Search / matilda house

Dr Matilda House (b. 1945) is a Ngambri/Wiradjuri Elder who has dedicated her life to the pursuit of social justice for Indigenous people.

2 portraits in the collection

Brenda L Croft and Dr Matilda House

In Conversation

Brenda L Croft (Gurindji/Malngin/Mudburra peoples) talks with Ngambri/Ngunnawal/Wiradjuri elder, Dr Matilda House, about her photographic portrait.

Matilda House presides at the first Welcome to Country

Matilda House presides at the first Welcome to Country, 2008 (printed 2009)

Purchased 2009

Matilda (Ngambri/Ngunnawal), 2019

Brenda L Croft

Magazine article by Brenda L Croft, 2022

Observation point

I have known Dr Aunty Matilda House, Ngambri Elder, Traditional Custodian and Cultural Knowledge Holder, since I was a child.

Matilda (Ngambri), 2020

Brenda L Croft, Prue Hazelgrove, Richard Crampton

Portrait, inkjet print (from original tintype, wet plate collodion process) on paper

Purchased with funds provided by The Calvert-Jones Foundation 2020

Crowded House

Crowded House is a much-loved Australian-New Zealand rock band formed in Melbourne in 1985 by talented singer/songwriter Neil Finn OBE (b.

3 portraits in the collection

Neil Finn, Crowded House 1986

Wendy McDougall

Neil Finn, 1987 (printed 2021)

Alan Mitchell

Gift of the artist 2021

Neil Finn and Paul Hester, 1987 (printed 2021)

Alan Mitchell

Portrait, inkjet print on canvas

Gift of the artist 2021

Paul Hester, 1987 (printed 2021)

Alan Mitchell

Gift of the artist 2021

In Conversation

Brenda L Croft and Dr Matilda House, 24th June 2020

Recorded virtual programs

Brenda L Croft (Gurindji/Malngin/Mudburra peoples) talks with Ngambri/Ngunnawal/Wiradjuri elder, Dr Matilda House, about her photographic portrait.

Purchased 2017

House painters, 2019

Graham Monro

Warumpi Band, Sydney Opera House, 1984 (printed 2021)

Purchased 2021

Barry & Alkirra – The House in Carrington, 2014

by Katherine Williams

Amanda McGuigan from the 'Sydney Opera House at Rest' series

Daniel Boud

Icons

Parliament House

Touring exhibition, 2019

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.

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

Portraiture in a Bleak House

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

The house, the horse, the wife and the offspring

Joanna Gilmour writes about the portraiture of the colonial artist William Nicholas.

Kew House 2: Bedtime, 2009

by Bronek Kozka

Robert Menzies, Lancaster House, London, 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.

Gayili Marika - Galupa Safety House, 2016

by Peter McConchie

Tom Durkin, The Weekly Times

The Member of the Upper House "One of the Olden Time" [The Hon. John Alston Wallace M.L.C.], 1874

Portrait, lithograph on paper

Purchased 2016

Tony Abbott, 2013

by Michael Bowers

Fox Place, 2015

by Mikhaila Jurkiewicz

Paul, Bankstown, 2016

by Lyndal Irons

Jørn Utzon AC

Jørn Utzon AC (1918–2008), Danish architect, designed the Sydney Opera House.

3 portraits in the collection

Greg Weight

Portraits

Display of 36 Greg Weight photographs in Senate Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Old Parliament House.

Jørn Utzon, 1965 (printed 2006)

Jozef Vissel

Gift of the artist 2005

Neil Finn OBE

Singer/songwriter and guitarist Neil Finn OBE (b. 1958) was born in Te Awamutu, Aotearoa New Zealand, a small town on the north island.

3 portraits in the collection

Paul Hester

Paul Hester (1959–2005), musician and former drummer for Crowded House, was born in Melbourne.

2 portraits in the collection

Sean Godsell

Sean Godsell (b. 1960) a Melbourne-based architect, is known internationally for his distinctive residential architecture.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Sean Godsell, 2009 by Earl Carter

Sean Godsell Architects

Based in Melbourne, Sean Godsell is known internationally for his distinctive residential architecture.

Portrait 67

Winter 2022

Magazine

William Yang on his autobiographical self portraits, David Parker's 1970s and 80s Melbourne music photographs, seven-time NPPP finalist Chris Budgeon, and Benjamin Warlngundu Ellis.

Nick Seymour

Nick Seymour (b. 1958), bass guitarist, grew up playing music with his brother and sisters.

2 portraits in the collection

Romaldo Giurgola AO

Romaldo Giurgola AO (1920–2016), architect, was a founding partner of the firm that won the international design competition for Australia’s New Parliament House in 1980.

2 portraits in the collection

The spirit walker, 2017

by Alex Ellinghausen

Arnold Haskell

Arnold Haskell (1903-1981) was an English ballet critic who became a passionate advocate for Australia.

2 portraits in the collection

John Williamson, Springbrook, Qld, 2004

John Elliott

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

The cat's out of the bag

Kalyanii Holden

Martha Knox

Martha Knox (née Rutledge, d. 1903), was the sister of merchant, landowner and banker William Rutledge.

1 portrait in the collection

Lily Hatten

My daughter was struggling a lot with Impetigo and the isolation that we were experiencing. We'd been stuck in the house together for a few weeks.

Arnold Haskell, 1937

Portrait, ochre, pigment and oil on canvas (triptych)

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

Aldo Giurgola, 2005

Mandy Martin

Gift of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects 2005

Jørn Utzon, 2000

Ole Haupt

Purchased with the assistance of funds provided by the Circle of Friends 2004

Jørn Utzon, 1965 (printed 2006)

Jozef Vissel

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

Robert Emerson Curtis

Robert Emerson Curtis (1898-1996) was an illustrator and painter who arrived in Sydney from England in 1924.

2 portraits in the collection

Candidate for Chelsea (9th Earl of Kintore)

Algernon Hawkins Thomond Keith-Falconer

Portrait, gouache, fibre tip pen and natural pigment on colour photocopy

Algernon Hawkins Thomond Keith-Falconer, 9th Earl of Kintore (1852–1930) was governor of South Australia from 1889 to 1895.

1 portrait in the collection

Study for the portrait of Aldo Giurgola, 2005

Mandy Martin

Gift of the artist 2005

Terry Clune

Arthur Boyd portraits from 1945

Terry Clune (b. 1932), gallerist, established Terry Clune Galleries with Frank MacDonald at 59 McLeay Street Potts Point in 1957.

1 portrait in the collection

Listen: Mysterious eyes

An open house, recollections of my early life: extracts from the reminiscences of David Boyd.

Slim Dusty at Carlton Hill Station, WA, 1993

John Elliott

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Lucy, 2006

by Sally McInerney

by Tiyan Melissa Kilie Baker

Lost Love, Yiyi is tired, and Waiting on the bridge, 2014

Magazine article by Mandy Martin, 2005

Winner, MDPA 2014

A Life in Service

Artist Mandy Martin describes the creation of her portrait of Aldo Giurgola, principal architect of Australia's Parliament House.

Robert Kermode

Robert Quayle Kermode (1812-1870), politician, was born on the Isle of Man and educated at Castletown.

1 portrait in the collection

Full-size preparatory study for the portrait of Leo Schofield

Dr Leo Schofield AM

Leo Schofield AM (b. 1935) has been a significant figure in Australia's cultural life for three decades.

5 portraits in the collection

Elizabeth Lewis

Mortimer Lewis (1796–1879), surveyor and architect, and his wife Elizabeth (née Clements, c.

1 portrait in the collection

Mortimer Lewis

Mortimer Lewis (1796–1879), surveyor and architect, and his wife Elizabeth (née Clements, c.

1 portrait in the collection

Shirley

Francis Cloake

Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool

Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl Liverpool, Lord Hawkesbury (1770–1828), statesman, was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827.

2 portraits in the collection

Adela R. Walker

Adela Russell Walker (1847–1932), the youngest of her parents' thirteen children, was born in Longford and was 22 when she married George Coleridge Nixon, who was the son of Francis Russell Nixon – an amateur artist and Anglican Bishop of Tasmania from 1843 to 1862.

1 portrait in the collection

Lady Edith Knox

Edith Knox (1855–1942), matriarch, was a daughter of Janet and Scottish-born merchant and businessman Joseph Scaife Willis, who was president of the Sydney Chamber of Commerce and a founding director of the Sydney Exchange Co.

1 portrait in the collection

Mrs Elizabeth Lewis, c. 1830

Portrait, watercolour on ivory

Gift of Leo Schofield AM 2002. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Sir Eugene Goossens

Sir (Aynsley) Eugene Goossens (1893-1962) was an English conductor, composer and violinist.

2 portraits in the collection

Neville Gruzman AM

Neville Gruzman AM (1925–2005), architect and lecturer, was born in Sydney, the son of immigrants of Russian heritage.

1 portrait in the collection

Caroline Barton, 2006

by Jim Rolon

Walter Gropius and Harry Seidler, 1954

Purchased with funds provided by Timothy Fairfax AC 2003

Clem Seale and Robert Emerson Curtis, c. 1944

Purchased with funds provided by Timothy Fairfax AC 2003

Lindy Morrison

Recorded 2021

Peter Hall

Peter Hall (1931-1995), architect, completed the Sydney Opera House after the Danish architect Jørn Utzon resigned from the project and left Australia in 1966.

1 portrait in the collection

Julian, 2008

by Zorica Purlija

Faces of the Twentieth Century

Karsh

Previous exhibition, 1998

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

William Barak

Michael and The Message, 2012

by Adele Bishop

In Galleries Seven, Eight and Nine

Helena Rubinstein in a red brocade Balenciaga gown

Women Make History

Previous exhibition, 2021

Well behaved women seldom make history, as the saying goes, and the National Portrait Gallery, consequently, is full of awesome Australian women who refused to conform to narrow ideas about their place and their worth.

Rt. Honourable Lord Hawkesbury, 1808

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

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2002

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

Little treasures

The acquisition of the ivory miniatures of Mortimer and Mrs Lewis.

Neighbourhood Watch, 2015

by Melissa Osborn

Charles Turner after Sir Thomas Lawrence

Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, 1827

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Sir Samuel Wilson

Sir Samuel Wilson was elected to the British House of Commons in 1886.

1 portrait in the collection

Wesley Enoch AM

Wesley Enoch AM (b. 1969) is a theatre director and playwright and was the director of the Sydney Festival from 2017 to 2021.

1 portrait in the collection

Sydney Ancher

Sydney Ancher (1904-1980), architect, graduated from Sydney Tech College in 1930.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert Emerson Curtis, 1943

Portrait, oil on masonite

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

Ivy Shore, 1961

Graeme Inson

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Harvey and Russell Shore 2014

Maria Windeyer

Maria Windeyer (née Camfield, 1795–1878), landowner, emigrated to New South Wales in 1835 with her husband Richard, a barrister, and their infant son, William Charles.

2 portraits in the collection

The Right Honourable Lord Viscount Melbourne

William Lamb

Magazine article by Anthony Browell, 2004

William Lamb, second Viscount Melbourne (1779–1848), statesman, was Prime Minister of Britain in 1834 and from 1835 to 1841.

2 portraits in the collection

Charmed by the Rose

Anthony Browell reminisces about meeting Rose Lindsay, the wife of Australian artist Norman Lindsay.

David Moore, Max Dupain and John Gollings

David Moore, Max Dupain and John Gollings, 1980

Kate Gollings

Portrait, colour digital print on photographic paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2001

KAHA

Bruce Agnew

Sir Daniel Cooper

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on cabinet card

Sir Daniel Cooper (1821-1902), merchant and philanthropist, came to Australia in 1843 and opened a business, Cooper Bros, which was later reputed to be 'the most extensive mercantile house in the Australian colonies'.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir John Hay, 1887

Freeman Brothers

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

George Foxhill

George Foxhill studied art in his native Austria, attending the Kunstegewerbeschule and the Volkshochschule in Salzburg after the war.

1 portrait in the collection

Barry, 2006

by Bronek Kozka

Ella in Callala Bay, 2018

by Aletheia Casey

Sixteen, 2010

by Janet Tavener

Miriam Hyde AO OBE

Miriam Hyde AO OBE (1913-2005), composer, recitalist, teacher, examiner, poet, lecturer and writer of numerous articles for music journals, studied first with her mother and then with William Silver at the Elder Conservatorium in Adelaide.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Drewett

Peter G. Drewett is a Grafton craftsman. Drewett grew up in difficult economic circumstances in Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

A man and his music: Peter Weiss and the Australian Chamber Orchestra

Peter Weiss AO

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2004

Peter Weiss AO (1935–2020), cultural benefactor, was born into a well-to-do family in Vienna, which they fled in the late 1930s.

1 portrait in the collection

With a Little Help from my Friends

The story behind the acquisition of the portrait of Danish architect Jørn Utzon.

First study for portrait of Malcolm Fraser

First study for portrait of Malcolm Fraser, 1981

Bryan Westwood

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Peter Hall, n.d.

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen and pen and ink on paper

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

Lady Knox, c. 1927-1929

W B McInnes

Charles Turner after Sir George Hayter

Gift of Mrs Caroline Philippa Parker 2005. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

The Right Honourable Lord Viscount Melbourne, 1839

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2013

Marea Gazzard, c. 1985

Lewis Morley

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

Marjorie Cotton Isherwood

Marjorie Cotton Isherwood (1913–2003) was the first professionally qualified children's librarian in New South Wales and many of her initiatives continue today.

1 portrait in the collection

I'm just a suburban fashionista

Kristina Kraskov

Samuel Freeman, Fisher, Son & Co London after Sir Thomas Lawrence

William Lamb, Baron Melbourne, 1832

Celebrating 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection

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

Of Kings and men

Previous exhibition, 2011

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

Prime minister, 2018

Mike Bowers

Sir William John Macleay

Sir William John Macleay (1820-1891), pastoralist, politician, collector and promoter of science, had just begun to study medicine in his native Scotland when family circumstances dictated his migration to New South Wales.

1 portrait in the collection

Cocky McGrath

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

Thomas Mackdougall Brisbane

Thomas Mackdougall Brisbane (1773-1860) was born into an aristocratic Scottish family and entered the army at the age of 16.

2 portraits in the collection

You are loved

Tom Goldner

Elizabeth Rouse

John Young after Gilbert Stuart

Elizabeth Rouse (née Adams, 1772–1849), colonial spouse, arrived in New South Wales as a free settler in 1801 with her husband, Richard Rouse (1774–1852) and their first two children, one of whom had been born on the voyage out.

1 portrait in the collection

Lord Viscount Sydney, c. 1790

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Harry Seidler, Killara, Sydney, 1984 (printed 2000)

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

What the world needs now is love, 2012

by Jeremy Shaw

Marea Gazzard, Paddington, Sydney, 1963 (printed 2000)

Bob Ellis

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

3 portraits in the collection

First Legislative Council of Victoria

Freeman Brothers after Edwin Dalton

The First Legislative Council of Victoria was formed following Victoria’s separation from New South Wales in July 1851.

