Search / nathan kelly

Henry "Seaman" Dan, 2009

Purchased 2010

John Gorton, 1997

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

Mark and Nick Seymour, 1997

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Paul Kelly, c. 1983

Purchased 2022

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

Purchased 2003

Trent Nathan and Shane Barr, 1995 (printed 2018)

Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2018

Beyond the bow tie

Nathan Faiman delves into the rich life story and legacy of Alan Goldberg.

Jessie Street, 1929

Gift of the Street family and the Jessie Street National Women's Library 2010

Portrait of Dr John Bradfield, c. 1920-1924

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the family of Dr J J C Bradfield 2006
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Paul Kelly and The Portraits

Aspects of singer songwriter Paul Kelly’s performance persona are communicated by portraits selected from a range of artists and leading music photographers in this focus exhibition.

Capture of the Kelly Gang of Australian Bushrangers.- 1. Ruins of Jones's Hotel, Glenrowan where the outlaws were besieged by the Police.- 2. Ned Kelly's Suit of Armour.- 3. Policeman in Bush Costume.- 4. Ned Kelly at Bay.- 5. A Black Tracker.- 6. Ned Kelly in the goal Hospital at Melbourne., 1880

Purchased 2018

Ned Kelly and death masks

Alexandra Roginski explains the history behind the pseudo-science of phrenology.

Ned Kelly the Bushranger (from The Australasian Sketcher, 7 August 1880), 1880

Purchased 2002

Paul Kelly, 2004

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2004

'Les Batteurs de Buisson en Australie - Une balle avait atteint le bandit au genou' Front cover of 'Journal des Voyages', 1884 depicting Ned Kelly, 1884

Purchased 2012

Kelly Dixon, Tent Hill, Qld, 2004

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Paul Kelly, 2007

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Michael Kelly, 1998

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

Paul Kelly, 2013

Commissioned with funds provided by Ian Darling 2013

Kelly in the Guard's Van en route to Beechworth (from The Australasian Sketcher, 17 July 1880), 1880

Purchased 2017

Gail Kelly, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by Westpac Group and Optus 2018

Ned Kelly, 1880

Purchased 2018

Ned Kelly's armour (from The Australasian Sketcher, 3 July 1880), 1880

Purchased 2017

Neilma Gantner, c. 1990

Purchased 2022

Pop poet

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

Ned Kelly death mask, date unknown

Collection: National Portrait Gallery Study Collection, Canberra
Gift of John Molony 2018

Paul Kelly, 2007

Gift of the artist 2012

Archbishop Michael Kelly, c. 1924 (cast 2010)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Before Too Long

The story behind the creation of the portrait of singer-songwriter Paul Kelly by the artist Jon Campbell.

Good, bad and the ugly

Michael Desmond explores what makes a portrait subject significant.

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

Purchased 2017

Paul Kelly

A companion to our 2013 exhibition Paul Kelly & The Portraits. For Year 7 to Year 12 students.

Deborah Kelly

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.

Paul Kelly and The Portraits media information

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

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

Purchased 2017

The outlaws coolly disported themselves

'Each man arrayed himself in a new rig from head to foot, and even such luxuries as soaps and perfumery were not despised'

Peter Carey in Kelly country, 2000

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

Gail Kelly, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by Westpac Group and Optus 2018

Portrait 45

This issue features Paul Kelly, Rineke Dijkstra, John Brack, the National Photographic Portrait Prize and more.

Portrait 13

This issue of Portrait Magazine features Nancy Wake, Jon Campbell's portrait of Paul Kelly, George Selth Coppin, Henri Cartier-Bresson and more.

Prison and death in the 19th century

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

12 Untitled Self Portraits (Set 3), 1990

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

She saved his life. He showed her painting.

Leaders, painters, friends

Songman, portrait of Kev Carmody, 2006

Courtesy of Kev Carmody, Song Cycles Pty Ltd.

Pub Rock

Celebrate the people, places and sounds of Australian pub rock and its enduring impact on our nation’s identity.

Artists and Collectives

Arts Project Australia, Yarrenyty Arltere Artists, ‘stArts with D’ Performance Ensemble, Abdul Abdullah, Alison Alder, Amrita Hepi, Atong Atem, Christopher Bassi, Kate Beynon, Mia Boe, Baby Guerrilla, Tarryn Gill, Julie Gough, Naomi Hobson, Deborah Kelly, Fiona McMonagle, Angelica Mesiti, Dylan Mooney, Nell, Sally Smart, Vipoo Srivilasa, Latai Taumoepeau and Kaylene Whiskey.

