Search / paul scully power

Purchased with funds provided by donors 2006

Mick Scully, Glebe Island Bridge, Sydney

Mick Scully, Glebe Island Bridge, Sydney, 1995 (printed 2000)

David Moore

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.

Katrina Power, c. 2000

Penny Tweedie

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004

Paul Hester

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

2 portraits in the collection

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.

Paul Kelly AO

Paul Kelly AO (b. 1955), singer/songwriter and producer, grew up in Adelaide and made his performing debut in Hobart in 1974.

5 portraits in the collection

Paul Gosney

Paul Gosney, a Sydney-based photographer has worked for eighteen years photographing people, lifestyle, food, still life, interiors and architecture.

1 portrait in the collection

Paul Boston

Paul Boston (b. 1952), an abstract artist, graduated from art school in Melbourne in 1972.

1 portrait in the collection

Paul Worstead

Paul Worstead (b. 1950) is a conceptual artist, poster maker, T-shirt and fabric designer.

2 portraits in the collection

Paul Haefliger

Paul Haefliger (1914-1982) trained in Sydney and then in London with Bernard Meninsky and Mark Gertler.

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

Paul Fitzgerald AM

Paul Fitzgerald AM, a Melbourne-based artist, made his career as a professional portraitist.

4 portraits in the collection

Paul Beadle

Paul Beadle (1917-1992), sculptor, was born in England and studied at the Cambridge Art School and the Central School of Arts and Crafts during the 1930s.

1 portrait in the collection

Paul Gerber

Born in Germany, Dr Paul Gerber (1924–2013) studied at Sydney University in the 1940s where he was editor of the literary magazine Hermes.

1 portrait in the collection

Paul Newton

Paul Newton (b. 1961), is a Sydney-based portrait painter noted for his ability to capture likeness and sensibility.

6 portraits in the collection

Paul Partos

Paul Partos (1943-2002) came to Australia with his family in 1949, spending six months in a Perth orphanage before being reunited with his parents for their move to Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Paul Taylor

Paul Taylor (1957-1992), critic and curator, graduated from Monash Univeristy in 1979.

1 portrait in the collection

Paul Capsis

Paul Capsis (b. 1964), performer, was raised by his mother and grandmother in the inner-Sydney suburb of Surry Hills.

1 portrait in the collection

Paul Gaimard

Paul Gaimard (1796-1858), naturalist and naval surgeon, joined the French navy after distinguishing himself at the naval medical school at Toulon.

1 portrait in the collection

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2004

Paul Cox, 2015

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

Paul Beadle, c. 1950

Max Dupain OBE

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

Portrait of Paul Gerber, 1947

Max Dupain OBE

Portrait, lithograph on paper

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

Joseph Paul Gaimard, c. 1830

De Bove

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

Retired Mounted Policeman, 2012

by Paul Mallam

Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel

Sir Peter Paul Rubens

Portrait, single channel moving image, colour, sound, 8 minutes 54 seconds

David Campese by Paul Newton

Portrait story

An interview with Paul Newton, the creator of the portrait of rugby legend David Campese.

Paul Kelly, 2013

Warwick Thornton

Commissioned with funds provided by Ian Darling 2013

Paul Grabowsky, 2009

Martin Philbey

Commissioned with funds provided by Patrick Corrigan AM 2009

Paul Grabowsky, 2009

Martin Philbey

Commissioned with funds provided by Patrick Corrigan AM 2009

Paul Kelly, 2007

Martin Philbey

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Paul Capsis as his grandmother Angela, 2009

by Michael Corridore

Major General Paul Cullen AC CBE DSO

Major General Paul Cullen AC CBE DSO and BAR ED (Rtd) (1909–2007) was a soldier, banker, welfare executive and grazier.

1 portrait in the collection

Paul Boston, 1995

Rick Amor

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Rick Amor and Meg Williams 2015
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Paul Haefliger, 1974

Judy Cassab AO CBE

Portrait, oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas

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

Paul Capsis, 2004

Esther Erlich

Gift of the artist 2017

Paul Ah Chee, c. 2000

Penny Tweedie

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004

Paul Taylor 1, 1984, 1984 (printed 2012)

Robert Rooney

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Paul Partos 1, 1980, 1980 (printed 2012)

Robert Rooney

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Get Wet series (David Twohill)

Get Wet series (Martin Plaza)

Get Wet series (Peter O'Doherty)

Get Wet series (Reg Mombassa)

Get Wet series (Greedy Smith)

Bruce Ruxton, 1995

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Bruno Grollo 1999

George Nicholas, 1955

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Hilton Nicholas AM OBE 2010

David Campese II, 2000

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Sir James Gobbo, 1983

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Gift of Mercy Health and Aged Care 2006

Inspiration + Realisation: John Singer Sargent

Magazine article by Katherine Russell, 2006

Katherine Russell examines the art of Australian artist Paul Newton, referencing the portraiture of John Singer Sargent.

Patrick Corrigan, 2006

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2013

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2007

Pop poet

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

Gail Kelly, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by Westpac Group and Optus 2018

Imelda Roche, 2003

Portrait, cast bronze on granite base

Commissioned 2003

Sir Robert Gibson, 1934

Paul Montford

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

Portrait of Frank Lowy AC, 2014

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2016
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

L. Ian Roach, 1994

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

Bill Robertson, 2008

Paul Gosney

Portrait, cast bronze on wooden base

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Sidney Myer, 1936

Paul Montford

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

Mr Keating, former Labor Minister, 1975

Frank Hinder

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen on paper

Gift of HOTA (Home of the Arts), Gold Coast 2019 with the encouragement of Patrick Corrigan AM

Paul Kelly, 2007

Peter Brew-Bevan

Gift of the artist 2012

Professor Paul Korner, 2011

Andrew Sullivan

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ann Korner, Nicholas Korner, Anthony Korner and Harriet Bingham 2015

Portrait of David Gonski AC, 2012

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2004

Portrait, oil on linen

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2013
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Before Too Long

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

Major General Paul Cullen, 2002

Mathew Lynn

Gift of the New South Wales Jewish War Memorial 2002

Paul Hasluck, n.d.

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen on paper

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

Feel the music

Johann Paul Georg Fischer

Dr Christopher Chapman discusses the portrait of Australian composer Paul Grabowsky by photographer Martin Philbey.

Portrait of Augustus Leopold Küper, 1823

Portrait, watercolour over pencil on artist board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Neil Finn and Paul Hester, 1987 (printed 2021)

Alan Mitchell

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2002

Gift of the artist 2021

All in the Family

Portrait launch of Major-General Paul Cullen AC CBE DSO and Bar ED (Rtd) and George Judah Cohen.

Paul Hester, 1987 (printed 2021)

Alan Mitchell

Portrait, inkjet print on canvas

Gift of the artist 2021

Get Wet Series, 1979

Portrait, five screenprints on paper

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Creatures of Leisure, 1982

Portrait, 5 screenprints on paper

Paul Kelly, c. 1983

William Kelly OAM

Portrait, screenprint on paper

Purchased 2022

Portrait of Johnson Pilton Walker, Inside the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, 25 Hours 31 minutes, 22-23rd of May 2009

Portrait of Johnson Pilton Walker, Inside the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, 25 Hours 31 minutes, 22-23rd of May 2009, 2009 (printed 2010)

Ingvar Kenne

Portrait, type C photographs on paper

Purchased with funds provided by the Circle of Friends 2009

B A Santamaria, 1996

Wes Walters

Portraiture. Power. Influence.