1 portrait in the collection

Maria Windeyer, c. 1865-1868

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite on brown paper studio folder

Gift of J.B. Windeyer 2018

George Burarrwanga, Warumpi Band, 1984 (printed 2021)

Purchased 2021

Ugandan Ssebabi

David Cossini

Gareth

Harley Manifold

Chrissy Amphlett

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

Hilary McPhee AO

Hilary McPhee AO (b. 1941), writer and editor, began her career at Meanjin before starting a small magazine, Theatre.

1 portrait in the collection

George Gittoes - last sitting before Peshawar

George Gittoes AM

George Gittoes AM (b. 1949), artist, photographer and filmmaker, has documented some of the world's most notorious conflicts.

4 portraits in the collection

Harry Seidler AC OBE

Harry Seidler AC OBE (1923–2006), architect and designer, was born in Vienna and completed his early architectural studies in England and Canada.

4 portraits in the collection

Fred Williams, Upwey, Victoria, 1963 (printed 2000)

Self portrait with my mother and sister

Anne Moffat

A Ninetieth Birthday Tribute

Sir William Dargie

Previous exhibition, 2002

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

Vladimir Ashkenazy

Vladimir Ashkenazy (b. 1937), pianist and conductor, began playing the piano at age six.

1 portrait in the collection

Master chef, 2009

by Andrew Sheargold

Joel, Mitchell Queensland, 2014

by Matthew Abbott

The eye and the heart

Nici Cumpston immerses herself in the collective vision of the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020.

Annie Edensor Roberts

Family, friends, fanatics and foes (and everything in between!)

Charles Warman Roberts married Annie Edensor Marsden (1824-1895) in Sydney in June 1845.

1 portrait in the collection

Rachel Ward and Bryan Brown (detail), 2006 (printed 2020) © Peter Brew-Bevan

Australian Love stories

Previous exhibition, 2021

Reconnect and reflect with our new major exhibition, Australian Love Stories (in real life!) as we explore love, affection and connection in all its guises.

Her whole world now

Alex Mattea

2004 Acquisition Fund

Annual Appeal

Sydney Opera House architect Jørn Utzon was the subject of the 2004 Circle of Friends Acquisition Fund.

The Hermit, 2016

by Alex Frayne

Portrait, oil and enamel on hardboard

Sketch for portrait of Tom Uren, 1972

Clifton Pugh AO

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

Ben Chifley, n.d.

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

Rhodri G. Davies

Rhodri Glyn Davies worked as a television cameraman and director of documentaries while pursuing his interest in photography, exhibiting with a group of artists called Quincunx in Wales and Scotland.

1 portrait in the collection

Mia at home, 2019

Megan Hales

The Voyage, 2015

by Tina Fiveash

Harry Seidler, n.d.

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

Leah Purcell, c. 2000

Penny Tweedie

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004

Dick Düsseldorp, 1991 (printed 2018)

Purchased 2018

Leo Schofield, 2001

Brent Harris

Previous exhibition, 2015

Commissioned with funds provided by Angela Nevill, Nevill Keating Pictures Ltd, in memory of William Keating 2001

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2015

The National Photographic Portrait Prize 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.

Helga Leunig

Helga Leunig, née Salwe, was working as a professional photographer at the Age in the late 1980s when she met Michael Leunig, cartoonist.

4 portraits in the collection

Peter Fisher

Peter Fisher has been one of Australia's foremost commercial photographers over the past 25 years.

1 portrait in the collection

John Coburn, 1974

Vaike Liibus

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Liibus family 2015

Sir John Hay

Sir John Hay (1816-1892), pastoralist and politician, graduated in law in his native Scotland before emigrating to New South Wales with his new wife, Mary, in 1838.

1 portrait in the collection

June Mendoza

June Mendoza AO OBE, born into a musical family in Melbourne, has lived in England for many years.

1 portrait in the collection

The great echo chamber, 2017

by Dianne Jones

Paradise Lost

Liz Ham

Adam Lindsay Gordon

Adam Lindsay Gordon (1833-1870) was a poet and horseman. Well-educated, from a relatively well-to-do family, he learned to ride as a boy in England and secured a position in the South Australian Mounted Police in 1852.

1 portrait in the collection

Ivy Shore

Ivy Shore (1915–1999), painter, was born in Melbourne, daughter of a South Australian suffragette, Elka, and engineer John Williams.

2 portraits in the collection

Marea Gazzard AM

Marea Gazzard AM (1928–2013), ceramic artist, trained at the East Sydney Technical College and London Central School for Arts and Craft.

3 portraits in the collection

Shigeo Sawada, c. 1915

Kan Studios

Gift of Ron Wylie 2007

Michael Field, 2009

by Remi Chauvin

Portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark

Portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, 2005

Jiawei Shen

Commissioned with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy 2005

Small Holdings (The Earl Carrington Baron Charles Robert Carrington)

Charles Robert Wynn-Carrington

Charles Robert Wynn-Carrington (1843–1928), 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire, landowner and Liberal politician, was governor of New South Wales in the late 1880s.

2 portraits in the collection

Friends' Farewell, 2006

by Leslie Arnott

Midday in the squat, 2009

by Hannah Robinson

Previous exhibition, 2020

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.

Portrait of Leslie Walford, 1970s

Vaike Liibus

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Sally Hardy 2019

Dreams, 2006

by Rahima Hayes

Portrait of Margaret Olley in her Paddington studio, 2011

by John McRae

Portrait Photography from the Collection

In the mirror: self portrait with Joy Hester

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.

Bambi Tuckwell

Patricia 'Bambi' Tuckwell (1926-2018) was a leading Australian fashion model as well as a promising violinist.

1 portrait in the collection

The Skin I'm In II, 2016

by Brian Cassey

Alana Landsberry

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Alana Landsberry (b. 1982) is a Sydney-based professional photographer who specialises in portrait, lifestyle, beauty and fashion photography.

2 portraits in the collection

Howard Taylor, 1988 (printed 2001)

John Austin

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Howard Taylor, 1988 (printed 2001)

John Austin

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Sir Billy Snedden KCMG

Portrait, oil on masonite

Sir Billy Snedden KCMG QC (1926-1987), politician, was elected as a federal member in 1955.

1 portrait in the collection

Breakfast

Options

Begin your day in an elegant, convivial, award-winning building.

Neville Gruzman, 1968

Eric Smith

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2007

Frank, 2007

by Simone Stabb

Portrait, inkjet print on Hanhnemühle paper

Nick Cave, Susie Bick and Luke Cave, 1998 (printed 2020)

Dominique Issermann

Purchased 2022

Reg Livermore, Pitt Street, Sydney, 1965 (printed 2020)

Robert McFarlane

Purchased 2020

Donald Friend

Donald Friend (1915-1989), painter, writer and diarist, studied at the RAS and Dattilo-Rubbo’s school in Sydney before spending 1935 and 1936 at the Westminster School in London.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Robert Ponsonby Staples

Sir Robert Ponsonby Staples, third son of Sir Nathaniel Staples, Bt, was born in Northern Ireland, educated in Belgium, and studied architecture and art in Louvain, Dresden, Paris and London.

1 portrait in the collection

Diana Pockley

Diana Pockley (née Longridge, 1913–2011), gardener, fundraiser and amateur historian, was born in Exeter, Devon, England and completed her secondary education in Brighton.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Gerard Smith

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

1 portrait in the collection

Alan Sandow

Alan Sandow (b. 1952), drummer, joined Clive Shakespeare in the initial Sherbet lineup in 1969, before Daryl Braithwaite joined the band.

3 portraits in the collection

Cactus World, Lester Meyers, 2014

by Man Tsun Cheung

John Witzig

John Witzig, photographer, writer and designer, contributed his first piece to Surfing World in 1963.

5 portraits in the collection

Bruce Weber

Bruce Weber, born 1946, is an internationally renowned American fashion photographer.

1 portrait in the collection

Mark Kimber

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

Robyn Stacey

Photo-artist Robyn Stacey has exhibited widely in Australia and overseas since the mid-1980s, and is represented in all major public galleries.

1 portrait in the collection

Ah Xian

Ah Xian came to Australia from Beijing in 1989, having already gained some recognition and experience as an artist here.

2 portraits in the collection

Selina Snow

English born Selina Snow now lives and works in Sydney. She graduated from the prestigious Slade School of Art in London (1993) and Ecole des Beaux Art in Aix en Provence, France (1987).

4 portraits in the collection

Grant McLennan

Grant McLennan and Robert Forster both sang and wrote songs for The Go-Betweens, and McLennan wrote one of their greatest, 'Cattle and Cane', recalling the rural Queensland environment of his youth.

1 portrait in the collection

Nick Cave, Susie Bick and Luke Cave, 1998 (printed 2020) Dominique Issermann. Courtesy of the artist © Dominique Issermann

Stepping out

Beautiful punk love

Donald Friend, 1987

Portrait, ink and charcoal on paper

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

Donald Friend at Owl Creek, 1983

Lawrence Daws

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lawrence Daws 2012
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Clive Blazey

Clive Blazey (b. 1944) is the founder and managing director of the Digger's Club, Australia's largest gardening club, with about 40 000 members.

1 portrait in the collection

Paul Montford

Paul Montford came to Australia from England in 1921, attracted by the light, which he believed to be conducive to monumental sculpture.

2 portraits in the collection

Judith Durham AO

The Seekers formed in Melbourne in 1962 when jazz singer Judith Durham met Athol Guy, who was in a folk trio with Bruce Woodley and Keith Potger.

3 portraits in the collection

Elliot Brown

by Nat Thomas & Concettina Inserra

This portrait is called Jaye and it's a photo of my friend. She's a member of the Multicultural Society in Geraldton.

Portrait of mother (after Mirka), 2008

Neville and Jill Wran - as the Duke and Duchess of Sydney (with apologies to Piero della Francesca)

Jill Hickson Wran AM

Jill Hickson Wran AM (b. 1948) graduated from the University of Sydney and then worked for Qantas.

1 portrait in the collection

Patricia 'Bambi' Tuckwell (Shmith), c. 1952

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

Fame or celebrity?

Frederick Bromley after Robert Frain

A question lately cropped up in connection with Madame Melba as to whether fame and celebrity are not essentially the same thing. My feeling is that they are different.

Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1842

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Ethel Marian (Maie) Casey AC

Ethel Marian (Maie) Casey AC, Baroness Casey (1892-1983), chatelaine, artist, pilot and author, was born in Melbourne, the daughter of the Surgeon General, Sir Charles Ryan.

1 portrait in the collection

David Strachan

David Strachan (1919–1970), painter and printmaker, was educated at Geelong Grammar School and then studied art at the Slade School in London.

2 portraits in the collection

Hon. Jim Carlton AO

Hon Jim Carlton AO (1935-2015), a Liberal Party politician, represented the Sydney electorate of Mackeller in the House of Representatives from 1977 to 1994.

1 portrait in the collection

Michael Anderson

Michael Anderson, sheep farmer and Aboriginal land rights activist, was born in Brewarrina, NSW.

1 portrait in the collection

George Foxhill

Self Portraits

Portraits by Michael Riley

Foxhill's portraits are more concerned with describing an emotional and psychological state than the surface topography of the human face.

Beauty and strength

Previous exhibition, 2014

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.

Toni Maticevski

Toni Maticevski (b. 1977), fashion designer, grew up amongst the Macedonian community in Seddon, Melbourne and studied design at RMIT.

1 portrait in the collection

Jun Chen

Jun Chen (b. 1960), based in Brisbane, trained in traditional Chinese brush painting at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, China.

1 portrait in the collection

Patrick White and Manoly Lascaris, 1987

Gift of Danina Dupain Anderson 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Hera Roberts

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

1 portrait in the collection

The 'Multi Exposed Hand'

22 January 2005

Photographer Jozef Vissel talks about his ‘Multi Exposed Hand’ portrait of Sydney Opera House architect Jørn Utzon.

Sarony & Co

Oliver Sarony (1820-1879) arrived in England from his native Quebec in 1843 and worked as a daguerreotypist in various cities before settling in Scarborough on the coast of Yorkshire in 1857.

2 portraits in the collection

The Seekers, 1993

Rennie Ellis

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

National Youth Self Portrait Prize

NYSPP 2008

At the end of 2007 the National Portrait Gallery launched the inaugural National Youth Self Portrait Prize and artists aged between eighteen and twenty-five were invited to submit self portraits using a variety of media including drawing, painting, printmaking and traditional or digital photography.

Kim, 2006

by Lisa Garland

Charina Oeser

Charina Forge (now Oeser) studied at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in the early 1960s.

1 portrait in the collection

Lindy Morrison

John Cochran after Sir Thomas Lawrence

Lindy Morrison joined The Go-Betweens as drummer in 1980. After the band split up in early 1990, she teamed up with another ex Go-Between, Amanda Brown, in a group called Cleopatra Wong.

1 portrait in the collection

Lt. Genrl. the Rt Honble. Sir George Murray G.C.B., G.C.H. &c.

Lt. Genrl. the Rt Honble. Sir George Murray G.C.B., G.C.H. &c., 1838

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Self portrait, 1937

Purchased 2015

Michael Klim, 1999

Anderson & Low

Purchased 2000 with the assistance of staff of Old Parliament House and the National Portrait Gallery in memory of Matthew Guy Hinder (1967-1999)

Lord Robert May OM KBE FRS FAA

An exhibition of sporting photographs by Anderson & Low

Robert May, Baron May of Oxford OM AC (1936–2020), physicist, chemical engineer, chemist, ecologist and mathematician, once described himself as a ‘scientist with a short attention span.’ Born and educated in Sydney, where he received his PhD in experimental physics in 1959, he lectured at Harvard, Sydney and Princeton before taking up a joint professorship at Imperial College London and Oxford.

1 portrait in the collection

The Athlete

Previous exhibition, 2000

The Athlete explores the sporting life well beyond the superficial image of the human physique

Kill them with kindness, 2006

by Alex Kershaw

Tom Uren AO

NPPP 2020 exhibition essay

Tom Uren AO (1921–2015) was a major figure in Australian post-war Labor politics, a campaigner on environmental and urban-planning issues and for veterans.

2 portraits in the collection

Writing on the Wall, 2019 Dr Christian Thompson AO

To arrive at hope

Penelope Grist, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2020 Prize.

Howard Barron

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

1 portrait in the collection

Australian Tapestry Workshop

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

John Hamilton

As a young reporter for the Melbourne Age, John Hamilton (b.1940 UK, migrated to Aust.

