Search / margaret scott

Dame Margaret Scott, 1949

Gift of Professor Derek Denton AC and Dame Margaret Scott AC 2014. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Bon Scott, AC/DC with fans

Zareth, 2009

Transition, 2009

Stormtroopers, 2009

Goldheart

Cloning experiment #3 The many mes, 2010

Boyca dharraka mayung ngurr gartji. Lardum ratjuk gurr (Boyca at Mayung Creek, Gartji. Hunting for barramundi)

Adam Scott by Robin Sellick

An interview with photographer Robin Sellick about his portrait of golfing champion Adam Scott.

Rose Scott, 1913

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Adam Scott: at Sanctuary Cove Golf Course, 2006

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006

Lindy Lee - Birth and Death, 2006

Delores, 1990 (printed 2013)

Purchased 2013

Mr Zee (Wet plate collodion image), 2017

Malcolm Fraser, Randwick Racecourse, 1975 (printed 2002)

Purchased 2012

Surfer artist rockstar

Christopher Chapman talks with Scott Redford about his character Reinhardt Dammn.

Carol Jerrems, Paddington, 1976 (printed 2003)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Boy with surfboard cross: David Rastovich, 1999 (printed 2005)

Gift of the artist 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Automatic for the people: Casey Stoner, 2008

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2008

Bon Scott & Angus Young, Atlanta, Georgia, 1978 (printed 2010)

Purchased 2010

Fiona Scott-Norman, 2011

Golden boy

Dr Christopher Chapman examines Scott Redford's photographic portrait of Australian surfer David 'Rasta' Rastovich.

Speed demon

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

Margaret Olley

Recorded 1963

Soft and Sophia, 2015

Self portrait with Bottlebrush, 1991

Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC and the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2021

Self portrait as Sarah Wisse, Transported, 1996

Gift of the Karmel family in memory of Lena and Peter Karmel 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

No shirt, no service

Bon Scott and Angus Young photographed by Rennie Ellis are part of a display celebrating summer and images of the shirtless male.

(Margaret Whitlam) by the strength of her skin, 1998

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

Margaret Lyttle, 2000

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2003

Margaret Robertson, c. 1852

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

Margaret Fulton, 1980 (printed 2002)

Gift of the artist 2002. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Portrait of Margaret Olley in her Paddington studio, 2011

Margaret Olley, 1995

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of The Hammond Care Group 1999

Margaret Olley, 1991

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

Head study for portrait of Margaret Olley, 1994

Bequest of Nick Enright AM 2004

Margaret Whitlam, 2005

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

Margaret Preston, c. 1930

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM and Barbara Corrigan 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Margaret Olley, 1998

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

Portrait of Jawoyn Elder, Margaret Katherine, 2015

Gift of the artist 2017. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Margaret Robertson, c. 1863

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

Margaret Anderson, 1942

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Margaret Dodd, 2002

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

Margaret Fink, 1989

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

Margaret Robertson, c. 1855

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

Margaret Coen, 1991

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

Margaret Woodward, 1992

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

Margaret Wilson, 1990

Gift of Leo Christie 2003. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Margaret Simons, 2012

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Margaret Woodward, 1985

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

Margaret Olley, 1991 (printed 2012)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Greg Weight 2012

The line of fire

Michelle Fracaro examines the life of World War II nurse Margaret Anderson, whose portrait by Napier Waller is in the NPG collection.

Arthur Murch, 1945

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Margaret Seares, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2018

Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong, c. 1971

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Portrait of Professors Margaret Gardner and Glyn Davis, 2017

Commissioned with funds provided by Jim and Barbara Higgins, Sir Roderick Carnegie AC, Rupert Myer AO and Annabel Myer, Louise and Martyn Myer Foundation, Peter and Ruth McMullin, Diana Carlton, Professor Derek Denton AC, Harold Mitchell AC, Peter Jopling AM KC, Andrew and Liz Mackenzie, Patricia Patten, Tamie Fraser AO, Bruce Parncutt and Robin Campbell, Lauraine Diggins, Steven Skala AO and Lousje Skala 2017

Edward John Eyre, 1867

Presented by Sir Roy Strong and the late Dr Julia Trevelyan Oman in memory of their friendship with Gordon Darling and Marilyn Darling 2006

The Honourable Margaret Lusink AM, 2019

Gift of The Honourable Margaret Lusink AM 2021

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.

Celebrities on the field

Robin Sellick's portraits of Australian sportspeople include Harry Kewell, Adam Scott, Shane Warne, Mark Webber and John Newcombe.

Modern Australian Women

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

Arthur and Ria Murch, 1945

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Elegance in exile

Elegance in exile is an exhibition surveying the work of Richard Read senior, Thomas Bock, Thomas Griffiths Wainewright and Charles Rodius: four artists who, though exiled to Australia as convicts, created many of the most significant and elegant portraits of the colonial period.