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift the Santamaria Family 2014
In loving memory of Catherine who persuaded her father to sit for the portrait and who chose Wes Walters as the artist

Ralph Heimans

Current exhibition

The exhibition will feature some of the most significant portraits in the artist’s career to date, from early major works such as his painting of HM Queen Mary of Denmark through to his most recent.

The Honourable Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO, 2014 Ralph Heimans AM

Portraits of Power: Ralph Heimans tour

Event, Daily until Monday 27 May

Join our professional guides on this 45-minute deep dive into the work of Ralph Heimans, one of Australia’s preeminent portraitists.

Paul Kelly

Learning resource archive

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

Paul's smile, 2019

Nic Duncan

The Last Paul Mumme Work, 2015

by Paul Mumme

Magazine article by Eileen Adams, 2006

Finalist, DPA 2016

Drawing power

The National Portrait Gallery joins the Big Draw, a program dedicated to promoting drawing as a tool for thought, creativity, social and cultural engagement.

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.

Paul Kelly and The Portraits media information

18 June 2013

Archived media releases 2013

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

Paul, Bankstown, 2016

by Lyndal Irons

Nina and Paul, 2008

by Emma Thomson

Paul White from 'The Cells Beneath'

Pippa Samaya

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2015

Shall I raise my eyebrows and gasp? (Alex), 2011 by TextaQueen

Pen power

Politics and personae in the portraiture of TextaQueen by Jane Raffan.

Gail Kelly, 2018

by Paul Newton

Commissioned with funds provided by Westpac Group and Optus 2018

Prime minister, 2018

Mike Bowers

Festival opening night dinner with Paul West

25 August 2016

Join the host of River Cottage Australia for a special meal and conversation

Trek for Shona Mai

Glen Braithwaite

NPG Wellington, Edinburgh and Canberra, 10th March 2021

15 minutes of frame

Recorded virtual programs

Delve into the lives, loves and labour of the world’s most prominent portrait galleries in this international conversation series.

Serenity

Forough Yavari

Archived media releases 2016

Equation of a life - a portrait of Professor Derek Denton

Equation of a life – a portrait of Derek Denton

9 September 2016

The National Portrait Gallery, has welcomed the newest portrait commission of Emeritus Professor Derek Denton AC by Evert Ploeg.

Martin Philbey

Martin Philbey (b. 1962) is a Melbourne-based photographer who has amassed an archive of 100,000 images over his twenty-year career.

4 portraits in the collection

Clyde Cameron

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

Audio described exhibition portraits

Audio description

Audio descriptions for selected portraits from the exhibition Ralph Heimans: Portraiture. Power. Influence.

Portrait 36

June - August 2010

This issue features convict portraitists, Janet Dawson, Paul Grabowsky, Nam Le, the Present Tense exhibition and more.

Geoffrey Tozer

Geoffrey Tozer (1954-2009), pianist, achieved national fame as a child prodigy in the 1960s.

1 portrait in the collection

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

Hans Eworth

Portrait 45

Winter 2013

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

Cyril Henschke in his tasting room at Keyneton

Cyril Henschke in his tasting room at Keyneton, 1968

Douglass Baglin

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Portrait 58

Summer 2017-18

September - November 2004

Paul Cézanne, Bill Henson and Simone Young, Australian cinema’s iconic women, and feminist portraits by Kate Just.

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.

Untitled #1, 2010

by Sean O’Carroll

Portrait 41

October - November 2011

This issue features Kate Beynon, Philosopher Cynthia Freeland, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, John Tsiavis & Chris Lilley, UK's BP Portrait Award, Purchasing power in colonial Sydney and more.

Gus and full moon at the farm, 2006

by Amanda James

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on cardboard

Bernard Smith, 1985

Albert Tucker

Purchased 1998

William McMahon, 1973

Archived media releases 2016

Portrait, ciment fondue

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Paul and Wendy Greenhalgh 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Help warm the Canberra community

4 July 2016

National Portrait Gallery and the St Vincent de Paul Society are asking Canberrans to pick up their knitting needles and crochet hooks to create warm winter scarves to assist people in need.

David Williamson

Recorded 1976

Gusta

Jacob Nash

Ian Darling AO

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

Beadle, Winchester, 1823 by John Dempsey

Beadles, bellmen and bumbles

For Dempsey’s people their occasional encounters with state power would have been largely through the local parish, which administered the ‘Old Poor Law’.

She saved his life. He showed her painting.

Nearest & Dearest

Leaders, painters, friends

Sentinel, 2013

by Hamish Ta-mé

Bryan Westwood

Bryan Westwood (1930-2000) was a painter and printmaker who twice won the Archibald Prize, for his portrait of artist and critic Elwyn Lynn (1989) and of the then Prime Minister, Paul Keating (1992).

10 portraits in the collection

Creative angst, 2011

by Mark Tedeschi

Ryan Presley: Paradise won

Current exhibition

Marri Ngarr artist Ryan Presley's site-specific commission Paradise won is prominently positioned at the Gallery’s entrance. This ambitious new work invites conversations about the ongoing legacies of colonisation and celebrates First Nations survival and autonomy.

Engagement, 8, 2017

by Timothy James Coad

Nikki Toole

Recorded 2017

EVA, 2015

by Stephanie Simcox

Icons from the National Portrait Gallery, London

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

Shakespeare to Winehouse

Previous exhibition, 2022

From Shakespeare to Winehouse, Darwin to Dickens, the Beatles, Brontë sisters and Beckham, the National Portrait Gallery London holds the world’s most extensive collection of portraits.

Ruby Hunter, 1996 (printed 2012)

Purchased 2012

Lucinda, Tram Driver

Avraham Vofsi

Returning the Gaze

Shannon May Powell

Abraham Admasu (School of St Yared student, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)

Dylan Le’Mon

Cut and thrust

Environmental activists

Harry Butler, Tim Flannery and Ian Kiernan

Nine square images of previous winners of the National Photographic Portrait Prize

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2024

Upcoming exhibition

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 Hermit, 2016

by Alex Frayne

Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer

On train from New York to Memphis, July 4, 1956 by Alfred Wertheimer

Elvis At 21

Previous exhibition, 2006

Elvis at 21 is a photographic exhibition capturing Elvis’ rise to fame in the year 1956, before security and money built walls between him and his fans.

George Foxhill

Self Portraits

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

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

HOMELAND The importance of place, 2014

by Dave Laslett

The great echo chamber, 2017

by Dianne Jones

Peteris Ciemitis

Peteris Ciemitis was born in Western Australia in 1959, the son of Latvian refugees.

1 portrait in the collection

Ruby Hunter

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

1 portrait in the collection

The Chess Player, 2011

by Andrew Campbell

Samantha Harris, 2010

by Hamish Ta-mé

William P. Dowling

William Paul Dowling (1824–1877) is thought to have studied art in his native Dublin before settling in London, where he worked as a draughtsman while trying to establish himself as a portraitist.

1 portrait in the collection

Divine, 2014

by Hugh Peachey

Michael Field, 2009

by Remi Chauvin

Tadeusz Kosciuszko

Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kosciuszko (1746–1817) is a national hero in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and the United States.

1 portrait in the collection

Nothing to hide, 2006

by Bindi Cole

Mr M Walarmerpui, 2019

Ben Searcy

Your backstage pass to 70s and 80s sounds and scenes

Jimmy Barnes at The Coogee Bay Hotel 1984 (detail) Grant Matthews

Pub Rock

Previous exhibition, 2020

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

Sporting Archibald

Previous exhibition, 2000

Celebrating the focus on sport during 2000, this special exhibition features our national sporting heroes and heroines immortalised on canvas

Self Portrait (Textanude) by Arlene TextaQueen

Animated

Self Portraits Online

Previous exhibition, 2008

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

Morteza Arefifar, Manus Island Detention Centre, 2017

by Adam Ferguson

Previous exhibition, 2005

Kylie

An Exhibition

Kylie Minogue, one of Australia's most famous cultural exports is now the subject of her own exhibition.

