.

9 portraits in the collection

Athol Shmith, 1985

Michel Lawrence

Portrait, watercolour and gouache on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

John Schaeffer AO - art collector and philanthropist

John Schaeffer AO - art collector and philanthropist, 2014

Evert Ploeg

Portrait, oil on canvas

Purchased with funds provided by Harold Mitchell AC

Joseph Brown, 1980

Brian Dunlop

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Joseph Brown AO OBE 2006
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

The Burke and Wills Monument, 1869

Thomas Foster Chuck

Portrait, albumen paper photograph on carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Tom Thompson

Tom Thompson (b. 1953) is a publisher and writer. During the 1980s he worked as a journalist at the Sydney Morning Herald and as publishing coordinator of the Encyclopedia of the Australian People (for the Australian Bicentennial Authority) before moving to Collins, for which he developed the Imprint label in 1988.

2 portraits in the collection

Aileen Dent

Aileen Dent (1890–1979), painter, is the most-exhibited woman artist in the Archibald Prize, with 63 works hung between 1921 and 1962.

1 portrait 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

The Surgeon (Dr Julian Smith), 1934

Harold Cazneaux

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Mr and Mrs Case, 1864

Alexander Fox and Co

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Barry McDonald, 1997

Selina Snow

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 1999

The Honourable Margaret Lusink AM, 2019

Pamela Joyce, Australian Tapestry Workshop

Portrait, wool and cotton tapestry

Gift of The Honourable Margaret Lusink AM 2021

John Firth-Smith, 1974

Lewis Morley

Batchelder & Company Photo

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

Charles Summers, late 1860s

Portrait, inkjet print on paper

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

William - Aspendale, 1966 (printed 2015)

Lazar Krum

Gift of the artist 2015

Stuart Spence

From lanolin to Balenciaga

Stuart Spence (b. 1960) born in Geelong, Victoria, established his career in Sydney during the 1980s and 1990s, as a magazine photographer specialising in celebrity portraiture.

2 portraits in the collection

Helena Rubinstein in a red brocade Balenciaga gown

Crème Valaze

Helena Rubinstein (1872‒1965) was the first self-made millionairess of modern times, and created the first publicly-listed global cosmetics corporation.

Joseph Brown AO OBE

Portrait, archival pigment print on paper

Joseph Brown AO OBE (1918–2009), art collector, art dealer and philanthropist, arrived in Australia with his father and siblings from Poland in 1933; his mother had passed away shortly before their departure.

2 portraits in the collection

Gaby Kennard, 2020

Lisa Tomasetti

Purchased with funds provided by Joan Connery OAM 2020

Anatomist's eye

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2016

Robert Hannaford has completed around 400 portraits over the span of his career.

Malala Yousafzai

Shirin Neshat

Robert Hannaford AM

Robert Hannaford AM (b. 1944), a largely self-taught artist, grew up on his family farm near the small South Australian town of Riverton before working as political cartoonist for the Adelaide Advertiser from 1964 to 1967.

6 portraits in the collection

Rose Scott, 1913

Annie May Moore

Portrait, enamel on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Dr Joseph Brown with Two Typists, 1996

Noel McKenna

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

2012-13 Acquisition Fund

Annual Appeal

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

Dr Who?

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2002

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.

Self portrait, c. 1948

John Brack

Portrait, conté crayon on paper

Purchased with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2010

Wendy drunk 11pm, 1983 by Brett Whiteley

Idle Hours

Previous exhibition, 2009

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.

Helena Rubinstein

Helena Rubinstein (c. 1870–1965), cosmetician, businesswoman and philanthropist, is the founder of one of the first international cosmetic companies.

1 portrait in the collection

Charles Troedel

Charles Troedel (1835-1906), born in Hamburg, was working in Norway when he was headhunted by AW Schuhkrafft, a Melbourne printer who seeking European craftsmen.