Margaret Fink, 1975

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

Brothers on farms

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

Album of cartes de visite and cabinet cards compiled by William St Leonards Robertson, 1860s-c. 1900

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

Margaret Seares, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2018

Backstage on the way to the top

Living for the moment

Bon Scott and Angus Young, AC/DC

Jane Windeyer, n.d.

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Windeyer family 2012

Dame Bridget Margaret Ogilvie, 1999 (printed 2022)

Purchased 2022

Professor Derek Denton, 2009

Gift of Professor Derek Denton AC and Dame Margaret Scott AC 2014. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Hugs on hold

Cameron, Amelia and Sariah, 2011

John Sumner, 1984

Gift of Professor David Phillips 2023

Portrait 39

This issue features the National Photographic Portrait Prize, Neil Murray, Lee Tulloch on Stuart Campbell, Joseph Banks, Scott Redford and more.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2007

Photography is the most pervasive and popular medium for portraiture and makes a natural fit with the Gallery, being a natural extension of the Gallery's longstanding commitment to photography as a contemporary portrait medium.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2010

The National Photographic Portrait Prize is an annual event intended to promote the very best in contemporary photographic portraiture by both professional and aspiring Australian photographers.

Portrait 35

This issue features suspected poisoner and portrait artist Thomas Wainewright, Rick Amor, Chuck Close, Mick Dodson, Scott Redford, the National Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition and more.

Portrait 21

This issue of Portrait Magazine features Margaret Cameron, the 'Truth and Likeness' exhibition, Reg Mombassa, Patrick White, George Foxhill and more.

Angus Young, 2003 (printed 2014)

Gift of the artist 2017. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Prime minister, 2018

Diseased curiosity

Just after 10.00 o'clock on 3 December 1879, four prisoners were brought from their cells at Darlinghurst Gaol and placed in the dock of a courtroom heaving with agitated spectators

John McRae

An interview with the photographer.

TERROIR

TERROIR directors Gerard Reinmuth, Scott Balmforth and Richard Blythe believe that the practice of architecture is the production of knowledge.

Study "Radical Restraint: A Portrait of Michael Kirby", 1998

Gift of the artist 2001

Portrait of Professor Derek Freeman, 1996

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

William St Leonards Robertson, c. 1865

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

Nancy Borlase and Laurie Short, 1991

Gift of the Margaret Olley Art Trust 1998

Sketch for portrait of Justin O'Brien, 1980

Gift of the Margaret Olley Art Trust 2002

2012-13 Acquisition Fund

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

Oz Rock

Two of the music industry’s highest-selling performers originated in suburban Australia. The Bee Gees started out in Brisbane, for instance, and AC/DC played their first gigs at a nightclub in inner Sydney.

2015-17 Acquisition Fund

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.

Panel discussion

A dynamic panel discussion that interrogates some of the themes revealed in Living Memory.

Self portrait, 2002

Gift of the Margaret Olley Art Trust 2003

Isabella Louisa Parry, c. 1826

Purchased 2014

William Robertson, 1866

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

Bernie McGann, 1999

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 1999

Self portrait, 2001

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Margaret Olley Art Trust 2002

Jessie Robertson, c. 1849

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

Adrian Feint, 1939

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

Beauty and strength

Influential Indigenous Australian artist Michael Riley (1960 - 2004) created these portrait photographs between 1984 and 1990 - they stand as an intricately connected group portrait of the vibrant urban-based Indigenous arts community in Sydney's inner-west at a formative moment.

Malala Yousafzai

Kevin Weldon, 1978

Gift of Kevin Weldon 2012

George Duncan, c. 1940

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mrs Margaret Adams 1999

Douglas Carnegie, 1968

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Sir Roderick Carnegie 2003

First Ladies

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

Anders Ousback, 1986 (printed 2018)

Purchased 2018

Flash

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

2020 Annual Appeal

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

William Robertson jnr, c. 1852

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

Annual Appeal

Trevor Jamieson, 2016

Purchased 2018

Prison and death in the 19th century

These books include sixteen inmates including Ned Kelly, Captain Moonlite and Frederick Deeming and twelve sketches of the deceased, including several children. For Year 7 – 9 students.

The attractions of bohemia

In the company of women

Acceptance

Patricia Piccinini’s photographic series SO2 and The Fitzroy Series explore human acceptance of difference – applied empathy – through children’s interactions with trans-species creatures.

Sketch for Prime Minister Robert Menzies, 1960

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 1999

Norman Hetherington OAM (and friends), 2008

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist, Kate Rae and Mosman Art Gallery with the encouragement of the Hetherington family 2015

Selfhood transcended

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

Evonne Goolagong, 1973

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2004

Self portrait, n.d.