To Look Away – Tilda, 2015

by Sophie Hyde

Magazine article by Sandy Nairne, 2006

Finalist, DPA 2016

Her Majesty Mrs Brown

Event, Sunday 12 May

Join us this Mother’s Day for a screening of Her Majesty Mrs Brown featuring Judi Dench and Billy Connolly.

Why do painted portraits still matter?

Lecture by Sandy Nairne, Director, National Portrait Gallery, London, given at the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra on 28 April 2006.

Portrait 54

Spring 2016

Explore an Indian treasure trove, photography by Robert McFarlane and Nan Goldin, Michael Taylor's expressionist paintings, the Great War portraits, and more!

Sir Ian McLennan, c. 1978

Portrait, oil on board

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

Jon Campbell

Archived media releases 2021

Jon Campbell (b. 1961) came to Australia from Northern Ireland as a three-year-old.

2 portraits in the collection

Shakespeare to Winehouse: Icons from the National Portrait Gallery, London

Announcing Shakespeare to Winehouse

24 November 2021

More than eighty treasures from the National Portrait Gallery London will travel to Canberra for a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from March 2022.

John Citizen

John Citizen is the artistic alter ego of Australian artist Gordon Bennett (1955-2014), painter and multi-media artist, addressed issues of identity and power in a postcolonial context.

1 portrait in the collection

Sketch for portrait of Justin O'Brien, 1980

Portrait, oil with fibre-tipped pen underdrawing on composition board

Gift of the Margaret Olley Art Trust 2002

Portrait of a Manchu Noblewoman, 18th-19th C.

Facing East

Magazine article, 2007

An exhibition at the Freer and Sackler Galleries in Washington DC showcases the art of portraiture in Asia over two thousand years.

Awesome Achievers

Stories from Australians of the Year

Touring exhibition, 2016

Celebrate and be inspired by talent, passion and achievement – and triumph over adversity. This exhibition features major portraits drawn from the National Portrait Gallery collection and supplemented with works from private and institutional sources.

OBEY

Shepard Fairey Posters

Shepard Fairey is best known for his iconic poster Obama/Hope which he made in support of Barack Obama for the 2008 US election.

John Gorton, 1970

Portrait, terracotta

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Paul and Wendy Greenhalgh 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Bruce Pollard

Celebrating 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection

Bruce Pollard (b. 1936), gallerist, established the Pinocotheca Gallery in a St Kilda mansion in 1967, and relocated it to an old hat factory in Richmond in 1970.

1 portrait in the collection

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.

Heidi Margocsy

Vox pops

Perrin is an amazing amazing woman, and what I wanted to do with this particular sitting was create something raw and stripped back.

Lowitja O'Donoghue, 2006

Robert Hannaford AM

Donating to the National Portrait Gallery

Commissioned with funds donated by BHP Billiton Limited, Rio Tinto Aboriginal Fund, Newmont Australia Limited, Reconciliation Australia, Hon Paul Keating and Hon Fred Chaney 2006

Private and public ancillary funds

Foundation

Information Sheet for private and public ancillary funds donating to the National Portrait Gallery.

Esther Erlich

Esther Erlich (b. 1955), a Melbourne-based painter, has been exhibiting since the early 1980s, often with the Libby Edwards Galleries in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and the Barry Newton Gallery in Adelaide.

3 portraits in the collection

Jacqueline Mitelman

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Jacqueline Mitelman (b. 1952), photographer, was born in Scotland and moved to Australia with her family at the age of five.

23 portraits in the collection

Study for portrait of Bob Ellis, 1999

David Naseby

Gift of the artist 2001

Study for portrait of Bob Ellis, 1999

David Naseby

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Gift of the artist 2001

Our only concern is the void, 2013

by Nik Lee

Magazine article by Jude Rae, 2015

Winner, MDPA 2013

Self Portrait (the year my husband left), 2008 by Jude Rae

Observation point

Portraits take many forms, from official statements of power and status to deeply personal testaments of affection and insight.

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

A handful of sand

Magazine article by Ellen Kent, 2007

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

Self Portrait #5, 2008

William Yang, John Fukuda

Portrait, inkjet print, black ink on paper

Purchased 2022

I am mine

Dr Christopher Chapman, curator and judge of the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009 contextualises the themes of the exhibition.

Matthÿs Gerber

Magazine article by Kim Sajet, 2018

Matthÿs Gerber (b. 1956), artist and academic, moved to Sydney from the Netherlands at the age of sixteen in 1971.

4 portraits in the collection

The Obama effect

Kim Sajet reflects on two portraits with a power that extends beyond gallery walls.

Norman McBeath

Norman McBeath, Edinburgh-based photographer and printmaker, has fifty portraits in the National Portrait Galleries of London and Edinburgh.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Joshua Reynolds

Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), acknowledged as one of the world's great portraitists, was master of portraits in the 'Grand Manner', replete with moral and heroic symbolism.

3 portraits in the collection

Essington Lewis, 1952

Sir William Dargie CBE

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of BHP Billiton 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

Phillip Gudthaykudthay

Philip Gudthaykudthay (b. 1935) Liyagalawumirr (Yolgnu) bark painter, worked as a young man as a stockman, fencer and crocodile hunter around Milingimbi and Ramingining.

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait in plus fours, c. 1939 (cast 2003)

Lyndon Dadswell CMG

Portrait, cast bronze

Purchased 2004

Angus and the late Peter C. Trumble, 1965, still then a firm advocate of the detachable collar.

Dementia and the arts

That principle of equity of access has ever since been a noble aspiration for all public art museums, as it is for us here at the National Portrait Gallery.

Lyndon Dadswell, with his sculpture 'Native'

Lyndon Dadswell CMG

Lyndon Dadswell CMG (1908-1986) studied at the Julian Ashton School before working with Rayner Hoff from 1926 to 1929 and Paul Montford from 1929 to 1935.

3 portraits in the collection

John Mawurndjul, 2005

R. Ian Lloyd

Gift of R Ian Lloyd 2010. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program.

Reinis Zusters

Recorded 1965

Bernard Smith

Bernard Smith (1916-2011) was one of Australia's most important twentieth-century art historians and an influential cultural commentator.

2 portraits in the collection

Another painter in the studio: Tim Storrier

Another painter in the studio: Tim Storrier, 1982

Portrait, oil on masonite

Purchased 2012

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

Reko Rennie

Reko Rennie (b. 1974) is a Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay/Gummaroi artist living and working in Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

NPPP 2010 exhibition essay

Dr Christopher Chapman, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2010 Prize.

Artist kisses subject, 2014 Sophia Hewson. Private collection. © Sophia Hewson. Photo: © AGNSW

The powerful, subversive female gaze

Lust

Erotic-platonic

Powerful, equal, legal love

Devotion

Three weddings

Paddy Jaminji (Jampin)

Anne Zahalka Portraits 1987-2007

Paddy Jaminji (Jampin) (1912-1996), Kija visual artist, spent much of his life in and around his country near Bedford Downs station in WA.

1 portrait in the collection

Hall of Mirrors

Previous exhibition, 2007

Hall of Mirrors: Anne Zahalka Portraits 1987-2007 explores the thread of portraiture through the artist's prolific career, now spanning more than 20 years.

Peter Thomson AO MBE CBE

associated with Nicholas Hilliard

Peter Thomson AO MBE CBE (1929-2018), professional golfer, began to play the game at the age of 12.