1 portrait in the collection

Grant (No. 3 of Robert, Lindy, Grant)

Jenny Watson

Russell Drysdale

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

6 portraits in the collection

Ivan Lendl

Ivan Lendl (born March 7, 1960 in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech tennis player.

1 portrait in the collection

Lady Florence Packer

Lady Florence Packer (1915-2012) was born in Paris to Edmond Porges, a major in the British Army, and his Russian wife Marie-Mathilde Brodsky.

1 portrait in the collection

Kim Spooner

Archived media releases 2021

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

2 portraits in the collection

Announcing... Jonathan Jones Bogong Cluster: Physically distant, socially connected

5 January 2021

A new light installation by Jonathan Jones reflects on the importance of community through the lens of his Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi heritage, whilst also acting as a prompt for gallery visitors to maintain social distancing.

Decorative portrait – Len Lye, c.1925 by Rayner Hoff (1894-1937)

Presence and Absence

Portrait Sculpture in Australia

Previous exhibition, 2003

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

Dressing for dinner, 1992

Davida Allen

Portrait, oil on plywood

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

Lloyd Rees AC CMG

Lloyd Rees AC CMG (1895–1988), artist and teacher, studied art in Brisbane from 1910 to 1916, and in England and Europe in the early 1920s.

12 portraits in the collection

Martin Sharp, 1980

William Yang

Purchased 2003

Lindy (No. 2 of Robert, Lindy, Grant)

Jenny Watson

Layered portraits from the collection

Dissections

Previous exhibition, 2016

This display sets two impressive portraits from the collection into direct dialogue: Sam Jinks’ sculptural self portrait and Nick Mourtzakis’ painted portrait of David Chalmers, along with related maquette and sketches.Together they explore physical and psychological manifestations of the strata of self-hood.

The Lord Chamberlain (Earl of Hopetoun John Adrian Louis Hope)

The Lord Chamberlain (Earl of Hopetoun John Adrian Louis Hope), 1900

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Hari Ho

Carlo Pellegrini, Vanity Fair Magazine

Hari Ho left his native Malaysia as a young man to travel and work throughout the US, Europe and Asia.

2 portraits in the collection

Statesmen No. 20 "A Returned Colonist" (Rt Hon. Hugh C.E. Childers), 1869

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

All together now, 2012

by Clare Thackway

Finalist, iD2012

Michael Hutchence, 1997

Polly Borland

Purchased 2000

Hera Roberts, 1936

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

Margaret Preston

Margaret Preston (1875-1963) trained at the NGV School and the Adelaide School of Design before leasing a studio and beginning to teach in Adelaide.

1 portrait in the collection

Marcie Elizabeth Fairfax

Marcie Elizabeth 'Betty' Fairfax (1907–1995) was a leading figure in fashionable circles in Sydney in the 1920s and 1930s.

1 portrait in the collection

John Gorton, 1997

Nathan Kelly

Florence Milson, Harold Cazneaux

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

Harold Cazneaux, 1919

Portrait, bromoil photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Sharing the dream?

It's Complicated

In love and war

Fred Schepisi AO

Fred Schepisi AO (b. 1939), film producer and director, briefly trained to be a priest before working in advertising.

1 portrait in the collection

Sydney (Sir Daniel Cooper), 1882

Portrait, albumen paper photograph on carte de visite

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Sir John Young, c. 1862

Freeman Brothers

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

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

Empire records

Magazine article by Kylie Scroope, 2011

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

Dan (Sir Daniel Cooper), 1890s

Gift of Ronald A Walker 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

a squatter (Sir Samuel Wilson), 1885

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

John Frith

John Frith, cartoonist, was born and schooled in England before coming to Sydney in 1929.

4 portraits in the collection

Samuel Woolf

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

Mathew Lynn

Francois Verheyden, Vanity Fair Magazine

Mathew Lynn (b. 1963), primarily a portrait painter, lives and works between Sydney and the Blue Mountains.

2 portraits in the collection

Fetteresso (Sir Robert Duff), 1883

Portrait, synthetic polymer on linen

Purchased 2015

The Seekers reunite 50 years on, 2011

Helen Edwards

Gift of Judith Durham, Athol Guy, Keith Potger and Bruce Woodley 2012. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Leonora Carrington, St. Martin d'Ardèche, France

Lee Miller

Polly Borland on Michael Hutchence

Archived media releases 2019

Recorded 2017

Update on Temporary Closure of the National Portrait Gallery

15 April 2019

The National Portrait Gallery will close its doors from Tuesday 23 April 2019, but the public are still able to experience the home of portraiture during the four-month closure.

Conference or seminar

Options

We can tailor our spaces to suit your conference, seminar or forum.

Rt. Hon. Malcolm Fraser AC CH

The Rt. Hon John Malcolm Fraser AC CH PC (1930-2015) was Prime Minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983.

5 portraits in the collection

Sir George Hayter

Sir George Hayter (1792-1871), English portrait and historical painter, studied briefly at the Royal Academy Schools as a teenager, running away to sea before returning to assist his father, an artist who tutored Princess Charlotte.

1 portrait in the collection

Russell Drysdale, 1960

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2004
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Edward Knox, c. 1927-1929

W B McInnes

Gift of Mrs Caroline Philippa Parker 2005. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

My Favourite Australian

Portrait, wood engraving (Baxter print) on paper

My Favourite Australian is a project developed in collaboration with ABC TV and the people of Australia.

Reverend John Williams, c. 1837

George Baxter

Purchased 2012

The Merioola Group, 1940s

Alec Murray

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

Charles Wallace Alexander Napier Cochrane-Baillie

Charles Wallace Alexander Napier Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington (1860–1940) had served four years in the House of Commons before being appointed governor of Queensland in October 1895.

1 portrait in the collection

Geoffrey Legge

Geoffrey Legge (b. 1935) and Frank Watters (1934–2020) ran Watters Gallery in Darlinghurst from 1964 to 2018.

3 portraits in the collection

Frank Watters OAM

Tom Roberts, Goupil & Cie

Geoffrey Legge (b. 1935) and Frank Watters (1934–2020) ran Watters Gallery in Darlinghurst from 1964 to 2018.

3 portraits in the collection

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

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

Portrait, photogravure on paper

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

Billy Hughes paperweight, n.d.

Portrait, cast iron, painted

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ric Techow and Jenny Techow-Coleman in memory of Roy and Bet Techow 2001

Pro Hart & Associates, 2004

Nick Young

associated with Nicholas Hilliard

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004

Queen Elizabeth I

Leonard French

Leonard French OBE (1928-2017) left school at fourteen to become an apprentice signwriter in his native Melbourne.

3 portraits in the collection

Dr John Janson-Moore

Previous exhibition, 2017

The Zammitt Family is part of a massive series of mine that I've been doing since early 2020, documenting COVID in and around Sydney.

Nicholas Harding

28 Portraits

Nicholas Harding: 28 portraits features paintings of Robert Drewe, John Bell and Hugo Weaving alongside gorgeously coloured recent oil portraits, delicate gouaches and bold ink and charcoal drawings.

The Bushranger Tragedy (from The Australasian Sketcher, 23 November 1878)

Dan Kelly

A police party comprising Sergeant Kennedy and Constables Lonigan, Scanlan and McIntyre was dispatched to capture the Kelly gang in 1878.

1 portrait in the collection

Thomas McIntyre

A police party comprising Sergeant Kennedy and Constables Lonigan, Scanlan and McIntyre was dispatched to capture the Kelly gang in 1878.

1 portrait in the collection

Governor Sir Robert Duff with Lady Duff, Lord Hopetoun and Vice-Regal Party

Sir Robert William Duff

Sir Robert William Duff (1835–1895) was governor of New South Wales from May 1893 until March 1895.

2 portraits in the collection

Nick Mourtzakis

Carlo Pellegrini, Vanity Fair Magazine

Nick Mourtzakis (b. 1951) is Melbourne-based artist and teacher. Mourtzajkis migrated to Melbourne with his Greek family in the early 1950s and trained at the Preston Institute of Technology and Mercer House Teachers' College in the early 1970s.

3 portraits in the collection

Round the World (Thomas Brassey), 1877

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2006

Purchased 2015

The National Portrait Gallery building in twilight

On a human scale

The design concepts behind the new National Portrait Gallery building in Canberra.

Very small business

Under the ‘Old Poor Law’, people begging on the streets could be arrested, so to avoid punishment, they often pretended to commerce, offering the most marginal of goods and services.

Thomas Lonigan

A police party comprising Sergeant Kennedy and Constables Lonigan, Scanlan and McIntyre was dispatched to capture the Kelly gang in 1878.

1 portrait in the collection

Sergeant Michael Kennedy

A police party comprising Sergeant Kennedy and Constables Lonigan, Scanlan and McIntyre was dispatched to capture the Kelly gang in 1878.

1 portrait in the collection

Michael Scanlan

Previous exhibition, 2007

A police party comprising Sergeant Kennedy and Constables Lonigan, Scanlan and McIntyre was dispatched to capture the Kelly gang in 1878.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait Paintings by Matthew Perceval

From 1967 until 1981 Matthew Perceval lived and painted in France and during those years produced a large body of portrait paintings.

A life shared

Wartime romance

Russell Drysdale, Woollahra, Sydney, 1964 (printed 2000)

Portrait, cast plaster, patinated on wooden base

Alfred Hill, 1936

Rayner Hoff

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2000

Linda Jackson

an unknown artist after Thomas Bock

Linda Mary Jackson (b. 1950) is a fashion designer and artist. Having studied fashion design at Emily McPherson College and photography at Prahran Technical College, she travelled to New Guinea, through Asia and Europe, and worked for Parisian couture house Mia-Vicky.

1 portrait in the collection

Jane Franklin, c. 1866-1875

Portrait, carved marble relief

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Gay Bilson

Gay Bilson (b. 1944), writer and former restaurateur, trained as a librarian before moving to Sydney from Melbourne with her partner, Tony Bilson, in the early 1970s (the couple were never married, but had two daughters, and Gay has long used Tony's surname).

2 portraits in the collection

Fred Schepisi, c. 2000

Kate Gollings

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2004

Polly Borland on Germaine Greer

Recorded 2017

Russell Drysdale, Tallow Beach, New South Wales, 1969 (printed 2000)

Sir Cecil Colville

Sir Cecil Colville (1891-1984), medical practitioner, was the first president of the Australian Medical Association.

1 portrait in the collection

Angel Street (Adam Cullen), 2010

Darren McDonald

Portrait, oil on linen

Purchased 2012

Adam Cullen

Carlo Pellegrini, Vanity Fair Magazine

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

Police (Lieut Colonel Edmund Yeamans Walcott Henderson)

Police (Lieut Colonel Edmund Yeamans Walcott Henderson), 1875

Magazine article by Ralph Heimans AM, 2018

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Observation point

As I prepared for my recent retrospective at Frederiksborg Castle, Denmark’s National Portrait Gallery, I was struck with the feeling of looking back at a visual diary of the past 30 years.

Simone Young AM

Simone Young AM (b. 1961) is one of the leading conductors of her generation.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Asher Joel

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

1 portrait in the collection

Eugene Goossens, c. 1954

Portrait, drypoint on wove paper

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

Andrew Southall, 1995

Rick Amor

Gift of the artist 2005. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Elizabeth Sarah Ellen Carter

Elizabeth Sarah Ellen Carter (née Hill, 1845-1927) was one of the eight children born to Sydney cabinetmaker and undertaker John Hill jnr and his wife Elizabeth - the step-daughter of ex-convict boatman, John Cadman.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of a beautiful mind - Adam Cullen, Blue Mountains

Portrait of a beautiful mind - Adam Cullen, Blue Mountains, 2005 (printed 2019)

George Fetting

Purchased with funds provided by Alan Dodge AM & Neil Archibald 2019

Linda and Binni, 1984 (printed 2013)

Michael Riley

Purchased 2013

Arthur and Ria Murch, 1945

Margaret Michaelis

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

John Howard and Janette Howard, 2000

Josonia Palaitis

Commissioned with funds provided by the Founding Patron, L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2000

Clyde Cameron

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Clyde Cameron (1913-2008), Labor politician and historian, worked as a shearer and union organizer before serving as a Member for Hindmarsh between 1949 and 1980.

1 portrait in the collection

Charles Warman Roberts, 1878

George Baird Shaw

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Thoms family 2011

L Gordon Darling AC CMG

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

2 portraits in the collection

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

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

2 portraits in the collection

Akira Isogawa

Tom Carrington, The Australasian Sketcher

Recorded 2015

The Kelly Gang (from The Australasian Sketcher, 17 July 1880)

The Kelly Gang (from The Australasian Sketcher, 17 July 1880), 1880

Portrait, wood engraving on paper

Purchased 2017

Shigeo Sawada

Portrait, pokerwork on spotted gum

Shigeo Sawada (1890-1940) was the Managing Director of Okura and Co. Trading Ltd in Sydney from 1937 to his death.

1 portrait in the collection

Joan Kerr, 2004

Peter Drewett

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of James Semple Kerr 2004

Garry McDonald AO

Norman Gunston (1973-1993) was a fictional television character, conceived by writer Wendy Skelcher and developed by actor Garry McDonald.

1 portrait in the collection

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort (1816-1878) was a merchant, shipbuilder, wool broker and pioneer of the technique of freezing meat for export.

1 portrait in the collection

Annie Roberts, 1878

George Baird Shaw

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Reg, Lesley, Glen and Paul Thoms 2011

Sir Kenneth Gillespie

Sir Kenneth Gillespie (1929–2010), dancer, teacher and founder of the Tasmanian Ballet, left his native Launceston at age sixteen to join the Borovansky Ballet in Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Madame Melba, 1922

Purchased 2015

a Postmaster General (Sir James Fergusson)

a Postmaster General (Sir James Fergusson), 1892

Purchased 2014

Sydney Ancher, c. 1962

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

Louise Forthun

Louise Forthun (b. 1959), artist, works primarily in painting and printmaking and has an aesthetic and conceptual focus on the architectural landscape of Australia's urban environments.

1 portrait in the collection

Margaret Preston, c. 1930

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen on paper

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

Malcolm, 1976

Frank Hinder

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

Little Darlings Youth Portrait Prize finalists

Little Darlings Youth Portrait Prize 2022

Previous exhibition, 2022

Little Darlings is for primary and secondary students, with four separate categories across Kindergarten to Year 12. Responding to the theme ‘identity’, students painted, drew, photographed, printed or combined all of these to make their portrait.

Malcolm Fraser, 1990 (printed 2010)

Bill McAuley

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Anders Ousback, 1986 (printed 2018)

Purchased 2018

John Hillcoat

John Hillcoat (b. 1960), filmmaker, was born in Brisbane and grew up in Canada, the USA and Europe.

1 portrait in the collection

Bridget Elliot

Bridget Elliot (b. 1958), photographer, is acknowledged for her significant portraits of Australian composers and musical performers.

