Search / julian ashton

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Julian Rossi Ashton CBE (1851-1942), art teacher, artist and critic, trained in art in London and at the Académie Julian in Paris before coming to Australia to work on the Illustrated Australian News in 1878.

4 portraits in the collection

Julian Rossi Ashton, 1933

Eric Wilson

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Philip Bacon AM 2012

Julian Ashton Life Class, 1920

Purchased 2015

Julian Ashton, 1931

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Society of Artists Selection Committee, 1907

Henry King

Purchased 2008

Martin Grant, 2004

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

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

Will Ashton

In their own words

Recorded 1960

William Ashton, c. 1940s

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

William Baker Ashton

Portrait, watercolour on paper

William Baker Ashton (1800-1854) was the first governor of Adelaide Gaol.

1 portrait in the collection

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

Henry H. Glover

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Julian Meagher

'I look for those little, quiet gestures in between'

Julian Meagher was born in Sydney in 1978 and studied part time at the Julian Ashton Art School before undertaking a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery at the University of New South Wales.

1 portrait in the collection

Julian Kingma

Portrait story

Photographer Julian Kingma describes his style of quiet portraiture that captures the spaces in between big gestures.

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

Julian Kingma

Julian Kingma (b. 1968), photographer, began his career in 1988 as a cadet for the Herald newspaper in Melbourne, and later worked for the Sunday Age as Head Features Photographer.

11 portraits in the collection

Julian Burnside AO KC

Julian Burnside AO (b. 1949), barrister, grew up in Melbourne, attending Melbourne Grammar and studying economics and law at Monash in the late 1960s.

1 portrait in the collection

Penelope Grist explores the photographic instinct of four-time National Photographic Portrait Prize finalist Julian Kingma.

The Surgeon (Dr Julian Smith), 1934

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Julian Burnside AO KC, 2004 (printed 2012)

David Roberts

Purchased 2012

Herb and Flan, 2018

Julian Meagher

Portrait, oil on linen

Gift of the artist 2022

John Clarke, 2004

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Billy Slater, 2005

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Robert Dessaix, 2004

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

Missy Higgins, 2004

Gift of the artist 2006

Steven Heathcote, 2007

Gift of the artist 2008

Philip Hunter, 2004

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

Harry Kewell, 2011

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Helen Garner, 2004

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

Ben Roberts-Smith, 2017

Commissioned in 2018 with funds raised through the 2020 project

John Shirlow, c. 1937

Julian Smith

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Wally (Wouter) De Backer, 2013 (printed 2014)

Portrait, inkjet print on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

Julian Kingma

Finalist interviews

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

Julian, 2008

by Zorica Purlija

Image

Thea Proctor, c. 1896

an unknown artist

Gift of Thea Bryant (Proctor) 2005

Gwendolene Pratt

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

1 portrait in the collection

Sean Hutton

Sean Hutton was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and lives and works in Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Judith O'Conal-Prinz

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

Danelle Bergstrom

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

2 portraits in the collection

Clif Peir

Clif Peir (b.1905) was a Sydney painter and teacher, who studied at the Julian Ashton School under Ashton and H.C.Gibbons.

1 portrait in the collection

Ben Roberts-Smith, 2018

by Julian Kingma

Commissioned in 2018 with funds raised through the 2020 project

Douglas Dundas

Douglas Dundas (1900-1981), painter, trained at the Sydney Art School with Julian Ashton.

2 portraits in the collection

Thea Proctor

Thea Proctor (1879–1966), artist and stylesetter, trained at the Julian Ashton School before leaving Australia for London in 1903.

3 portraits in the collection

Livingston Hopkins

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

3 portraits in the collection

Rose Lindsay in garden at Springwood with Peter the fox terrier

Rose Lindsay in garden at Springwood with Peter the fox terrier, c. 1924

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Adrian Feint

Portrait, oil on canvas board

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

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait with glove, 1939

Herbert Badham

Purchased 1999

Joshua Smith

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

6 portraits in the collection

Livingston Hopkins, n.d.

an unknown artist

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Kim Spooner

Kim Spooner (b. 1955), artist, studied at the University of Sydney and the Julian Ashton School, from which she gained a travel scholarship.

