Search / leah king-smith

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004

Set of 129 Royal Christmas Cards and three miscellaneous items, 1951-2001

Portrait, offset print (tipped in), letter press (greeting), pen and ink (signature), embossed (royal emblem) on cardboard

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

Amanda King is a Sydney-based visual artist and producer and director of film documentaries.

1 portrait in the collection

Martin King

Martin King, an artist who specialises in making works on paper, was born in 1957 in Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Inge King AO

Inge King AO (1915–2016), sculptor, was at the forefront of the development of non-figurative sculpture in Australia and remained one of Australia’s outstanding sculptors into her 80s – a time in her life in which she continued to develop innovative work.

1 portrait in the collection

Bernard King

Bernard King (1934–2002), chef and television personality, grew up on a farm at Maleny in Queensland and appeared in his first talent quest at the age of eight.

1 portrait in the collection

William Francis King, 'The Flying Pieman'

William King

William Francis King (1807-1873), aka 'The Flying Pieman', accomplished a series of bizarre athletic feats during the 1840s.

1 portrait in the collection

King George V

George Frederick Ernest Albert, The Duke of Cornwall and York and later King George V (1865-1936), was the son of Edward VII, the man for whom the Edwardian era was named.

4 portraits in the collection

Inge King

Recorded 1965

Deel, 2018

by Stefanie King

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

Jim King, Kings Parking, n.d.

Joe Greenberg

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001

Skyhooks, Hordern Pavilion

Skyhooks, Capitol Theatre, Sydney

Skyhooks, Sydney Harbour

Skyhooks, Sydney Showground

Easybeats

Split Enz

The Cockroaches

Easybeats

Easybeats

Fans at an Easybeats concert, Sydney Stadium

The Church

Midnight Oil

INXS

Bon Scott, AC/DC with fans

Midnight Oil

Philip Gidley King

Philip Gidley King (1758-1808), naval officer and governor, joined the navy in late 1770 and served in the East Indies and American waters.

1 portrait in the collection

Mr King (Bernard King), c. 1979

Jon Waddy

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

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

Phillip Parker King

Phillip Parker King RN (1791–1856) has been described as the first Australian-born person to succeed in the world outside the colonies.

1 portrait in the collection

Radio Birdman (cover shot for Radios Appear album)

Cold Chisel

Radio Birdman

Radio Birdman

Charles Kean, c. 1865

H N. King

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Inge King, 1968

Mark Strizic

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2003

Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V)

Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

William Francis King, 'The Flying Pieman', c. 1869

John Davis

Gift of the family of FW Macpherson 2010

Anna Josepha King, c. 1826-1832

Portrait, watercolour and gouache on ivory

Purchased 2018

Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V), 1901

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on original studio backing card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Michael Hutchence, INXS

Michael Hutchence, INXS

The Divinyls performing on Countdown

Peter Garrett, Midnight Oil

Peter Garrett, Midnight Oil

Portrait, oil crayon and collage of printed magazine cuttings

Portrait of Philip Nitschke, 1998 (re-worked 2009)

Amanda King

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

John Wolseley, old master, 2020

Martin King

Portrait, watercolour, tempera, wax, hard cover book and thread

Gift of the artist 2023. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Phillip Parker King, 1854

Thomas Woolner

Portrait, cast plaster

Purchased 2000

Edward Hargraves, c. 1884

Henry King

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on cabinet card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, c. 1863

John & Charles Watkins

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite photograph on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

Lieutenant King, 1789

William Skelton after J. Wright

E.O. Hoppé, Raphael Tuck and Sons Ltd

Purchased 2010

H.M. King George V at his desk, c. 1921

Portrait, postcard print on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

Captain James King, engraving after Webber, 1784

Francesco Bartolozzi after John Webber

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

Joshua Smith

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

5 portraits in the collection

Ben Roberts-Smith VC MG

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

1 portrait in the collection

The painter transmogrified and Mrs Smith

The painter transmogrified and Mrs Smith, 1973

Portrait, oil on canvas laid down on masonite

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

Dick Smith

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

2 portraits in the collection

Eric Smith

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

6 portraits in the collection

Julian Smith

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

2 portraits in the collection

Tommy Smith

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

2 portraits in the collection

David Smith

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

1 portrait in the collection

Will, 2010

by Martin Smith

Bernard Smith

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

2 portraits in the collection

Sydney Ure Smith

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

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Gerard Smith

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

1 portrait in the collection

Robin Smith

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

1 portrait in the collection

Heide Smith

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

3 portraits in the collection

Beau D. Smith

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

1 portrait in the collection

Shirley Smith AO MBE

Portrait, oil on primed masonite

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

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait at 85, 1990

Joshua Smith

Gift of the late May Ralph 2019

Joshua Smith

Recorded 1965

Eric Smith

Recorded 1962

Bernard Smith

Recorded 1975

Tarcissius, 2006

by Heide Smith

Kurt Coleman - Literally Me, 2015

by Aaron Smith

The New Arrivals at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art

Peter Purves Smith

Peter Purves Smith (1912–1949), artist, went to Geelong Grammar with his lifelong friend Russell Drysdale.

2 portraits in the collection

Sydney Ure Smith, 1948

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, half tone on paper

Purchased 1999

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Captain Charles Ulm

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith MC AFC

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

3 portraits in the collection

John Firth Smith

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

2 portraits in the collection

Grace Cossington Smith OBE

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

1 portrait in the collection

TJ Smith and Tulloch, 1960 (printed 2003)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Stephen Murray-Smith

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

1 portrait in the collection

John Raphael Smith

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

1 portrait in the collection

Tommy Smith, 1986 (printed 2018)

Gary Ede

Purchased 2018

Joshua Smith, c. 1955

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

Mike Smith, 2007 (printed 2013)

Peter Eve

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Eve 2013

Dick Smith, 1999 (printed 2012)

Rob Tuckwell

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Grace Cossington Smith

Recorded 1965

Stephen Murray-Smith

Recorded 1961

Untitled 11, 2018

by Daniel Boetker-Smith

Little family, 2019

Gene Hart-Smith

Grace Cossington Smith OBE

Self portrait, 1948

Portrait, oil on cardboard

Purchased 2002

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

Heide Smith

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, hand coloured on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Bernard Smith, 1985

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on cardboard

Purchased 1998

Ben Roberts-Smith, 2017

Julian Kingma

Commissioned in 2018 with funds raised through the 2020 project

Dick Smith, Sydney, 2000 (printed 2004)

John Elliott

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

The Surgeon (Dr Julian Smith), 1934

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Bernard Smith, n.d.

Arthur Boyd AC OBE

Gift of an anonymous donor 2002

Mum Shirl (Mrs Shirley Smith), 1988

Juno Gemes

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

Hendrik Kolenberg, 1995

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

Joshua Smith, 1994

Greg Weight

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

Get Wet series (Greedy Smith)

Paul Worstead

Joshua Smith, Woolloomooloo, Sydney, 1985 (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

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

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on cabinet card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Peter Sculthorpe, 1982

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2004

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

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

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

Bill Northam, 1964 (printed 2004)

Robin Smith

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2004

Portrait of Henry Vernon Crock AO, 1988

David Smith

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

Neville Gruzman, 1968

Portrait, oil on masonite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2007

Creative space

Magazine article by Eric Smith, 2004

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

Portrait of Florence Broadhurst, 1968

Joshua Smith

Purchased 2007

Dymphna Clark, 1991

Heide Smith

Magazine article by Jessica Smith, 2009

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Sketches and sermons

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

John Shirlow, c. 1937

Julian Smith

Portrait, pigment print on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

The hoodie, 2021 (printed 2023)

Jacob Nash

Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2023

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, 1932

Enid Fleming

Portrait, cast plaster, patinated

Gift of the Sydney Airports Corporation 2001

John Firth-Smith, 1974

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

Stephen Murray-Smith, 1980

Fred Williams

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

Manning's red socks, 1989 (printed 2012)