1 portrait in the collection

Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE

Spikes: then and now

As part of its ongoing program of commissions of portraits of prominent Australians, the National Portrait Gallery has unveiled a portrait of Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson by South Australian artist Avril Thomas.

Eugene Goossens, c. 1954

Previous exhibition, 2003

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

Max Dupain

The Vintage Years

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

George Finey

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

1 portrait in the collection

Designing the ideal marriage

Deep foundations, shared vision

Buoyant Brack brood breeds inspiration

Nearest & Dearest

Domesticity’s creative maelstrom

Rayner Hoff, 1924

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

Charles Warman Roberts

Charles Warman Roberts (1821–1894), publican, was born in Sydney, the eldest son of free settler parents who emigrated to Australia in 1821.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Robert May AC KT, 1999

Polly Borland

Photographic Portraits from 19th Century Australia

Purchased 2001

Husbands and Wives

Previous exhibition, 2010

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

Essie Coffey

Essie Coffey OAM (1940-1998) was a community worker, singer, actor and film-maker.

1 portrait in the collection

Governor Sir Robert Duff with Lady Duff, Lord Hopetoun and Vice-Regal Party, 1893

Kerry & Co

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

A Portrait (Kate Hattam), 1956

Clifton Pugh AO

Portrait, oil on board

Purchased 2006

Portrait of Lady Eyre Williams (Jessie Gibbon)

Here’s looking at you, kid

Is he thinking of me?

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

Jiawei Shen

Commissioned with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy 2005

Jon Lewis

Jon Lewis (1950-2020) was born in Maryland, USA, and came to Australia in 1951.

3 portraits in the collection

Geoffrey Legge and Frank Watters, 1999

Purchased 2021

Chandler Coventry, 1999

Portrait, watercolour and gouache on ivory

Purchased 2021

Dame Enid Lyons, c. 1943

Justine Kong Sing

Purchased 2016

Key Outcome Area 1

Attitudes and behaviours

Disability Inclusion Action Plan 2023–25

The attitudes and behaviours of the general community towards people with disability have been described as the single greatest barrier to full access and inclusion.

Peter Hudson

Peter Hudson (b. 1950), is a landscape and portrait painter who lives and works in Maleny, Queensland.

5 portraits in the collection

Marilyn Darling AC

Marilyn Darling AC (b. 1943), a Founding Patron of the National Portrait Gallery, was Chair of the Board of the Gallery from 2000 until 2008.

2 portraits in the collection

Portrait sketch of Nellie Melba, 1902

Hugh Ramsay

Gift of the Mitchell Family and the Fullerton Family 2000

A papal pet encounter

Previous exhibition, 2005

In honour of the launch of the Popular Pet Show, Angus recalls a diplomatic incident with an over-excited golden retriever.

The World of Thea Proctor

The World of Thea Proctor is the Portrait Gallery's second major biographical exhibition - that is, the second exhibition to focus exclusively on the life and work of a single individual

Alex Jelinek

Alex Jelinek (1925–2007), architect and designer, graduated from the technical building school of Hradec Králové, near Prague, during World War II.

1 portrait in the collection

David McAllister

Recorded 2017

John Bell, c. 1968

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

Yvonne Denise Kenny, 1999 (printed 2022)

Polly Borland

Purchased 2022

Vincent Fantauzzo on Hugh Jackman

Recorded 2021

William - Aspendale, 1966 (printed 2015)

Lazar Krum

Gift of the artist 2015

Martin Sharp, c. 1974

Previous exhibition, 2005

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

Glossy 2

Faces, Magazines, Now

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

Max Dupain, Artamon, Sydney, 1979 (printed 2000)

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

Charles Summers

Charles Summers (1825-1878) was an English born sculptor, who came to Australia in 1852.

2 portraits in the collection

Tim Burstall, Andamooka (filming of the Last of the Knucklemen)

Tim Burstall, Andamooka (filming of the Last of the Knucklemen), c. 1979

Rennie Ellis

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006

Dame Helen Blaxland DBE

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

1 portrait in the collection

Jim Paterson

Jim Paterson, painter, printmaker and sculptor, was born in Melbourne and completed his diploma in Fine Arts at Prahran Technical College in 1969.

1 portrait in the collection

Penelope Seidler, 2019 (printed 2021)

Portrait, pigment ink print on paper

Purchased 2021

Mandy Martin, 1990

Portrait, type C Duraflex print on paper

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

Thousand Mile Stare

Portrait photography by John Elliott

Thousand mile stare provides a unique portrait of people of rural Australia

Greg Weight

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Greg Weight is a Sydney-based photographer who grew up in Dee Why. He opened his own studio in 1968, taking advertising and magazine photographs and working with the Australian Opera and the Australian Ballet.

113 portraits in the collection

Glenn Murcutt, 1992

Ken Done

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

Jeffrey Smart, 1992

Portrait, pastel on paper

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

Michael with beetroot sprouting, 2008

Janet Dawson

Purchased 2015

Jiawei Shen, 2011

Gary Grealy

John Noone after William Strutt

Purchased with funds provided by Dr Gene Sherman AM 2016

Opening of the First Legislative Council of Victoria by Governor Charles Joseph LaTrobe at St Patrick's Hall, Bourke Street West, Melbourne November 13th 1851, 1883

Portrait, photolithograph on paper

Purchased 2013

Simon Tedeschi unplugged, 2002

Cherry Hood

Portrait, watercolour on canvas

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

Jenny Munro

Previous exhibition, 2013

Jenny Munro (b. 1956) is a Wiradjuri elder and prominent activist for Aboriginal rights and sovereignty.

1 portrait in the collection

Judy Cassab

The artist's diary

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

Julia Gillard, 2013

Peter Brew-Bevan

Gift of the artist 2013

Christine Audrey Pecket painting 'Self Portrait in a Brown Coat at the Sydney Technical College'

Christine A. Pecket

Christine Audrey Pecket (1908–1996), artist, was three years old when her family emigrated to Sydney from Yorkshire.

2 portraits in the collection

Hon. Chris Watson

John Christian Watson, known as Chris Watson (1867-1941), Australia’s third Prime Minister, was born in Valparaiso, Chile, grew up in New Zealand and left school at 10 years of age to work on railway construction projects.

1 portrait in the collection

Leon Gellert

Leon Gellert (1892-1977), poet and journalist, was a physical education teacher at Hindmarsh Public School in his native Adelaide in 1914.

1 portrait in the collection

Josonia Palaitis

Portrait, oil on canvas (diptych)

Josonia Palaitis trained as an art teacher in Sydney in the early 1970s, and experimented with diverse painting styles before settling into the photorealist mode for which she became best known.

1 portrait in the collection

Neville and Jill Wran - as the Duke and Duchess of Sydney (with apologies to Piero della Francesca), 1983

Frank Hodgkinson

Gift of Mrs Kate Hodgkinson 1999. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Toni Maticevski, 2009 (printed 2010)

Dave Tacon

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Dame Zaha Hadid

Michael Craig-Martin

Graham Kennedy and the Seekers in Melbourne

Graham Kennedy and the Seekers in Melbourne, c. 1968

Robert Whitaker

Grace Cossington Smith OBE

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2007

Dancer

Touring exhibition, 2024

From letting loose in the loungeroom to enthralling audiences on stage, this exhibition celebrates dance and dancers.

Self portrait, 1948

Portrait, oil on cardboard

Purchased 2002

Sonia McMahon

Portrait, oil on canvas on board

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

1 portrait in the collection

Mary Ware, c. 1854

Robert Dowling

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

Omai, A Native of Ulaietea, 1774

Francesco Bartolozzi after Nathaniel Dance

Purchased with funds provided by Robert Oatley AO 2007

Mark Strizic

Mark Strizic (1928-2012) was born in Berlin and migrated to Australia via Croatia in 1950.

12 portraits in the collection

Klaus Friedeberger

Klaus Friedeberger (1922-2019) fled Germany for England at the age of sixteen, and the next year found himself on the Dunera bound for internment in Australia.

3 portraits in the collection

Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE, 2006

Avril Thomas

Commissioned 2006

Dr Paul Scully-Power, 2005

Evert Ploeg

Purchased with funds provided by donors 2006

Stan de Teliga, 1973

Vaike Liibus

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Liibus family 2015

Robert Klippel AO

Robert Klippel AO (1920–2001) is considered by some to be the most significant sculptor Australia has yet produced.

5 portraits in the collection

Leonard French, 1980s (printed 2018)

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on composition board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Deborah Kelly

Artists and Collectives

Deborah Kelly, based between Gadigal Country, Sydney and Jerrinja Country, Currarong, is known for her multi-disciplinary, exuberant and diverse participatory collages and costumes that come to life in workshops and performances.

Chrissy Amphlett "Temperamental", 1989

Ivan Durrant

Gift of the artist 2001. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Richard Windeyer

Richard Windeyer (1806-1847), journalist, barrister and politician, was the eldest of the ten children born to Charles Windeyer and his wife Ann Mary and remained in England when the rest of his family went to New South Wales.

3 portraits in the collection

Megan Gale

Megan Gale (b. 1975), model, entrepreneur and media personality, achieved fame in Italy before becoming widely recognised in Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Pamela Thalben-Ball

Magazine article by Michelle Fracaro, 2004

Pamela Thalben-Ball (1927–2012), daughter of the artist Evelyn Chapman, studied art at the Heatherley Art School in London from 1946 to 1950.

2 portraits in the collection

101 photographic portraits

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

Marianne Egan

Mary Anne Egan (also Marianne or Marian, née Cheers, 1818–1857), was born in Sydney, the daughter of ex-convicts.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Asher Joel, n.d.

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

Kenneth Rowell AM

Kenneth Rowell AM (1920–1999), artist and theatre designer, grew up in Melbourne and became intent on a career in the theatre at a young age.

2 portraits in the collection

Marcie Elizabeth Wilson, 1922

George Lambert

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

Lady Isabella Louisa Parry

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Isabella Louisa Parry (née Stanley, 1801–1839), amateur artist, community worker and collector, was the daughter of Sir John Stanley, first Baron Stanley of Alderley, a Whig politician and member of the Royal Society.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Albert Victor Jennings, 1984

Kate Gollings

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2001

Ethel Anderson

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

2 portraits in the collection

The Honorable Sir Frederick Darley, c. 1887

Henry Samuel Sadd

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2009

George Barrington

Batchelder & Company Photo

George Barrington (1755-1804) was the best-known 'gentleman thief' of late eighteenth-century London.

3 portraits in the collection

Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, c. 1870

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

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

Joan Kerr

Joan Kerr (1938-2004), art historian, writer and lecturer, was responsible for several key reference texts on Australian art.

1 portrait in the collection

Ethel Turner

Ethel Turner (1870-1958), writer, came to Australia with her twice-widowed mother at the age of nine.

1 portrait in the collection

Noah Taylor, 1994 (printed 2010)

Ross Honeysett

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2010

Marilyn Darling AC, 2010

Portrait, colour transparency on lightbox

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2010

John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, c. 1774

Valentine Green after Johann Zoffany

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Portrait of a lady (Sonia McMahon), 1999

Esther Erlich

Gift of an anonymous donor 2014

Social currency (Eva Cox), 1999

Kim Spooner

Portrait, encaustic on canvas

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

Richard Rouse

Richard Rouse (1774-1852), grazier and landowner, came to New South Wales in 1801 as a free settler with his wife Elizabeth (née Adams, 1772-1849) and the first two of their nine children.

1 portrait in the collection

Reg Livermore AO

Reg Livermore AO (b. 1938), stage and television entertainer, began performing as a teenager, hiring local venues to mount his own pantomimes.

2 portraits in the collection

Antonia Blaxland

Previous exhibition, 2009

Antonia Blaxland (1929-1989), photographer, was the great-great granddaughter of Gregory Blaxland, leader of the successful Blue Mountains expedition in 1813.

1 portrait in the collection

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009

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

Robert Lowe, Viscount Sherbrooke

Portrait, oil on paper laid down on board

Robert Lowe, Viscount Sherbrooke (1811-1892), politician, studied and tutored in law at Oxford before coming to Australia in 1842.

4 portraits in the collection

Judith Wright with Barbara Blackman, c. 1956

Charles Blackman OBE

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

Lord John Russell, 1844

Samuel Bellin after Thomas Heathfield Carrick

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

Glenn Murcutt, 1980 (printed 2017)

Robert McFarlane

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Preparatory study for Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE

Preparatory study for Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE, 2005

Avril Thomas

Commissioned 2006

Lloyd Rees - Laughing, 1975

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

Lloyd Rees - portrait, 1983

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

Marea Gazzard, 1966

Judy Cassab AO CBE

Portrait, oil on masonite

Gift of Marea Gazzard 2005. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Lady [Hannah] Lloyd Jones, 1970

Judy Cassab AO CBE

Gift of Charles E. Lloyd Jones and Kim Lloyd Jones 2019. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Self Portrait (Textanude) by Arlene TextaQueen

Animated

Self Portraits Online

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

Rennie Ellis

Aussies All

Portrait, pen and ink, pencil on paper laid on cardboard

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

Self portrait, n.d.

Ada May Plante

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

The Bushranger Tragedy (from The Australasian Sketcher, 23 November 1878), 1878

an unknown artist, The Australasian Sketcher

Portrait, wood engraving on paper

Purchased 2003

Helen Garner, 2004

Julian Kingma

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

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.

The Hon Gough Whitlam, Ossie Cruse and Michael Anderson, 1981 (printed 2003)

Gift of the artist 2005. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Rayner Hoff

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

2 portraits in the collection

Thomas Brassey

Previous exhibition, 2023

Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey (1836–1918), politician and governor, studied law and modern history at Oxford, but abandoned law for a career in politics two years after being called to the Bar.

1 portrait in the collection

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.

Geoffrey Dutton AO

Geoffrey Dutton AO (1922–1998) was a prodigious writer and editor whose published works comprise poetry, novels, children's books, biographies, art history and literary criticism.

1 portrait in the collection

Linda Burney MLA Canturbury and Rick Farley at home, Marrickville

Linda Burney MLA Canturbury and Rick Farley at home, Marrickville, 2003

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

Leonard French, Heathcote, Victoria, 1969 (printed 2000)

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

Portrait of the Seventh Earl of Hopetoun, the Rt Hon. John Hope

Rt Hon John Adrian Louis Hope KT GCMG GCVO PC

Portrait, coloured chalk on artist board

Rt Hon John Adrian Louis Hope KT GCMG GCVO PC, 7th Earl of Hopetoun (1860–1908) was the first governor general of Australia.

3 portraits in the collection

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

Charles Wheeler

Purchased 2019

General Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1850 (published)

James Faed, W Wilding after John Watson Gordon

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

Sir Alec N. Broers

Alec Nigel Broers, Lord Broers FRS, HonFMedSci, FREng (b. 1938) was Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University from 1996 to 2003.