2 portraits in the collection

John Olsen AO CBE

Portrait, etching on paper

John Olsen AO OBE (1928–2023), painter, was one of the major figures in 20th-century Australian art.

8 portraits in the collection

Self portrait, 1894

Livingston Hopkins

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

Self portrait in plus fours, c. 1939 (cast 2003)

Lyndon Dadswell CMG

Portrait, cast bronze

Purchased 2004

Paul Newton

Paul Newton (b. 1961), is a Sydney-based portrait painter noted for his ability to capture likeness and sensibility.

6 portraits in the collection

Lyndon Dadswell, with his sculpture 'Native'

Lyndon Dadswell CMG

Lyndon Dadswell CMG (1908-1986) studied at the Julian Ashton School before working with Rayner Hoff from 1926 to 1929 and Paul Montford from 1929 to 1935.

3 portraits in the collection

Henry H. Glover

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

1 portrait in the collection

Adrian Feint, 1939

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

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

Major General Alan Stretton, 1987

Gwendolene Pratt

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

Jude Rae

Portrait, ciment fondu, patinated

Jude Rae was born and raised in Sydney and attended the Julian Ashton Art School as a secondary student in the 1970s.

6 portraits in the collection

Anthony Dattilo Rubbo, 1935

Arthur Murch

Purchased 2000

Bill Leak, 1999

Simon Obarzanek

Magazine article by Katherine Russell, 2006

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

Inspiration + Realisation: John Singer Sargent

Katherine Russell examines the art of Australian artist Paul Newton, referencing the portraiture of John Singer Sargent.

Self portrait at 85, 1990

Joshua Smith

Portrait, oil on primed masonite

Gift of the late May Ralph 2019

Roy de Maistre CBE

Roy de Maistre (Roi (Leroy) de Mestre) CBE (1894-1968), painter, studied music at the Sydney Conservatorium, but was also a student at the RAS School with Dattilo Rubbo and later the Sydney Art School with Julian Ashton.

1 portrait in the collection

Jean Bellette

Jean Bellette (1908-1991), painter, studied in her native Hobart before moving to Sydney to train with Julian Ashton.

1 portrait in the collection

Andrew Bonneau

Tasmanian-born Andrew Bonneau (b. 1981) lives and works in Cairns, Queensland.

2 portraits in the collection

Double Self Portrait in Mirror, c. 1936

Alison Rehfisch

Portrait, oil on hessian

Purchased 2023

Bill Leak

Bill Leak (1956-2017), portrait painter and caricaturist, trained at the Julian Ashton art school in the mid-1970s, and began his career painting landscapes.

7 portraits in the collection

Norman and Rose: lifelong love

Lust

The ravishing muse

Anthony Dattilo Rubbo

Portrait, lithograph on paper

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

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait, 1921

Thea Proctor

Purchased with funds provided by the Ross family in memory of Noel and Enid Eliot 2013

Dame Helen Blaxland DBE

Dame Helen Blaxland DBE (1907–1989), conservationist and fundraiser, studied at the Julian Ashton School of Art in Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Yvonne Audette, Vaucluse, Sydney, 1968 (printed 2000)

David Moore

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
The series 'David Moore: From Face to Face' was acquired as a gift of the artist and with financial assistance from Timothy Fairfax AC and L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2001

Sir Charles Lloyd Jones

Portrait, watercolour and pencil on paper

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

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Diana Pockley, c. 1945

Thea Proctor

Gift of Dr Simon Pockley, in memory of Diana Pockley 2023. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Self portrait, 1965

Jean Appleton

Portrait, oil on masonite

Gift of the Estate of Nicolaas van der Waarden 2013

Sketch for Prime Minister Robert Menzies

Sketch for Prime Minister Robert Menzies, 1960

Sir William Dobell OBE

Portrait, watercolour and gouache on paper

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 1999

John Olsen - En plein air, 1996

Greg Weight

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

John Passmore

Portrait, oil on masonite

John Passmore (1904-1984), painter, studied with Julian Ashton in Sydney between the ages of fourteen and twenty-nine, and took some instruction from George Lambert.