2 portraits in the collection

Queen Elizabeth I

Horatio Nelson

Sir William Beechey

William Wilberforce

Sir Thomas Lawrence

George Rose

George Rose, joint Secretary of the British Treasury at the time of the First Fleet, joined the civil service after leaving the Royal Navy in 1762.

1 portrait in the collection

Oliver Cromwell

Robert Walker

Previous exhibition, 2008

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.

Pat and Richard Larter, Luddenham, 1970s

Pin-ups

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2008

Christopher Chapman describes the art and life of Australian artist Richard Larter.

Jean Bellette, 1937

Adrian Lawlor

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Jean Bellette

Jean Bellette (1908-1991), painter, studied in her native Hobart before moving to Sydney to train with Julian Ashton.

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

Rosie Batty

Recorded 2017

Tony Shaw AM

Tony Shaw AM (b. 1953), rugby union footballer, made his debut for Queensland in 1973 and went on to play 112 games for his state team.

1 portrait in the collection

Great Suffragette demonstration in London

The courage of their convictions

Nearest & Dearest

Trust the women

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

King Charles I

Gerrit van Honthorst

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Annie Roberts, 1878

George Baird Shaw

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

Don Watson

Don Watson (b. 1949), writer, is an authority on aspects of Australian history, culture, politics and language.

1 portrait in the collection

Gavin Campbell

Magazine article by Jane Kinsman, 2007

Gavin Campbell (b. 1935) was the first managing director and chief executive officer of the Australian Stock Exchange, brought in in late 1988 to manage the federation of the six exchanges, cutting costs, trimming staff and centralising operations.

1 portrait in the collection

Themes and variations (Annelies) A13, 1946

Listening to form

National Gallery of Australia curator Jane Kinsman discusses the portraiture of Henri Matisse.

Bernard Smith, n.d.

Arthur Boyd AC OBE

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on board

Gift of an anonymous donor 2002

Margaret Preston, c. 1930

Harold Cazneaux

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.

Malcolm Fraser, 1990 (printed 2010)

Bill McAuley

Portraits from The Movement 1978-2003

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Proof

Previous exhibition, 2003

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.

The fortepianist - portrait of Dr Geoffrey Lancaster

The fortepianist - portrait of Dr Geoffrey Lancaster, 2011

Jude Rae

Portrait, oil on linen

Gift of Dr Andrew Lu OAM 2013 . Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Self portrait, 1949

Portrait, pen and ink on book page

Gift of Dr Gene Sherman AM and Brian Sherman AM 2012. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Bryan Brown AM

Bryan Brown AM (b. 1947), actor and producer, worked as an insurance salesman before doing theatre in Australia and London.

2 portraits in the collection

Peter Thomson, c. 1960

Portrait, pencil on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mary Thomson 2017

George Rose, 1811

Giovanni Vendramini, T Cadell & W Davies after William Evans, Sir William Beechey

Portrait, engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Designing the ideal marriage

Devotion

Deep foundations, shared vision

Henry Mayer

Henry Mayer (1919-1991) was Professor of Government at Sydney University from the 1960s to 1980s.

2 portraits in the collection

Christine Anu

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

Christine Anu (b. 1970), singer/songwriter and actor, was born in Cairns, Queensland.

1 portrait in the collection

Songman, portrait of Kev Carmody, 2006

Peter Hudson

Courtesy of Kev Carmody, Song Cycles Pty Ltd.

Willow Legge

Previous exhibition, 2014

Willow Legge (b. 1934) is a British artist who studied sculpture at Chelsea School of Art from 1951 to 1956 under Willi Soukop and Bernard Meadows.

1 portrait in the collection

Rick Amor

21 Portraits

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.

Peter Hudson

Portrait, oil and resin on canvas

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

5 portraits in the collection

"The determined" Self portrait, 2002

George Foxhill

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2007

Harold Holt, 1969

Portrait, cast bronze on granite base

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Paul and Wendy Greenhalgh 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

W B McInnes

Portrait, hand-cut acetate stencil, aerosol enamel on canvas

William Beckwith (Bill) McInnes (1889–1939), artist, was only fourteen when he began studying drawing under Frederick McCubbin at the National Gallery School in Melbourne, before moving to painting.

5 portraits in the collection

Bob Hawke, 2012

Luke Cornish

Purchased 2013

Yami Lester speaks at Uluru Handback Ceremony

Yami Lester OAM

A Yankunytjatjara man, Yami Lester OAM (1941–2017) was born at Walyatjata in the north of South Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Marian Drew

Brisbane-based Marian Drew (b. 1960) is a photographic artist and Adjunct Associate Professor in Photography at Queensland College of Art, Griffith University.

1 portrait in the collection

Imants Tillers

Imants Tillers (b. 1950) is a visual artist, writer and curator based in Cooma, New South Wales.

2 portraits in the collection

John Gorton, 1970 (cast 1999)

Portrait, pigment ink print on paper

Portrait, cast bronze

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Cast 1999 from terracotta donated by Paul and Wendy Greenhalgh 1999

Penelope Seidler, 2019 (printed 2021)

Anne Zahalka

Purchased 2021

Janet Holmes a Court AC

Janet Holmes à Court AC (b. 1943), businesswoman and philanthropist, graduated in science and worked as a teacher before marrying young Perth lawyer Robert Holmes à Court in 1966.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Anne Summers, 1974

Purchased 2012

Portrait of Anne Summers, 1974

Purchased 2012

Portrait of Anne Summers, 1974

Purchased 2012

Portrait of Anne Summers, 1974

Purchased 2012

Portrait of Anne Summers, 1974

Purchased 2012

Portrait of Anne Summers, 1974

Purchased 2012

Hugh Jackman, 2020

Vincent Fantauzzo

Commissioned with funds provided by the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation and Paul Dainty AM and Donna Dainty 2020

Harold Holt, n.d.

Portrait, graphite on paper

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

Phillip Gudthaykudthay, 1986

Martin van der Wal

Portrait, inkjet print on rag paper

Purchased 2005

Therese Desmond

Therese Desmond (1902–1961), radio and stage actress, was born Mary Long in London and came to Australia as a teenaged orphan at the end of World War 1.

1 portrait in the collection

First study for portrait of Malcolm Fraser

First study for portrait of Malcolm Fraser, 1981

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Jane Campion, 2009

Peter Brew-Bevan

Purchased 2011

The Seekers

Portrait, oil on cardboard

Recorded 2013

Self portrait, between 1951 and 1953

Janet Dawson

Gift of the artist 2000

Josonia Palaitis

Portrait, inkjet print on rag paper

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

Paddy Jaminji, 1986

Martin van der Wal

Purchased 2005

The Hon. John Howard OM AC

The Hon. John Howard OM AC (b. 1939) was Prime Minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007.

1 portrait in the collection

National Youth Self Portrait Prize

NYSPP 2009

An annual event, the National Youth Self Portrait Prize seeks to encourage young people to embrace self portraiture and its expressive possibilities.

Jacki Weaver, 2018

John Tsiavis

Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2018

Hélène Kirsova

Hélène Kirsova (1910–1962), dancer and founder of Kirsova Ballet, the first professional ballet company in Australia.

4 portraits in the collection

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022

Learning resources

Let’s look closely at the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022 together! For students and family groups.

Ben McNamara

Vox pops

This is Marissa Gallagher from Kintore, which if you're in Alice Springs, just go west until the WA border, just before that, a traditional area of Pintupi mob.

Sir Asher Joel, n.d.

Portrait, pencil on paper

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

Grant Mudford

Grant Mudford (b. 1944) is a Sydney-born, Los Angeles-based photographer renowned for his large-format, abstract depictions of the urban landscape and built environment.