1 portrait in the collection

Lady [Hannah] Lloyd Jones OBE

Portrait, oil and hand-stitching on canvas

Hannah Benyon Lloyd Jones OBE (1901–1982) was the third wife of Sir Charles Lloyd Jones, the chairman of David Jones from 1920 until his death in 1958.

3 portraits in the collection

A man and his music: Peter Weiss and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, 1995

Kerrie Lester

Gift of Peter Weiss AO 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Australian of the Year

Inspiring a Nation

Previous exhibition, 2010

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

Walter Langhammer

Walter Langhammer went to India before World War 2, fleeing the Nazis in Austria.

1 portrait in the collection

Lloyd Rees - Brushes, 1983

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

Lloyd Rees - silhouette, 1983

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

Bob Brown at his home in Liffey, 1988 (printed 2013)

Helga Leunig

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Helga Leunig 2013

Gough and John, 1981

Peter van der Veer

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Edward Knox Jnr and Thomas Forster Knox.

Edward Knox Jnr and Thomas Forster Knox., c. 1855

Portrait, daguerreotype

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Peter Halliday in memory of Norah Knox 2010

Sir Clive McPherson

Sir Clive McPherson (1884-1958), pastoralist and businessman, was the son of a bank manager, and his mother was a pianist who came from a pastoral family.

1 portrait in the collection

Dame Helen Blaxland, 1986

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

Seeing stars

Celebrating Science Week

Portrait, cast bronze medallion on wood plaque

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.

Sir Howard Florey OM KBE FRS FAA, 1985

Andor Meszaros

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Ray Marginson AM 2001

Yvonne D. Kenny AM

Previous exhibition, 2018

Australian soprano Yvonne Kenny AM (b. 1950) studied science at the University of Sydney before deciding to pursue an opera career instead.

1 portrait in the collection

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.

Collette Dinnigan AO

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

Martha Knox, c. 1855

Portrait, daguerreotype

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Peter Halliday in memory of Norah Knox 2010

Megan Gale, 2002

Ellen Dahl

Gift of the artist 2006

Lan Wang, Xini, Jiawei Shen and Billy, 2010

Purchased 2012

Kenneth Wyatt AM

Noongar, Yamatji, Wongi man, Kenneth George Wyatt AM (b. 1952) is an Australian politician.

1 portrait in the collection

Norman Gunston and Denise Drysdale, 1976 (printed 2010)

Bruce Postle

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by James Bain AM and Janette Bain 2010

Ruby Hunter, 1996 (printed 2012)

Purchased 2012

Great stylists: Caruso, Melba, Pavarotti, Bonynge and Sutherland

Dame Nellie Melba GBE

Dame Nellie Melba GBE (1861–1931), world-renowned soprano, was born Helen Porter Mitchell in Melbourne.

8 portraits in the collection

Edward William Knox Jnr

Edward William Knox (1847-1933), industrialist, was the second of four surviving sons of Sir Edward Knox, founder of the Colonial Sugar Refining Co, and his wife Martha Rutledge (sister of merchant, banker and settler William Rutlege).

3 portraits in the collection

Max Dupain OBE

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen on paper

Max Dupain OBE (1911–1992) was a pioneering modernist photographer.

98 portraits in the collection

Whitlam & Snedden, 1974

Frank Hinder

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

Kenneth Gillespie, 2005

Dean Beletich

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Purchased 2015

Trevor Jamieson

Trevor Jamieson (b. 1975), Pitjantjatjara/Nyungar actor, didgeridoo player, guitarist, singer, dancer and storyteller, grew up in the Goldfields region of Western Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait bust of Dr Christine Rivett, c. 1950 (cast 1955-1956)

Daphne Mayo MBE

Portrait, cast bronze

Gift of Justice Ian Callinan 1999. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Jiawei Shen

Jiawei Shen (b. 1948), artist, was born in China in 1948 and began to gain recognition as a painter during the Cultural Revolution.

13 portraits in the collection

Jackie French

Five Years of National Portrait Gallery Commissions

Recorded 2022

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

Thea Proctor

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

3 portraits in the collection

Dame Joan Sutherland, c. 1977

Robert Hannaford AM

Portrait, oil on board

Gift of William Bowmore AO OBE 2003. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Ada May Plante

Ada May Plante (1875–1950), artist, was born in New Zealand and came to Melbourne with her family in 1888.

1 portrait in the collection

Geoffrey Legge and Frank Watters, 2008

Gary Grealy

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2010

Sir William Deane AC KBE KC

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

1 portrait in the collection

Yellow portrait (portrait of Alex Jelinek), 1955

Lina Bryans

Portrait, oil on plywood

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Paul and James Bryans 2015. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Nick Cave, 1973 (printed 1991)

Ashley Mackevicius

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

Leon Gellert with mask, 1936

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

Rhoda Roberts

Rhoda Roberts AO (b. 1960) is a Bundjalung woman from northern New South Wales, and a producer, director, writer, broadcaster, performer and arts executive.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Allen, 1980

William Yang

Purchased 2003

Charles Lloyd Jones, n.d.

Portrait, pen and ink on paper

Gift of Mrs Lily Kahan 2017. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Considering Persephone - Gay Bilson, 2009

Leeanne Crisp

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Purchased with funds provided by Jan and Gary Whyte, Brian and Barbara Crisp, Gloria Kurtze, Jonathon Mills and Lawsoft Pty Ltd 2011

Robert Hannaford AM

Robert Hannaford AM (b. 1944), a largely self-taught artist, grew up on his family farm near the small South Australian town of Riverton before working as political cartoonist for the Adelaide Advertiser from 1964 to 1967.

6 portraits in the collection

Clement Meadmore, c. 1978

Lewis Morley

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

Jon Lewis, 1990 (printed 2002)

Lewis Morley

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

Rhoda Roberts, c. 2000

Penny Tweedie

Gift of the artist 2004

Avril and Miya, 1990 (printed 2013)

Michael Riley

Portrait, single channel moving image, colour, sound, 2 minutes, 47 seconds

Purchased 2013

Sir William Deane 2008, 2008

Merilyn Fairskye

Purchased 2011

Alan Goldberg AO QC

Alan Goldberg AO QC (1940-2016), Federal Court judge, was born into a pioneering Jewish Melbourne family and graduated from the University of Melbourne law school in the early 1960s.

1 portrait in the collection

Simon Tedeschi

Simon Tedeschi (b. 1981), award-winning classical pianist, grew up in Sydney, and essentially abandoned his school lessons as an adolescent to concentrate on his piano studies with Neta Maughan.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir James Fergusson

Sir James Fergusson (1832–1907), governor, was educated at Rugby School and was still a student there when he succeeded his father as Baronet of Kilkerran in 1849.

1 portrait in the collection

Aldershot Cavalry (Major General Reginald Talbot)

Hon. Sir Reginald Talbot KCB

The Hon Sir Reginald Talbot KCB (1841-1929), army officer and English MP, was governor of Victoria from April 1904 to July 1908.

1 portrait in the collection

Essie Coffey (Bush Queen) and Orlando Gemes, 1978 (printed 2003)

Portrait, pen and ink on paper

Gift of the artist 2005. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Barton and Watson, 1902

G. H. Dancey

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Bob Brown

Bob Brown (b. 1944), environmentalist, doctor and former politician, is an environmental campaigner and former Parliamentary Leader of the Australian Greens.

2 portraits in the collection

Marcia Langton, 2013

Purchased 2015

Anna F. Walker

Anna Frances Walker (1830–1913), botanical artist and collector, was one of the thirteen children of Thomas Walker, a high-ranking colonial public servant, and his wife Anna Elizabeth, the daughter of merchant and landowner John Blaxland.

1 portrait in the collection

Meryl Tankard AO

Meryl Tankard AO (b. 1955) is an internationally renowned dancer, choreographer, director and filmmaker.

1 portrait in the collection

Martin Sharp

Martin Sharp (1942-2013), printmaker, painter, cartoonist, designer, songwriter and film-maker, is one of Australia's foremost pop artists.

7 portraits in the collection

Harold Blair AO

Previous exhibition, 2019

Harold Blair AO (1924–1976), singer and Indigenous advocate, spent his youth on the Purga Mission, and began singing in local concerts on the canefields in the Childers area.

1 portrait in the collection

Primed

Some Prime Ministers

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

James Houston

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

Ann Moyal, 1957

Pamela Thalben-Ball

Gift of Ann Moyal 2012. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Stevie Wright

Stevie Wright (1947-2015), singer songwriter, came to Australia from England at the age of nine.

2 portraits in the collection

Harold Parker

Harold Parker (1873-1962), sculptor, came to Brisbane with his English parents as a three-year old.

1 portrait in the collection

Meryl Tankard, 2005

Ingvar Kenne

Gift of the artist 2006

The photographer's shadow (Olive Cotton and Max Dupain)

The photographer's shadow (Olive Cotton and Max Dupain), c. 1935 (printed 1999)

Olive Cotton

Purchased 2010

Christine Rivett

Portraits in the Landscape

Amy Christine Rivett (1891–1962), doctor, contributed greatly to medicine and women's health.

1 portrait in the collection

Open Air

Previous exhibition, 1999

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

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.

John Perceval, 1985

Rick Amor

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

Penelope Seidler AM

Portrait, cast bronze on granite base

Penelope Seidler AM (b. 1938), architect, is one of three children of barrister and state parliamentarian Clive Evatt QC (1900–1984) and his wife Marjorie.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Robert Gibson, 1934

Paul Montford

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of The Australian Industry Group 2012

Eva Cox AO

Eva Cox AO (b. 1938), academic, feminist and social activist, emigrated to Australia in 1948 after her Jewish family had reunited following separation during the war.

1 portrait in the collection

Richard Morecroft & Alison Mackay, 2016

Gary Grealy

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2018

Lady Maisie Drysdale

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

1 portrait in the collection

Vincent Fantauzzo

Previous exhibition, 2022

Vincent Fantauzzo (b. 1977), award-winning portrait artist, was born in England and grew up in Melbourne's northern suburbs.

2 portraits in the collection

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 Architecture of Music (Vladimir Ashkenazy), 2011

Ralph Heimans AM

Contemporary women artists make Australian history

Gift of Michael Crouch AC and Shanny Crouch 2017

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

So Fine

Previous exhibition, 2018

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

Dr Who?

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2002

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.

Lord Casey, c. 1932

Charles Wheeler

Portrait, conté, brush and ink on paper

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

Helen Garner

Helen Garner (b. 1942), author and journalist, is one of Australia's best-known writers.

8 portraits in the collection

Harold Blair, 1948

Ernest Buckmaster

Purchased 2010

Jon Molvig

Helge Jon Molvig was born and grew up in Newcastle, where he left school at thirteen and worked in a garage and at the steelworks.

6 portraits in the collection

The Destruction of the Kelly gang (from The Australasian Sketcher, 17 July 1880)

Joe Byrne

Joe Byrne (1857-1880), born to Irish Catholic parents like the others in Ned Kelly’s ‘gang’, showed promise at school but left as a twelve year old, after his father died.

1 portrait in the collection

Juno Gemes

Photographer and social justice activist Juno Gemes (b. 1944) has spent much of her long career documenting the lives and struggles of First Nations people.

38 portraits in the collection

Missy Higgins

Melissa 'Missy' Higgins (b. 1983), singer/songwriter, began singing in her early teens, falsifying her age to get into clubs to play with her brother's jazz combo.

1 portrait in the collection

Reinis Zusters

Reinis Zusters studied art briefly in Germany before arriving in Australia as a Latvian refugee in 1950.

2 portraits in the collection

Ria Murch

Ria Murch (1918-2014), writer and muse, was brought up in King’s Cross and attended the Thosophist school in Mosman before acquiring secretarial skills at Miss Hales Business College.

1 portrait in the collection

Richard Gardiner Casey KG GCMG CH

Richard Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey of Berwick, Victoria and the City of Westminster KG GCMG CH (1890-1976), politician and statesman, was born in Brisbane and educated in Melbourne and at Cambridge.

3 portraits in the collection

Dame Nellie Melba,

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on cabinet card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2007

People are people

Magazine article by Sandra Bruce, 2022

Sandra Bruce chats with seven-time NPPP finalist Chris Budgeon about photography, guitars and representing the human story.

Jenny Sages

Paths to Portraiture

Previous exhibition, 2010

The exhibition Sages examines the process of portrait making through four large-scale portraits of women by Jenny Sages, paired with intimate preparatory drawings.

Study for a portrait of Dame Merlyn Myer DBE

Dame Margery Merlyn Baillieu Myer DBE

Portrait, pencil, charcoal and pastel on paper

Dame Margery Merlyn Baillieu Myer DBE (1900–1982), philanthropist and fundraiser, was the daughter of a hotelier, George Baillieu.

1 portrait in the collection

Geoffrey Dutton - out with the Monarchy, 1977

Frank Hinder

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

Lina Bryans

Lina Bryans OAM (1909-2000), artist, was born into a prosperous Melbourne family and grew up moving freely between Toorak and Europe.

3 portraits in the collection

Geoffrey Dyer

Geoff Dyer (1947-2020) was renowned landscape and portrait painter whose practice depicted Tasmania and its people.

1 portrait in the collection

Alan Goldberg, 2014

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

Ruby Hunter

NPPP 2012 learning resource

Ruby Hunter (1955-2010), singer/songwriter, was a Ngarrindjeri/ Kukatha/ Pitjantjatjara woman from South Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

John McRae

An interview with the photographer.

Observation point

Magazine article by Rick Amor, 2021

While visiting the National Portrait Gallery I noticed the absence of paintings of journalists.

John Richard Tindale, 1841

Maurice Felton

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Mary Tindale, 1841

Maurice Felton

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

William Charles Wentworth -The Australian Patriot

The Wentworths – Hidden in Plain Sight

Magazine article by Dr Grace Blakeley-Carroll, 2015

Grace Carroll on the gendered world of the Wentworths.

George Moore, 1957

Ern McQuillan OAM

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

John Gollings

Previous exhibition, 2003

John Gollings made his first photographs and received darkroom tuition at age eleven; he later studied Arts/Architecture at Melbourne University, supporting himself through architectural and wedding photography.

3 portraits in the collection

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

New Chief Patron for the National Portrait Gallery

8 March 2016

Archived media releases 2016

Mrs Lucy Hughes Turnbull AO has accepted an invitation to become the new Chief Patron of the National Portrait Gallery.

Omai

Omai (Mai) (c. 1750-1778), the first Polynesian to visit Britain, was a young man of middling social standing who volunteered to sail from Huahine to England with Captain Furneaux on the Adventure (the ship accompanying James Cook's Resolution on Cook's second voyage of discovery (1772-1775).