Gift of Dr Penny Olsen, Peter Woollard and Artemis Georgiades 2015

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

Purchased 2019

Capital Cool

Outsiders tend to give Canberra a bad rap: sterile, plagued by politicians, a comatose capital for professionals and academics. Nick Cave once said he didn’t like the city because there were too many punks.

Mrs Cameron and the V&A

In March 2003 Magda Keaney travelled to London to join the photography section of the Victoria & Albert Museum for three months.

200 Years of Portraiture

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

Glossy 2

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

2013-14 Acquisition Fund

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

Sir William Dargie

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

Dr Who?

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

Portrait of Kenneth Rowell, 1967

Gift of Margaret Olley 2002. Transferred from the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Portrait Donors

Studio

Studio: Australian Painters Photographed by R

2014-15 Acquisition Fund

Kristin Headlam's portrait of Chris Wallace-Crabbe was acquired with the support of the Circle of Friends in 2014.

Masters of Fare

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.

William Robertson, c. 1852

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

Fred Hollows, 1993

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

Sophisticated and glamorous

Michael Riley’s early portraits by Amanda Rowell.

Depth of Field

Over the last five years the National Portrait Gallery has developed a collection of portrait photographs that reflects both the strength and diversity of Australian achievement as well as the talents of our photographers.

Open Air

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

Shane Gould

Born the year that Dawn Fraser won her first Olympic Gold medal, Shane Gould (b.1956) in her very brief international career, became one of the world’s greatest female swimmers.

So Fine

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.

Self portrait, c. 1934

Purchased 2003

Dan the man

Martin Philbey’s portrait of Dan Sultan.

Portrait of Rolf, 1968

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Self portrait, 1992

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 1999

Mr John Eason, 1838

Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family 2013

Rolf Harris, 1999

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

2022 Annual Appeal

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

Glossy too

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

Rolf Harris, 1989

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

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

Neil Armfield, 2010

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned 2010

Self portrait, 1921

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

Time and light

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.

To startle the eye

National Photographic Portrait Prize judge Joanna Gilmour previews the 2012 exhibition.

Hearts of Darkness

The National Portrait Gallery's acquisition of the portrait of Edward John Eyre by pioneering English photographer Julia Margaret Cameron.

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

Purchased 2019

Milestones

This month I turn fifty, soI am just now looking rather more closely than usual at Fiona Foley, Steven Heathcote, Brenda Croft, Russell Crowe, Jeff Fenech, Akira Isogawa, Lee Kernaghan, My Le Thi, Shona Wilson and Mark Taylor AO, mindful that they too were 1964 arrivals. 

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.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018

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

Great Suffragette demonstration in London, 1911

Purchased 2011

Gillian Armstrong, 1985

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Estate of Stuart Campbell 2012

Sir William Dargie CBE

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

Primed

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

Out of the shadows

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

To Look Within

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

The essence of you

Lee Tulloch remembers her great friend NIDA-trained actor turned photographer Stuart Campbell.

Study for Portrait of W S Robinson, 1952

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2003

Australians in Hollywood

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

I am mine

Dr Christopher Chapman, curator and judge of the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009 contextualises the themes of the exhibition.

Mark Strizic

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

Blow Back, 2018

Gift of the artist 2024. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program.

NPPP 2012 learning resource

Exploring select works from the NPPP 2012. For secondary students.

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

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.

Australian of the Year

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

William Robertson and Martha Mary Robertson, 1863

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

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018

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

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.

The spirit of the gift

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

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.

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.

NPPP 2010 exhibition essay

Dr Christopher Chapman, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2010 Prize.

Keep it in the family

David Solkin ponders the provocations and inspirations of the enigmatic Thomas Gainsborough.

Cocky McGrath

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

Sideshow Alley

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.

Husbands and Wives

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

Arianne McNaught

I think the most important thing in capturing candid shots is to never take the photo when people are expecting you to press the shutter. The more poignant moments are not the stock standard images of people looking at the camera smiling but after or before when they are really interacting with each other.

101 photographic portraits

Pat Corrigan's generous gift of 100 photographic portraits by Greg Weight.

2021 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.

Alter ego

Tom Fryer surveys the twentieth-century architectural project, and finds representation and the portrait were integral elements.

A Singular Line

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

Hot Scots

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

Uncommon Australians

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.

Ready , set... shoot

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

The world of Thea Proctor

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.

In bloom

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

Seeing stars

It has been suggested that Sir Thomas Brisbane’s interest in the New South Wales governorship was as attributable to his passion for astronomy as to the desirability of the position as a prestigious career move.

A man of superior attainments

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

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

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.

Finest quality

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

Sharon Zwi

We were in Gaza shooting a documentary and we had heard about the orphanages and wanted to visit and document some of the children who had lost parents during the wars in Gaza.