1 portrait in the collection

Lady Maisie Drysdale

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

Barbara Tribe

Barbara Tribe (1913–2000), artist, is one of Australia's most significant sculptors.

4 portraits in the collection

Dame Margaret Scott AC DBE

Dame Margaret Scott AC DBE (1922-2019) ballerina and teacher, was scarred by her education in a Johannesburg convent boarding school and left her home on a Swaziland farm in 1939.

1 portrait in the collection

Anne Levy AO

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2016

Anne Levy AO (b. 1934), politician, was the first woman to preside in an Australian parliament.

1 portrait in the collection

Mrs NR Mackintosh (Anne) by Ruth Hollick

Natural, artistic and unselfconscious

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

George Hurrell

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

1 portrait in the collection

Rick Amor

Rick Amor (b. 1948) is a Victorian-based painter, printmaker and sculptor.

27 portraits in the collection

George Perry

Batchelder & Company Photo

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

2 portraits in the collection

John Pascoe Fawkner, c. 1867

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

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.

OBEY

Shepard Fairey Posters

Previous exhibition, 2009

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

David Mitchell

Batchelder & Company Photo

David Mitchell (1829-1916), builder, contractor and businessman, arrived in Melbourne in mid-1852 in the Anna.

1 portrait in the collection

Richard Henry Horne, mid 1860s

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

Eva Besen AO

Eva Besen AO (1928–2021), philanthropist and arts benefactor, founded the Besen Family Foundation with her husband Marc Besen AC.

1 portrait in the collection

Marc Besen AC

Marcus (Marc) Besen AC (1923–2023), philanthropist and arts benefactor, founded the Besen Family Foundation with his wife Eva Besen AO.

1 portrait in the collection

Margaret Robertson, c. 1863

Batchelder & O'Neill

Magazine article by Kate Fullagar, 2019

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

Rethinking foundational histories

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

James Macpherson Grant, c. 1870s

Paterson Brothers

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of John McPhee 2018

Anne-Louise Lambert as Miranda Courtesy Picnic Productions

Rock star

Magazine article by Jennifer Coombes, 2018

Jennifer Coombes explores the lush images of Picnic at Hanging Rock, featuring Anne-Louise Lambert’s Miranda, the face of the film.

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Honour board

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

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

Richard Divall AO OBE

Previous exhibition, 2018

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

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018

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.

Sir Henry Barkly, c. 1863

Batchelder & O'Neill

Portrait, albumen photograph carte de visite on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Melati Suryodarmo

by Hendro Wiyanto

Artist essays

Born in Surakarta (Solo), Indonesia in 1969, Melati Suryodarmo’s first degree was in international relations.

Australian of the Year

Inspiring a Nation

Previous exhibition, 2010

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

William Robertson, 1866

Thomas Adams Hill

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2007

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

Head, hand, heart

An extensive selection of portraits by John Brack were on display at the National Portrait Gallery in late 2007.

Lady Barkly, 1863

Batchelder & O'Neill

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite on card

Purchased 2014

Wicked but Virtuous

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2017

Faith Stellmaker shares pioneering artist and restaurateur Mirka Mora’s lasting legacy on Melbourne’s art, dining and culture.

Progressive pictures

Athol Shmith’s photographs contributed to the emergence of a new vision of Australian womanhood.

Sideshow Alley

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

Previous exhibition, 2015

Death masks, post-mortem drawings and other spooky and disquieting portraits... Come and see how portraits of infamous Australians were used in the 19th century.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018

8 March 2018

Archived media releases 2018

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

Andrew Campbell

NPPP 2012 learning resource

An interview with the photographer.

Australian Visit

Previous exhibition, 2006

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.

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.

Talma Studios, Sydney

Significant Australian Women 1913–2013

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

1 portrait in the collection

First Ladies

Previous exhibition, 2013

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

Desert Island Discs

Magazine article by Tedi Bills, 2016

I agonized over the choice of four songs to take with me to the ABC Studios for Alex Sloan’s Canberra 666 afternoon program, a sort of iteration of the old BBC Desert Island Discs.

It's a Mora!

Select extracts from Mirka Mora's autobiography, Wicked but Virtuous, provide rich accompaniment to recent Gallery acquisitions.

Philanthropic donations enable otherwise unobtainable acquisition

20 October 2016

Archived media releases 2016

A magnanimous portrait of Helena Rubinstein has been acquired for the National Portrait Gallery’s collection.

Friends and Acquaintances

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

Dr. Sarah Engledow discusses a collection of drawings and prints by the Victorian artist Rick Amor acquired in 2005.

Portrait of Lady Eyre Williams (Jessie Gibbon)

Chance encounter

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

Joanna Gilmour explores the life and times of one of Melbourne's early socialites, Jessie Eyre Williams.

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.

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

Jozef Vissel

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

Gift of the Jozef Vissel 2015

Portrait of the artist as a young man

Dr Sarah Engledow explores the early life and career of John Brack.

Selfhood transcended

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders and Dr Christopher Chapman, 2018

Anne Sanders and Christopher Chapman bring passionate characterisation to Express Yourself, the Portrait Gallery collection exhibition celebrating iconoclastic Australians.

Sure thing

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2009

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.

200 Years of Portraiture

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

Rick Amor: 21 Portraits

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2007

Sarah Engledow chronicles Rick Amor's work and accomplishments in this extensive essay in conjunction with the exhibition Rick Amor: 21 Portraits.

Sydney city (Patrick White and Tom Uren, Hiroshima Day demonstration), 1984

The activist A-list

Dr Sarah Engledow examines a number of figures in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery who were pioneers or substantial supporters of the seminal Australian environmental campaigns of the early 1970s and 1980s.

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.

Portraits and other stories

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2006

As the National Portrait Gallery opens its exhibition of portrait and figurative work by veteran photographer Sam Haskins, the artist reflects on the highlights of his fifty-year career so far.

Aretha Brown

In conversation

Magazine article by Rebecca Ray, 2023

Gumbaynggirr artist Aretha Brown talks street art, collaboration and ghost stories with First Nations Curator and Meriam woman, Rebecca Ray.

Peter Wilmoth, age 12, with copies of Our World 1974 Courtesy of the author

Paper, boy

Magazine article by Peter Wilmoth, 2016

Peter Wilmoth’s boy-journalist toolkit for antagonising an Australian political giant.

An Australian story

Magazine article by The Hon. Dr Kevin Rudd, 2009

In his speech launching the new National Portrait Gallery building on 3 December 2008, then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd set the Gallery in a national and historical context.

Less than six degrees of separation

Lecture, 28 May 2011

Magazine article by Anne O'Hehir, 2022

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

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.’

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

Moving still

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

Fits of delicacy and despair

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

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

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.

Splendid, many-splendoured

Magazine article by Sandra Bruce, 2021

Sandra Bruce gazes on love and the portrait through Australian Love Stories’ multi-faceted prism.

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).

Big bouquet of Blackmans

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

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

Uncommon Australians

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

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.

Out of the shadows

Joanna Gilmour profiles the life and times of the shutter sisters May and Mina Moore.

Louis XVI giving final instructions to the Comte de La Perouse, c. 1785

Sea legged frogs

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2011

Joanna Gilmour describes some of the stories of the individuals and incidents that define French exploration of Australia and the Pacific.

Woman with Fair Hair and Pink Cardigan, 1949 by John Perceval.

The family scene

Magazine article, 2016

Traudi Allen discovers sensitivity, humour and fine draughtsmanship in the portraiture of John Perceval.

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

Presence and absence

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2018

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

The shipwright's arms

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

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

Generous Janice

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

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

A real Pratt

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

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.

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.

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.

Faces of war

Lecture, 14 May 2011