2 portraits in the collection

John Williams

John Williams (1796-1839), missionary, began his working life in 1810, apprenticed to an ironmonger, but in 1814 he underwent an Evangelical conversion and became a member of the Tabernacle Church (Calvinistic Methodist).

1 portrait in the collection

Rev. William Singleton

The Reverend William Singleton (c. 1804-1875), Anglican clergyman, graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 1826 and was ordained in the city’s Christ Church Cathedral in 1841.

1 portrait in the collection

Ken Wyatt, 2019 (printed 2020)

Alex Ellinghausen

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2007

Purchased 2022

Oz and beyond

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

To Look Within

Self Portraits in Australia

Portrait, oil on canvas board

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

Geoffrey Tozer, 1966

Rollo Thomson

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Estate of Geoffrey Tozer 2012

Richard Rouse (copy of drawing by William Griffith), c. 1847

Portrait, pencil, ink and watercolour on paper

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

William Bligh

William Bligh (1754-1817), naval officer, was born in Plymouth and first went to sea at around the age of eight.

3 portraits in the collection

Karla Dickens

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

2 portraits in the collection

William Bligh, c. 1776

John Webber

Significant Australian Women 1913–2013

Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family 2015

First Ladies

Previous exhibition, 2013

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

Hon. Linda Jean Burney

Murray Fredericks, Lisa Giles

The Hon. Linda Jean Burney MP (b. 1957), a Wiradjuri woman, is the first First Nations person elected to the New South Wales parliament, and the first First Nations woman to serve in the federal House of Representatives.

2 portraits in the collection

Matt Moran, 2004

Gift of the artists 2005

James G. Beaney

Previous exhibition, 2023

James George Beaney (1828–1891), doctor and philanthropist, completed an apprenticeship to a surgeon in his home town of Canterbury, Kent, before leaving to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh.

1 portrait in the collection

Time and light

In Gallery Seven

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.

Barbara Tribe

Barbara Tribe (1913–2000), artist, is one of Australia's most significant sculptors.

4 portraits in the collection

Neville Bonner AO

Neville Bonner (1922–1999) was the first Indigenous Australian elected to federal parliament.

2 portraits in the collection

Norma Redpath

Archived media releases 2019

Norma Redpath OBE (1928-2013), sculptor, studied at Swinburne and RMIT and undertook broad travel studies in Europe in the 1950s.

2 portraits in the collection

National Portrait Gallery takes out top gong in MAPDA awards

16 May 2019

The National Portrait Gallery is thrilled to be named the winner of the Museums Australasia Multimedia and Publication Design Awards in the category of exhibition major catalogue level B, for our publication So Fine: Contemporary women artists make Australian history.

Grace Cossington Smith OBE

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

1 portrait in the collection

Alexander Macleay

Alexander McLeay (aka Macleay) (1767-1848), public servant and entomologist, acquired an interest in insects while working as a clerk in London.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir John Young

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2007

Sir John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar (1807-1876), governor of New South Wales from 1861 to 1867, was the son of a director of the East India Co.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of a patron

A new painting by Jiawei Shen captures the vision and resolve of the Gallery's founder, L. Gordon Darling AC CMG.

Danila Vassilieff

Danila Vassilieff, born in Russia, arrived in Australia in the early 1920s having served in a Cossack cavalry regiment, been captured by Communist forces and escaped via Persia and India to China.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Alec Campbell, 2001-2004

Terry Eichler

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Stevie Wright, 1975 (printed 2011)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Anne Levy AO

Chefs, winemakers, providores

Anne Levy AO (b. 1934), politician, was the first woman to preside in an Australian parliament.

1 portrait in the collection

Masters of Fare

Previous exhibition, 2005

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.

Clifton Pugh

Australians

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

Sir Tristan Antico, 1993 (printed 2018)

Tom Durkin, The Weekly Times

Purchased 2018

A Collins Street Surgeon "Patients and Diamonds" [Dr Beaney F.R.C.S.], 1874

Portrait, lithograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

Self portrait with gladioli, 1922

George Lambert

Gift of John Schaeffer AO 2003. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Wendy Whiteley OAM

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Wendy Whiteley OAM (b. 1941) is recognised as cultural icon, gardener and activist, who first came to prominence as the wife of renowned Australian artist Brett Whiteley.

1 portrait in the collection

Uncommon Australians

Previous exhibition, 2015

This exhibition showcases portraits acquired through the generosity of the National Portrait Gallery’s Founding Patrons, L Gordon Darling AC CMG and Marilyn Darling AC.

Donated duo

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

Dr Sarah Engledow writes about the gift of two striking paintings by the Australian artist Ken Done AM.

Sideshow Alley

Previous exhibition, 2015

Death masks, post-mortem drawings and other spooky and disquieting portraits... Come and see how portraits of infamous Australians were used in the 19th century.

David Lloyd Jones

David Lloyd Jones (1931–1961) was the great-grandson of the original David Jones – who founded the eponymous department store in Sydney in 1838 – and the eldest son of Sir Charles Lloyd Jones (1878–1958), who was chairman of David Jones Ltd from 1920 until his death.

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait, 1934

Nora Heysen AM

Purchased 1999

Tribute

Stevie Wright

Magazine article, 2016

Stevie Wright (1947-2015), singer-songwriter, came to Australia from England at the age of nine.

Sir Ernest Fisk, n.d. (after 1937)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mrs Jane Fisk 2012

The Coronation Theatre, Westminster Abbey: A Portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 2012

Imagination

Dr Sarah Engledow tells the story of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee portrait by Australian artist Ralph Heimans.

John Russell

John Russell, 1st Earl Russell KG GCMG PC (1792 –1878) was Secretary of State for War and the Colonies from 1839 to 1841 and served twice as Prime Minister of Great Britain, in 1846-1852 and 1865-1866.

1 portrait in the collection

Carl Cooper

Archived media releases 2015

Carl Cooper (1912-1966), ceramic decorator, contracted poliomyelitis in his twenties.

1 portrait in the collection

Triumphant weekend for Gallery at MAPDAs

25 May 2015

The National Portrait Gallery has had its most successful Multimedia and Publication Design Awards (MAPDAs) ever, winning four awards across multiple categories. The awards were presented at a ceremony at the Australian Maritime Museum last Friday night.

Binem Grunstein

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2020

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

History

About us

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

The elegant thinker

Sarah Engledow pens a fond farewell to acclaimed science historian Ann Moyal.

Frank Fenner AC CMG MBE, 2007

Jude Rae

Magazine article by Yvette Coppersmith, 2017

Commissioned with funds provided by Mr Anthony Adair and Ms Karen MacLeod 2007

Nude Self Portrait, after Rah Fizelle 2016 by Yvette Coppersmith

Observation point

Yvette Coppersmith considers the influences on her portrait painting.

Angus Trumble with Portrait of Sir Joseph Banks by Thomas Phillips

Banksia and grevillea

Portraits can render honour to remarkable men and women, but there are other ways.

Sue Ford

Magazine article by Ellen Kent, 2007

Sue Ford (née Winslow, 1943–2009), photographer, filmmaker and photo-media artist, grew up in the beachside suburbs of Melbourne and became interested in photography while on holiday in Europe at age 17.

2 portraits in the collection

Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pours soil into the hand of traditional land owner Vincent Lingiari

A handful of sand

Ellen Kent examines the portrait of Vincent Lingiari and Prime Minister Gough Whitlam taken by photographer Mervyn Bishop.

Trumble's way

Portrait, lithograph on paper

At the end of a summer break one is tempted to say that there is nothing much to report. Isn’t one restful holiday very much like another?

Self portrait, 1921

Thea Proctor

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

Claude Spurgeon Charlick

Claude Spurgeon Charlick (1893-1974), businessman, was managing director of the Adelaide firm Charlick Ltd for nearly forty years.

1 portrait in the collection

Archie Roach AC

Archie Roach AC (1956–2022), singer/songwriter and storyteller, has been described as the voice of the Stolen Generations.

2 portraits in the collection

Paul Cox, 2015

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

The National Portrait Gallery's 20th birthday party

The National Portrait Gallery's 20th Anniversary

Magazine article by Dr Grace Blakeley-Carroll, 2015

Last month we marked the twentieth anniversary of the formal establishment of the National Portrait Gallery, the tenth of the opening of our signature building, and the fifth of our having become a statutory authority under Commonwealth legislation.

Christian Waller with Baldur, Undine and Siren at Fairy Hills, 1932 by Napier Waller

Enigma

Grace Carroll contemplates the curious case of Christian Waller.

Caroline Chisholm

Caroline Chisholm (1808–1877), philanthropist and political agitator, spent almost two decades working to improve conditions for immigrants to Australia.

2 portraits in the collection

Dame Enid Lyons AD GBE

Portrait, pastel on paper

Dame Enid Lyons AD GBE (1897–1981) was the first woman elected to the Federal House of Representatives.

1 portrait in the collection

Professor Derek Denton, 2009

Janet Dawson

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

Elizabeth Cosson AM CSC

Magazine article by Lauren Dalla, 2003

Elizabeth Cosson AM CSC (b.1958) enlisted in the Australian Army in 1979 and was the first woman to be promoted to the rank of Major General in the Australian Army in 2007.

1 portrait in the collection

A gift from the heart

Lauren Dalla examines the life of Basil Bressler, the art patron responsible for one of the NPG's most important bequests.

Ken Done

With a mum who was married to a tradie, you’d think it a fair chance that the baby Jesus would have grown up with a dog in the house.

Archie Roach, 1992 (printed 2010)

Bill McAuley

Purchased 2010

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.

The Reverend Ralph Sutton, 1935

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on card

Gift of Reverend Ralph Sutton's daughters Arlene Howes and Megan Newman in memory of Ralph Sutton and in tribute to his wife Dorothy Sutton 2011

Russell Crowe, 1995 (printed 2016)

Stuart Spence

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

David Cossini

Godfrey's amazing man. I've known him for four years now. He has a very tough story.

Brett Whiteley - portrait 1, 1975

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

Robert Fielding

Robert Fielding (b. 1969) is a contemporary artist of Pakistani, Afghan, Western Arrente and Yankunytjatjara descent, who lives in Mimili Community in the remote Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands.

24 portraits in the collection

Nancy Wake AC

Nancy Wake AC (1912–2011) was one of the most-decorated women of the Second World War.

1 portrait in the collection

John Dunn

John Dunn (1802-1894), flour miller and philanthropist, eked out a mean living as a mill manager in England before migrating to South Australia with his wife and son in 1840.

1 portrait in the collection

Prime Ministers

On the day before the Hon. E. G. Whitlam, AC, QC, died last month, at the great age of 98, there were seven former prime ministers of Australia still living, plus the incumbent Mr. Abbott – eight in all.

Portrait of Caroline Chisholm, c. 1851

Purchased 2001

Discussion between Bob Hawke and Yunupingu, Burunga Festival, Northern Territory

Discussion between Bob Hawke and Yunupingu, Burunga Festival, Northern Territory, 1988 (printed 2015)

Sue Ford

Purchased 2015

Sir George Houston Reid GCB GCMG KC

Sir George Houstoun Reid GCB GCMG KC (1845-1918) was Australian prime minister from August 1904 to July 1905.

3 portraits in the collection

Stevie Wright, 2003 (printed 2005)

Gregory McBean

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Ann Moyal AM

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2020

Ann Moyal AM (1926-2019), historian, was educated in Sydney and Canberra, and gained her first class honours degree in Arts from the University of Sydney in 1947.

1 portrait in the collection

Self-portrait in black jumper, 2017 Graeme Drendel

Be frank

Close encounters are the genesis for Graeme Drendel’s enticing portraiture.

Cooey! An Australian Song

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite

"Coo-ey, Coo-ey, Coo-ey, Coo-ey—Love has caught the strain, Coo-ey, Coo-ey, Coo-ey, Coo-ey—it whispers back again." The “Australian lady” who composed these fruity lyrics was none other than Desda— Jane Davies, sometime Messiter (née Price) of Leddicott, Lavender Bay.

Frances Perry, c. 1863

Batchelder & O'Neill

Purchased 2012

Queen Alexandra and Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia, Hvidore, circa 1908 by Mary Steen

The cost of living luxuriously

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

In 1904, the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia purchased as a gift for her sister, Queen Alexandra, a fan composed of two-color gold, guilloché enamel, mother-of-pearl, blond tortoiseshell, gold sequins, silk, cabochon rubies, and rose diamonds from the House of Fabergé in Saint Petersburg.

James Macpherson Grant, c. 1870s

Paterson Brothers

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of John McPhee 2018

Goollabal (Rainbow Serpent), 2018 by Shirley Purdie

Memories

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2003

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

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.

Li Cunxin, 2017–2018

by Jun Chen

Portrait, pencil, chalk and gouache on paper

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2018

Jessie Robertson, c. 1849

Thomas Bock

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

Untitled (girl on chair with red shoes) by Violet Frisby

Finding Mrs Frisby

Magazine article by Robyn Sweaney, 2016

Robyn Sweaney's quiet Violet obsession.

Nellie Melba, 1898

Ernest Walter Histed

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Kristin Headlam

Magazine article by Lauretta Morton, 2006

Basil grew into a speckled beauty – a long-legged leaper and an exceptionally vocal dog, with a great register of sounds, ascending in shock value from a whimper to a growl to a bark to a yelp that’s a violation of the ears.

Nadiah Bamadhaj

by Beverly Yong

Artist essays

Born in Malaysia in 1968, to a Malaysian Muslim father and a New Zealander mother of Scottish descent Nadiah Bamadhaj studied Fine Arts in New Zealand, and is currently working on a PhD from Curtin University, Western Australia.

The news from Washington

Australia's former Cultural Attache to the USA, Ron Ramsey, describes the mood at the opening week of the revitalised American National Portrait Gallery.

Untitled (preparatory study for sculpture of Dr John Yu)

Untitled (preparatory study for sculpture of Dr John Yu), 2003

Ah Xian

Portrait, pencil and white chalk on paper

Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2004

Harold Parker, c. 1906

Bessie Gibson

Portrait, watercolour on ivory in locket frame

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

Country man

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2015

Angus Trumble’s tribute to the late Right Honourable Malcolm Fraser.

Fugue in Yellow

Magazine article by Roger Benjamin, 2015

Roger Benjamin explores the intriguing union of Lina Bryans and Alex Jelinek.

Christian Waller

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2003

Christian Waller (née Yandell, 1894–1954), printmaker, muralist and stained-glass artist, was born in Castlemaine, Victoria and commenced studying art at the Castlemaine School of Mines in 1905.

1 portrait in the collection

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.

Modern Australian Women

Magazine article by Gillian Raymond, 2005

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

Adrian Rawlins

Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

Adrian Rawlins (1939-2001), poet, performer and promoter, grew up in a Jewish household in Caulfield and St Kilda.