1 portrait in the collection

Jane Campion DNZM

Jane Campion DNZM (b. 1954), director, producer and screenwriter, is the first woman to win the Palme d'Or at Cannes and the second woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, both for her acclaimed film The Piano (1993).

1 portrait in the collection

Louis Kahan AO

Louis Kahan (1905-2002) was born in Vienna, Austria to Jewish parents.

63 portraits in the collection

John Clarke

Previous exhibition, 2008

John Clarke (1948-2017), satirist and humourist, moved to Australia in the 1970s from New Zealand, where he had begun performing in university revues and was named Entertainer of the Year in 1976.

3 portraits in the collection

My Favourite Australian

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

Peter Thomson, 1970

Ern McQuillan OAM

Portrait, enamel, gloss acrylic, perspex, masonite and metal sign on board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2004

Reko Rennie, 2014

Jasper Knight

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2020. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Seduce, Amuse, Entertain

NPPP 2007 exhibition essay

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

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

Juno Gemes

Portrait, photograph on paper

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

Harry and Penelope Seidler, 15 December 1958

John Hearder

Gift of Penelope Seidler AM 2021

Essington Lewis CH

Essington Lewis CH (1881-1961) was chairman of BHP from 1950 to 1952, having been the company's chief general manager from 1938 to 1950.

1 portrait in the collection

Florence Austral, c. 1930

Howard Barron

Portrait, oil on cardboard

Gift of the University of Newcastle (Australia) 2007

Portrait of Alan Marshall, 1955

Lina Bryans

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

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.

Crowded House

Portrait, oil on masonite

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

Study for self portrait, c. 1965

Jean Appleton

Gift of Laurie Curley OAM and Mrs Robyn Curley 2012

Gough and John, 1981

Peter van der Veer

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Janet Holmes á Court, 2001 (printed 2011)

Lorrie Graham

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Bob Ellis

Previous exhibition, 2020

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

3 portraits in the collection

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.

Mandawuy Yunupingu, 1991 (printed 2011)

Lorrie Graham

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Mandawuy Yunupingu, NT, 2004

John Elliott

Event, Starts Thursday 16 May

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Tomáš Kantor in Bell Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, 2023

A Performance of Portraiture

Ralph Heimans tour

Portrait Paintings by Matthew Perceval

Previous exhibition, 2007

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

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

Jimmy Little AO

Portrait, charcoal and oil on canvas

Jimmy Little AO (1937–2012), singer, actor and advocate, was a Yorta Yorta man raised at the Cummerangunja Mission near the Murray River, New South Wales.

3 portraits in the collection

Elizabeth, 2019

Anthea da Silva

Gift of the artist 2020

Therese Desmond, 1919-1920

James Burnside

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Madeleine Howell 2013

One and all

Magazine article by Niamh MacNally, 2007

The current exhibition of portraits at the National Gallery of Ireland Print Gallery investigates just how paper-thin ideas of likeness are.

Joan Kirner

Joan Kirner AC (1938-2015) was the first female premier of Victoria. Daughter of a fitter and turner and a homemaker, she attended the selective University High School, graduating from the University of Melbourne to teach in state schools.

1 portrait in the collection

Dame Joan Sutherland OM AC DBE

Dame Joan Sutherland OM AC DBE (1926–2010) was one of the world's greatest operatic divas.

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.

Tas Bull, 1986 (printed 2018)

Gary Ede

Purchased 2018

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

Dan Sultan

Dan Sultan (b. 1983), Arrernte/Gurindji singer/songwriter, grew up in Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Yellow portrait (portrait of Alex Jelinek)

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.

Kylie Minogue 1, 2018 (printed 2020)

Nicole Bentley

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2020

Kylie Minogue 2, 2018 (printed 2020)

Nicole Bentley

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2020

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.

James Oswald Fairfax, c. 1991

Gift of John Fairfax Holdings Ltd 2002. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Robert Hannaford AM

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

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

Sir William Deane 2008, 2008

Merilyn Fairskye

Purchased 2011

Portrait of Professors Margaret Gardner and Glyn Davis

Glyn Davis AC

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on dibond

Professor Glyn Davis AC is Secretary to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

1 portrait in the collection

Tony Shaw, 2018

Sarah Rhodes

Commissioned with funds from the Patrick Corrigan Portrait Commission Series 2018

Meryl Tankard AO

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

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

1 portrait in the collection

Waiting for Zipporah (Christine Anu), 2002

Elizabeth Barden

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004

Dorothy Porter

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

Michael Zavros

Michael Zavros (b. 1974) graduated from Queensland College of Art with a Bachelor of Visual Arts in 1996.

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.

Anne Summers AO

Anne Summers AO (b. 1945), writer and feminist, became involved in women's rights while studying politics at the University of Adelaide in the 1960s.

7 portraits in the collection

Portrait 69

In conversation with Aretha Brown, Pieter Roelofs on Vermeer, humanoid robots, the nationwide search for Archibald portraits, and 25 years of collecting at the National Portrait Gallery.

Bob Ellis, 1999

David Naseby

Portrait, oil and gold leaf on cedar panel

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Acacius (Stigmata) - Tony Carden, 1991

AñA Wojak

Gift of Lesley Saddington 2015

Christopher Brennan

Christopher Brennan (1870–1932), poet, was born to Irish parents in Sydney.

2 portraits in the collection

Barbara McGrady

Barbara McGrady, born 1950 in Mungindi, New South Wales is a Gomeroi (Gamilaraay)/Murri/Yinah woman, and is recognised as Australia's first Indigenous photojournalist.

1 portrait in the collection

Penelope Seidler AM

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

Michael Peck

Michael Peck, artist and academic, was born in Melbourne in 1977; he was awarded a Bachelor of Fine Art (honours) (Painting) from Monash University and has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions since 1998.

1 portrait in the collection

Dr Gill Hicks AM MBE

Gill Hicks AM MBE (b. 1968) is a peace advocate, author, musician and artist.

1 portrait in the collection

John Allan

John Allan (1866-1936) was a Deakin shire-councillor for many years and president in 1914-15.

1 portrait in the collection

Florence Austral

Florence Austral (1892–1968), operatic soprano, achieved international renown during the 1920s.

1 portrait in the collection

Joan Kirner, c. 1990

Rennie Ellis

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006

Mandawuy Yunupingu AC

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

Joan Sutherland, n.d. (printed 1992)

Lewis Morley

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

Geoffrey Dyer

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

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

1 portrait in the collection

Figurative foundation

Joanna Gilmour explores the life and art of the Australian artist Janet Dawson.

Prince William of Wales, by Mario Testino, 2003 publ. September 2003.
Credit: Mario Testino

Vanity Fair Portraits

Photographs 1913-2008

Portrait photography by John Elliott

Vanity Fair Portraits traces the birth and evolution of photographic portraiture through the archives of Vanity Fair magazine.

Donors

$10,000 - $49,999

Honour board

Tribute

Bob Ellis

Magazine article, 2016

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

Thousand Mile Stare

Previous exhibition, 2004

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

Gary Heery

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders and Dr Christopher Chapman, 2018

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

Selfhood transcended

Anne Sanders and Christopher Chapman bring passionate characterisation to Express Yourself, the Portrait Gallery collection exhibition celebrating iconoclastic Australians.

Michelle Simmons

Recorded 2018

Fred Hilmer AO

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2005

Fred Hilmer AO (b. 1945), economic policy and reform strategist, was the chief executive officer of John Fairfax Holdings from 1998 to 2005 and vice- chancellor of the University of New South Wales from 2006 to 2015.

1 portrait in the collection

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.

Carol Jerrems

Carol Jerrems (1949–1980) was a photographer known for her intimate portraits of friends, lovers and others occupying the progressive social and creative circles in which she moved.

9 portraits in the collection

Portrait 67

Winter 2022

Portrait, oil on canvas board

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.

Geoffrey Tozer, 1966

Rollo Thomson

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

Tony Adam

Tony Adam (b. 1938) model, grazier and farmhand, grew up in Melbourne and attended Melbourne Grammar school, but left when he was sixteen.He went to work on Angledool and Llanillo stations in outback New South Wales and Queensland.

1 portrait in the collection

Kev Carmody

Acclaimed singer songwriter and activist Kevin Daniel Carmody (Kev Carmody) is a Bundjalung/Lama Lama man born in Cairns in 1946.

2 portraits in the collection

Janet Dawson

Janet Dawson (b. 1935), painter, printer, teacher and stage designer, is known for her contribution to abstract art in Australia.

10 portraits in the collection

Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue AC CBE DSG

Photographic Portraiture in Australia

Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue AC CBE DSG (1932–2024), a Yankunytjatjara woman, dedicated her life’s work to advancing the rights and wellbeing of Australia’s First Peoples.

2 portraits in the collection

Mirror With A Memory

Previous exhibition, 2000

This is the first major exhibition to examine photographic portraiture in Australia, from its beginnings in the early 1840s to the present day

Jean Appleton

Jean Appleton (1911–2003), painter and art teacher, studied at the East Sydney Technical College, completing a diploma in drawing and illustration in 1932.

5 portraits in the collection

Alan Bond, 1985

Rennie Ellis

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2010

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006

The God-shaped hole

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

Fred Hilmer, 2018

Evert Ploeg

Portrait, oil on linen

Commissioned with funds provided by Dr Helen Nugent AO 2018

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2023

Previous exhibition, 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.

Robert, Lindy, Grant, 1981

Jenny Watson

Portrait, oil on canvas board (triptych)

Purchased 2002

George Pell AC

George Pell AC (1941–2023), former Roman Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney, was born and educated in Ballarat, Victoria.

1 portrait in the collection

Rupert Bunny

Magazine article by Sarah Rhodes, 2019

Rupert Charles Wulsten Bunny (1864–1947) was one of the most celebrated Australian expatriate artists of his generation, achieving a degree of success in Paris in the 1890s and early 1900s that was unmatched by his peers.

3 portraits in the collection

After Dante’s Inferno, 2018 Sarah Rhodes © the artist

Observation point

I met Clara while teaching photomedia at the University of Tasmania last year. One of her assignments focused on her relationship with her former boyfriend, who she now works for as his live-in carer.

Franco Belgiorno-Nettis AC CBE

Magazine article by Roger Benjamin, 2015

Franco Belgiorno-Nettis AC CBE (1915-2006), industrialist, engineer and patron of the arts, attended the Turin Military Academy and served in the Italian army in North Africa during World War II.

1 portrait in the collection

Fugue in Yellow

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

Study of Archbishop Daniel Mannix, 1962

Clifton Pugh AO

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Lady Primrose Potter AC

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2017

Lady Primrose Potter AC was born in Sydney in 1931 and lives in Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Humour’s warm refuge

Angus Trumble pays tribute to John Clarke.

George Hurrell

George Hurrell, born in Kentucky, began his working life studying painting at the Art Institute of Chicago.

1 portrait in the collection

Supporters

$5,000 - $9,999

Honour board

Artist interviews

Headspace 4

Dr Gene Sherman AM

Dr Gene Sherman AM (b. 1947) is Chairman and Executive Director of Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation, a family philanthropic enterprise dedicated to the public exhibition of significant contemporary art from Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.

3 portraits in the collection

Michael Leunig, 2004

Previous exhibition, 2005

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

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.

Cardinal George Pell, 2007 (printed 2012)

David Roberts

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Alexis Wright

Alexis Wright (b. 1950), author and activist, won the Miles Franklin Award in 2007 for her novel Carpentaria and the 2018 Stella Prize for her collective memoir Tracker.

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

Graham Kennedy and the Seekers in Melbourne

Graham Kennedy AO

Graham Kennedy AO (1934-2005), entertainer, began his career in Melbourne radio in 1949.

2 portraits in the collection

Jaq Grantford

Previous exhibition, 2010

Melbourne-born artist Jaq Grantford has been a finalist multiple times in portrait prizes such as the Black Swan Prize, the Shirley Hannan National Portrait Award, the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize and the Portia Geach Memorial Award.

1 portrait in the collection

Australian of the Year

Inspiring a Nation

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

Joan Alone

Magazine article by Julia Gillard AC, 2015

Julia Gillard pays poignant tribute to her friend and mentor, the late Joan Kirner, Victoria’s first and only female premier.

Portrait of Cate Blanchett, 2008

David Rosetzky

Portrait, single channel moving image, colour, sound, 9 minutes, 56 seconds

Commissioned with funds provided by Ian Darling 2008

Emerging realities

Magazine article by Helena Bezzina, 2008

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.

Leah King-Smith

Contributing artists

Born: 1957, Gympie, QLD
Works: Brisbane

Sir Ian Potter, 1973

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2018

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lady Primrose Potter 2006
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

A guy from Paris

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

Nude Self Portrait, after Rah Fizelle 2016 by Yvette Coppersmith

Observation point

Magazine article by Yvette Coppersmith, 2017

Yvette Coppersmith considers the influences on her portrait painting.

Max Dupain

The Vintage Years

Previous exhibition, 2003

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

Primed

Some Prime Ministers

Previous exhibition, 2019

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

Anthony Charles Carden

Previous exhibition, 2018

Anthony Charles Carden (1961–1995), activist and actor, became interested in performance while a school student at Knox Grammar, Wahroonga.

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.

Peace, the Man and Hope (Anthony Mundine), 2005 by Brook Andrew and Larry Rawling (printer)

In focus

Magazine article, 2017

Brook Andrew, Marcia Langton and Anthony Mundine.

Archie Roach AC

Previous exhibition, 2022

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

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.

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.

APS5 Exhibitions Coordinator

Applications close midnight Monday 27 May 2024

Employment opportunities

The Exhibitions Coordinator plays a key role in the development, delivery and maintenance of exhibitions and collection displays at the National Portrait Gallery. The role reports to the Senior Exhibitions Coordinator and is a member of a small team that is responsible for the delivery of exhibitions both onsite and travelling. The position requires excellent communication and interpersonal skills and is required to act with a good degree of autonomy.

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.

Time and light

In Gallery Seven

Previous exhibition, 2023

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.

Archie Roach, 1992 (printed 2010)

Bill McAuley

Self Portraits in Australia

Purchased 2010

To Look Within

Previous exhibition, 2004

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

Moving pictures

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2008

The exhibition California Video at the J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles demonstrated how video artists expand the boundaries of portraiture.

Rosalie Kunoth-Monks OAM

Rosalie Kunoth-Monks OAM (1937-2022), Arrernte and Anmatjere woman, Aboriginal activist, former actress and nun, was born at Artekerre soak on Utopia Cattle Station in the Northern Territory, the daughter of Allan and Ruby Kunoth.

2 portraits in the collection

Emile Sherman

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2010

Emile Sherman (b. 1972), film producer, graduated from the University of New South Wales before beginning his career with a documentary about his great-great-uncle Chatzkel, a Lithuanian Jew who lived through both world wars and the Bolshevik revolution.