1 portrait in the collection

Study for self portrait, c. 1965

Jean Appleton

Gift of Laurie Curley OAM and Mrs Robyn Curley 2012

Dame Helen Blaxland, 1986

Gift of Danina Dupain Anderson 2021. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

George Lambert

George Lambert (1873–1930), artist, was born in St Petersburg and lived in Germany and England before coming to Australia with his family at the age of fourteen.

7 portraits in the collection

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.

The photographers

The eight photographers represent diverse styles, specialities and career paths. Abigail Varney, Peter Brew-Bevan, Martin Philbey, John Tsiavis, Michelle Day, Julian Kingma, and Giovanni Lovisetto.

Les Tanner

Celebrating 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection

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

4 portraits in the collection

Of Kings and men

Previous exhibition, 2011

This display celebrates 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection and its role in commissioning portraits of parliamentary and judicial figures in Australia.

Kath Walker (Oodgeroo Noonuccal), 1965

Clif Peir

Portrait, oil on board

Gift of Richard Brian Close, Githabul people, Woodenbong 2000. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

David Rankin OAM

David Rankin OAM (b. 1946) came to Australia with his English parents at the age of two in 1948.

1 portrait in the collection

Jean Appleton

Portrait, oil on composition board

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

5 portraits in the collection

Portrait of Robert Klippel, 1980

Yvonne Audette AM

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Albert Namatjira

'You must not lose it'

Portrait story

The art and landscape of Albert Namatjira.

Percy Leason

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

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Donald Bradman, 1990

Bill Leak

Portrait, oil on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2008
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Janet Dawson

Janet Dawson (b. 1935), painter, printer, teacher and stage designer, is known for her contribution to abstract art in Australia.

10 portraits in the collection

Hal Missingham AO

Hal Missingham AO (1906-1994), best known as a gallery director, was also an artist and photographer.

1 portrait in the collection

Amandus Julius Fischer

Portraits from prime time

Amandus Julius Fischer (1859-1948) began his art studies in Sydney before proceeding to the Westminster School of art in London, and the Académie Julian and the Atelier Colarossi in Paris.

1 portrait in the collection

Ryder Jack Susman in a Williamstown hairdresser by Abigail Varney

PROMO

Previous exhibition, 2014

This exhibition goes behind-the-scenes and into the spotlight with professional photographers and the stars of Australian television, music and comedy. Whether negotiating the logistics of a big publicity shoot or quietly capturing moments on set during filming, the photographers' stories are intriguing and compelling.

Contact Sheet (Vale St, one; Mozart St, one; Ian Macrae)

Carol Jerrems

Image

Contact sheet (Mozart St, two)

Carol Jerrems

Image

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

Hal Missingham, 1947

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2021

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

Living Memory

Previous exhibition, 2021

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.

Dora Toovey

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

Howard Barron

Portrait, pastel on paper

Howard Barron (1900–1991), artist, was born in Kent, England. He arrived in Sydney in 1924 where he trained with Sir Will Ashton.

1 portrait in the collection

The Colonel (Portrait of Walter Withers)

The Colonel (Portrait of Walter Withers), 1896

David Davies

Purchased 2009

Ralph Heimans AM

Sydney-based painter Ralph Heimans AM (b. 1970) is one of the world's foremost contemporary portraitists, having created a body of work that has expanded and redefined the possibilities of what is sometimes perceived as an inflexibly traditional genre.

19 portraits in the collection

Nicholas Paspaley Jnr, 2018

by Andrew Bonneau

Commissioned with funds provided by Ross Adler AC 2018

The inside story

The photographers reveal the technical side of their work and reflect on changes in their profession. Now everyone has a camera in their pocket, is everyone a photographer? What is it like to sustain a career as a photographer in the entertainment industry? How do you work with celebrity subjects, negotiate the complex logistics of big shoots, and create captivating portraits under pressure?

Gail Kelly, 2018

by Paul Newton

Commissioned with funds provided by Westpac Group and Optus 2018

David Davies

David Davies began studying art at the School of Mines and Industries in his birthplace, Ballarat.