1 portrait in the collection

Admiral Bligh, 1801

John Chapman

Purchased 2010

All in the Family

Magazine article by Barbara Blackman AO, 2003

In 2000, Barbara Blackman donated a portrait of her close friends - poet Judith Wright, her husband Jack McKinney and their daughter Meredith - painted by Charles Blackman.

Study for Portrait of W S Robinson, 1952

Sir William Dobell OBE

Portrait, oil on board

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

Archie Roach, 2008

Peter Hudson

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

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

Jemima Bellette

Magazine article by Beatrice Gralton, 2013

George Billett (also Bellett, Bellette and Billet, 1812–1885) was a farmer and landowner, an early settler of Sorell in Tasmania, and the son of two ex-convicts.

1 portrait in the collection

Family collective

Beatrice Gralton looks at a larger than life portrait by Chinese artist Song Dong.

Foundation members announced

18 May 2015

Archived media releases 2015

The newly-established National Portrait Gallery Foundation met for its inaugural meeting last Friday 15 May in Canberra.

Jenny Kee AO

Jenny Kee AO (b. 1947) is a fashion designer and an Australian style icon.

1 portrait in the collection

Thomas Woolner

Magazine article by Dr David Hansen, 2022

Thomas Woolner, sculptor, studied first with the brothers Henry and William Behnes, painter and sculptor respectively, and later at the Royal Academy, at which he was to become professor of sculpture in his fifties.

5 portraits in the collection

Unheroic Materialism: little harmless fragments of memory and association: a portrait of Angus Trumble, 2019 Evert Ploeg

The last word

David Hansen’s tribute to his close friend, prince of words and former National Portrait Gallery director, the late Angus Trumble.

Gotta catch 'em all

Angus Trumble grabs his life jacket and rides the Pokémon GO tsunami.

Martin Sharp, 1986

Garry Shead

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

Archbishop Michael Kelly

Magazine article by Vincent Fantauzzo, 2022

Michael Kelly (1850-1940), Roman Catholic archbishop, was born and educated in Ireland before proceeding to the Irish College in Rome.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait story

Artist Vincent Fantauzzo on dyslexia, connection and virtual sittings with Hugh Jackman.

Madame Sibly, Phrenologist and Mesmerist

Madame Sibly, Phrenologist and Mesmerist, c. 1870

James E. Bray

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite photograph

Purchased 2017

Charles Summers, late 1860s

Batchelder & Company Photo

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite

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

Profile of a marriage

Archived media releases 2018

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.

National Portrait Gallery Director's tenure ends in triumph

30 November 2018

National Portrait Gallery Director Angus Trumble is ending his five-year tenure with a flourish, after announcing that Gallery publication Dempsey’s People: A Folio of British Street Portraits 1824-1844 has been awarded the 2018 William MB Berger Prize for British Art History.

Dissections: Layered portraits from the collection is now open

19 August 2016

Archived media releases 2016

Dissections, showcases the hyper-realist sculptural self-portrait of artist Sam Jinks, Divide, alongside the painted portrait of philosopher David Chalmers by Nick Mourtzakis, which was commissioned by the Gallery in 2011.

Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza and David R. L. Litchfield at Villa Favorita, Lugano, Switzerland, 1989 © Nicola Graydo

The Thyssen Art Macabre

Magazine article by Karen Vickery, 2016

Books seldom make me angry but this one did. At first, I was powerfully struck by the uncanny parallels that existed between the Mellons of Pittsburgh and the Thyssens of the Ruhr through the same period, essentially the last quarter of the nineteenth century.

Diamond Doll

Karen Vickery delights in a thespian thread of the Australian yarn.

George Bellette

George Billett (also Bellett, Bellette and Billet, 1812–1885) was a farmer and landowner, an early settler of Sorell in Tasmania, and the son of two ex-convicts.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Ernest Fisk

Sir Ernest Fisk (1886-1965), radio pioneer and businessman, began his career as one of the earliest wireless telegraphists in the British Post Office.

2 portraits in the collection

Robyn Sweaney

Robyn's parents had two terriers, Wuff and Snuff. In spite of Snuff’s ominous name and a couple of close shaves – once, he jumped out of a moving car, and another time, on a long road trip, he was accidentally left behind at a petrol station – he outlived Wuff.

Lustre, held by a Groom, ca. 1762 by George Stubbs

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.”

Tribute: Mary Isabel Murphy

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

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

Thinking about architecture and portraiture

Dr Christopher Chapman describes the experimental exhibition Portraits + Architecture

Ralph Heimans AM

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

19 portraits in the collection

Magna Carta

Magazine article by Lauren Dalla, 2004

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

Depth of Field

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

True Stories

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2005

The story behind the creation of the portrait of Helen Garner by Jenny Sages.

Catherine Livingstone, 2018

by Mathew Lynn

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2018

The Saint and the merchant

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

Men of High Degree: Kev Carmody (Bundjalung/Lama Lama Peoples)

Men of High Degree: Kev Carmody (Bundjalung/Lama Lama Peoples), 2023

Brenda L Croft, Prue Hazelgrove, Richard Crampton

Portrait, original wet plate collodion process tintype, digital scan to Ultrachrome pigment on paper

Purchased 2023

Martha Kermode, c. 1840

Henry Mundy

Purchased 2008. The original frame for this work was donated to the National Portrait Gallery of Australia by the National Gallery of Victoria 2009.

Robert Kermode, c. 1840

Henry Mundy

Portrait, albumen photograph carte de visite

Purchased 2008. The original frame for this work was donated to the National Portrait Gallery of Australia by the National Gallery of Victoria 2009.

Chang the Chinese Giant with his wife Kin Foo and manager Edward Parlett

Chang the Chinese Giant with his wife Kin Foo and manager Edward Parlett, c. 1871

Archibald McDonald

Purchased 2010

Expect the unexpected

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

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

Duty bound

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

Joanna Gilmour explores the life of colonial women Lady Ellen Stirling, Eliza Darling, Lady Eliza Arthur, Elizabeth Macquarie and Lady Jane Franklin.

Tender tragedies

George Foxhill's self portraits were the subject of a small focus display at the National Portrait Gallery in 2006.

Andrew George Scott, alias Captain Moonlite, c.1879 attributed to Charles Nettleton

Diseased curiosity

Captain Moonlite et al on trial for murder

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

Davida Allen

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2004

Going around a gallery with a child, we point to a painting of a dog and brightly ask ‘What’s that?’ If they don’t say ‘A dog’, we tell them that’s what it is. We don’t say it’s a shape inscribed by an artist that’s popularly understood to signify a dog. That’d only serve to foster a smarty-pants.

Tiny Trace of a Colonial Giant

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.

Very fine and very like

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2004

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

Capturing the Mouse

Nancy Wake AC (b. 1912), one of the most decorated women of World War 2, earned the name the 'White Mouse' for her maddening ability to evade the Gestapo.

The Destruction of the Kelly gang (from The Australasian Sketcher, 17 July 1880), 1880

Tom Carrington, The Australasian Sketcher

Portrait, wood engraving on paper

Purchased 2017

Ms Anna Burke MP, Speaker of the House of Representatives 2015 by Jude Rae

Hired guns, bounty hunters and horse whisperers

Magazine article by Jude Rae, 2016

Jude Rae contemplates the portrait commission.

The Multifarious Career of George Selth Coppin

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2004

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

The portrait writ large

Magazine article by Karen Vickery, 2015

Karen Vickery on Chang the Chinese giant in Australia.

Jude Rae

Jude Rae’s high reputation rests on her austere, cerebral still lifes of gas canisters, electric jugs and jars, which she groups and rearranges for paintings that catch their difficult curves and reflections. Her self-portrait’s likewise thoughtfully composed.

William Robinson

Magazine article by William Yang, 2022

Unique in the world, perhaps, is a bronze sculpture that fuses the age-old human portrait bronze tradition, and the later genre of the bronze pug figurine: that’d be William Robinson’s Self-portrait with pug.

Miscellaneous obsessions

William Yang shares the stories behind his autobiographical self portraits that celebrate his cultural heritage and identity.

Doodles of the Diva

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

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.

Bob Hawke

Portrait, aquatint engraving on paper

Robert James Lee (Bob) Hawke (1929-2019) moved with his family from South Australia to Perth in 1939.

9 portraits in the collection

The Mutineers turning Lieut Bligh and part of the Officers and Crew adrift from His Majesty's Ship the Bounty

The Mutineers turning Lieut Bligh and part of the Officers and Crew adrift from His Majesty's Ship the Bounty, 1790

Robert Dodd

Purchased with funds provided by the Ian Potter Foundation 2008

William Robinson AO

Magazine article by Helene Ladomirska, 2006

William Robinson AO (b. 1936) is one of Australia's most distinguished and influential contemporary painters, known for his distinctive and prolific output as landscape painter in particular.

3 portraits in the collection

A quiet moment

As Bryan Westwood’s portrait of Brian Dunlop hangs adjacent to Brian Dunlop’s portrait of the philanthropist Dr Joseph Brown AO OBE, we see the artist of one work as the subject of the other.

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2007

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), army officer and hero, was the prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1828 to 1830.

1 portrait in the collection

Melbourne experience

Diana Warnes explores the lives of Hal and Katherine 'Kate' Hattam through their portraits painted by Fred Williams and Clifton Pugh.

Australian visit in Denmark

Magazine article by Mette Skougaard, 2006

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

L. Gordon Darling AC CMG

31 August 2015

Archived media releases 2015

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

Vincent Brady leading anti Bicentenary Protest, Brisbane, 1987 Michael Aird

Activating the space

Magazine article by Sandra Phillips, 2020

Sandra Phillips on portraits of Indigenous activism from Cairns Art Gallery’s 2019 Queen’s Land Blak Portraiture exhibition.

Private practice

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

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

The world of Thea Proctor

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

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

The 1850s to the 1880s

Mo and beard timeline

The restrained and cultivated facial hair fashions evident through the first decades of the 1800s were on the wane by the middle of the century, when hirsute faces became mainstream.

Helen Blaxland judging flower arrangements, c. 1940s photographer unknown

Petal to the mettle

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

Patrick White at Centennial Park, 1979–1980

Listomania

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.

Janet Dawson

Magazine article by Michael Rosen, 2013

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

Reflection

British novelist and poet, Michael Rosen, weaves a tale about his early encounters with creativity and the self-portrait of a childhood friend.

A Pioneering Life

Magazine article by Lauren Dalla, 2005

During her time in Australian politics, Dame Nancy Buttfield was an impressive advocate for equality for women and was responsible for ending the marriage bar for women in the Public Service.

Hop, skip, shoot

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2004

Former NPG Deputy Director, Simon Elliott talks with Ern McQuillan about his life and career as a sports photographer.

Lucy Culliton

Most well-regarded pictures of chickens show them dead. A reliable way to tell if a chicken in a painting is dead is to check if it’s hanging upside down, because unlike, say, cockatoos, chickens don’t practise inversion for enjoyment in life.

Mal Meninga, 2018

by Peter Hudson

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2016

Commissioned with funds provided by Maliganis Edwards Johnson and Alan Dodge AM 2018

HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, 2006 Ralph Heimans AM

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

30 November 2023

Media

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

Dr Edward MacMahon, 1959 by William Dobell

Bill and Ted's excellent portrait.

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

In and out of focus

Magazine article by Gael Newton, 2017

Gael Newton looks at Australian photography, film and the sixties through the novel lens of Mark Strizic.

Arcadia: Sound of the sea

Exhibition introduction

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2016

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.

Mrs NR Mackintosh (Anne) by Ruth Hollick

Natural, artistic and unselfconscious

Angus Trumble gazes at the once bright star of photographer Ruth Hollick.

It's a Mora!

Magazine article by Tedi Bills, 2016

Select extracts from Mirka Mora's autobiography, Wicked but Virtuous, provide rich accompaniment to recent Gallery acquisitions.

Earth to earth

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

Big bouquet of Blackmans

Dr. Sarah Engledow explores the context surrounding Charles Blackman's portrait of Judith Wright, Jack McKinney and their daughter Meredith.

Noel McKenna

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2008

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.

Black tie or wombat: How formal should I go?

Michael Desmond discusses the portrait of Senator Neville Bonner by Robert Campbell Jnr.

Tracks in the sand

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

Dr Sarah Engledow discusses Quentin Jones's photograph of Australian author Tim Winton.

Love City; George Gittoes on hilltop 2013

Man of war

Magazine article by Tedi Bills, 2016

Tedi Bills talks to George Gittoes about canvassing conflict.

Portrait of Kym Bonython/Portrait of Mr Bonython's speedway cap

Somewhere to hang your cap

Magazine article by Beatrice Thompson, 2007

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.

NPPP 2009 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Alistair McGhie, 2013

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

Hereinbefore

Alistair McGhie talks with Laura Moore about her winning digital self portrait.

Anthony Anderton

NPPP 2012 learning resource

An interview with the photographer.

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

Moving still

Magazine article by Anne O'Hehir, 2022

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

Karl Robert, Count Nesselrode, 1818 by Sir Thomas Lawrence

The Lawrence lustre

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2019

Angus Trumble salutes the glorious portraiture of Sir Thomas Lawrence.

Vintage Cassab

Magazine article by Roger Neill, 2006

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

Bewitching

Roger Neill delves into the life of a lesser-known Australian diva, Frances Alda.

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.

Chance encounter

Magazine article by Peter Jeffrey, 2016

Joanna Gilmour explores the life and times of one of Melbourne's early socialites, Jessie Eyre Williams.

Hottie's Snifter to port

Peter Jeffrey trips the hound nostalgic.

Video still from Dream Job, 2011 by David M Thomas

My dream job

Magazine article by David Thomas AM, 2012

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

Peter Wilmoth, age 12, with copies of Our World 1974 Courtesy of the author

Paper, boy

Magazine article by Peter Wilmoth, 2016

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

A guy from Paris

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2018

Sarah Engledow on a foundational gallery figure who was quick on the draw.

In character on location

Magazine article by Alistair McGhie, 2011

A photograph of Claudia Karvan that blends actor, character, photographer and captures the creative collaboration of the television series Love my way.

Goods and chattels

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

The mystery of Enoch Arden

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2002

Tennyson's Enoch Arden was inspired by a story that Thomas Woolner passed on to him – but whose story and of whom?

No Laughing Matter

The biographical exhibition of Barry Humphries was the first display of its kind at the National Portrait Gallery.

Reflections on castles

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2004

Andrew Sayers describes the unique characteristics of the international band of portrait galleries.

Painters' paradise

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2007

Andrew Sayers feels the warmth in the paintings Matthew Perceval made while the sun shone in southern France.

Portrait of the artist as a young man

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

Dr Sarah Engledow explores the early life and career of John Brack.

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

Lovingly observed

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2015

Sarah Engledow previews the beguiling summer exhibition, Idle hours.