3 portraits in the collection

Poison pen

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

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

Brains trust

Eminent doctors and scientists have for more than a century consistently caused our nation to punch far above her weight.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009

Applications close midnight Monday 27 May 2024

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.

APS6 Senior Exhibitions Coordinator (non-ongoing)

Employment opportunities

The Senior Exhibitions Coordinator plays a key role in the development and delivery of the National Portrait Gallery’s travelling exhibition program and onsite exhibitions and collection displays. The role reports to the Head of Exhibitions and supervises the Exhibitions Coordinator. The position requires excellent communication and interpersonal skills and is required to act with a good degree of autonomy.

Robert Dessaix, 1998

Robert Hannaford AM

Photographic Portraits from 19th Century Australia

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Robert Dessaix 2000
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa

Husbands and Wives

Previous exhibition, 2010

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

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.

Glossy 2

Faces, Magazines, Now

Previous exhibition, 2005

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.

Dan the man

Magazine article by India Bednall, 2015

Martin Philbey’s portrait of Dan Sultan.

Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground

Protest!

How can we dance when our earth is turning?

Magazine article by Brenda L Croft, 2022

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.

Matilda (Ngambri/Ngunnawal), 2019 Brenda L Croft

Observation point

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

Expect the unexpected

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

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

More about the National Photographic Portrait Prize

Magazine article by Tegan Mcauley, 2015

Comments from our judges and information about entering the 2017 Prize.

The Rays, 1970
Raindance Corporation, Frank Gillette, Michael Shamberg, Paul Ryan

Post digital

Tegan McAuley looks at the evolution of video portraiture.

On the wall – Guangzhou (II), 2002 by Weng Fen

Exhibition themes

The four main themes of the exhibition: About face, Body politic, Skin deep, and Self reflex.

James McClelland, 1946

Nancy Borlase AM

Dalton's Royal Photographic Gallery

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Gillian Appleton (McClelland) 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Lucy Escott, c. 1861

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite, hand coloured on card

Purchased 2009

Nicholas Harding

28 Portraits

Previous exhibition, 2017

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.

New Chair of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia Board

5 November 2021

Archived media releases 2021

The Morrison Government has appointed Mrs Penny Fowler as Chair of the Board of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia (NPGA) for a 3 year term, commencing on 1 January 2022.

Australian Visit

Previous exhibition, 2006

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.

In the National Interest

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

In focussing on the importance of gifts in the building of the collection, prominence must be given to the most spectacular of the National Portrait Gallery's acquisitions; the portrait of Captain James Cook RN by John Webber R.A.

Archie Roach, 2008

Peter Hudson

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

Untitled #21/09 (after Ricci, 1700; featuring Matthew Mitcham)

Untitled #21/09 (after Ricci, 1700; featuring Matthew Mitcham), 2009

Ross Watson

Portrait, oil on board

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

Rosina Carandini, mid 1860s

Charles Hewitt

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

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

18 October 2018

Archived media releases 2018

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.

Apollo's breath

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2016

Christopher Chapman delights in the intimacy of Robert Mapplethorpe's photography

First Ladies

Significant Australian Women 1913–2013

Archived media releases 2013

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

Dovima with elephants, evening dress by Dior, Cirque d'Hiver, Paris, August 1955 by Richard Avedon

Richard Avedon People media information

8 August 2013

Press releases and images downloads for media.

Henry Baynton Somer Gullett AM MC

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2011

Henry Baynton Somer ‘Jo’ Gullett AM MC (1914-1999), soldier, politician, ambassador, farmer and author, was the son of Sir Henry Gullett, who was one of the Australian official historians of the First World War.

1 portrait in the collection

Support Crew

Portraits of philanthropists in the collection honour their contributions to Australia and acknowledge their support of the National Portrait Gallery.

Tony Shaw, 2018

by Sarah Rhodes

Five Years of National Portrait Gallery Commissions

Commissioned with funds from the Patrick Corrigan Portrait Commission Series 2018

Making Portraits

Previous exhibition, 2004

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

Fannie Carandini, mid 1860s

Charles Hewitt

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

The Fairfax Gift

Magazine article by Brian Dale, 2001

This article examines the portraits gifted to the National Portrait Gallery by Fairfax Holdings in 2003.

The Quiet Australian

Robert Oatley talks about the repatriation of the John Webber portrait of Captain James Cook.

Self-portrait with bowler hat, 1885–6 by Paul Cézanne

Hail Cézanne

Magazine article by John Elderfield, 2017

John Elderfield lauds the portraiture of Paul Cézanne, the artist described by both Matisse and Picasso as ‘the father of us all’.

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.

Anna Meares, 2018

by Narelle Autio

NPG London, Scotland and Australia, 28 January 2021

Commissioned with funds provided by King & Wood Mallesons 2018

15 minutes of frame

Recorded virtual programs

Delve into the lives, loves and labour of the world’s most prominent portrait galleries in this international conversation series.

Sir Ernest Fisk

Magazine article by Tim Storrier, 2013

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

Observation point

Tim Storrier describes the influences on the development of his artistic style.

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

Helena Rubinstein in a red brocade Balenciaga gown

Crème Valaze

From lanolin to Balenciaga

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

Helena Rubinstein (1872‒1965) was the first self-made millionairess of modern times, and created the first publicly-listed global cosmetics corporation.

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.

Jeffrey Smart AO

Jeffrey Smart (1921–2013) was an iconic realist painter, acclaimed for his urban and industrial landscapes which form one of the most original and recognisable bodies of work in the canon of Australian art.

6 portraits in the collection

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

Magna Carta

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2009

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

Penn on paper

Michael Desmond discusses Irving Penn's photographic portrait of Nicole Kidman.

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.

A nose by any other name

Magazine article by Jane Kinsman, 2013

In the exhibition William Kentridge: Drawn from Africa at the National Gallery of Australia, the artist marries Gogol's Tsarist Russia, with that of Stalin and the damaging history of his homeland, South Africa.

Arcadia (Wayne Lynch and Bob McTavish), 1969 (reprinted 2011)

John Witzig

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Gift of the artist 2011

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.

Edward Riou

Edward Riou (1762-1801), naval officer, began his career with the Royal Navy at the age of twelve.

2 portraits in the collection

Portrait of Professors Margaret Gardner and Glyn Davis, 2017

Portrait, pigment photographic prints on paper, hand ground glass

Commissioned with funds provided by Jim and Barbara Higgins, Sir Roderick Carnegie AC, Rupert Myer AO and Annabel Myer, Louise and Martyn Myer Foundation, Peter and Ruth McMullin, Diana Carlton, Professor Derek Denton AC, Harold Mitchell AC, Peter Jopling AM KC, Andrew and Liz Mackenzie, Patricia Patten, Tamie Fraser AO, Bruce Parncutt and Robin Campbell, Lauraine Diggins, Steven Skala AO and Lousje Skala 2017

Blow Back, 2018

Julie Rrap

Gift of the artist 2024. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program.

Eating the seasons

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2019

Anne Sanders imbibes Tony Bilson’s gastronomic revolution.

Announcing... Pub Rock

11 August 2020

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.

Powerful energy

Dr Christopher Chapman explores the symbolism in the portrait commission of Marcia Langton by Brook Andrew.

Jacki Weaver, 2018

by John Tsiavis

NPPP 2012 learning resource

Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2018

Andrew Campbell

An interview with the photographer.

Three ways to look at a photograph

NPPP 2019 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Naomi Cass, 2007

Dr Christopher Chapman, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2019 Prize.

The cook (Michael Schmidt/architect), 1987

Hall of mirrors

Naomi Cass, Director of the Centre of Contemporary Photography, in conversation with Anne Zahalka.

