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Disillusion self portrait, 1983

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Robin MacQueen 2007

Ann Mary Windeyer, 1847

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Joanna Russell Maher (née Windeyer) 2018

Mary Gilmore

Recorded 1957

Mary, Botany Bay tribe, 1836

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

Mary Hassall (née Rouse), c. 1850

Gift of Pamela Glasson 2009
Collected by Leila Haigh (nee Rouse)

Mary Windeyer, c. 1891

Gift of J.B. Windeyer 2018

Mary Windeyer on the verandah at Tomago, NSW, c. 1880s

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Windeyer family 2012

Mary Ware, c. 1854

Purchased with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy and Rosalind Blair Murphy 2014

Mary Windeyer, 1850s

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

Dame Mary Gilmore, 1961

Purchased with funds provided by Timothy Fairfax AC 2003

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

Mary Tindale, 1841

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Mary MacQueen, 1990

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

Mary Katatjuku Pan, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Mary Hassall (née Rouse), c. 1850

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Pamela Glasson 2009
Collected by Leila Haigh (nee Rouse)

Mary McCarthy, New York, 1956 (printed 2000)

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.

Study for painting commission portrait of Fiona Stanley, 2010

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned 2011

Fiona Stanley, 2011

Commissioned 2011

Portrait of Elizabeth Jolley, 2003

Commissioned with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2003

Lady Hay, 1887

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Portrait of Margaret Coen, 1943

Gift of Meg Stewart 2024

Dame Mary Gilmore, c. 1938

Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2001

Princess Mary

Artist Jiawei Shen describes the symbolism in his portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.

Study for commissioned portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark (full-length study), 2005

Commissioned with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy 2005

Study for commissioned portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark (profile head study), 2005

Commissioned with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy 2005

Study for commissioned portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark (full-length study), 2005

Commissioned with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy 2005

Portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, 2005

Commissioned with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy 2005

Mary Chomley, 1909

Purchased with the assistance of funds provided by Jillian Broadbent AC 2021

HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark

Larry Sitsky, 1971

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Larry Sitsky and Magda Sitsky 2010

The Saint and the merchant

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

Australian visit in Denmark

In April 2006 the National Portrait Gallery showcased Australian portraits at the Fredenksborg Castle in Denmark. 

Australian Princess

The full-length portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark by artist Jiawei Shen, has become a destination piece for visitors.

The painter and the princess

Michael Desmond interviews Ralph Heimans about his portrait of Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.

Aborigines, the last of the race, Tasmania, c. 1866

Purchased 2006

Dr HV Evatt, Albert Namatjira and Dame Mary Gilmore having a meal, c. 1950s

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2008

Dane reign

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

Aborigines at Oyster Cove, Tasmania, 1858 (printed 1890s)

Purchased 2011

Sir Charles Court and Richard Court, 2006-2007

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2006

Painting writing

Dr Sarah Engledow explores the portraits of writers held in the National Portrait Gallery's collection.

Private virtues public lives

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

Fits of delicacy and despair

Henry Mundy's portraits flesh out notions of propriety and good taste in a convict colony.

Ruby, Norman, Pearl, Percy, Reg, Bill Dyson and Mary in Creswick garden, c. 1899

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Melodrama..., c. 1900

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Tribute: Mary Isabel Murphy

The Chairman, Board, Director and all the staff of the National Portrait Gallery mourn the loss of our Benefactor, Mary Isabel Murphy.

Mary Seacole

Mary Neville, Lady Dacre and Gregory Fiennes, 10th Baron Dacre

Martha Mary 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

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.

Jeremiah Ware, c. 1854

Purchased with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy and Rosalind Blair Murphy 2014

Mary, 2006

Martha Mary Robertson with her child 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.

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

Purchased 2019

Study for HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark (compositional study)

Ralph Heimans

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.

William and Martha Mary Robertson and their children [William St Leonards, Eliza, John, William St Leonards on a horse, Beatrice and Ida], 1860s-1870s

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

Keith Laught, 1951

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mrs Mary Shedley, Mrs Christine Moriarty, Mrs Josephine Lawrence and Mrs Helen Beare 2010

Portrait 18

This issue of Portrait Magazine features Daddy Cool, HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, the exhibition Glossy 2, Aldo Giurgola, Fiona Wood and more.

Reverend William Bedford junior, c. 1846

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2013

Mortality

In Western religious art a Pietà, also called a ‘lamentation’, is an image of the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Christ.

The Seekers

Recorded 2013

Honour board

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges and thanks all its supporters.

Lan Wang, Xini, Jiawei Shen and Billy, 2010

Purchased 2012

Intimate Portraits

Intimate Portraits is an exhibition of paintings, drawings and prints that explore the less public side of portraiture

Shen Jiawei

Shen Jiawei was born in China. During the Cultural Revolution he laboured in the Great Northern Wilderness, but even as he worked there, he gained recognition as an artist. 

