Nathan Kelly (b. 1976), photographer, studied fine arts at the University of Sydney before being named as one of Australia's top 30 photography graduates by Australian Commercial Photography magazine.
3 portraits in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003
Jerrold Nathan arrived in Australia from London in 1924, having studied under John Singer Sargent and William Orpen at the Royal Academy, where he was awarded a medal for portrait painting.
2 portraits in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2018
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Street family and the Jessie Street National Women's Library 2010
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the family of Dr J J C Bradfield 2006
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
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
Kelly Dixon is one of Australia's best-known bush balladeers. His poems have been set to music by some of Australia's leading country music stars - including Slim Dusty, who recorded Kelly's classic "Leave Him Out There in the Longyard." Kelly's verses have been collected in the books From a Drifter's Pen and From Under the Cross.
1 portrait in the collection
Paul Kelly (b. 1955), singer, songwriter and producer, grew up in Adelaide and first performed in Hobart in 1974.
4 portraits in the collection
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.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018
Gail Kelly (b. 1956), former banking executive, was born in South Africa and gained degrees in arts and education from the University of Cape Town before working as a high-school Latin teacher.
1 portrait in the collection
Alexandra Roginski explains the history behind the pseudo-science of phrenology.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2002
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2004
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
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by Ian Darling 2013
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by Westpac Group and Optus 2018
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017
Dr Anne Sanders previews the works in the new focus exhibition Paul Kelly and The Portraits.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery Study Collection, Canberra
Gift of John Molony 2018
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Brew-Bevan 2012
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015
The story behind the creation of the portrait of singer-songwriter Paul Kelly by the artist Jon Campbell.
Michael Desmond explores what makes a portrait subject significant.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017
A companion to our 2013 exhibition Paul Kelly & The Portraits. For Year 7 to Year 12 students.
Paul Kelly & The Portraits presents a multifaceted image of the performer over the course of his career.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001
Commissioned with funds provided by Westpac Group and Optus 2018
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
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
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
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
Steve Hart (1859–1880), a member of the 'Kelly gang', lived his whole short life in the country around Wangaratta.
1 portrait in the collection
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
Peter Hudson (b. 1950), is a landscape and portrait painter who lives and works in Maleny, Queensland.
5 portraits in the collection
This issue features Paul Kelly, Rineke Dijkstra, John Brack, the National Photographic Portrait Prize and more.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010
This issue of Portrait Magazine features Nancy Wake, Jon Campbell's portrait of Paul Kelly, George Selth Coppin, Henri Cartier-Bresson and more.
Jimmy Little AO (1937–2012), singer, made his recording debut in 1956.
3 portraits in the collection
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.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Sara Kelly 2010
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Ian Darling AO is an award winning documentary filmmaker. He has made two films about adventurer and explorer Jon Muir; Alone Across Australia and Suzy & The Simple Man.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001
Leaders, painters, friends
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Courtesy of Kev Carmody, Song Cycles Pty Ltd.
Kerrie Lester (1953–2016) was born in Sydney and studied there at the National Art School and the Alexander Mackie College between 1971 and 1975.
6 portraits in the collection
Celebrate the people, places and sounds of Australian pub rock and its enduring impact on our nation’s identity.
Andrew Sayers explores the self-portraits created by Australian artist Sidney Nolan.
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.
Peter Carey (b. 1943) is an author whose novels sweep between the fantastic and the realistic, the comic and the tragic, and the present and the past.
3 portraits in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2010
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Jon Campbell (b. 1961) came to Australia from Northern Ireland as a three-year-old.
2 portraits in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2001
Gary Heery, photographer, was born in Sydney, where he studied sociology and psychology at the University of New South Wales.
1 portrait in the collection
Born in 1983 of Irish and Aboriginal descent, award winning singer-songwriter Daniel Leo Sultan grew up in Melbourne and moved with his family to Yuendumu in the Tanami Desert and Cairns, following his father who worked as a lawyer for the Aboriginal Legal Service.