Heide Smith

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Heide Smith 2012

John Firth Smith, 1995

Greg Weight

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

Surrounded by music, 2008

by Heide Smith

by Alan Hill and Kelly Hussey-Smith

Queen's Birthday Weekend, 2013

Magazine article by Dimity Goldie, 2003

Portrait of a Modernist

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

Jane Mander Jones, 1853

Henry Robinson Smith

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

David Jones, 1853

Henry Robinson Smith

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

Hendrik Kolenberg and Hector Gilliland in Eric's studio

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

Portrait, gouache on paper

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

Maisie, 1938-1939

Peter Purves Smith

Bequest of Lady Maisie Drysdale 2001

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

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

International News Photos Inc

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on card

Purchased 2019

Lady Loch, c. 1890

Tuttle & Co

Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

Private practice

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

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

Be bold

Magazine article by Katherine Russell, 2007

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

Charles Summers, late 1860s

Batchelder & Company Photo

John Raphael Smith after Sir Benjamin West

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

Sir Joseph Banks, c. 1788

Batchelder & Company Photo

Purchased 2010

Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, c. 1870

Batchelder & Company Photo

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

Richard Henry Horne, mid 1860s

Magazine article by Gillian Raymond, 2005

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

Modern Australian Women

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

Society of Artists Selection Committee, 1907

Henry King

Purchased 2008

Malcolm and Angus Young, AC/DC

Portrait, 5 screenprints on paper

Creatures of Leisure, 1982

Paul Worstead

Get Wet Series, 1979

Paul Worstead

Portrait, five screenprints on paper

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Painting mates

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2011

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

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Captain Charles Ulm, 1961

Sir William Dargie CBE

Magazine article by Sarah Hill, 2001

Gift of the Sydney Airports Corporation 2001

The Wonder Years

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

John Roper, 1860s

John Buchanan Smith

Portrait, pen and pencil on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of John Sandefur 2019

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

Russell Drysdale

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Bequest of Lady Maisie Drysdale 2001

King Edward Terrace

Behind the street name

Visiting the gallery

King Edward Terrace was named in honour of King Edward VII (1841-1910)

Contributing artists

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

Anne Hyde, Duchess of York and King James II

Sir Peter Lely

King Charles I

Gerrit van Honthorst

Portrait, ink, charcoal and conté on paper

Study for John Bell as King Lear, 1998-2001

Nicholas Harding

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

Willie ‘Bomba’ King, 2019

Jason McNamara

Mr King was once on Countdown, 2010

by Ben Searcy

King Henry VIII

Unknown artist

Portrait, lithograph on paper

Gooseberry, widow of King Bungaree, 1836

William Fernyhough

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Robert Edwards AO 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Ready , set... shoot

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2006

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

The First Meal, 2015

by Reece McMillan

Frank McIlwraith

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

1 portrait in the collection

George Moore

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

1 portrait in the collection

Bringing down a kingdom

Lust

The king and the showgirl

King Kamanda, 2015

by Ella Rubeli

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

Richard Pratt, Cardboard King, n.d.

Joe Greenberg

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001

Boobook, 2016

by CJ Taylor

Ben Roberts-Smith, 2018

by Julian Kingma

'We're village elders on Smith Street'

Commissioned in 2018 with funds raised through the 2020 project

Rod McNicol and Jack Charles

Portrait story

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

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

by Jenny Hodge

Tracey, 2018

by Rod McNicol

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother (1900–2002) was born the Honourable Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon.

2 portraits in the collection

Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel

Sir Peter Paul Rubens

Adrian Feint, 1939

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

Geoffrey Rush, 2006

by William Yang

William Dobell, 1942

Portrait, coloured chalk on artist board

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

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother), 1943-1944

Charles Wheeler

Purchased 2019

Lady Maisie Drysdale

Portrait, sepia toned carbon print on card

Lady Maisie Drysdale (1915–2001), children's librarian and artists' muse, developed an interest in art as a child, and attended both the University of Melbourne and George Bell's art school.

1 portrait in the collection

Henry Lingham, early 1900s

Mendelssohn of Melbourne

Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

Lola Montes, c. 1845

Joseph Karl Stieler

Portrait, albumen photograph on card

Purchased 2010

Minnie Walton (photograph of Miss Rose Massey on verso)

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

Lock & Whitfield, London

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

Francis Houssemayne de Boulay, n.d.

J Fisher

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

Thomas Clark

Thomas Clark, teacher and painter, arrived in Victoria from England in about 1852, having been anatomical draftsman at King's College London and headmaster of the Birmingham School of Design.

1 portrait in the collection

Hugo at home (Hugo Weaving), 2011

Nicholas Harding

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on paper

Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family 2012

Self portrait, 1858-1860

George Fordyce Story

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

The Mosh Pit

More photographs by Bob King, Stuart Spence, 'pling, Tony Mott, and Wendy McDougall.

Francis Lymburner, c. 1946

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

Portrait 7

March - May 2003

Magazine

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

Duchess of Cornwall and York (later Queen Mary)

Duchess of Cornwall and York (later Queen Mary), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Duchess of Cornwall and York (later Queen Mary), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Duchess of Cornwall and York (later Queen Mary), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Francis Lymburner

Contemporary women artists make Australian history

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

2 portraits in the collection

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

So Fine

Previous exhibition, 2018

This exhibition features new works from ten women artists reinterpreting and reimagining elements of Australian history, enriching the contemporary narrative around Australia’s history and biography, reflecting the tradition of storytelling in our country.

Harriet, blind, 2010

by Charles McKean

Francis Lymburner, 1941

Gift of Richard King 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Hugo Weaving AO

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

1 portrait in the collection

Sidney Nolan, 1982

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas board

Purchased with funds provided by Ross Adler AC 2022

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

Purchased 2009

Opening of the First Legislative Council of Victoria by Governor Charles Joseph LaTrobe at St Patrick's Hall, Bourke Street West, Melbourne November 13th 1851

Magna Carta

Portrait, cast plaster, patinated

On this day eight hundred years ago at Runnymede near Windsor, King John signed Magna Carta.

Captain Ulm, 1932

Enid Fleming

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

William Evans

The draftsman and engraver William Evans reproduced many of Sir William Beechey’s portraits including that of King George..

3 portraits in the collection

Master Molteno, c. 1866

Townsend Duryea

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

Extraordinary airmen make aviation history

Passion

Charles is my wingman

Location

Plan your visit

We’re on King Edward Terrace in front of the High Court and next to the National Gallery of Australia. We are open every day of the year from 10am to 5pm, except 25 December.

Godfrey Miller, 1949

Kerry Dundas

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

William John Wills

William John Wills (1834-1861) came to Victoria with his brother in early 1853.

3 portraits in the collection

Les Darcy

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

3 portraits in the collection

Icons Syndicate

Lists alphabetically

Robert O'Hara Burke

Robert O'Hara Burke (1821-1861), explorer, came to Australia in 1853 and joined the Victorian police force.

4 portraits in the collection

Garry Shead and Tom Thompson, 1993

Adam Knott

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

Garry Shead and Tom Thompson, 1993

Adam Knott

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on brown cardboard presentation mount

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

J.H. Roy Rousel, 1915

Appleby Studio

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

JH Roy Rousel, 1915

Teslar Studios

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on brown cardboard presentation mount

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

The Capel Family

Cornelius Johnson

William Griffith

William Griffith (c. 1808-1870) emigrated to Australia around 1840 and moved to Parramatta with his wife, Susan, whom he had married ten days after landing in Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

George Finey

George Finey, one of Australia's best-known cartoonists, was born in Auckland and was selling drawings to local newspapers by the time he was 14.

1 portrait in the collection

Les Darcy, c. 1916

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Oliver Cromwell

Robert Walker

Sir Robert Helpmann, c. 1965 (printed 2015)

Jozef Vissel

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Jozef Vissel 2015

Alec Murray

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

1 portrait in the collection

John Davis

Alan Davies' and Peter Stanbury's The Mechanical Eye in Australia lists Sydney photographer John Davis (life dates unknown) as having a carte-de visite studio on King Street, and as working from addresses on Pitt and George Streets between 1870 and 1873..

1 portrait in the collection

John Chapman

Portraits of Australian Visual Artists

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

2 portraits in the collection

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

The Reflecting Eye

Touring exhibition, 1996

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

Balang T E Lewis

Balang T.E. Lewis (1958–2018), a Murrungun man, was an actor, singer, songwriter and cultural leader.

2 portraits in the collection

Harry Hudson

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

1 portrait in the collection

Donors

$10,000 - $49,999

George Moore, 1957

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Rayner Hoff, 1924

Gift of Richard King 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

John Longstaff

Sir John Longstaff, born in Clunes, Victoria, studied at the NGV school from 1883 to 1887 and thenceforth at Corman's in Paris.

1 portrait in the collection

Willow Legge

Willow Legge (b. 1934) is a British artist who studied sculpture at Chelsea School of Art from 1951 to 1956 under Willi Soukop and Bernard Meadows.

1 portrait in the collection

So Fine

17 May 2018

Previous exhibition, 2002

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

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

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

The Hon. Susan Crennan AC KC

The Hon. Susan Crennan AC KC (b. 1945) is a leading barrister and former High Court judge.

1 portrait in the collection

Gwendolene Pratt

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

1 portrait in the collection

Geoffrey Rush, 1997

Montalbetti + Campbell

Purchased 1999

Sir Frank Packer

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

2 portraits in the collection

The Aboriginal community of Lake Tyers, Gippsland

The Aboriginal community of Lake Tyers, Gippsland, c. 1890

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on paper on card

Purchased 2010

The hoodie

Jacob Nash

Kate Girard, c. 1885

Mora of New York

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

Sir William Dobell OBE

Magazine article by Tamsin Hong, 2016

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

10 portraits in the collection

Rev. Victor B. Walls and Mrs. Walls, Trinidad, B.W.I., c.1930

The first nurse

Tamsin Hong recounts the tale of Marion Smith, the only known Australian Indigenous servicewoman of World War One.