The Possibilities of Portraiture

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

Me Myself I

Andrew Sayers explores the self-portraits created by Australian artist Sidney Nolan.

Proof

Portraits from The Movement is the first comprehensive survey of photographs from the Juno Gemes archive, which has supported the Aboriginal struggle for justice in Australia from 1978 to the present day.

Madame Sibly, Phrenologist and Mesmerist, c. 1870

Purchased 2017

Brian Croser AO, 1998

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

Archie Roach, 1992 (printed 2010)

Purchased 2010

Peter Carey, 1989

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

Nolan Heads

Nolan Heads will focus on the portraiture of one of Australia's most original painters and one of the few to have achieved an international reputation

Presence and Absence

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

Sidney Nolan, 1964

Purchased 2003

Peter Carey, 1989 (printed 2002)

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

Archie Roach, 2008

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

Worth her salt

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

James Mollison, c. 1973 (printed 2004)

Gift of James Mollison AO 2004

Face the music

Drawn from the Gallery's collection, the exhibition Face the Music explores the remarkable talents and achievements of Australian musicians, composers, conductors and celebrities associated with the music industry.

Mal Meninga, 2018

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

Self Creation

Former National Portrait Gallery Director, Andrew Sayers recalls meeting iconic Australian artist Sidney Nolan.

Self portrait, 1988

Gift of Hon RL Hunter KC 2006. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Dorothy Porter, 2001-2002

Gift of Andrea Goldsmith 2011. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Joan Croll, 1976

Gift of Frank Croll and Dr Joan Croll AO 2001. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Study for portrait of Joan Croll, 1976

Gift of Dr Joan Croll AO 2007. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Yami Lester speaks at Uluru Handback Ceremony, 1985 (printed 2003)

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

James Mollison, c. 1973 (printed 2004)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of James Mollison AO 2004

Naomi Watts, 2003

Gift of the artist 2004

Mandawuy Yunupingu, NT, 2004

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Mandawuy Yunupingu, 1991 (printed 2011)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Ruby Hunter, 1996 (printed 2012)

Purchased 2012

Cecil Beaton

Accomplished illustrator, painter, writer and diarist, set designer and one of the most distinguished photographers of the twentieth century, Cecil Beaton is renowned for his portraits of well known faces from the worlds of fashion, literature, and film.

Waiting for Zipporah (Christine Anu), 2002

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004

Rachel Griffiths, 2002 (printed 2004)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Post digital

Tegan McAuley looks at the evolution of video portraiture.

Celebrity cutpurse

Grace Carroll discusses the portrait of the late-eighteenth century gentleman pickpocket George Barrington.

Heath Ledger, Prague, 2000 (printed 2009)

Purchased with the assistance of Alan Dodge AM 2009

How to be a boy

Christopher Chapman profiles Chris Lilley, actor and creator of Angry Boys.

Paul Grabowsky, 2009

Commissioned with funds provided by Patrick Corrigan AM 2009

Paul Grabowsky, 2009

Commissioned with funds provided by Patrick Corrigan AM 2009

Sidney Nolan, Western Australia, 1962 (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.

The Portrait Gallery

Photography played a significant role in the circulation of messages about law and order, and in the creation of sensation and celebrity. 

Mark Richards, 1976

Purchased 2007

Face the Music

Australia has become recognised for the range and talent of its musicians, composers, conductors and celebrities in general associated with the music industry

Judge a person by their cover

Alexandra Roginski explains the history behind the pseudo-science of phrenology, popular in the nineteenth century.

Sideshow Alley: Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

Bushrangers, oddities, true crime and scandal come together in this modern day cabinet of curiosities.

Oz Origins

Australia’s passion for rock ‘n roll was kindled by American and British acts in the 1950s and 60s. The novel genre’s driving, licentious rhythms and voices captured imaginations and libidos, not to mention aspiring young musicians.

Karen Quinlan AM

Karen Quinlan AM took up her appointment as Director of the National Portrait Gallery in December 2018. Karen commenced her curatorial career in 1994 at National Gallery of Victoria before becoming Curator of Bendigo Art Gallery in 1996, and the Director of Bendigo Art Gallery from 2000 until 2018. Karen was a Professor of Practice and previously Director of the La Trobe Art Institute La Trobe University, a former Trustee of the State Library of Victoria, Board Member and former Chair of the Public Galleries Association of Victoria.