1 portrait in the collection

John Williams AO OBE

John Williams AO OBE, (b. 1941), guitar virtuoso, had his first guitar lessons from his father, and from the age of eleven attended summer schools with the Spanish maestro Andrés Segovia in Italy.

1 portrait in the collection

Greg Warburton

Greg Warburton (1952–2022) trained at Hornsby Technical College and Alexander Mackie College in the 1970s.

2 portraits in the collection

Portrait of Deborah Vernon Hackett, c. 1905

Florence Ada Fuller

Portrait, oil on canvas

Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2005

Sir Hans Heysen OBE

Previous exhibition, 2006

Sir Hans Heysen OBE (1877–1968), one of Australia's best known landscape painters, arrived in Adelaide from his native Germany as a child.

1 portrait in the collection

Rennie Ellis

Aussies All

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

David Roberts

Melbourne-based photographer David Roberts was born in Forest City, Iowa, and graduated from Iowa State University with an honours degree in philosophy.

4 portraits in the collection

Walter Withers

Portrait, oil on hessian laid on cardboard

Walter Withers (1854-1914), painter, interior designer and teacher, trained at the Royal Academy in London before coming to Australia at the end of 1882.

1 portrait in the collection

George Duncan, c. 1940

Alison Rehfisch

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mrs Margaret Adams 1999

Sonia McMahon

Sonia McMahon (1932-2010) née Hopkins, was the wife of William McMahon, Australian prime minister in 1971-1972.

1 portrait in the collection

Tom Durkin

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Thomas Coleman Durkin trained at the Williamstown School of Design and started work in Melbourne as an apprentice to an engraver and then a jeweller.

27 portraits in the collection

Portrait of a lady (Sonia McMahon), 1999

Esther Erlich

Gift of an anonymous donor 2014

Desiderius Orban

Desiderius Orban OBE (1884-1986) taught himself to paint while a student at the university of Budapest.

1 portrait in the collection

Agnes Goodsir

Born in Portland in south-west Victoria, Agnes Goodsir (1864–1939) initially painted still life before applying herself to the challenge of portraiture.

1 portrait in the collection

Leanne Benjamin AM OBE

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

Leanne Benjamin AM OBE (b. 1964) was Principal Dancer with the Royal Ballet between 1993 and 2013.

1 portrait in the collection

Figurative foundation

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

Alison Rehfisch

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

Alison Baily Rehfisch (1900–1975) was born Alison Green in Woollahra, New South Wales, to parents who 'were very interested in painting – in all the arts: music, literature, everything'.

2 portraits in the collection

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

A rogue's calling card

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

Walter Gropius and Harry Seidler, 1954

Magazine article by Kylie Scroope, 2011

Purchased with funds provided by Timothy Fairfax AC 2003

Portrait 69

Magazine

In conversation with Aretha Brown, Pieter Roelofs on Vermeer, humanoid robots, the nationwide search for Archibald portraits, and 25 years of collecting at the National Portrait Gallery.

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

Empire records

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

Portrait of Leslie Walford, 1970s

Vaike Liibus

Portrait, oil on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Sally Hardy 2019

Headspace 4

Facing Memory

Previous exhibition, 2003

Facing Memory: Headspace 4 provides us with valuable insights into the thoughts, creative processes and art-making practices of secondary students from Year 7 to Year 12 from sixty-two schools in the Australian Capital Territory, regional New South Wales and Victoria

Sir Robert Gibson

Previous exhibition, 2005

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

1 portrait in the collection

Glossy 2

Faces, Magazines, Now

Following the success of Glossy: Faces, Magazines, Now in 1999 the National Portrait Gallery again highlights the huge array of contemporary portraiture in the pages of magazines.

Lovers of light

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

Dr Sarah Engledow traces the significant links between Antonio Dattilo-Rubbo and Evelyn Chapman through their portraits.

The world of Thea Proctor

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

The world of Thea Proctor was the National Portrait Gallery's second exhibition to follow the life of a single person, following Rarely Everage: The lives of Barry Humphries.

Four from the 30s

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

Australia's tradition of sculpted portraits stretches back to the early decades of the nineteenth century and continues to sustain a group of dedicated sculptors.