Self Portrait with Stetson, 2011 by Darren McDonald

Painting them gently

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

Forum participants

Magazine article by Matthew Jones, 2016

Biographies of participants in the Writing lives, revealing lives forum.

Bushrangers, Victoria, Australia, 1852, 1887 by William Strutt

Strutt your stuff

Matthew Jones on the upshot of a St Kilda Road outrage.

Mugshots

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

Cultural kaleidoscope

Magazine article by Katherine Russell, 2005

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

Australian Princess

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

Jim Cobb at Chroma factory Mt Kuring-gai, NSW, 2017 by Mark Mohell

The alchemist’s profile

Magazine article by John Zubrzycki, 2017

John Zubrzycki meets Australian paint pioneer Jim Cobb.

Real close

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2012

Peter Ciemitis breached regulations when creating the portrait of the polymath environmental scientist George Seddon.

More cash than dash

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2011

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

Four from the 30s

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

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

Myself and Eye

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2003

Magda Keaney speaks with Lewis Morley about his photographic career and the major retrospective of his work on display at the NPG.

Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, 1824 by James Thomson

Audacity, audacity, audacity

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2011

Angus delves into the biographies of two ambitious characters; Sir Stamford Raffles and Sir John Pope-Hennessy.

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

First encounters

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

Graeme Drendel

I like talking about Drendel’s pictures as if they expressed dreams of my own.

Anna Culliton

Anna Culliton never had a colouring-in book when she was little. Her parents –Tony, a filmmaker, and Stephanie, a painter – wouldn’t let her have one. Instead, they insisted on her drawing her own pictures to colour-in.

Sydney Cove medallion, 1789 by Josiah Wedgwood

The medallion

The portraiture of Kristin Headlam

In recent years I have become fascinated by the so-called Sydney Cove Medallion (1789), a work of art that bridges the 10,000-mile gap between the newly established penal settlement at Port Jackson and the beating heart of Enlightenment England.

Confessional conversations

Magazine article by Fiona Gruber, 2015

Fiona Gruber investigates the work of Australian painter Kristin Headlam.

Icons and imagery

Magazine article by Alison Weir, 2011

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

Australia’s great internationalists

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2016

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

Heartfelt

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2018

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

The artist and her family, c. 1854 by Martha Berkeley

Presence and absence

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

Darren McDonald

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2005

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.

M H Wednesday 11.15am from the series Self-harm, 2004

Big it up

Former National Portrait Gallery Curator Magda Keaney was a member of the selection panel of the Schwepes Photographic Portrait Prize 2004 at the National Portrait Gallery London.

Life class

Magazine article by Leonie Hellmers, 2004

Barbara Blackman reflects on her experiences as a life model.

The personal and the historical

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

Untitled, Conductors, Tramways series, 1990 © Matt Nettheim

Back track

Penelope Grist finds photographer Matt Nettheim re-visiting a formative and fulfilling career tram stop.

Friends and Acquaintances

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2016

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

Anatomist's eye

Robert Hannaford has completed around 400 portraits over the span of his career.

Thousand mile stare

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2004

John Elliott talks about his photographic portrait practice, including his iconic image of Slim Dusty arm-in-arm with Dame Edna Everage.

Corporate Characters

Magazine article by Gillian Raymond, 2005

A collection of thirty-seven caricatures by the artist Joe Greenberg capture the heroes and villians of Australian business in the 1980s.

Clay, water, fire

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2005

Ah Xian's porcelain portrait of paediatrician Dr. John Yu reflects Yu's heritage and interests.

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

Poise and Carats

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

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

Uncommon Australians

Magazine article by Tom Fryer, 2021

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

Face House – Kyoto, Japan Architect: Kazumasa Yamashita

Alter ego

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

Through thick and thin

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2017

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

Sophisticated and glamorous

Magazine article by Amanda Rowell, 2015

Michael Riley’s early portraits by Amanda Rowell.

Hearts of Darkness

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2006

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

The highest honour

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2007

Bringing eminent scientist Frank Fenner and artist Jude Rae together for the National Portrait Gallery commission was like matchmaking.

The transparent mask

Magazine article by Karen Vickery, 2015

Cate Blanchett and the art of acting in Rosetzky’s digital portrait.

Thrown together

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2008

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

Melati Suryodarmo

by Hendro Wiyanto

Artist essays

Born in Surakarta (Solo), Indonesia in 1969, Melati Suryodarmo’s first degree was in international relations.

Alexander Pearce
executed for murder
July 19th 1824

Public hanging

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

S Teddy D

by Elly Kent

Artist essays

S Teddy D was born in Padang, Sumatra in 1970, and studied painting at the Institut Seni Indonesia (Indonesian Institute of Art) in Yogyakarta.

Seduce, Amuse, Entertain

NPPP 2007 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2022

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

Virginia Woolf, 1902 George Charles Beresford

Love my way

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

Seduce Amuse Entertain

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2007

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

Desperately seeking Sonia

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2015

Esther Erlich’s portrait of Lady McMahon.

In bloom

Magazine article by Susi Muddiman, 2017

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

The fat of the land

Magazine article by Rebecca Ray, 2023

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

Aretha Brown

In conversation

Gumbaynggirr artist Aretha Brown talks street art, collaboration and ghost stories with First Nations Curator and Meriam woman, Rebecca Ray.

In profile

Julian Kingma

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2023

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

Safe space

Magazine article by Amy Middleton, 2023

Amy Middleton on the power of portraiture in promoting inclusivity and connecting with intersectionality and diversity in all its forms.

A sketch for some portraits

Magazine article by Judith Pugh, 2005

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

National Portrait Gallery and Access2Arts staff presenting on audio description at the Australian Museums and Galleries Association National Conference

Our achievements to date

Disability Inclusion Action Plan 2023–25

During the period 2018–20, the Gallery implemented our first Access Action Plan.

Staffordshire bull terrier belonging to the Rev. John Gower, 1851

Essential portraiture

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2011

Michael Desmond in conversation with University of Houston professor of philosophy Cynthia Freeland.

Mural of Italian/Roman actress Anna Magnani (1908–1973) with face mask, April 2020 Unknown artist

Of plague and portraits

Magazine article by Dr David Hansen, 2017

Corinna Cullen on the symbolic power of pandemic-related imagery over the ages.

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

Unknown drawer

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

The art of Inner Worlds

Lecture, 7 May 2011

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

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

Finest quality

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

Alternative virtue

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

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

Feminist Fan#1 (PUSSY: Casey at the Melbourne Pussy Riot Protest, 2012) 2015 by Kate Just

Heroine knits

Magazine article by Sophia Cai, 2017

‘Dear Kate Just – I’m your feminist fan’. Interview by Sophia Cai.

Portfolio of 54 portraits compiled by Queen Victoria, 1859–1861 by John Jabez Edwin Mayall, Camille Silvy, Frances Day and William Bambridge

Queen of cartes

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

Joanna Gilmour discusses the role of the carte de visite in portraiture’s democratisation, and its harnessing by Victoria, the world’s first media monarch.

Some prime ministers

Magazine article by Lauretta Morton, 2005

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

Washington preview

Ron Ramsey, former Director of Cultural Relations at the Embassy of Australia interviewed NPG Washington Director, Marc Pachter, about their building renovations.

Recollections of a sinologist sitter

Magazine article by Professor Stephen FitzGerald AO, 2016

Professor Stephen Fitzgerald, Australia’s first Ambassador to China, traces the historical course from sino-australian cultural engagement to a maturing Australian identity.

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

A rogue's calling card

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

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

Aussies all

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2006

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

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

Foundation Members

Foundation

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

An evening at Yarra Cottage, Port Stephens

Maria Caroline Brownrigg

At first glance, this small watercolour group portrait of her two sons and four daughters by Maria Caroline Brownrigg (d. 1880) may seem prosaic, even hesitant

Rock Island Bend. Franklin River, South West Tasmania, 1979 by Peter Dombrovskis

Written in Water

Olegas Truchanas and Peter Dombrovskis, photographers and conservationists, shared a love of photography and exploring wilderness areas of Tasmania.

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

Waterloo and Mrs. Moore

Magazine article by Leslie Ureña, 2020

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

Marian Anderson, contralto, New York, June 30, 1955 Richard Avedon

The right note

Marian Anderson’s glorious voice thrust her into stardom, and a more reluctant role as American civil rights pioneer.

Pop poet

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2013

Dr Anne Sanders previews the works in the new focus exhibition Paul Kelly and The Portraits.

The shipwright's arms

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

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

Money and swat

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2007

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

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Honour board

Twin chics

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2021

Joanna Gilmour on the exuberant union of fashion pioneers Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson, captured in luminescent splendour by artist Carla Fletcher.

An Australian story

Magazine article by The Hon. Dr Kevin Rudd, 2009

In his speech launching the new National Portrait Gallery building on 3 December 2008, then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd set the Gallery in a national and historical context.

The bright-eyed Mariner

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

A new colonial portrait brings a zealous captain near.

Trevor Jamieson, 2016 by Brett Canet-Gibson

The more things change...

NPPP 2017 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2017

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

Portrait of William Manning, c.1821 by Henry Bone

Of beef in burgundy

Angus Trumble reveals the complex technical mastery behind a striking recent acquisition, Henry Bone’s enamel portrait of William Manning.

Fine and dandy

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

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.

Less than six degrees of separation

Lecture, 28 May 2011

Magazine article by Kate Fullagar, 2019

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

Rethinking foundational histories

A focus on Indigenous-European relationships underpins Facing New Worlds. By Kate Fullagar.

Go Figure!

Magazine article by Claire Roberts, 2013

Claire Roberts interviews Swiss art collector Uli Sigg.

Missionary positions

Magazine article by Stella Ramage, 2016

Stella Ramage on Father McHardy’s Bougainville portraiture.

Worth her salt

Magazine article by Annette Twyman, 2021

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

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

Birds of a feather

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

Royal Solomon Islands Police Force recruits, Maranatha Hall, Honiara by Sean Davey

The art of peace

Magazine article by Sven Knudsen, 2018

Sean Davey captures the portrait of a nation renewed.

One hundred days at 7pm 2015 by Fiona McMonagle

Self-effacing

Magazine article by Michael Wardell, 2016

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

William Shakespeare, c. 1600-1610 associated with John Taylor

Take thy face hence

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

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

Conduct becoming

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2017

Penelope Grist speaks to Bill Henson and Simone Young to discover the origins of the artist’s stunning photographic triptych.

The Conciliation, 1840 by Benjamin Duterrau

The art of conciliation

Magazine article by Gareth Knapman, 2017

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

Director John Duigan and actor Judy Davis on the set of ‘Winter of our Dreams’, Sydney, 1981 by Robert McFarlane

Natural born stiller

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2016

Penelope Grist speaks to Robert McFarlane about shooting for the stars.

Albert Jonas and John Xiniwe of The African Choir, 1891 London Stereoscopic Co.

Back in black

Magazine article by Krysia Kitch, 2017

Krysia Kitch reviews black chronicles at the National Portrait Gallery, London.

The silent partner

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

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

Daniel Johns, Silverchair Melbourne 2007 by Martin Philbey

Rock art

Magazine article by Andrew Mayo, 2016

Andrew Mayo talks to three of Australia’s most prominent and prolific music photographers — Martin Philbey, Kane Hibberd and Daniel Boud — about the challenges and inspiration behind their craft.

Anangu landscape learning

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

Fits of delicacy and despair

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

Nicholas Harding: 28 Portraits

Exhibition essay

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

A non-material and non-physical portrait

Lecture, 21 May 2011

Inner Worlds features the recently commissioned portrait of world-renowned philosopher of consciousness David Chalmers by Melbourne-based artist Nick Mourtzakis.

Rick Amor: 21 Portraits

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

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

High & Bligh

Joanna Gilmour explores the 1790 portrait of William Bligh by Robert Dodd.

Hard truths

Magazine article by Jennifer Higgie, 2022

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

Lyndall Hobbs and Marilyn at the Come as your favourite blonde party, Blitz Club, London, 1979 Robert Rosen

Shiny, happy people

Magazine article by Glynis Jones, 2022

Glynis Jones on the Powerhouse’s retrospective of one of Australia’s foremost fashion reportage and social photographers.

A potpourri of portraits

Magazine article by Natalie Wilson, 2023

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

The Art Lovers - Megan, 2013 by Gary Grealy

Everybody, look serious

NPPP 2014 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Karl James, 2015

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

Lauded legacy

Karl James gives short shrift to doubts about the profile of General Sir John Monash.

In a good paddock

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2011

Celebrating a new painted portrait of Joseph Banks, Sarah Engledow spins a yarn of the naturalist, the first kangaroo in France and Don, a Spanish ram.

Beguiling impressions

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2012

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

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

The activist A-list

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2007

Dr Sarah Engledow examines a number of figures in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery who were pioneers or substantial supporters of the seminal Australian environmental campaigns of the early 1970s and 1980s.

Flesh, figure and rock

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2018

Aimee Board traces Judy Cassab’s path to the Australian outback, arriving at the junction of inspiration and abstraction.

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.

Eileen Dunne in The Hospital for Sick Children, 1940

The incomparable Beaton

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

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).

The Dissecting Room

Joanna Gilmour accounts for Australia’s deliciously ghoulish nineteenth century criminal portraiture.

Fiona McMonagle

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

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.

Flash mob

Sarah Engledow trains her exacting lens on the nine photographs from 20/20.

Through blue eyes

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2016

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.

Waterfall in Australia, c. 1830 by Augustus Earle

Augustus serendipitous

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

Portrait of Thea Proctor, 1905 by George Lambert

The real Thea

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

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

Sarah Bernhardt, 1876 by Georges Clairin

Demimonde liaisons

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2017

Jane Raffan feasts on modernity’s entrée in the Belle Époque theatre of the demimonde.

Lady Jane Grey, c.1590-1600 (also known as The ‘Streatham’ portrait) Artist unknown

The Royal she

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2019

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

Little women

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

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

Christmas Island

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2016

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.

Naked nostalgia

Penelope Grist reminisces about the halcyon days of a print icon, before the infusion of the internet’s shades of grey.

Secure the shadow ere the substance fade

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

The tragic tale of Tom Wills, the ‘inventor’ of Australian Rules Football.

Study in scarlet

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2018

Angus Trumble reflects on the force of nature that was Helena Rubinstein.

Regarding Henrys

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

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

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

Political profiles

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2016

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.

Generous Janice

Dr Sarah Engledow puts four gifts to the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection in context.

Faces of war

Lecture, 14 May 2011

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2018

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.

Material culture

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

You are who?

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

Joanna Gilmour reflects on merging collections and challenging traditional assumptions around portraiture in WHO ARE YOU.

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

All the way with K of K

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2016

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

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

The Rothschilds, the Montefiores, and the Victorian Gold Rush