Favourite portraits

National Portrait Gallery staff introduce their favourite portraits from the exhibition.

Presence and Absence

This exhibition focuses on exploring national and communal identity through sculptural production in Australia, from the early decades of settlement through to the present day

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

Self portrait

Schulim Krimper, 1968

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2004

Henry James

Portraits for Posterity

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.

Lowe Kong Meng, c. 1887

Purchased 2015

Portrait of George Selth Coppin, c. 1895-1899

Purchased with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy 2004

Rev. Fred Nile, Festival of Light, Sydney, 1981

Purchased 1999

The Capel Family

Portrait of Harriet Swan, c. 1842

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG and Marilyn Darling AC 2013

Portrait of Julia Swan, c. 1842

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG and Marilyn Darling AC 2013

Terry Snow and China, 2017

Commissioned with funds provided by Dr Justin Garrick & Dharini Ganesan Rasu, Dino Nikias & Dimitra Nikias, Jim Windeyer, Claudia Hyles OAM, Sotiria Liangis AM & John Liangis, The Hon Mary Finn, Bill Farmer AO & Elaine Farmer, Tim Efkarpidis, Bob Nattey & Charlotte Nattey, Jennifer Bott AO, Keith Bradley, Dr Sam Whittle & Heather Whittle 2017

A charming prospect

Family fortunes

Lt. A.R.Cutler VC, 1943

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Cutler family 2017
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Queen Elizabeth I

Self portrait at 85, 1990

Gift of the late May Ralph 2019

The God-shaped hole

Exploring the photographs of Martin Schoeller, Michael Desmond delves into the uneasy pact that exists between celebrity and the camera.

Jiawei Shen, 2006

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

The Surgeon (Dr Julian Smith), 1934

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

John Perceval, 1985

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

John Perceval, 1985

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

Heads of the People

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

Maritime disaster leaves poignant picture

Absence rends the heart asunder

Peter Thomson, c. 1960

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mary Thomson 2017

King Henry VIII

Sarah and Ann Jacob, c. 1866

Purchased 2018

Sir John Hay, 1887

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Fay Bottrell, 1981

Gift of Elizabeth Campbell-MacKenzie on behalf of the family of David Campbell 2012

John Perceval, 1999

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Thomas de Kessler 2001

Prue Acton, 2012

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

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 St Leonards Robertson and the Oxford boat race crew, early 1880s

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

Sketch for Prime Minister Robert Menzies, 1960

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 1999

May Wirth, c. 1921

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Li Cunxin, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2018

Sidney Kidman and Arthur Triggs, c. 1914

Purchased with funds provided by The Ian Potter Foundation 2007

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.

Jane Windeyer, n.d.

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Windeyer family 2012

HV (Doc) Evatt, 1935

Gift of Elizabeth Evatt and Penelope Seidler 1998. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

The Possibilities of Portraiture

What does 'portraiture mean at the end of the 20th century? At the outset of building a national portrait collection it seems an appropriate question to investigate.

Therese Desmond, 1919-1920

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Madeleine Howell 2013

D.A.S. Campbell (David Alexander Stewart Campbell), 1963

Gift of Dr Mary Newlinds and Sheena Simpson in memory of their father, D.A.S. Campbell, 2014

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.

2012-13 Acquisition Fund

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

2014-15 Acquisition Fund

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

John Richard Tindale, 1841

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

David Low, 1917

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

A G Stephens, c. 1910 (printed later)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Husbands and Wives

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

William Charles Windeyer, c. 1857

Gift of the Windeyer family 2009

L. Gordon Darling AC CMG, 2006

Purchased with the assistance of funds provided by the Mundango Charitable Trust and Claudia Hyles 2006

Supporters

The Archduke

The immediate chain of events that led to the outbreak of the First World War began 100 years ago on June 28.

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.

Neil Armfield, 2010

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned 2010

Keep it in the family

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

Right Rev Dr Lawrence Bonaventure Sheil OSF, c. 1872

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

To Look Within

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

Max Dupain

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

Marcia Hines, c. 1981

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

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.

Li Cunxin, 2017–2018

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2018

The Royal she

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

Mr John Eason, 1838

Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family 2013

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.

Leigh Bowery, 1984

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

Giving and getting

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.

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

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.

The spirit of the gift

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

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.

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.

William St. Leonards Robertson, c. 1869

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

First Ladies

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

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.

Human encounters

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

Catholic clergymen from the Diocese of Adelaide, c. 1862

Purchased 2018

Crikey!

Robin Sellick captured a rare moment of quietude from the late conservation star Steve Irwin.

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.

Hot Scots

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

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.

Selected images

Take a peek at a selection of the portraits you can see in the exhibition.

Desert Island Discs

I agonized over the choice of four songs to take with me to the ABC Studios for Alex Sloan’s Canberra 666 afternoon program, a sort of iteration of the old BBC Desert Island Discs.

Big shots

Djon Mundine OAM brings poignant memory and context to Martin van der Wal’s 1986 portrait photographs of storied Aboriginal artists.