So Fine

28 June 2018

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

Return (Balang T.E. Lewis), 2016

Philip Myers

Gift of the artist 2019

Neil Armfield (study), 2010

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned 2010

R. M. Williams AO CMG

RM (Reginald Murray) Williams AO CBE (1908-2003), saddlery, boot and clothing manufacturer, miner and author, moved to Adelaide from his birthplace near the Flinders Rangers when he was 10.

1 portrait in the collection

Neil Armfield, 2010

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned 2010

Adelaide, Königin von Grossbritranien u Irland

Adelaide of Saxe-Coburg Meiningen

Adelaide of Saxe-Coburg Meiningen (1792–1849) was the consort of King William IV of England.

1 portrait in the collection

Neil Armfield (study), 2010

Portrait, spray paint on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned 2010

Neil Armfield (study), 2010

Portrait, spray paint on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned 2010

Mickey Johnson

Photographed by Nathalie Latham

Mickey Johnson (1834-1906) was an Indigenous leader in the Illawarra district of New South Wales during the second half of the nineteenth century.

1 portrait in the collection

Steven Bishop, performer by Nathalie Latham

Australia's Creative Diaspora

Previous exhibition, 2007

Paris based Australian photographer and filmmaker Nathalie Latham has an ongoing interest in the creative achievements of other Australian artists living in various locations around the globe.

Ryder Jack Susman in a Williamstown hairdresser by Abigail Varney

PROMO

Portraits from prime time

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.

Ralph Heimans

Portraiture. Power. Influence.

Current exhibition

The exhibition will feature some of the most significant portraits in the artist’s career to date, from early major works such as his painting of HM Queen Mary of Denmark through to his most recent.

Johann Zoffany

Johann Zoffany, painter of portraits and conversation pieces, grew up in the court of the Prince von Thurn und Taxis in Germany, where his father was employed.

1 portrait in the collection

Enid Fleming

Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer

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

2 portraits in the collection

On train from New York to Memphis, July 4, 1956 by Alfred Wertheimer

Elvis At 21

Previous exhibition, 2013

Elvis at 21 is a photographic exhibition capturing Elvis’ rise to fame in the year 1956, before security and money built walls between him and his fans.

Robert O'Hara Burke, c. 1860

Melbourne and Sydney Photographic Co

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Parking

Plan your visit

Parking is available in our underground car park every day of the week. Fees apply.

Troye Sivan, 2018

by James Brickwood

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

Juno Gemes

Purchased 2021

Queen Mary

George Frederick Ernest Albert, The Duke of Cornwall and York and later King George V (1865-1936), was the son of Edward VII, the man for whom the Edwardian era was named.

3 portraits in the collection

In the mirror: self portrait with Joy Hester

In the mirror: self portrait with Joy Hester, 1939

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

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

William Lanne

William Lanne (1834-1869), also known as King Billy or William Laney, is said to have been Truganini's third partner.

3 portraits in the collection

Max

Rachel Mounsey

Darling Portrait Prize 2024

Upcoming exhibition

The Darling Portrait Prize is a biennial national prize for Australian portrait painting honouring the legacy of Mr L Gordon Darling AC CMG (1921-2015). The winner receives a cash prize of $75,000.

Joy Hester

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

1 portrait in the collection

William Dampier

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

William Dampier (1651-1715), seafarer and writer, had spent a good deal of time at sea as a buccaneer and merchant sailor before he spent three months in 1688 around King Sound (northern Western Australia) on the Cygnet.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert O'Hara Burke, Leader of the Victorian Expedition

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

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2007

Paul Haefliger

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

1 portrait in the collection

Karla Dickens

Karla Dickens (b. 1967), Wiradjuri artist, graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from the National Art School in Sydney in 2000 and has since built a diverse practice across the mediums of painting, photography, mixed media and installation.

2 portraits in the collection

Charles Ulm

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

2 portraits in the collection

George A. Highland

George A Highland (1874-1954), theatrical producer, grew up in England, where, as a choirboy, he came to the attention of Arthur Sullivan.

1 portrait in the collection

Richard Fitzgerald

Richard Fitzgerald (1772-1840), convict, public servant and settler, spent four years of his seven-year sentence imprisoned (probably on a floating 'hulk') at Portsmouth before arriving in Sydney in 1791, along with his private assets.

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait, c. 1984

Portrait, watercolour and pastel on paperboard

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Barbara Tucker 2004

Roland Wakelin

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

1 portrait in the collection

Rev. Fred Nile, Festival of Light, Sydney

Fred Nile MLC

The Rev. Fred Nile MLC (b. 1934) Leader of the Christian Democratic Party was born and raised in King's Cross, Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Victor Greenhalgh

Percy Leason's Aboriginal Portraits

Victor Greenhalgh (1900-1983) was a sculptor and teacher who greatly influenced tertiary art education; he was one of the first Victorian sculptors to adopt a modern style.

5 portraits in the collection

William Johnson (1873—1948) by Percy Leason

Recognition

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

Noel McGrowdie

Noel 'Digger' McGrowdie (1920-1961), jockey, was born in Brisbane and educated at a Christian Brothers School in Toowoomba before being apprenticed in Brisbane at the age of fourteen.

1 portrait in the collection

Sister Mary Brady

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

1 portrait in the collection

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

Charles Turner

Charles Turner (1773-1851), engraver, was born in Oxfordshire and moved to London at the end of the 1780s.

2 portraits in the collection

Celine Céleste, c. 1860

Charles Clarkington

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

Leigh Bowery, 1984

Robyn Beeche

Previous exhibition, 2005

Gift of Claudia Hyles, Dr Christiane Lawin-Bruessel, Gwenda Matthews, Gael Newton, Anne O'Hehir, Susan Smith and Dominic Thomas in memory of our friend, Robyn Beeche 2016

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

Reverend Nathaniel Kinsman, c. 1880

William B. Latimer, W B Latimer Photo Art Studio

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite

Purchased 2013

Visiting the gallery

How to get here

Plan your visit

Maps and public transport information for your visit.

William Pidgeon

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

2 portraits in the collection

James Horan

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

1 portrait in the collection

Graham Kennedy and the Seekers in Melbourne

Graham Kennedy AO

Graham Kennedy AO (1934-2005), entertainer, began his career in Melbourne radio in 1949.

2 portraits in the collection

Hera Roberts

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

1 portrait in the collection

Finalists announced for National Photographic Portrait Prize

14 November 2018

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

Sir William Beechey

Sir William Beechey, portrait painter and pupil of Johann Zoffany, was greatly influenced by Sir Joshua Reynolds.

1 portrait in the collection

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema

Adrian Feint

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

1 portrait in the collection

Arthur Horner

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

1 portrait in the collection

Garry Shead

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

3 portraits in the collection

H B. Hall

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

1 portrait in the collection

Sherbet, 1974 (printed 2002)

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

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

Colin Wills

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

1 portrait 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

Coral Browne

Coral Browne (1913-1991) was an Australian actress who left for England in 1934.

1 portrait in the collection

Jill Ker Conway, 1987

Sarah Belchetz-Swenson

Gift of an anonymous donor 2001

John Tindale

John Tindale was born in Warwickshire in 1809 and came to Sydney in 1820 to join his father, a convict who had been transported to NSW in 1812 and who received a free pardon in 1816.

1 portrait in the collection

2015-17 Acquisition Fund

Annual Appeal

From 2015 to 2017 the Acquisition Fund was focussed on Reg Richardson AM by Mitch Cairns, a finalist in the Archibald Prize 2014, and a great example of minimalist portraiture.

Sir Colin Syme AK

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

1 portrait in the collection

Russell Drysdale

Faces of the Twentieth Century

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

6 portraits in the collection

2021 Annual Appeal

Annual Appeal

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

Karsh

Previous exhibition, 1998

Yousuf Karsh - the most famous portrait photographer in the world - has photographed the statesmen, artists, literary and scientific figures who have defined the 20th century and shaped our lives, In this, his 90th year, the National Portrait Gallery is thrilled to present an exhibition of Karsh's photography of 20th century figures.

Mervyn Horton

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

1 portrait in the collection

Thomas Purves

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

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

1 portrait in the collection

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

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

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2007

Stella Bowen

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

1 portrait in the collection

Ethel Anderson and her daughter, Bethia, c. 1912

G.W. Lawrie

Gift of Mrs SM Asplin 2011

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022)

9 September 2022

Media

The National Portrait Gallery is deeply saddened by the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history. Throughout her 70-year reign, Her Majesty represented graciousness, humanity and stability during times of enormous social change.