Announcing.... In their own words

Inspiring Australians tell their own stories in a unique new gallery audio tour, developed in collaboration with the National Library of Australia.

The 2023 National Photographic Portrait Prize

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

The shipwright's arms

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

The Good Doctor

Dr Sarah Engledow describes the achievements of internationally renowned burns and trauma surgeon Professor Fiona Wood.

Darren McDonald

The wild balancing act of McDonald’s home décor (is that there as a joke? where do I actually sit down? is this ironic or what? what a lovely photo of Darren and Robin in Europe!) is reflected in his own personality.

In the galleries

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

NPPP 2012 exhibition essay

Joanna Gilmour, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2012 Prize.

In good company

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

Why do painted portraits still matter?

Lecture by Sandy Nairne, Director, National Portrait Gallery, London, given at the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra on 28 April 2006.

Lovers of light

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

The intellectual larrikin

Barrie Cassidy pays textured tribute to the inimitable Bob Hawke.

Louise Whelan

I met Kaloti Parmjit the day I took the photo. I first visited the Sikh temple in the suburb of Glenwood to take photos as part of a social documentary project I'm undertaking for the State Library of NSW.

Their brilliant careers

Jenny Gall delves into Starstruck to celebrate some of Australian cinema’s iconic women.

20/20 launch speech

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

Hard truths

Jennifer Higgie reveals how Alice Neel reinvigorated 20th century portraiture with her honest and perceptive depictions of the human experience.

Seduce, Amuse, Entertain

Michael Desmond, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2007 Prize.

Seduce Amuse Entertain

Michael Desmond profiles a handful of the entrants in first National Photographic Portrait Prize and notes emerging themes and categories.

Depth of Field

The exhibition Depth of Field displays a selection of portrait photographs that reflect the strength and diversity of Australian achievement.

Talking heads

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

Australians in Hollywood

The exhibition Australians in Hollywood celebrated the achievements of Australians in the highly competitive American film industry.

Uncommon Australians

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

Love my way

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

Desperately seeking Sonia

Esther Erlich’s portrait of Lady McMahon.

The real Thea

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

The bright-eyed Mariner

Painting them gently

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

Arcadia: Sound of the sea

One night in the spring of 1970 in an old house in Whale Beach, north of Sydney, John Witzig, Albe Falzon and David Elfick put together the first issue of Tracks, playing Neil Young’s album Harvest over and over again as they pasted up galleys of type.

Thinking about architecture and portraiture

Dr Christopher Chapman describes the experimental exhibition Portraits + Architecture

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.

Of ice and men

Frank Hurley's celebrated images document the heroism and minutiae of Australian exploration in Antarctica.

Picture this...

This edited version of a speech by Andrew Sayers examines some of the antecedents of the National Portrait Gallery and set out the ideas behind the modern Gallery and its collection.

Paper, boy

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

20 20

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

Us being ourselves

Penelope Grist talks to photographer Benjamin Warlngundu Ellis about capturing moments, telling stories and keeping Culture strong.

Great Scots

Diana O’Neil samples the tartan treats on offer in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

Give me five

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

Wunderkind lost

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

Bill and Ted's excellent portrait.

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

Profile of a marriage

Dr Sarah Engledow explores the lives of Sir George Grey and his wife Eliza, the subjects of a pair of wax medallions in the National Portrait Gallery's collection.

Australia’s great internationalists

Penelope Grist explores the United Nations stories in the Gallery’s collection.

Heartfelt

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

Women make history

Jennifer Higgie uncovers the intriguing stories behind portraits of women by women in the National Portrait Gallery’s collection.

The 'I' in Indigenous art

Jane Raffan examines unique styles of Indigenous portraiture that challenge traditional Western concepts of the artform.

Money for Myth

Australian character on the market by Jane Raffan.

The incomparable Beaton

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).

A feast of friends

John Singer Sargent: a painter at the vanguard of contemporary movements in music, literature and theatre.

Regarding Henrys

Sarah Engledow ponders the divergent legacies of Messrs Kendall and Lawson.

Noel McKenna

It’s a matter beyond dispute that in the entire history of Australian art, it’s Noel McKenna who’s painted the liveliest rendition of the head of a Chihuahua.

In the flesh

An exhibition of humanness in ten themes by Penelope Grist.

The Royal she

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

Off her own bat

Joanna Gilmour profiles Violet Teague, whose sophisticated works hid her originality and non-conformity in plain sight.

Nicholas Harding: 28 Portraits

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

Petal to the mettle

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

Christmas Island

This is my last Trumbology before, in a little more than a week from now, I pass to my successor Karen Quinlan the precious baton of the Directorship of the National Portrait Gallery.

Inner Worlds and psychoanalysis

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

Less than six degrees of separation

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