Pixie O'Harris

Self Portraits in Australia

Pixie O’Harris MBE (1903–1991), author and illustrator, was born Rona Olive Harris in Cardiff, one of the eight children of painter, George Frederick Harris.

1 portrait in the collection

To Look Within

Previous exhibition, 2004

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

Portrait of Thea Proctor, 1905 by George Lambert

The real Thea

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

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

Humour’s warm refuge

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2017

Angus Trumble pays tribute to John Clarke.

Glossy too

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2005

The Glossy 2 exhibition highlights the integral role magazine photography plays in illustrating and shaping our contemporary culture.

Sir Charles Lloyd Jones, 1951

Sir William Dobell OBE

Portrait, oil on composition board

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

Nocturnal animals

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2017

Joanna Gilmour explores the enticing urban shadows cast by artists Martin Lewis and Edward Hopper.

Movement is my radar

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2015

Michael Desmond charts the path of portraiture, arriving at Julian Opie’s digital realm.

Give me five

Magazine article by Karen Quinlan AM, 2021

National Portrait Gallery director Karen Quinlan AM nominates her quintet of favourites from the collection, with early twentieth-century ‘selfies’ filling the roster.

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

18 October 2018

Archived media releases 2018

The National Portrait Gallery has unveiled twenty new portrait commissions of Australian leaders and individualists as part of its twentieth birthday celebrations in a new exhibition, 20/20: Celebrating twenty years with twenty new portrait commissions.

Living Memory – National Photographic Portrait Prize extended to January 2022

6 September 2021

Archived media releases 2021

In light of recent and ongoing gallery closures brought on by the COVID pandemic, the NPG’s 2021 National Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition season will be extended until 16 January next year.

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.

Aussies all

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2006

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

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.

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.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009

Previous exhibition, 2009

In its second year at the National Portrait Gallery, and for the first time touring to other venues, the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009 continues to present surprising perspectives on the nature of contemporary portrait photography.

Money and swat

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2007

Andrew Sayers discusses the real cost of George Lambert's Self portrait with gladioli 1922.

Catholic clergymen from the Diocese of Adelaide

Catholic clergymen from the Diocese of Adelaide, c. 1862

Stephen Edward Nixon

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Purchased 2018

The Window Seat, 1907 by Frances Hodgkins

Kiwi magpie

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2018

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

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Honour board

HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, 2006 Ralph Heimans AM

Human encounters

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2023

Joanna Gilmour takes us behind the scenes of some of Ralph Heimans’ best-known portraits of royalty, heads of state and cultural icons.

Video still from Dream Job, 2011 by David M Thomas

My dream job

Magazine article by David Thomas AM, 2012

Artist David M Thomas lists some of the ideas and influences behind his video portraits.

In good company

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

Jean Appleton’s 1965 self portrait makes a fine addition to the National Portrait Gallery’s collection writes Joanna Gilmour.

Pretty in peach

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

It's remarkable that the inner Melbourne suburb of Richmond has produced two of Australia's most successful opera singers. Three decades apart, but within a short distance of each other, both Helen Porter Mitchell and Florence Wilson were born.

The 2023 National Photographic Portrait Prize

16 June 2023

Archived media releases 2023

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

Home and away

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

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

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.

Virginia Woolf, 1902 George Charles Beresford

Love my way

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2022

Inga Walton delves into the bohemian group of artists and writers who used each other as muses and transformed British culture.

Desperately seeking Sonia

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2015

Esther Erlich’s portrait of Lady McMahon.

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.

Icons and imagery

Magazine article by Alison Weir, 2011

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

Heartfelt

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

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

1/2 length self portrait in mirror, wearing pyjama shirt, camera at shoulder height, 1979 Carol Jerrems

Great Experimentations

Magazine article by Rebecca Harkins-Cross, 2025

Rebecca Harkins-Cross considers Carol Jerrems’ portraiture against the backdrop of social change in the 1970s.

20/20 launch speech

About Face article

Dr Helen Nugent AO, Chairman, National Portrait Gallery at the opening of 20/20: Celebrating twenty years with twenty new portrait commissions.

Uncommon Australians

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling