Mark Webber AO (b. 1976) was born in Queanbeyan, NSW, and after early success in karting moved up through the ranks of Australian and European motor racing.
2 portraits in the collection
Champion racing driver, Mark Webber, discusses his childhood and racing career.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2019
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006
Robin Sellick's portraits of Australian sportspeople include Harry Kewell, Adam Scott, Shane Warne, Mark Webber and John Newcombe.
When John Webber R.A. (c. 1752-1793), the son of a Swiss sculptor, living in London, submitted his work to the Royal Academy Schools, one of the first to admire his paintings was Dr Daniel Solander, the Swedish naturalist who had accompanied Cook and Banks on the first voyage.
3 portraits in the collection
Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family 2015
An exploration of the role of artists such as John Webber who, whilst a member of Cook’s crew over many voyages, created paintings and drawings of the situations and people the explorers encountered.
Purchased by the Commonwealth Government with the generous assistance of Robert Oatley AO and John Schaeffer AO 2000
Take a close look at a portrait with a hidden message in its hands. For Year 7 – 9 students.
In focussing on the importance of gifts in the building of the collection, prominence must be given to the most spectacular of the National Portrait Gallery's acquisitions; the portrait of Captain James Cook RN by John Webber R.A.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Robert Oatley AO 2007
Mark Strizic (1928-2012) was born in Berlin and migrated to Australia via Croatia in 1950.
12 portraits in the collection
Mark Ella AM (b. 1959) was one of four Australians named amongst the eleven inaugural ‘legends’ of the International Rugby Board Hall of Fame in 2013.
1 portrait in the collection
Mark Lang has worked as a photographer for twenty-five years and specialises in large format panoramic photographs of Australian landscapes.
1 portrait in the collection
Mark Mohell has been Image Services Manager at the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra since 2010.
1 portrait in the collection
Mark Tedeschi QC, the New South Wales Crown Prosecutor, has had twelve solo photographic exhibitions and has participated in over 20 joint exhibitions in Australia, Italy, France and the USA.
1 portrait in the collection
Sir Mark Sheldon (1871-1956), businessman, was the Chairman of the first Repatriation Board of NSW.
1 portrait in the collection
Mark Kimber grew up in Adelaide and gained his BA in Fine Arts at the South Australian School of Art in 1981.
1 portrait in the collection
Mark Taylor AO (b. 1964) was captain of the Australian cricket team from 1994 until his retirement from Test cricket in 1999.
1 portrait in the collection
Mark Seymour, singer/songwriter, was the lead singer of Australian band Hunters and Collectors before launching his successful solo career in 1998.
1 portrait in the collection
Sir Mark Oliphant AC KBE (1901-2000), physicist, was a pioneer in the development of radar and a member of the international teams that effected the artificial disintegration of the atomic nucleus.
4 portraits in the collection
Mark Richards (b. 1957), surfer and surfboard shaper, began his competitive career in 1973, when he came second in the Australian Titles Open division at the age of 16.
1 portrait in the collection
Mark Loane AM (b.1954), eye surgeon and former rugby international, made his debut for the Wallabies against Tonga at the age of 18 when he was a second year medical student at the University of Queensland.
1 portrait in the collection
Recorded 1967
Ophthalmic surgeon and former Wallabies Captain, Mark Loane, discusses his sporting and professional career.
Australian surfing legend Mark Richards describes his professional surfing and surfboard shaping careers.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ms Vivian Wilson 2004
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001
Purchased with funds provided by Sir Roderick Carnegie 2003
Commissioned with funds from the Patrick Corrigan Portrait Commission Series 2015
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1998
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 1999
Commissioned with funds from the Patrick Corrigan Portrait Commission Series 2016
Purchased 2007
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of HOTA (Home of the Arts), Gold Coast 2019 with the encouragement of Patrick Corrigan AM
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2003
Mark Strizic's work crosses a broad spectrum of photographic fields including urban, industrial, commercial, and architectural photography.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2004
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2013
Purchased with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2003
Purchased with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2003
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2003
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Sir Roderick Carnegie 2003
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2003
Gift of the artist 2008
Gael Newton looks at Australian photography, film and the sixties through the novel lens of Mark Strizic.
Commissioned with funds provided by Mrs Diana Ramsay AO 2008
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ms Vivian Wilson 2004
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Sir Roderick Carnegie 2003
Last night in Sydney, the National Portrait Gallery unveiled a newly commissioned portrait of Australian sporting legend Mark Ella AM.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Sir Roderick Carnegie 2003
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the family of FW Macpherson 2012
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Robert Oatley AO 2007
This exhibition traces the creative output of nearly 50 years by one of Australia's landmark living photographers.
Twice rebelled against, and twice vindicated, William Bligh occupies an ambivalent space in Australian history. Angus Trumble, former Director of the National Portrait Gallery, explains.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Robert Oatley AO 2007
Gino Zardo (b. 1968) is a Queanbeyan-born photographer who moved to New York in the 1990s, where he lived and worked for twenty years.
1 portrait in the collection
The National Portrait Gallery will, next Tuesday, unveil an exciting new acquisition of irrefutable importance to all Australians. Portrait of William Bligh, in master’s uniform c. 1776, attributed to John Webber, is one of the earliest portraits of the contentious, historical figure, and extends the Gallery’s remarkable collection of early colonial portraits.
Robert Oatley talks about the repatriation of the John Webber portrait of Captain James Cook.
Steve Waugh (b. 1965) became captain of the Australian cricket team when Mark Taylor retired in early 1999.
1 portrait in the collection
Born in Adelaide and raised in Darwin, Ben Baker currently resides in New York City and works internationally.
1 portrait in the collection
Drawn from some of the many donations made to the Gallery's collection, the exhibition Portraits for Posterity pays homage both to the remarkable (and varied) group of Australians who are portrayed in the portraits and the generosity of the many donors who have presented them to the Gallery.
Samuel Johnson Woolf, American painter, lithographer and illustrator, was born in New York City and named after the English essayist Samuel Johnson.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2013
To mark the 70th birthday of composer Ross Edwards (23 December 2013)
Robert Oatley's continuing benefaction has helped the National Portrait Gallery acquire works that add another layer to the story of Captain Cook.
Janenne Eaton (b.1950) lectured in painting at the Canberra School of Art from 1980 to 1991, and became well known for drawings depicting the bleaker aspects of Canberra's urban enviroment.
1 portrait in the collection
Robin Sellick (b. 1967), photographer, is well known for his distinctive portraits of Australian actors, musicians, politicians and athletes.
17 portraits in the collection
David Simpson, photographer, is represented in the Art Gallery of South Australia, his subjects including HM Queen Elizabeth II, Don Bradman, David Gulpilil and Sir Mark and Lady Oliphant.
1 portrait in the collection
Binem (Bill) Grunstein (1921-2013), garment manufacturer and artist, escaped the Warsaw Ghetto in 1941, having seen his parents and most of his family members die of typhus or disappear.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002
The exhibition Portraits for Posterity celebrates gifts to the Gallery, of purchases made with donated funds, and testifies to the generosity and community spirit of Australians.
In focussing on the importance of gifts in the building of the collection, prominence must be given to the most spectacular of the National Portrait Gallery's acquisitions; the portrait of Captain James Cook RN by John Webber R.A.
Purchased 2006
Introduction The National Portrait Gallery’s photographic exhibition Flash: Australian Athletes in Focus explores various interpretations of Australian sporting men and women.
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.
Polly Borland's photograph of The Queen was commissioned by Buckingham Palace as part of a series of high profile celebrations to mark the Golden Jubilee.
Purchased with funds provided by Harold Mitchell AC
Paul Haefliger (1914-1982) trained in Sydney and then in London with Bernard Meninsky and Mark Gertler.
1 portrait in the collection
John Witzig, photographer, writer and designer, contributed his first piece to Surfing World in 1963.
5 portraits in the collection
Marcia Ella (b. 1963) was the first Indigenous woman to play international netball for Australia.
1 portrait in the collection
Angus Trumble ponders the many faces of William Bligh.
Sir Vincent Charles Fairfax CMG (1909-1993), pastoralist, was the son of JHF Fairfax.
1 portrait in the collection
A portrait of Australian rugby great, Dr Mark Loane AM MBBS FRANZO FRACS, is the latest addition to the National Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection. The work is the final in a series of three commissioned portraits of Australian rugby luminaries funded by Gallery benefactor, Mr Patrick Corrigan AM.
Matcham Skipper (1921-2011), sculptor and jeweller, undoubtedly made a significant contribution to the artistic richness of Australia.
1 portrait in the collection
Nathan Kelly (b. 1976), photographer, studied fine arts at the Sydney College of the Arts at the University of Sydney before being named as one of Australia’s top 30 photography graduates by Australian Commercial Photography magazine.
3 portraits in the collection
Robert Oatley AO (1928–2016), businessman, was one of Australia’s most successful wine industry figures.
From 1967 until 1981 Matthew Perceval lived and painted in France and during those years produced a large body of portrait paintings.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2003
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Gary Ella (b. 1960) is a Yuin and Bidjigal man who grew up in La Perouse with eleven siblings.
1 portrait in the collection
The Crown Studio was a Sydney-based firm situated on the corner of Market and George streets.
3 portraits in the collection
The exhibition Flash: Australian Athletes in Focus offers various interpretations of sporting men and women by five Australian photographers.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of John Fairfax Holdings Ltd 2002
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Warburton trained at Hornsby Technical College and Alexander Mackie College in the 1970s.
2 portraits in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004
H. Walter Barnett (1862-1934) was a leading portrait photographer of the late Victorian, Edwardian and interwar periods.
12 portraits in the collection
Alistair McGhie reminisces about three Australian rugby greats commissioned for the Portrait Gallery collection by Patrick Corrigan AM.
Jean Bellette (1908-1991), painter, studied in her native Hobart before moving to Sydney to train with Julian Ashton.
1 portrait in the collection
Adam Cullen (1965-2012), painter, studied art in Sydney from 1986 to 1999, when he obtained his master’s degree in fine arts from the University of New South Wales.
8 portraits in the collection
Raelene Sharp (b. 1957), artist, was born in Melbourne and began her career as a graphic artist in advertising.
2 portraits in the collection
Tony Shaw AM (b. 1953), rugby union footballer, made his debut for Queensland in 1973 and went on to play 112 games for his state team.
1 portrait in the collection
Bill Leak (1956-2017), portrait painter and caricaturist, trained at the Julian Ashton art school in the mid-1970s, and began his career painting landscapes.
7 portraits in the collection
Scottish-born photographer Nikki Toole (b. 1965) studied film and photography in London and Edinburgh before moving to Melbourne.
3 portraits in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Alan Foulkes in memory of Mark Graham Cleghorn 2012
Wayne Lynch (b. 1951), surfer and surfboard shaper, grew up in Lorne, Victoria, not far from Bells Beach.
2 portraits in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006
Gift of the artist 2001. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Gift of Jean Porter and family 2021. Donated through the Australia Government’s Cultural Gifts Program.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of John and Jean Mulvaney 2000
Gift of the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service 2020
Gift of the artist 2006
Walter Langhammer went to India before World War 2, fleeing the Nazis in Austria.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Collette Dinnigan AO (b. 1965), designer and company director, was born in South Africa and settled in Australia in 1985 after a period in New Zealand, where she studied fashion design at the Wellington Polytechnic.
1 portrait in the collection
Gift of the artist 2004
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Alan Dodge AM & Neil Archibald 2019
Christina 'Chrissy' Amphlett (1959–2013), singer/songwriter, was best known for her energetic performances as the lead singer of rock band the Divinyls, often in her trademark school uniform and fishnet stockings.
1 portrait in the collection
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
'Diving Venus' and 'the perfect woman' are two of the numerous descriptions applied to Annette Kellerman, who achieved international fame during the early decades of the twentieth century.
Commissioned with funds from the Patrick Corrigan Portrait Commission Series 2018
Robin Sellick captured a rare moment of quietude from the late conservation star Steve Irwin.
TERROIR directors Gerard Reinmuth, Scott Balmforth and Richard Blythe believe that the practice of architecture is the production of knowledge.
Scoring first prize in New South Wales for Art in the 1983 HSC was a signal that a talented creative career lay ahead and this has indeed proven the case.
2 portraits in the collection
Nigel Butterley AM (1935-2022) was one of the foremost Australian composers and pianists of his generation.
1 portrait in the collection
Sydney-born Richard Walsh (b. 1941) is an Australian publisher, journalist, broadcaster, editor, lecturer and company director.
1 portrait in the collection
Tim Bonyhady recalls his experience as sitter for his close friend and former National Portrait Gallery Director, the late Andrew Sayers.
Fiona McMonagle considers her reasons for painting portraits.
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
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006
Artist Mandy Martin describes the creation of her portrait of Aldo Giurgola, principal architect of Australia's Parliament House.
Paul Gaimard (1796-1858), naturalist and naval surgeon, joined the French navy after distinguishing himself at the naval medical school at Toulon.
1 portrait in the collection
Dave Tice (b. 1950) was the lead singer for the trailblazing Australian hard rock band Buffalo.
1 portrait in the collection
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.
Born: 1965, Sydney
Works: Sydney
Purchased 2018
Vanity Fair Portraits traces the birth and evolution of photographic portraiture through the archives of Vanity Fair magazine.
Jean Appleton (1911–2003), painter and art teacher, studied at the East Sydney Technical College, completing a diploma in drawing and illustration in 1932.
2 portraits in the collection
A new painting by Jiawei Shen captures the vision and resolve of the Gallery's founder, L. Gordon Darling AC CMG.
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.
Alistair McGhie talks with Laura Moore about her winning digital self portrait.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2019
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.
This unique exhibition will give an insight into the private lives, pursuits and work of all the Nobel laureates associated with Australia
The Australian of the Year Awards have often provoked controversy about who is selected and whether their achievements are remarkable.
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
While the blues-inspired hard guitar riffs of Australian pub rock were shaping tastes, a number of artists were developing music primed for success on the international stage.
Born: 1957, Dumfriesshire, Scotland
Works: Canberra
Penelope Grist finds philanthropy and fashion underpin the story of Susan Wakil AO.
With contributions from Julia Gillard, Fiona Gruber, and Dr Karl James, the National Portrait Gallery’s 50th edition of Portrait has something for everyone.
In their own words is an audio-guide with a difference. We let the portraits of these remarkable Australians speak for themselves.
Andrew Sayers feels the warmth in the paintings Matthew Perceval made while the sun shone in southern France.
My practice has always been driven by my experimental curiosity, from heavy wax and resin bodies generated in flame, to delicate temporal works that explore the conductive and alchemical possibilities of copper.
A brief introduction to the Weird, Wired World of Internet Portraiture.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002
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.
When a portrait communicates determination and individuality as boldly as these do, it has the potential to become an iconic image. For the Gallery’s 20th birthday this display brings together a group contemporary photographic portraits of inspiring women and men.
The Australian Tapestry Workshop (formerly the Victorian Tapestry Workshop) was established in 1976, following two years of planning and research on the part of its founding patrons, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch and Lady Joyce Delacombe.
2 portraits in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014
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.
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.
Mark Haworth-Booth explains why Bill Brandt is one of the most important British photographers of the Twentieth Century.
Sir William Dargie, painter and eight times winner of the Archibald Prize for portraiture, died in Melbourne on July 26, 2003, aged 91.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010
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
Eighteenth century men differed from those of the preceding centuries in their preference for beardlessness.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012
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.
Rennie Ellis: Aussies All is a celebration of the life and work of the late Australian photographer Rennie Ellis.
A design diary retrospective.
Sharon Peoples contemplates costumes and the construction of identity.
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.
Katrina Osborne immerses herself in one of photography’s most fearless chronicles.
The National Portrait Gallery would like to congratulate the forty finalists for the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2019.
Entries are now open for the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2019, with the winner set to receive $52,000 in cash and prizes, including superb contributions from new sponsor, Canon Australia.
The lady in the centre of this photograph is my partner's Granny. So we are almost directly related, and here, as with all photographic work. I am in a state of exchange though I think only directly, with one of the women!
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001
Commissioned with funds from the Patrick Corrigan Portrait Commission Series 2018
The Kylie exhibition celebrated the significant achievements of one of Australia's most internationally recognisable faces and gave the general public a rare glimpse into her glamorous life.
An interview with the photographer.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2016
The Chairman, Board, Director and staff mourn the loss of the National Portrait Gallery's inaugural director.
An interview with the photographer.
Peter Wegner's approach to portraiture could be considered a visual record of the rapport, the dynamic space between artist and subject.
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.
The National Portrait Gallery has unveiled a newly commissioned portrait of Australian domestic violence campaigner and 2015 Australian of the Year Rosie Batty.
Director Karen Quinlan AM announces significant changes for 2021, including a larger, longer exhibition, themed to reflect our experience of events that have occurred in this historic year.
Joanna Gilmour writes about the portraiture of the colonial artist William Nicholas.
Christopher Chapman examines the battle of glamour vs. grunge which played out in the fashion and advertising of the 1990s.
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.
I had been watching Agnes with intrigue, her face and profile were so mesmerizing. On our final day together I pulled her aside and convinced her that she had such an amazing face that I needed to get a photograph for myself. It was very spontaneous in that I decided quickly how it would best look and shot it in only two frames.
Jessica Smith looks at the 'fetching' portrait of Tasmania's first Anglican Bishop, Francis Russell Nixon by George Richmond
Michael Desmond, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2007 Prize.
Michael Desmond profiles a handful of the entrants in first National Photographic Portrait Prize and notes emerging themes and categories.
Although the tough, weathered, hard-drinking bushmen of the kind mythologised by writers like Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson are popularly associated with the character of late nineteenth century Australia, it was also a time when alternative ideas about identity began to come into play.
Joanna Gilmour explores the life and art of the Australian artist Janet Dawson.
An interview with the photographer.
The portrait of Dr. Johann Reinhold Forster and his son George Forster from 1780, is one of the oldest in the NPG's collection.
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.
Dr Sarah Engledow, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2017 Prize.
A pair of portraits by John Brack; Portrait of Kym Bonython and Portrait of Mr Bonython's speedway cap combine to create a quirky depiction of their subject.
Jo Bertini describes the evolution of her portrait of artists and friends Kitty Kantilla and Freda Warlapinni.
Penelope Grist discovers the rich narratives in Peter Wegner’s series of centenarian portraits.
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.
How the National Portrait Gallery and its unique collection came to be
Former NPG Director, Andrew Sayers describes the 1922 Self-portrait with Gladioli by George Lambert.
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.
Dr Christopher Chapman, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2018 Prize.
Christopher Chapman highlights the inaugural hang of the new National Portrait Gallery building which opened in December 2008.
Jose Legaspi was born in 1959 in Manila. He achieved degrees in zoology and biology before turning to fine arts in the mid-1980s.
Carrie Kibbler looks at how portraiture fits into the Australian Artbank Collection.
Portraits of philanthropists in the collection honour their contributions to Australia and acknowledge their support of the National Portrait Gallery.
An interview with the photographer.
Jane Raffan examines unique styles of Indigenous portraiture that challenge traditional Western concepts of the artform.
An exploration of national identity in the Canadian context drawn from the symposium Face to Face at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in 2004.
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.
Sarah Engledow writes about Gordon and Marilyn Darling and their support for the National Portrait Gallery throughout its evolution.
Nusra Latif Qureshi was born in Pakistan in 1973 and originally trained in the traditional art of Mughal miniature (musaviri) paintings.
English artist Benjamin Duterrau took up the cause of the Indigenous peoples of Tasmania with his detailed and sympathetic renderings.
In their own words lead researcher Louise Maher on the novel project that lets the Gallery’s portraits speak for themselves.
As the National Portrait Gallery opens its exhibition of portrait and figurative work by veteran photographer Sam Haskins, the artist reflects on the highlights of his fifty-year career so far.
Gillian Raymond ponders landscapes as self-portraiture in Michael Taylor’s intimate expressionism.
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.
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.
Diana Warnes explores the lives of Hal and Katherine 'Kate' Hattam through their portraits painted by Fred Williams and Clifton Pugh.
Inner Worlds features the recently commissioned portrait of world-renowned philosopher of consciousness David Chalmers by Melbourne-based artist Nick Mourtzakis.
Nikhil Chopra was born in 1974, in Calcutta. His first degree was in commerce, but in 1997 he took up fine art studies, eventually gaining a Masters in Fine Art from Ohio State University, United States.
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.
The life and art of Australian artist Jenny Sages is on display in the exhibition Paths to Portraiture.
The exhibition Australians in Hollywood celebrated the achievements of Australians in the highly competitive American film industry.
Editor Stephen Phillips looks at the finalists' photographs through a judge's lens.
Penelope Grist charts an immersive path through Stuart Spence’s photography.
The exhibition Aussies all features the ecclectic portrait photography of Rennie Ellis which captures Australian life during the 70s and 80s.
Marian Anderson’s glorious voice thrust her into stardom, and a more reluctant role as American civil rights pioneer.
At just 7.8 x 6.2 cm, the daguerreotype of Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa is one of the smallest works in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery.
Anne Sanders finds connections in Inner Worlds between Hungarian expatriates and the development of psychoanalysis in Australia.
Andrew Sayers discusses the real cost of George Lambert's Self portrait with gladioli 1922.
Angus Trumble reveals the complex technical mastery behind a striking recent acquisition, Henry Bone’s enamel portrait of William Manning.
Robyn Sweaney's quiet Violet obsession.
Penny Grist on motivation, method and melancholy in the portraiture of Darren McDonald.
Biographies of participants in the Writing lives, revealing lives forum.
Dr Christopher Chapman describes the experimental exhibition Portraits + Architecture
John Zubrzycki meets Australian paint pioneer Jim Cobb.
Charting a path from cockatiel to finch, Annette Twyman explores her family portraits and stories.
Shipmates for years, James Cook and Joseph Banks each kept a journal but neither man shed light on their relationship.
Fiona Gruber investigates the work of Australian painter Kristin Headlam.
Politics and personae in the portraiture of TextaQueen by Jane Raffan.
Christopher Chapman takes a trip through the doors of perception, arriving at the junction of surrealism and psychoanalysis.
Henry Mundy's portraits flesh out notions of propriety and good taste in a convict colony.
Alison Weir explores the National Portrait Gallery, London and the BP Portrait Award to find what makes a good painted portrait - past and present.
Sarah Engledow chronicles Rick Amor's work and accomplishments in this extensive essay in conjunction with the exhibition Rick Amor: 21 Portraits.
John Zubrzycki lauds the characters of the Australian escapology trade.
Jean Appleton’s 1965 self portrait makes a fine addition to the National Portrait Gallery’s collection writes Joanna Gilmour.
Jane Raffan investigates auction sales of self portraits nationally and internationally.
Fiona aims to create a dangerous situation with a flood of water on the paper, forcing each work to the point where it can fail, and then rescuing it.
Aimee Board reveals method, motivation and mortality in the portraiture of Rod McNicol.
Sarah Engledow trains her exacting lens on the nine photographs from 20/20.
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.
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.
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.
Traversing paint and pixels, Inga Walton examines portraits of select women in Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits.
How seven portraits within Bare reveal in a public portrait parts of the body and elements of life usually located in the private sphere.
Dempsey’s People curator David Hansen chronicles a research tale replete with serendipity, adventure and Tasmanian tigers.
John Singer Sargent: a painter at the vanguard of contemporary movements in music, literature and theatre.
Sarah Engledow casts a judicious eye over portraits in the Victorian Bar’s Peter O’Callaghan QC Portrait Gallery.
One half of the team that was Eltham Films left scarcely a trace in the written historical record, but survives in a vivid portrait.
Sarah Engledow explores the history of the prime ministers and artists featured in the exhibition.
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.
Lesley Harding, Curator, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne explores Albert Tucker’s experience of World War II, his interests in the intersection between psychology and creativity, and their influence on his portrait making.