1 portrait in the collection
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
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2003
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
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
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003
Yami Lester OAM (1941–2017) was born at Walyatjata in the north of South Australia.
1 portrait in the collection
Bill Hunter (1940-2011), actor, spent five decades on Australian television and cinema screens.
1 portrait in the collection
Heath Ledger was born on the fourth of April 1979, in Perth, Western Australia.
3 portraits in the collection
Michael 'Mick' Fanning AO (b. 1981), professional surfer, was ranked third in the world by the Association of Surfing Professionals at the end of 2010.
1 portrait in the collection
Shane Maloney (b. 1953) is the creator of the popular 'Murray Whelan' series of six crime novels, beginning with Stiff (1994) and The Brush-Off (1996) and currently ending at Sucked In (2007).
1 portrait in the collection
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.
Commissioned with funds provided by Maliganis Edwards Johnson and Alan Dodge AM 2018
Jerrold Nathan's portrait of Jessie Street shows the elegant side of a many-faceted lady.
Former National Portrait Gallery Director, Andrew Sayers recalls meeting iconic Australian artist Sidney Nolan.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004
Mark Richards (b. 1957), surfer and surfboard shaper, began his competitive career in 1973, when he came second in the Australian Titles Open division at the age of 16.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004
James Mollison AO (1931–2020) was the inaugural director of the National Gallery of Australia.
2 portraits in the collection
John Tsiavis (b. 1977), is a commercial photographer, working across portraiture, entertainment and editorial projects.
6 portraits in the collection
Patrick Ryan (d. 1990) and Tim Burstall set up Eltham Films in the early 1950s, when the local film industry was moribund.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of James Mollison AO 2004
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of James Mollison AO 2004
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Ruth and Peter McMullin 2013
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Dorothy Porter (1954-2008), poet and writer, grew up in Sydney and the Blue Mountains, graduated from the University of Sydney in 1975 and taught creative writing at the University of Technology, Sydney.
1 portrait in the collection
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.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005
Tegan McAuley looks at the evolution of video portraiture.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Hon RL Hunter QC 2006
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Grace Carroll discusses the portrait of the late-eighteenth century gentleman pickpocket George Barrington.
Dr Mandawuy Yunupingu (1956–2013), singer songwriter, was the lead singer of Australia's pre-eminent Aboriginal band, Yothu Yindi.
2 portraits in the collection
Ruby Hunter (1955-2010), singer/songwriter, was a Ngarrindjeri/ Kukatha/ Pitjantjatjara woman from South Australia.
1 portrait in the collection
Naomi Watts (b. 1968), actress, was born in England and came to Australia from Wales at the age of 14.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with the assistance of Alan Dodge AM 2009
Christopher Chapman profiles Chris Lilley, actor and creator of Angry Boys.
Thousand mile stare provides a unique portrait of people of rural Australia
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.
Photography played a significant role in the circulation of messages about law and order, and in the creation of sensation and celebrity.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by Patrick Corrigan AM 2009
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by Patrick Corrigan AM 2009
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
Robert Whitaker, English photographer, spent three years in Melbourne in the early 1960s, becoming friends with Mirka and Georges Mora, Barry Humphries, Germaine Greer, the Heide crowd and Martin Sharp and Richard Neville.
1 portrait in the collection
Australia has become recognised for the range and talent of its musicians, composers, conductors and celebrities in general associated with the music industry
Peter Goldsworthy AM (b. 1951), medical doctor and writer, was born in Minlaton, South Australia, and grew up in various country towns as his father, a school teacher, moved for work.
2 portraits in the collection
Alexandra Roginski explains the history behind the pseudo-science of phrenology, popular in the nineteenth century.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2007
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011
Bushrangers, oddities, true crime and scandal come together in this modern day cabinet of curiosities.
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.
Although perceived to be a recent phenomenon, the 'Aussie invasion' of Hollywood can actually be traced as far back as the early 1900s
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 has a great eye for a shot and a sharp ear for a pun
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.
