Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2009
‘The Australian Wonder’, Johnny Day (1856–1885), was an undefeated world-champion juvenile walker.
1 portrait in the collection
Johnny O'Keefe (1935-1978) was Australia's first rock 'n' roll star. At a time when radio stations were reluctant to promote local talent, O'Keefe was the first Australian rock performer to have a chart hit with the 1958 song 'Wild One'.
2 portraits in the collection
Johnny Warren OAM MBE (1943-2004), footballer, football administrator and commentator, grew up in southern Sydney where he played his first games of soccer, as his game was then known, for the Botany Methodists.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 1999
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011
Purchased 2011
Celebrate the people, places and sounds of Australian pub rock and its enduring impact on our nation’s identity.
Francis Gardiner (Christie) (1830-c. 1903), bushranger, came to New South Wales with his family as a child.
1 portrait in the collection
My Favourite Australian is a project developed in collaboration with ABC TV and the people of Australia.
Johnny Bulunbulun (1946-2010), Ganalbingu (Yolgnu) painter and printmaker, grew up on the island of Milingimbi and in Bulman in southern Arnhem Land.
1 portrait in the collection
Rachel Griffiths (b. 1968) studied education at Victoria College before working with the community theatre group Woolly Jumpers, Inc.
1 portrait in the collection
David Malangi Daymirringu (1927-1999), Manharrngu, bark painter, printer and designer, was born at Mulanga, near the mouth of the Glyde River, just before Christian missionaries arrived on the nearby island of Milingimbi.
1 portrait in the collection
Accomplished illustrator, painter, writer and diarist, set designer and one of the most distinguished photographers of the twentieth century, Cecil Beaton is renowned for his portraits of well known faces from the worlds of fashion, literature, and film.
Jim Ferrier (1915-1986), golfer, grew up in Manly, was playing off scratch by his mid-teens, and left Sydney Grammar early in order to play more golf.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Frith family 2013
Sir Jack Brabham OBE (1926-2014), racing car driver, was born in Hurstville, NSW, and studied mechanical engineering before working as a mechanic for the RAAF during WW2.
2 portraits in the collection
Purchased 2005
Andrew 'Boy' Charlton (1907-1975) was a keen surfer throughout his youth.
1 portrait in the collection
Djon Mundine OAM brings poignant memory and context to Martin van der Wal’s 1986 portrait photographs of storied Aboriginal artists.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005
Alex Kolozsy left his native Transylvania for Hungary as a small child.
1 portrait in the collection
Zhou Xiaoping, born and educated in China, is a Melbourne-based artist.
1 portrait in the collection
The votes are in and the National Portrait Gallery is pleased to announce The Honourable Bob Hawke savouring a strawberry milkshake by Harold David is the people’s choice for the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018.
Australia’s passion for rock ‘n roll was kindled by American and British acts in the 1950s and 60s. The novel genre’s driving, licentious rhythms and voices captured imaginations and libidos, not to mention aspiring young musicians.
Shepard Fairey is best known for his iconic poster Obama/Hope which he made in support of Barack Obama for the 2008 US election.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2019
Australia has become recognised for the range and talent of its musicians, composers, conductors and celebrities in general associated with the music industry
An exhibition that celebrates the people, places and sounds of Australian pub rock and its enduring impact on the nation’s identity, opens at the National Portrait Gallery on 5 September, 2020.
The considered matching of artist to subject has produced an amazing collection of unique and original works in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery
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.
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.
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.
A new painting by Jiawei Shen captures the vision and resolve of the Gallery's founder, L. Gordon Darling AC CMG.
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.
Karen Vickery delights in a thespian thread of the Australian yarn.
The following on-line and physical exhibitions are planned to open at the National Portrait Gallery in coming months. For those who can’t travel at present, selected works from all exhibitions will be included online
The Australian public was invited in 2008 to vote for their favourite Australian. After the votes were tallied an exhibition of the top-ten Popular Australians and the top-twenty unsung heroes was displayed at the National Portrait Gallery.
A new light installation by Jonathan Jones reflects on the importance of community through the lens of his Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi heritage, whilst also acting as a prompt for gallery visitors to maintain social distancing.
The Kylie exhibition celebrated the significant achievements of one of Australia's most internationally recognisable faces and gave the general public a rare glimpse into her glamorous life.
The tragic tale of Tom Wills, the ‘inventor’ of Australian Rules Football.
Sarah Engledow writes about Gordon and Marilyn Darling and their support for the National Portrait Gallery throughout its evolution.