Sir Joshua Reynolds

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2011

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

John Bell as King Lear oil on Belgian linen, 2001 by Nicholas Harding

Lear unbuttoned

Sarah Engledow steps up to the footlights and applauds the storyline behind Nicholas Harding's portraits of actor John Bell.

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary (future Queen Elizabeth II)

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary (future Queen Elizabeth II), 1942-1943

Charles Wheeler

Portrait, coloured chalk on artist board

Purchased 2019

Hera Roberts, 1936

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

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

King Barak, last of the Yarra Tribe, 1899

Barak, respected elder

Dr Christopher Chapman looks at the life of Wurundjeri elder William Barak through the portrait painted by Victor de Pury in 1899.

Flash

Australian Athletes in Focus

Previous exhibition, 2006

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

The Lambert

Beards

Barbering manuals of the turn of the century might describe this style as a ‘Van Dyck’, named after the Dutch painter Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641) who is known to have adopted this look.

Richard von Marientreu

Richard von Marientreu was born in Poland and attended military academies in Cracow and Vienna before leaving for Prague, where he studied at the Academy of Painting.

2 portraits in the collection

Paul Haefliger, 1974

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

Daryl Braithwaite

Daryl Braithwaite (b. 1949) finished an apprenticeship as a fitter and turner in 1969, and joined Sherbet shortly afterward.

3 portraits in the collection

Athol Shmith, 1985

Michel Lawrence

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Nicholas Chevalier, c. 1867

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

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

Study for portrait of Bob Ellis, 1999

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Gift of the artist 2001

Study for portrait of Bob Ellis, 1999

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Gift of the artist 2001

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

Roderick Shaw

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

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Walter Ralegh (Raleigh)

Unknown artist

William Dobell, 1943

Portrait, steel engraving with later hand-colouring on paper

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

Wylie, 1840-1841

Robert Neill

Purchased 2018

Anthony Dattilo Rubbo, 1935

Arthur Murch

Portrait, ciment fondu, patinated

Purchased 2000

Self portrait in green hues, c. 1962

Roland Wakelin

Portrait, oil on composition board

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

Peter Brock AM

Peter Brock (1945-2006), a professional racing driver from 1972 to 1997, was undoubtedly Australia's best known and most popular motor sports personality.

1 portrait in the collection

Nell Gwyn

Simon Verelst

Gai Waterhouse AO

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

1 portrait in the collection

Miranda Otto

Miranda Otto (b. 1967), actress, is the daughter of the prominent Australian actor Barry Otto.

3 portraits in the collection

Maurice O'Shea

Maurice O'Shea (1897-1956) is remembered as a key figure in the formation of the modern Australian wine industry.

1 portrait in the collection

Rick Carey

Rick and Thelma Carey comprise Australian country music's most famous double act, Rick and Thel.

1 portrait in the collection

Dame Mary Gilmore, 1961

Purchased with funds provided by Timothy Fairfax AC 2003

Sir Robert Helpmann CBE

Sir Robert Helpmann CBE (1909–1986) was a dancer, actor and choreographer.

3 portraits in the collection

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

Ethel Turner, 1928

Gift of Richard King 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

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

Lyndon Dadswell CMG

Portrait, cast bronze

Purchased 2004

Ern McQuillan Senior

Ern McQuillan (Senior) (1905-1988), boxing trainer, was born in Newtown, Sydney, and worked there all his life.

1 portrait in the collection

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?

Lyndon Dadswell, with his sculpture 'Native'

Lyndon Dadswell CMG

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

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

Four from the 30s

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.

The Right Honourable Charles Lord Hawkesbury, Chancellor of the Duchy and County Palatine of Lancaster

Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool

Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool (1729–1808), statesman, was educated at Oxford and entered parliament in 1761.

1 portrait in the collection

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.

Harry Belafonte

Dorothy Wilding

Brian Fitzpatrick

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

1 portrait in the collection

Maurice O'Shea, 1951 (printed 2003)

Purchased 2005

Longest reign

Queen Elizabeth II is now the longest-reigning British sovereign

Noel McGrowdie, 1957 (printed 2003)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Miss Florrie Ford (Christmas pantomime with toy cat)

Florrie Forde

Florrie Forde (1875–1940), singer and music hall performer, was born in Melbourne and was sixteen when she sang publicly for the first time, in Sydney, in late 1891.

9 portraits in the collection

Norman Lindsay, 1921

Gift of Richard King 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Valentine Green

Valentine Green, engraver, spent two years in a solicitor’s office in Evesham before abandoning the law and becoming a pupil of Robert Hancock, an engraver in Worcester.

1 portrait in the collection

Werner Baer, 1947

N Schiavonetti after Thomas Phillips

Gift of Richard King 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Portrait of Sir Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society

Portrait of Sir Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society, 1812

Portrait, line engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Princess Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia and Electress Palatine

Robert Peake the Elder

Don Burrows

Don Burrows AO MBE (1928-2020) is Australia’s best–known jazz musician.

2 portraits in the collection

Vali Myers, 2001

Eva Collins

John Murphy after George Romney

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2003

The Right Honourable Charles Lord Hawkesbury, Chancellor of the Duchy and County Palatine of Lancaster, 1788

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

Sir Joseph Banks, 1802

William Ridley

Tom Roberts, Goupil & Cie

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

Opening of the first Parliament of the Australian Commonwealth, 9th May 1901

Opening of the first Parliament of the Australian Commonwealth, 9th May 1901, 1903

Portrait, photogravure on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Penny Amberg and Andrew Bond 2001
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Sir George Ferguson Bowen, c. 1873

Bardwell's Royal Studio

Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

Rick Carey, WA, 1998 (printed 2004)

John Elliott

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Bernie McGann, 1999

Sage

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 1999

Clive Shakespeare, 1975 (printed 2001)

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

Daryl Braithwaite, 1975 (printed 2001)

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

Garth Porter, 1975 (printed 2001)

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

Tony Mitchell, 1975 (printed 2001)

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

Alan Sandow, 1975 (printed 2001)

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

POL

Portrait of a Generation

an unknown artist, The Australasian Sketcher

POL was a magazine that ran from 1969 to 1986

The Sculling Match at Sydney for the Championship of the World

The Sculling Match at Sydney for the Championship of the World, 1877

Portrait, wood engraving on paper

Purchased 2015

Anthony Dattilo Rubbo

Portrait, cast plaster, patinated on wooden base

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

1 portrait in the collection

Alfred Hill, 1936

Rayner Hoff

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2000

Max Dupain

The Vintage Years

Sir Leslie Ward, Vanity Fair Magazine

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

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

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

Portrait, chromolithograph on paper

Purchased 2014

Justin O'Brien

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

3 portraits in the collection

Sir Asher Joel

Sir Asher Joel (1912-1998), public relations entrepreneur and state politician, started out as a copyboy at Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.

1 portrait in the collection

William Nicholas

William Nicholas was born near London and is believed to have trained with English printmaker A.M Huffam.

2 portraits in the collection

John Farnham, 1996

Polly Borland

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2000

John Bell AO OBE

John Bell AO OBE (b. 1940), actor and director, is one of Australia's best-known theatre personalities.

3 portraits in the collection

Don Burrows at work, 1998

Barry Walsh

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

Purchased with funds donated by Patrick Corrigan 2000

Rt. Honourable Lord Hawkesbury, 1808

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

Noel Fraser Hickey, 1957

Nancy Menetrey

Gift of the artist 2021

L Gordon Darling AC CMG

Pierre Langlume after Jacques Etienne Victor Arago

L. Gordon Darling AC CMG (1921-2015), former company director, was the Founding Patron of the National Portrait Gallery.

2 portraits in the collection

'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

Portrait, lithograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Drusilla Modjeska

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

1 portrait in the collection

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

Sir Charles Lloyd Jones

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

1 portrait in the collection

Sherbet, 1974

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

Billy Cook and Pride of Egypt, 1954

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2004

Elvis in Australia

Die-hard Elvis fans from Canberra and surrounding areas share their insights into the phenomenon that was Elvis Presley.

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

Arts Project Australia

Artists and Collectives

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

Neil Murray, Bolac, VIC, 2004

John Elliott

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Rt Hon. Sir Robert Menzies, c. 1962

Victor Greenhalgh

Portrait, cast bronze

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lady Bunting in honour of Sir John Bunting and the Menzies Foundation 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Queen Victoria

Victoria (1819–1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 until her death in 1901.

8 portraits in the collection

John Sherwin

John Keyse Sherwin, draughtsman and engraver, worked as a cutter of ships' bolts until 1769, when one of his drawings was awarded a silver medal at the Society of Arts.

1 portrait in the collection

Julia Matthews

Julia Matthews (1842-1876), actress and singer, came to Australia as a girl with her parents, and made her debut at Sydney's Royal Victoria Theatre in 1854, aged twelve.

1 portrait in the collection

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

David Moore

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
The series 'David Moore: From Face to Face' was acquired as a gift of the artist and with financial assistance from Timothy Fairfax AC and L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2001.

Dr Solander, 1772

Portrait, copper-line engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Ern McQuillan Senior, c. 1980s

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Joseph Banks and Dr Solander, 1778

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

John Farnham AO

John Farnham (b.1949) has sustained a successful career in the Australian music industry for more than 40 years.

1 portrait in the collection

Nancy Bird Walton - Pioneer, 2003

Danelle Bergstrom

Portrait, pencil on paper

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2004

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

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

eX de Medici

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

George Rose, 1811

Giovanni Vendramini, T Cadell & W Davies after William Evans, Sir William Beechey

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2002

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Courage, Self-analysis and Skill

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

Sir Sidney Kidman, 1932

Samuel Woolf

Portrait, charcoal heightened with white chalk on paper

Purchased 2009

Portrait of Mr Frank Packer, 1956

Portrait, oil on composition board

Gift of the Packer family 2006

Robert Emerson Curtis, 1943

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

The sitter (Drusilla Modjeska), 2001

Jo Bertini

Purchased with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2002

Anna Meares, 2018

by Narelle Autio

Portrait, watercolour, gouache and pencil on paper

Commissioned with funds provided by King & Wood Mallesons 2018

M.O. Ranger 3: 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', 2001

eX de Medici

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

William Lanne, c. 1866

J.W. Beattie after Charles Woolley

Portrait, albumen silver photograph

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

Ethel Anderson

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

2 portraits in the collection

Raimond Gaita

Portrait, mangrove bark pigment, watercolour and gouache on vellum

Raimond Gaita (b. 1946) arrived in Australia in 1950 with his Romanian father and German mother, and was brought up largely by his father near Barninghup, Victoria.

1 portrait in the collection

Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground

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

eX de Medici

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Inside Heide’s lives

It's Complicated

Happiness to heartache

The Honourable Chief Justice Susan Kiefel AC

The Honourable Chief Justice Susan Kiefel AC, 2018

Yvonne East

Portrait, oil on linen

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

John Bell, 1962 (printed 2006)

Jozef Vissel

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

Arthur Boyd in his studio at Bundanon, 1993

Adam Knott

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

Wylie

Previous exhibition, 2013

Wylie (c. 1824–unknown) is thought to have been born near King George’s Sound in south-west Western Australia, which would make him a Noongar man.

1 portrait in the collection

Judy Cassab

The artist's diary

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

Portrait of Alan Marshall, 1955

Lina Bryans

Portrait, oil on cardboard

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Ourou-Maré, dit Bull-Dog par les Anglais, Jeune Guerrier de la Tribu des Gwé-Gal

Ourou-Maré, dit Bull-Dog par les Anglais, Jeune Guerrier de la Tribu des Gwé-Gal, 1807-1817

Barthélemy Roger after Nicolas-Martin Petit

A Portrait of Colonial Australia

Purchased 2009

Bungaree, late chief of the Broken Bay tribe, Sydney

Heads of the People

Previous exhibition, 2000

For Tom Roberts - Australia's best nineteenth-century portrait painter - neither a proto-national portrait gallery nor more popular collections of portrait heads, were sufficient public celebrations for the notables of Australian history

Lisa McCune

Lisa McCune (b. 1971) actor, made her stage debut at fifteen in a production of The Wizard of Oz in Perth.

1 portrait in the collection

Mickey Johnson, c. 1896

Portrait, oil on masonite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Study for self portrait, c. 1965

Jean Appleton

Gift of Laurie Curley OAM and Mrs Robyn Curley 2012

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.

Mark Strizic

A Journey in Photography

This exhibition traces the creative output of nearly 50 years by one of Australia's landmark living photographers.

Chris Lilley

Chris Lilley, satirist and actor, was educated at Pymble Public School and Barker College before gaining his degree from Macquarie University.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Sidney Kidman

Sir Sidney Kidman, pastoralist (1857-1935), is Australia's 'cattle king'.

2 portraits in the collection

George Lambert

A Ninetieth Birthday Tribute

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

Sir William Dargie

Previous exhibition, 2002

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

Omai, A Native of Ulaietea, 1774

Francesco Bartolozzi after Nathaniel Dance

Purchased with funds provided by Robert Oatley AO 2007

The crime writer Shane Maloney, 2004

Rick Amor

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2010
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Julian Rossi Ashton, 1933

Eric Wilson

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Philip Bacon AM 2012

Headspace 4

Facing Memory

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

Michael Boddy

Portrait, montage of gelatin silver photographs on paper

Michael Boddy (1934–2014), writer and actor, was born in England and educated at Cambridge before arriving in Australia as a 'ten quid migrant' in 1960.

2 portraits in the collection

Robert Helpmann, 1969

David Moore

Purchased 1998

Sir Asher Joel, n.d.

Louis Kahan AO

Portrait, pencil on paper

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

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

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.

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

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

Mervyn Bishop

Purchased 2001

Anna Meares, 2018

Narelle Autio

Portrait, oil and hand-stitching on canvas

Commissioned with funds provided by King & Wood Mallesons 2018

James Morrison with flugelhorn, 1994

Kerrie Lester

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

Brian Schmidt

Celebrating 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection

Recorded 2017

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.

Raimond Gaita, 2012

Dave Tacon

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Lisa McCune, 2000 (printed 2012)

Rob Tuckwell

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

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

Nancy Bird Walton, c. 1973

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

Kate Fitzpatrick, 1978 (printed 2017)

Robert McFarlane

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Rayner Hoff

George Rayner Hoff (1894-1937), sculptor, was born in England and trained at the Royal College of Art, London.

2 portraits in the collection

Creator versus character - Chris Lilley, 2009

John Tsiavis

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2011

Bart Cummings AM

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

1 portrait in the collection

Naomi Watts

Naomi Watts (b. 1968), actress, was born in England and came to Australia from Wales at the age of fourteen.

1 portrait in the collection

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.

Dame Mabel Brookes, c. 1955

Sir William Dargie CBE

Moses Griffith after John Lewin

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

Yango Mungo ye Yango of Bathurst's Plains

Yango Mungo ye Yango of Bathurst's Plains, 1824

Portrait, copper engraving, hand coloured on paper

Purchased 2011

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

Peter Garrett AM

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

12 portraits in the collection

Sir Rupert Hamer AC KCMG ED

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

1 portrait in the collection

Her Majesty, The Queen, Elizabeth II (Blue)

Her Majesty, The Queen, Elizabeth II (Blue), 2001

Polly Borland

Self Portraits in Australia

Purchased 2021

To Look Within

Portrait, oil on masonite

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

Peter Elliott, 1964

Jon Molvig

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

Elaine Haxton, c. 1940s

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

Bob Ellis

Bob Ellis (1942-2016) was a journalist, columnist, screenwriter, film director and playwright.

3 portraits in the collection

Kate Fitzpatrick, 1983

William Yang

Previous exhibition, 2009

Purchased 2003

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

Vanity Fair Portraits

Photographs 1913-2008

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

Ben Chifley, n.d.

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

Naomi Watts, 2003

Peter Brew-Bevan

Gift of the artist 2004

Sir Robert Gibson

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

1 portrait in the collection

George Judah Cohen, 1925

George Lambert

Portrait, carved marble on travertine marble base

Gift of the National Australia Bank 2002

Bust of Peter Garrett, 1991-2016

Peter Schipperheyn

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

Facing Facts

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

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

National Youth Self Portrait Prize

NYSPP 2009

Previous exhibition, 2009

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

Dr Stella Cornelius AO OBE, 1989

Gift of the Cornelius family 2019

Jan Senbergs AM

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

2 portraits in the collection

Geoff Cousins, 2017

Gift of Geoff Cousins AM 2007

Sir William Deane AC KBE KC

Sir William Deane AC KBE KC (b. 1931), High Court judge, was governor-general of Australia from early 1996 to mid-2001.

1 portrait in the collection

Vali Myers

Vali Myers (1930-2003) artist, vagabond and agitator, was born near Box Hill and moved to Melbourne at the age of eleven.

1 portrait in the collection

Jill Ker Conway AC

Portrait, cast bronze relief medallion

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

1 portrait in the collection

Charles Joseph La Trobe, 1853

Thomas Woolner

Purchased 2006

David Wenham AM

David Wenham AM (b. 1965), actor, studied drama at the Nepean College of Advanced Education (now the University of Western Sydney), graduating with a BA in Performing Arts in 1987.

1 portrait in the collection

Julian Ashton CBE

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

Jason Yat-sen Li

Jason Yat-Sen Li (b. 1972) was born to parents who came to Australia from China in 1959.

1 portrait in the collection

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.

Angkor Wat

Nothing quite prepares the first-time visitor to Cambodia for the scale and grandeur of the monuments of the ancient Khmer civilisation of Angkor.

Bob Ellis, 1999

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Nancy Menetrey

Nancy Menetrey (née Wilkinson) was born in Sydney in 1924. After serving with the Australian Women's Land Army, formed during the Second World War to address labour shortages in the agricultural sector, she travelled overseas in the early 1950s, living and working in London for a number of years.

1 portrait in the collection

Leigh Bowery

Leigh Bowery (1961-1994), London-based designer and nightclub performer, was born in the Melbourne suburb of Sunshine, and attended school in Melbourne before briefly studying fashion design at RMIT.

2 portraits in the collection

Peter Elliott AM

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

6 portraits in the collection

Neil Murray

Neil Murray (b. 1956), singer/songwriter, grew up in country Victoria, studied art and became a teacher.

2 portraits in the collection

Frank Hurley OBE

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

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

2 portraits in the collection

Moving in creative circles

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

Baron Ferdinand Jakob Heinrich von Mueller

Sir Ferdinand Jakob Heinrich von Mueller KCMG (1825–1896), botanist, trained in pharmacy and botany in his native Germany before emigrating to Adelaide in 1847.

1 portrait in the collection

Gilbert Eric Douglas

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

1 portrait in the collection

William Hardy Wilson

William Hardy Wilson (1881-1955) - or Hardy Wilson, as he styled himself - is regarded as one of the most significant and visionary Australian architects of the twentieth century.

1 portrait in the collection

Henry Searle

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

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

1 portrait in the collection

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.

Julian Ashton Life Class, 1920

Purchased 2015

Jean Appleton

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

5 portraits in the collection

Jan Senbergs, 2015

Jacqueline Mitelman

Magazine article by Jennifer Gason, 2003

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

Nobel and his prize

To complement the exhibition Australians and the Nobel Prize, Jennifer Gason gives us a sense of the proceedings that occur during the award ceremony.

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

Jean Shepeard

Portrait, pastel on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2002

Annie May Moore

Annie May Moore (1881-1931) was born in New Zealand and studied at the Elam School of Art and Design in Auckland.

5 portraits in the collection

Bungaree

Bungaree (c. 1775–1830), voyager, navigator and diplomat, was among the most significant Sydney-area Indigenous leaders of the early colonial period.

3 portraits in the collection

Jan Senbergs, 1976

Keith Looby

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

Annual Appeal

Listed by year

Nancy Bird Walton AO OBE

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

2 portraits in the collection

Jenny Howard

Portrait, oil and oil pastel on canvas

Jenny Howard née Daisy Blowes (1902-1996), stage performer, made her name in her native England as ‘the poor man’s Gracie Fields’, recording covers of Fields’s songs for a cut-price label and impersonating the star onstage.

1 portrait in the collection

Lloyd Rees at the Rock in 1975, 1984

Roderick Shaw

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Peter Brock, 2000-2001

Julie Edgar

Portrait, cast bronze on granite base

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

The Swiss Studios, Sydney

The Swiss Studios opened in King Street, Sydney in early 1898, operating from a building described as a 'pleasing reminder of one of those delightful old Swiss chalets, which one always associates with Alpine travel.' The elaborate establishment boasted a first-floor reception room, 'beautifully decorated and luxuriously furnished', 'tastefully arranged dressing rooms, one for ladies and the other for gentlemen', and a 'lofty, cool and well-lit gallery' where 'the best artists in the photographic line' were at work.

1 portrait in the collection

Dr Stella Cornelius AO OBE

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2009

Stella Cornelius AO OBE (1919–2010), businesswoman and peace activist, was born to Jewish parents in Sydney and grew up moving around New South Wales as her father, a draper and tailor, found work during the Depression.

1 portrait in the collection

In the round

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

The Hon Chief Justice Susan Kiefel AC

The Hon. Chief Justice Susan Kiefel AC (b. 1954) became Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia in 2017 and is the first woman to have held the role.

1 portrait in the collection

John Richard Tindale, 1841

Maurice Felton

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Mary Tindale, 1841

Maurice Felton

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Tribute

Bob Ellis

Magazine article, 2016

Bob Ellis (1942–2016) was a journalist, columnist, screenwriter, film director, playwright, speechwriter and critic.

Gary Heery

Gary Heery, photographer, was born in Sydney, where he studied sociology and psychology at the University of New South Wales.

1 portrait in the collection

Judy Davis

Magazine article by Gael Newton, 2003

Judy Davis (b. 1955), actor, director and two-time Oscar nominee, has won many acting accolades, including eight AACTA awards, three Emmy awards, two BAFTAs and two Golden Globes.

3 portraits in the collection

Risk Assessment for groups of students

For your peace of mind

School visit information

Find out about our environment, security checks, potential hazards and more.

Vintage Max

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

Lady Primrose Potter AC

Carrington Photo Galleries

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

1 portrait in the collection

Clara Crosbie, aged 12 years, now on exhibition at the Australian Waxworks

Clara Crosbie, aged 12 years, now on exhibition at the Australian Waxworks, c. 1885

Magazine article by Celina Fox, 2006

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of John McPhee 2018

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

A new perspective

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

Arthur Boyd Portraits

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

Home and away

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

The Right Honourable William Pitt

William Pitt the Younger (1759-1806) was Tory prime minister of Great Britain from 1783 to 1801, and of United Kingdom from 1804 to 1806.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Colin Syme, 1970

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

Wendy Sharpe

Previous exhibition, 2006

Wendy Sharpe undertook art studies in Sydney between 1978 and 1984 and held her first solo exhibition at the Nicholson Street Gallery in 1985.

3 portraits in the collection

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.

Self Portrait (Textanude) by Arlene TextaQueen

Animated

Self Portraits Online

Previous exhibition, 2008

Animated is the National Portrait Gallery's first online exhibition.

Sir Edward John Lees Hallstrom

Sir Edward John Lees Hallstrom (1886–1970) manufacturer, philanthropist and zoo trustee, grew up with his eight siblings in Waterloo, Sydney, after the family left the failed family farm in Coonamble, New South Wales.

3 portraits in the collection

Happy New Year

Previous exhibition, 2005

This year (in March) we will celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the formal establishment of the National Portrait Gallery. In the life of institutions, twenty years is not a long time.

Peter Brew-Bevan Portraits

In this exhibition Sydney based photographer Peter Brew-Bevan brings together an intimate collection of works that highlight his passion for the genre of portraiture over the last 10 years

Louis Claude de Saulces de Freycinet

Louis-Claude Desaulses de Freycinet (1779–1842), hydrographer and cartographer, sailed with Nicolas Baudin on the Expédition aux terres australes, a journey of discovery, commissioned by Napoléon, to the unknown southern coast of New Holland.

1 portrait in the collection

Mervyn Horton, 1964

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint and oil on canvas

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

Open Air

Portraits in the Landscape

Previous exhibition, 2008

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

The fat of the land

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

Jenny Sages

Jenny Sages (b. 1933), artist, was born to Russian Jewish parents in Shanghai and came to Australia with her family in 1948.

34 portraits in the collection

Robert Neill

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

Robert Neill arrived in Van Diemen’s Land from Edinburgh in 1820 with his free-settler parents and two siblings.

1 portrait in the collection

Sketch for portrait of Justin O'Brien, 1980

Bryan Westwood

Gift of the Margaret Olley Art Trust 2002

Apollo's breath

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2016

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

J.C. Williamson, c. 1913

John Longstaff

Previous exhibition, 2014

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

Contact us

Our team

Find a contact at the National Portrait Gallery.

Rick Amor

21 Portraits

Rick Amor, noblest yet most unaffected of contemporary Australian portraitists, is also a painter of enigmatic, ominous landscapes, seascapes and cityscapes that haunt the viewer like dreams, dimly-recalled.

Portrait of Sir Joseph Banks, c. 1814

Thomas Phillips

Purchased 2011

Eric Douglas, c. 1930

Frank Hurley OBE

Previous exhibition, 2019

Gift of Sally Douglas 2009

Primed

Some Prime Ministers

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

David Unaipon

Significant Australian Women 1913–2013

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

First Ladies

Previous exhibition, 2013

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

Portrait 50 hits the shelves

1 September 2015

Archived media releases 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.

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

Malcolm J. McCusker AC CVO KC

Previous exhibition, 2020

Barrister and philanthropist Malcolm James McCusker AC CVO KC was born in Subiaco, Western Australia in 1938.

1 portrait in the collection

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.

Dora Byrne, 1951

Richard von Marientreu

Previous exhibition, 2009

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Estate of Leslie Walford AM 2013

National Photographic Portrait Prize 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.

Sir William Dargie CBE

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2003

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

Emile Sherman

Emile Sherman (b. 1972), film producer, graduated from the University of New South Wales before beginning his career with a documentary about his great-great-uncle Chatzkel, a Lithuanian Jew who lived through both world wars and the Bolshevik revolution.

3 portraits in the collection

Australians in Hollywood

Magazine article by Pamela Gray, 2002

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

Michael Kimmelman

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

Nicholas Harding

Nicholas Harding (1956–2022) was one of Australia's most highly regarded artists, known for his portraits and drawings, and his light-filled, vigorously painted images of the bush and the coast.

5 portraits in the collection

Clara Crosbie, c. 1885

Arthur William Burman

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

Gift of John McPhee 2018

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

In the thick of it

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.

Soffritto di Lucio, 2009

Garry Shead and Adrienne Levenson

Portrait, oil on linen

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

William Saurin Lyster, mid to late 1860s

Davies & Co

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite

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

In good company

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

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

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.

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

Elizabeth Roberts

Elizabeth Roberts (1812–1833) was the daughter of Warwickshire-born William Roberts (1754–1819) and his wife, Jane (née Longhurst, c.

1 portrait in the collection

Talking heads

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

Sir Edgar Barton ‘EB’ Coles

Previous exhibition, 2005

Sir Edgar Barton ‘EB’ Coles (1899-1981) was the longest-serving chief executive of the Coles retail group.

2 portraits in the collection

Clifton Pugh

Australians

This exhibition offers a comprehensive display of Clifton Pugh's portraits revealing his development and growth from tonal paintings to a unique style that was in demand from politicians, artists, academics and Australian personalities.

Rosina Carandini, mid 1860s

Charles Hewitt

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

Olivia Newton-John, 1978 (printed 2017)

Gary Heery

Purchased 2017

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

18 October 2018

Previous exhibition, 2022

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

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022

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

Georg von Neumayer, c. 1860

Johnstone & Co

Chefs, winemakers, providores

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

Masters of Fare

Previous exhibition, 2023

Masters of fare: chefs, winemakers, providores celebrates men and women who have championed the unique culinary characteristics and produce of Australia, enriching our lives with new ideas and new flavours over the past forty years.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2023

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

The 1780s to the 1840s

Mo and beard timeline

Eighteenth century men differed from those of the preceding centuries in their preference for beardlessness.

Time and light

In Gallery Seven

Previous exhibition, 2023

This sample of 56 photographs takes in some of the smallest photographs we own and some of the largest, some of the earliest and some of the most recent, as well as multiple photographic processes from daguerreotypes to digital media.

Lillie Langtry, c. 1885

W & D Downey

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.

HM Queen Elizabeth II, 2001

Polly Borland

Purchased 2002

Martin Sharp, 1986

Garry Shead

A bushranger meets his maker, 6 January 1826

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

The consolations of religion

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2016

James McCabe provides proof that hanging wasn’t necessarily a fate reserved for the perpetrators of murder and other deeds of darkest hue.

Dr Edward MacMahon, 1959 by William Dobell

Bill and Ted's excellent portrait.

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

Fannie Carandini, mid 1860s

Charles Hewitt

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

The Fairfax Gift

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

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

Visiting the National Portrait Gallery

Visual Stories

Access support for a general visit to the Gallery.

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

Waterloo and Mrs. Moore

Archived media releases 2013

Beyond the centenary of the ANZAC landings at Gallipoli, a number of other notable anniversaries converge this year. Waterloo deserves a little focussed consideration, for in the decades following 1815 numerous Waterloo and Peninsular War veterans came to Australia.

Our only concern is the void, 2013 by Nik Lee, video: 12 minutes

Macquarie Digital Portraiture Award media information

28 August 2013

The National Portrait Gallery recently announced the finalists for the Macquarie Digital Portraiture Award 2013.

Hattie Shepparde, 1872

Bardwell's Royal Studio

Thomas Woolner in Australia

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

Missing Persons

Five Years of National Portrait Gallery Commissions

Desperately seeking Woolner medallions

Making Portraits

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

Lord Kitchener

Imperial strategist

Archived media releases 2019

Once central to military strategy and venerated in patriotic households, Lord Kitchener is now largely forgotten.

The Textiles Scientist, 2018 by Kate Atkinson

Textiles Scientist Voted the People’s Favourite

27 March 2019

The black and white portrait of an elderly woman with sidelong glance and irreverent, contemplative smile has taken out the people’s choice award in this year’s National Photographic Portrait Prize.

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.

Percy Leason

Archived media releases 2013

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

Paul Kelly and The Portraits media information

18 June 2013

Paul Kelly & The Portraits presents a multifaceted image of the performer over the course of his career.

Queen Elizabeth II

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2012

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022) was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, who subsequently became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

4 portraits in the collection

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.

Sarah and Ann Jacob, c. 1866

Townsend Duryea

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2007

Purchased 2018

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.

Of jumpers and river gums, red

Magazine article by Diana O'Neil, 2016

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

Unboxed

Magazine article by Sandra Bruce, 2022

Sandra Bruce explores a new acquisition that has within it a story of interconnectivities in the Australian art world.

Not perspiring, but glowing.

The cultural history of radiance.

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2003

Angus Trumble explores the creative manifestations of radiance.

A Singular Line

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

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

Cocky McGrath

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

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

Expect the unexpected

Joanna Gilmour revels in accidental artist Charles Rodius’ nineteenth century renderings of Indigenous peoples.

Form and reality

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2008

A photographic portrait by Kerry Dundas captures the contemplative mind of visionary painter Godfrey Miller.

Very fine and very like

When did notions of very fine and very like become separate qualities of a portrait? And what happens to 'very like' in the age of photographic portraiture?

Mugshots

Magazine article by Paul Moorhouse, 2007

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

"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.

Announcing... Pub Rock

11 August 2020

Archived media releases 2020

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 Obama effect

Magazine article by Kim Sajet, 2018

Kim Sajet reflects on two portraits with a power that extends beyond gallery walls.

L. Gordon Darling AC CMG

31 August 2015

Archived media releases 2015

The Chairman, Board, Director and all the Staff of the National Portrait Gallery mourn the loss of our Founding Patron, who died peacefully in Melbourne this morning. He was 94.

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.

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

The world of Thea Proctor

Magazine article by Kwon Hyeeun, 2019

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.

Portrait of Kang Sehwang, 1783 by Yi Myeonggi

The artist, the scholar and the gentleman

Kwon Hyeeun introduces Korean portraits of Kang Sehwang, and five generations of the Kang family.

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 Bath Butterfly

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

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

The aviatrix

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

Catholic clergymen from the Diocese of Adelaide

Catholic clergymen from the Diocese of Adelaide, c. 1862

Stephen Edward Nixon

Purchased 2018

Fine and dandy

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2005

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.

Face the music

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.

In bloom

Magazine article by Susi Muddiman, 2017

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

Janet Dawson

Explore The Popular Pet Show

When soulmates Janet Dawson and Michael Boddy moved from Sydney to a property, Boddy was clear about why: ‘Our marriage is one long conversation - we moved to the bush so we could talk to each other without so many interruptions.’

Waterfall in Australia, c. 1830 by Augustus Earle

Augustus serendipitous

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2016

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

Relaxed mornings

Visual Stories

Access support for a visiting the Gallery before the general 10:00am opening time.

The Final Frontier

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2002

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

Announcing... Ralph Heimans: Portraiture. Power. Influence.

30 November 2023

Media

In March 2024, the National Portrait Gallery will launch a major exhibition of the work of Ralph Heimans AM, the Australian artist who’s painted some of the world’s most recognisable people.

NPPP 2009 exhibition essay

NPPP 2012 learning resource

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

Anthony Anderton

An interview with the photographer.

The National Portrait Prizes

29 January 2020

Archived media releases 2020

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

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.

Queen Victoria, 1901

The Illustrated London News after Jean Joseph Benjamin-Constant

Portrait, photogravure on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Vintage Cassab

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

The personal and the historical

Magazine article by Peter Jeffrey, 2016

Where do we draw a line between the personal and the historical? Although she died in Melbourne in 1975, when I was not quite eleven years old, I have the vividest memories of my maternal grandmother Helen Borthwick.

Hottie's Snifter to port

Peter Jeffrey trips the hound nostalgic.

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.

Karl Robert, Count Nesselrode, 1818 by Sir Thomas Lawrence

The Lawrence lustre

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2019

Angus Trumble salutes the glorious portraiture of Sir Thomas Lawrence.

The Stories Beneath

The Alcoa World Alumina Australia gift.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2023

Learning resources

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

Murray frees himself from straightjacket in public, 1928 by Sam Hood

Risky business

Magazine article by John Zubrzycki, 2016

John Zubrzycki lauds the characters of the Australian escapology trade.