Little women

Joanna Gilmour looks beyond the ivory face of select portrait miniatures to reveal their sitters’ true grit.

Queen Victoria

Last Sunday I had the privilege of appearing at the Canberra Writers’ Festival in conversation with Julia Baird. The subject of our session was Julia’s recent biography, Victoria the Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman who Ruled an Empire.

A man of superior attainments

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

The animating signature

Joanna Gilmore delights in the affecting drawings of Mathew Lynn.

More cash than dash

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

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.

Memories

The second row of paintings recall stories relating to specific sites, experiences and activities.

Sure thing

Blue Mountain, Owner, Trainer, Jockey, James Scobie 1887 by Frederick Woodhouse Snr. is a portrait of James Scobie, well known jockey and eminent horse trainer.

Annual Appeal

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.

Some women you may not know

‘Everybody’s lives are built by so many influences, and for me, it is writers, artists and activists who have influenced how I think about the world.’

200 Years of Portraiture

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

Herra Pahlasari

At the time of Herra Pahlasari’s birth in 1978, her academic parents were living in Canberra.

Presence and absence

The art of Australia’s colonial women painters affords us an invaluable, alternative perspective on the nascent nation-building project.

Dempsey's people

Those of you who are active in social media circles may be aware that through the past week I have unleashed a blitz on Facebook and Instagram in connection with our new winter exhibition Dempsey’s People: A Folio of British Street Portraits, 1824−1844.

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.

Out of the shadows

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

Vintage Max

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

Talking heads

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

Public hanging

As a convict Thomas Bock was required to sketch executed murders for science; as a free man, fashionable society portraits.

Be bold

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.

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.

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.

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.

The fat of the land

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

Northern exposure

Phil Manning celebrates a century of Brisbane photographic portraiture.

Poison pen

Michael Desmond examines the career of the eighteenth-century suspected poisoner and portrait artist Thomas Griffiths Wainewright.

Speed demon

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

Vanity fair

Ashleigh Wadman rediscovers the Australian characters represented with a kindly touch by the British portrait artist Leslie Ward for the society magazine Vanity Fair.

Unknown drawer

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

Suave

Charles Haddon Chambers the Australian-born playboy playwright settled permanently in London in 1880 but never lost his Australian stance when satirising the English.

A feast of friends

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

Stubbs and the horse

One of the chief aims of George Stubbs, 1724–1806, the late Judy Egerton’s great 1984–85 exhibition at the Tate Gallery was to provide an eloquent rebuttal to Josiah Wedgwood’s famous remark of 1780: “Noboby suspects Mr Stubs [sic] of painting anything but horses & lions, or dogs & tigers.”

The stately lotus

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.

The Multifarious Career of George Selth Coppin

George Selth Coppin (1819-1906) comedian, impresario and entrepreneur, was a driving force of the early Australian theatre.

Doodles of the Diva

Three tiny sketches of Dame Nellie Melba in the NPG collection were created by the artist who was to go on to paint the most imposing representation of the singer: Rupert Bunny.

Portrait Donors

Canadian identities

An exploration of national identity in the Canadian context drawn from the symposium Face to Face at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in 2004.

Past present

Krysia Kitch celebrates Oodgeroo Noonuccal.

Kiwi magpie

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

Bill and Ted's excellent portrait.

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

Take thy face hence

Joanna Gilmour travels through time to explore the National Portrait Gallery London’s masterpieces in Shakespeare to Winehouse.

The art of conciliation

Gareth Knapman explores the politics and opportunism behind the portraits of Tasmania’s Black War.

20 20

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

Great Scots

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

The life of Bryant

Tenille Hands explores a portrait prize gifted to the National Screen and Sound Archive.

Women make history

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

We Were There

Preserving stories, subverting power and posing nude: Benjamin Law explores the potency and persuasiveness of portraiture.

Friends and Acquaintances

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

Earth to earth

Dr Sarah Engledow discusses the recent gift of works by David Campbell.

Getting a head

Alexandra Roginski gets a feel for phrenology’s fundamentals.

Sibly irresistible

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

The Viceroyalty of New Spain

European painters always enjoyed a good deal of latitude in the representation of angels, those asexual, bodiless, celestial regiments of God, so long as they were young and beautiful.

The family scene

Traudi Allen discovers sensitivity, humour and fine draughtsmanship in the portraiture of John Perceval.

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.

Augustus serendipitous

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

History

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

In the flesh

An exhibition of humanness in ten themes by Penelope Grist.

Off her own bat

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

Jewelled nights

Anne Sanders celebrates the cinematic union of two pioneering australian women.

Prima facie

Sarah Engledow casts a judicious eye over portraits in the Victorian Bar’s Peter O’Callaghan QC Portrait Gallery.

Material culture

The Rajah Quilt’s narrative promptings are as intriguing as the textile is intricate.

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.

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.

Nicholas Harding: 28 Portraits

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

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.