Celebrate the Gallery’s 20th birthday summer with Electric! Portraits that pop! The collection exhibition features a mix of bright, bold and colourful paintings, prints and photographs, and buoyant video portraits.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned 2010
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
Ellen Kent examines the portrait of Vincent Lingiari and Prime Minister Gough Whitlam taken by photographer Mervyn Bishop.
First Ladies profiles women who have achieved noteworthy firsts over the past 100 years.
Open Air is an exhibition of portraits of Australians in environments of particular significance to them.
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.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Andrea Goldsmith 2011
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Martin Philbey’s portrait of Dan Sultan.
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, 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.
Tim Burstall (1927-2004) set up Eltham Films in the early 1950s, when the local film industry was moribund.
2 portraits in the collection
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.
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.
Andrew Sayers discusses the portrait of Dr Joan Croll AO by the Australian artist John Brack.
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.
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 exhibition Australians in Hollywood celebrated the achievements of Australians in the highly competitive American film industry.
The Darling Prize is a new annual prize for Australian portrait painters, painting Australian sitters. The winner receives a cash prize of $75,000.
Dr Chistopher Chapman discusses the portrait of Australian author Christos Tsiolkas taken by John Tsiavis.
The Board of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia is delighted to announce the appointment of Ms Karen Quinlan as its incoming Director.
Alexandra Roginski gets a feel for phrenology’s fundamentals.
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.
The Australian of the Year Awards have often provoked controversy about who is selected and whether their achievements are remarkable.
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.
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.
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.
As a convict Thomas Bock was required to sketch executed murders for science; as a free man, fashionable society portraits.
Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2018
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.
Drawn from some of the many donations made to the Gallery's collection, the exhibition Portraits for Posterity pays homage both to the remarkable (and varied) group of Australians who are portrayed in the portraits and the generosity of the many donors who have presented them to the Gallery.
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.
Commissioned with funds provided by the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2018
Michael Desmond profiles the Australian songwriter and performer Neil Murray and his contribution to Australian music.
Commissioned with funds provided by Jillian Broadbent AO and Dr Helen Nugent AO 2018.
Dr. Sarah Engledow discusses a collection of drawings and prints by the Victorian artist Rick Amor acquired in 2005.
Australian character on the market by Jane Raffan.
Inspiring Australians tell their own stories in a unique new gallery audio tour, developed in collaboration with the National Library of Australia.
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.
Patrick McCaughey explores a striking Boyd self portrait.
Penelope Grist reminisces about the halcyon days of a print icon, before the infusion of the internet’s shades of grey.
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
Ah Xian's porcelain portrait of paediatrician Dr. John Yu reflects Yu's heritage and interests.
Penelope Grist, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2020 Prize.
Penelope Grist explores the United Nations stories in the Gallery’s collection.
Sarah Engledow reflects on the shared life and writing of Dorothy Porter and Andrea Goldsmith.
Michael Desmond, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2007 Prize.
Michael Desmond profiles a handful of the entrants in first National Photographic Portrait Prize and notes emerging themes and categories.
Sarah Engledow chronicles Rick Amor's work and accomplishments in this extensive essay in conjunction with the exhibition Rick Amor: 21 Portraits.
Joanna Gilmour explores the stories behind the ninteenth-century carte de visites of bushrangers Frank Gardiner and Fred Lowry.
Penelope Grist charts an immersive path through Stuart Spence’s photography.
Dr Sarah Engledow explores the portraits of writers held in the National Portrait Gallery's collection.
Peter Wilmoth’s boy-journalist toolkit for antagonising an Australian political giant.
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.
Christopher Chapman absorbs the gentle touch of Don Bachardy’s portraiture.
How the National Portrait Gallery and its unique collection came to be
Karl James gives short shrift to doubts about the profile of General Sir John Monash.
The complex connections between four creative Australians; Patrick White, Sidney Nolan, Robert Helpmann and Peter Sculthorpe.
Dr Sarah Engledow, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2017 Prize.
One half of the team that was Eltham Films left scarcely a trace in the written historical record, but survives in a vivid portrait.
Dr Sarah Engledow, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2014 Prize.