The 2023 National Photographic Portrait Prize

16 June 2023

Media

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

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.

Dupain detective

Magazine article by Johanna McMahon, 2019

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

Trevor Jamieson, 2016 by Brett Canet-Gibson

The more things change...

NPPP 2017 exhibition essay

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

Goods and chattels

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

I have been reading systematically through the ads in the earliest issues of the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, such a rich vein of information about certain aspects of daily life in Regency Sydney.

Study for Aunty Mary King, 2010 by Mathew Lynn

The animating signature

Joanna Gilmore delights in the affecting drawings of Mathew Lynn.

Pre-Raphaelite Profile

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

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

The selfie stick

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2016

Last week ABC Television came to interview me about selfie sticks. The story was prompted by the announcement that the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has lately prohibited the use of these inside their galleries. So far as I am aware we have not yet encountered the phenomenon, but no doubt we will before too long.

Showing character

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

Grateful admiration and brotherly love

In the earliest stages of the Great War, the Royal Pavilion in Brighton was turned into a military hospital, and arrangements made there to accommodate the different dietary and other requirements of Hindu, Sikh and Muslim patients.

Cultural kaleidoscope

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2016

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

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

Political profiles

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

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

Announcing Shakespeare to Winehouse

24 November 2021

Archived media releases 2021

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

200 Years of Portraiture

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2022

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

Virginia Woolf, 1902 George Charles Beresford

Love my way

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

Poet of the Fleeting Moment

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2004

Mark Strizic's work crosses a broad spectrum of photographic fields including urban, industrial, commercial, and architectural photography.

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

First encounters

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2011

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

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

Moving still

Magazine article by Anne O'Hehir, 2022

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

Mick Jagger, Madonna and Tony Curtis, 1997

The Vanity model

Magazine article by David Friend, 2009

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

NPPP 2016 exhibition essay

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

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.

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

Lovingly observed

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2009

Sarah Engledow previews the beguiling summer exhibition, Idle hours.

Where the wild things are

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

20/20 launch speech

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

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

Portrait of Thea Proctor, 1905 by George Lambert

The real Thea

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

Everybody's heard about the bird

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

Two professionals; Australian surfer Layne Beachley and photographer Petrina Hicks, combine their strengths to achieve a remarkable portrait.

Beguiling impressions

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2012

Sarah Engledow is seduced by the portraits and the connections between the artists and their subjects in the exhibition Impressions: Painting light and life.

The Saint and the merchant

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

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

You beauty

Magazine article by Gideon Haigh, 2009

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

Top shot that

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

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.

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.

More cash than dash

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2011

Joanna Gilmour describes how colonial portraitists found the perfect market among social status seeking Sydneysiders.

Indexing, the art of

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2020

The first index I created was for my first book, and, to my astonishment, that was almost twenty-five years ago.

Venetia, Lady Digby, circa 1633-1634 by Sir Anthony van Dyck

Love in the extreme

Joanna Gilmour reveals love’s more intense manifestations in the tale of Lord Kenelm and Venetia Digby.

Hyperversity

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2007

Dr Sarah Engledow writes about the larger-than-life Australian performance artist, Leigh Bowery.

Oz and beyond

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

Skyhooks (Red Symons, Bob Starkie, Shirley Strachan, Greg Macainsh, Freddie Strauks) in Parker’s studio, Fitzroy, 1975 David Parker

Cool cool world

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2022

Penelope Grist unpacks photographs by David Parker, who captured the phenomenal emergence of the 1970s and 80s Melbourne music scene.

Uncommon Australians

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

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

Speed demon

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

Themes and variations (Annelies) A13, 1946

Listening to form

Magazine article by Jane Kinsman, 2007

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

Alternative virtue

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

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

Patrick White at Centennial Park, 1979–1980

Listomania

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

Sarah Engledow describes the fall-out once Brett Whiteley stuck Patrick White’s list of his loves and hates onto his great portrait of the writer.

Nicholas Harding

Explore The Popular Pet Show

Over the years the young Nicholas Harding got his hands on various mice and guinea pigs, but they served mainly to illustrate the concept of mortality.

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

Air wear

Magazine article by Esther Agostino, 2015

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

Finest quality

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2006

Joanna Gilmour explores the life of Chinese-Australian businessman and philanthropist Quong Tart.

Mental as everything

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

Money and swat

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2007

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

Adam’s Prize Apples

Magazine article by Pamela Gerrish Nunn, 2016

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

Dane reign

Magazine article by Mette Skougaard and Thomas Lyngby, 2018

Mette Skougaard and Thomas Lyngby bring eloquent context to Ralph Heimans’ portraits of Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark.

Chairman Sid Myer AM, Hayley Baillie, Tim Bednall, Jillian Broadbent AC, Patrick Corrigan AM, Marilyn Darling AC, Tim Fairfax AC, Penny Fowler AM, John Liangis, Dr Helen Nugent AC and Nigel Satterley AM

Foundation Members

Foundation

Chairman Sid Myer AM, Hayley Baillie, Tim Bednall, Jillian Broadbent AC, Patrick Corrigan AM, Marilyn Darling AC, Tim Fairfax AC, Penny Fowler AM, John Liangis, Dr Helen Nugent AC and Nigel Satterley AM.

The stately lotus

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

I spent much of my summer holiday at D’Omah, on the outskirts of Yogyakarta. Lotus and waterlilies sprout in extraordinary profusion in artful ponds amid palms and deep scarlet ginger flowers.

Worth her salt

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

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

Birds of a feather

Magazine article by Annette Twyman, 2021

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

One hundred days at 7pm 2015 by Fiona McMonagle

Self-effacing

Magazine article by Michael Wardell, 2016

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

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?

Private virtues public lives

Magazine article by Karl James, 2016

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

Portrait of Private Edward Lello 1915 by Darge Photographic Company

Final frame

Karl James reflects on soldier portraiture during the Great War.

Drawing inspiration

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2017

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

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.

Group photograph taken at the coronation of King George VI including Queen Elizabeth II, Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Queen Mother, 12 May 1937 by Hay Wrightson

Poise and Carats

Magazine article by Natalie Wilson, 2023

I keep going back to Cartier: The Exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia next door, and, within the exhibition, to Princess Marie Louise’s diamond, pearl and sapphire Indian tiara (1923), surely one of the most superb head ornaments ever conceived.

A potpourri of portraits

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

Anangu landscape learning

NPPP 2014 exhibition essay

Angus' initial perception of Uluru shifts, as he comes to see it as central to the entire order of Anangu life.

The Art Lovers - Megan, 2013 by Gary Grealy

Everybody, look serious

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

Nicholas Harding: 28 Portraits

Exhibition essay

Magazine article by Keith Christiansen, 2012

Sarah Engledow looks at three decades of Nicholas Harding's portraiture.

Emblems of beauty

Keith Christiansen introduces the exhibition The Renaissance Portrait from Donatello to Bellini on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Friends and Acquaintances

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

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

Home truths

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

Starry knight

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

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

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

The activist A-list

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2007

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.

Eileen Dunne in The Hospital for Sick Children, 1940

The incomparable Beaton

Magazine article by Alexandra Roginski, 2019

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).

Madame Sibly, Phrenologist and Mesmerist

Sibly irresistible

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

Some prime ministers

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

The art of Inner Worlds

Lecture, 7 May 2011

Magazine article by Judith Pugh, 2005

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

A sketch for some portraits

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

Practising the Minuet (Miss Hilda Spong)

An actress and her fans

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

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

History

About us

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

The Long Awaited, 2008 by Patricia Piccinini

In the flesh

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2015

An exhibition of humanness in ten themes by Penelope Grist.

Mary (or Diana) Croker, mat woman, Colchester, 1823 by John Dempsey

Unknown drawer

Magazine article by Dr David Hansen, 2017

Dempsey’s People curator David Hansen chronicles a research tale replete with serendipity, adventure and Tasmanian tigers.

Through thick and thin

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2017

Sarah Engledow likes the manifold mediums of Nicholas Harding’s portraiture.

Thrown together

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

Sunset in the drawing room at Chesney Wold by Hablot Knight Brown

Portraiture in a Bleak House

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

It may seem an odd thing to do at one’s leisure on a beautiful tropical island, but I spent much of my midwinter break a few weeks ago re-reading Bleak House.

The silent partner

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

Less than six degrees of separation

Lecture, 28 May 2011

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

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

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.

The Bare story

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2016

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

Studio portrait of Lord Kitchener, British Secretary of State for War, 1914 by J Russell & Sons

All the way with K of K

Sarah Engledow bristles at the biographers’ neglect of Kitchener’s antipodean intervention.

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

The Rothschilds, the Montefiores, and the Victorian Gold Rush

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

Rick Amor: 21 Portraits

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

Christmas Island