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

Collection: Icons

The second instalment of a display featuring bold contemporary portraits drawn from the collection. For the Gallery’s 20th birthday this display brings together a group contemporary photographic portraits of inspiring women and men.

Lewis Morley

Lewis Morley has a great eye for a shot and a sharp ear for a pun

A handful of sand

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

Neil Armfield, 2010

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned 2010

First Ladies

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

Peter Brew-Bevan Portraits

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

Open Air

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

Sideshow Alley

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

Dan the man

Martin Philbey’s portrait of Dan Sultan.

Protest!

Rock’s raw potency made it the ideal medium for fomenting protest. The 1970s, 80s and onwards saw calls for social and environmental justice ring out through song.

Rick Amor

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

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.

Summertime Fun at the National Portrait Gallery

Escape the heat this summer and step inside the National Portrait Gallery for an array of family-fun activities. From storytelling and drawing to music and art, there’s something for everyone to enjoy at the Gallery.

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

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

Mash-up

Penelope Grist delves into an insightful portraiture exhibition that asks: How do three artists see the same sitter?

String of Pearls

Andrew Sayers discusses the portrait of Dr Joan Croll AO by the Australian artist John Brack.

Thomas Pearce, c. 1878

Purchased 2010

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.

Australians in Hollywood

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

Every flap, fold and bulge

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.

Intense identity

Dr Chistopher Chapman discusses the portrait of Australian author Christos Tsiolkas taken by John Tsiavis.

Ms Karen Quinlan appointed to lead the NPGA

The Board of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia is delighted to announce the appointment of Ms Karen Quinlan as its incoming Director.

Getting a head

Alexandra Roginski gets a feel for phrenology’s fundamentals.

Faces of war

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.

Diseased curiosity

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

The activist A-list

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.

Through blue eyes

Works by Arthur Boyd and Sidney Nolan bring the desert, the misty seashore and the hot Monaro plains to exhibition Open Air: Portraits in the landscape.

Australian of the Year

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

Announcing... Pub Rock

An exhibition that celebrates the people, places and sounds of Australian pub rock and its enduring impact on the nation’s identity, opens at the National Portrait Gallery on 5 September, 2020.

Public hanging

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

Jacki Weaver, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2018

Uncommon Australians

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

The 1850s to the 1880s

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.

Announcing... Portrait23: Identity

In this major new exhibition marking the National Portrait Gallery’s third decade, 23 Australian artists and collectives have been invited to create portraits without constraints or boundaries.

Tan Le, 2018

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

True fella

Michael Desmond profiles the Australian songwriter and performer Neil Murray and his contribution to Australian music.

The Writer: Peter Goldsworthy, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by Jillian Broadbent AO and Dr Helen Nugent AO 2018.

Friends and Acquaintances

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

Portrait Donors

Money for Myth

Australian character on the market by Jane Raffan.

Announcing.... In their own words

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

Something old, something new

Andrew Mayo considers the changing face of modern wedding photography through the eyes of two of its finest exponents, Dan O’Day and Kelly Tunney.

Arthur as Alyosha?

Patrick McCaughey explores a striking Boyd self portrait.

Past directors

Directors of the National Portrait Gallery from 1998 to today.

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.

Naked nostalgia

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

Spring exhibition program

The following on-line and physical exhibitions are planned to open at the National Portrait Gallery in coming months. For those who can’t travel at present, selected works from all exhibitions will be included online

Clay, water, fire

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

Australia’s great internationalists

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

To arrive at hope

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

Beautiful bones

Sarah Engledow reflects on the shared life and writing of Dorothy Porter and Andrea Goldsmith.

Seduce, Amuse, Entertain

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

Seduce Amuse Entertain

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

Rick Amor: 21 Portraits

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

The Rothschilds, the Montefiores, and the Victorian Gold Rush

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

A rogue's calling card

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

The play’s the thing

Penelope Grist charts an immersive path through Stuart Spence’s photography.

Painting writing

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

Paper, boy

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

Rock art

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.

Drawing inspiration

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

Lauded legacy

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

Cultural kaleidoscope

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

History

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

20/20 launch speech

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

The more things change...

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

You are who?

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

The silent partner

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

Everybody, look serious

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