Bob Hawke

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

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

9 portraits in the collection

Catholic clergymen from the Diocese of Adelaide

Catholic clergymen from the Diocese of Adelaide, c. 1862

Stephen Edward Nixon

Purchased 2018

A quiet moment

Magazine article by Helene Ladomirska, 2006

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.

An Intimate Portrait of an Australian Artist in 1930

Magazine article by Lauren Dalla, 2003

Lauren Dalla examines the life of Australian painter Roy de Maistre and his portrait by Jean Shepeard.

Richard Flanagan

Archived media releases 2015

Richard Flanagan (b. 1961) was born in Longford in northern Tasmania, the second youngest of the six children of Archie Flanagan, a primary school principal, and his wife Helen.

1 portrait in the collection

L. Gordon Darling AC CMG

31 August 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.

Caroline Amelia Elizabeth
of Brunswick, 1804

Around the grounds

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2010

Anne Sanders writes about the exhibitions Victoria & Albert: Art & Love on display at the Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace and the retrospective of Sir Thomas Lawrence at the National Portrait Gallery, London.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018 winner announced

23 March 2018

Archived media releases 2018

Finalists have been eagerly awaiting the announcement of the Winner and Highly Commended for the National Photographic Portrait Prize since December. It is our pleasure to announce the Winner for 2018 is Lee Grant for her portrait titled Charlie and Highly Commended has been awarded to Filomena Rizzo for her portrait titled My Olivia.

The 1950s to the present day

Mo and beard timeline

Certain European leaders (needless to name) had the effect of making certain styles of facial hair decidedly undesirable in the years immediately after World War 2.

Study of Louis Nowra, 2018

by Imants Tillers

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2011

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Bednall, Jillian Broadbent AO, John Kaldor AO and Naomi Milgrom AO 2018

Announcing... Portrait23: Identity

15 November 2022

Media

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.

True fella

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

Study in scarlet

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2018

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

NPPP 2016 exhibition essay

Penny Grist, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2016 Prize.

Talma Studios, Sydney

Talma Studios opened in Sydney in March 1899 in a George Street premises next door to the GPO.

1 portrait in the collection

Mal Meninga, 2018

by Peter Hudson

Magazine article by Michelle Fracaro, 2005

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

The line of fire

Michelle Fracaro examines the life of World War II nurse Margaret Anderson, whose portrait by Napier Waller is in the NPG collection.

Fred Hilmer, 2018

by Evert Ploeg

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2022

Commissioned with funds provided by Dr Helen Nugent AO 2018

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.

Announcing.... In their own words

24 November 2020

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

The play’s the thing

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

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

Profile of a marriage

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.

John Bell as King Lear oil on Belgian linen, 2001 by Nicholas Harding

Lear unbuttoned

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2011

Sarah Engledow steps up to the footlights and applauds the storyline behind Nicholas Harding's portraits of actor John Bell.

The art of multiplicity

Magazine article by Meredith Hughes, 2019

Meredith Hughes explores a key Portrait Gallery work, emerging into the infinite iterations of identity.

Courage, Self-analysis and Skill

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2002

The story behind George Lambert's Self-portrait with Gladioli.

The National Portrait Prizes

29 January 2020

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2011

The National Portrait Gallery today announced finalists for the inaugural Darling Portrait Prize, a national new $75,000 prize for Australian portrait painting, and released selected images from the final prize pool for the popular National Photography Portrait Prize.

Past directors

History

Directors of the National Portrait Gallery from 1998 to today.

2023 Annual Appeal

Annual Appeal

In 2023 the Annual Appeal was focussed on a work by one of Australia's best loved and most successful portrait painters, Judy Cassab AO CBE, depicting model, entrepreneur and deportment icon, June Dally-Watkins OAM.

Sandor Ferenczis 50th birthday dinner, Budapest, 1923

Less than six degrees of separation

Anne Sanders finds connections in Inner Worlds between Hungarian expatriates and the development of psychoanalysis in Australia.

Illuminating history

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2023

Joanna Gilmour reflects on 25 years of collecting at the National Portrait Gallery.

Emblems of beauty

Magazine article by Keith Christiansen, 2012

Keith Christiansen introduces the exhibition The Renaissance Portrait from Donatello to Bellini on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Australia’s great internationalists

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2016

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

Hottie's Snifter to port

Magazine article by Peter Jeffrey, 2016

Peter Jeffrey trips the hound nostalgic.

The elegant thinker

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2020

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

Australian Dance Party and Catapult Dance performing Connecting Stories: Innovations at the National Portrait Gallery, 2022 Lorna Sim

Let’s dance

Magazine article by Emma Batchelor, 2022

Emma Batchelor uncovers the compelling contemporary dance made in response to the works in Shakespeare to Winehouse.

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.

Forum participants

Magazine article by Rebecca Ray, 2022

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

Beau Dean Riley Smith, Wiradjuri and Gamilaraay nations, Bennelong, 2017

Space in between

Rebecca Ray goes backstage with Bangarra’s Head of Design and photographer Jacob Nash.

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.

Pre-Raphaelite Profile

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

In 2006 the National Portrait Gallery acquired a splendid portrait of Victoria's first governor, Lieutenant Governor Charles Joseph La Trobe by Thomas Woolner.

The Honourable Bob Hawke savouring a strawberry milkshake, 2017 by Harold David

The intellectual larrikin

Magazine article by Barrie Cassidy, 2019

Barrie Cassidy pays textured tribute to the inimitable Bob Hawke.

Go Figure!

Magazine article by Claire Roberts, 2013

Claire Roberts interviews Swiss art collector Uli Sigg.

Facing Facts

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2019

Former NPG Director, Andrew Sayers describes the 1922 Self-portrait with Gladioli by George Lambert.

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

The Royal she

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

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Honour board

In the mirror: self portrait with Joy Hester

Spring exhibition program

18 August 2020

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

Four from the 30s

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

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.

Pretty in peach

It's remarkable that the inner Melbourne suburb of Richmond has produced two of Australia's most successful opera singers. Three decades apart, but within a short distance of each other, both Helen Porter Mitchell and Florence Wilson were born.

Reflections on portraiture

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2004

An extract from the 2004 Nuala O'Flaaherty Memorial Lecture at the Queen Victoria Musuem and Art Gallery in Launceston in which Andrew Sayers reflects on the unique qualities of a portrait gallery.

The inner voice

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2011

Dr Christopher Chapman, curator of Inner Worlds: Portraits & Psychology looks at Albert Tucker's Heidelberg military hospital portraits.

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

5 January 2021

Archived media releases 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.

Tejal Shah

by Gitanjali Dang

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2003

Born in 1979, Tejal Shah grew up in Chhattisgarh, central India, moving to Bombay in 1995.

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.

Subtle emotion

Magazine article by Tara James, 2022

Christopher Chapman considers photographer Rozalind Drummond's portrait of author Nam Le.

Introversion from High Jinks in the Hydrangeas, 2020 Tamara Dean

In our nature

Tara James chats with award-winning artist Tamara Dean about portraiture prizes, the environment and the strength of women.

Herra Pahlasari

by Aminudin TH Siregar

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2022

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

Layla 2020 Veronica Watson, pencil on paper. Layla 2020 Sarah McEwan, fabric, acrylic on MDF. Self portrait 2020 Layla Bacayo, drypoint on paper. Image: Sarah McEwan

Mash-up

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

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.

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

Big it up

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2005

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.

Where the wild things are

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2009

Michael Desmond explores the complex portrait of Dr Bob Brown by Harold 'The Kangaroo' Thornton.

Unbuttoning uniforms

Magazine article by Sharon Peoples, 2017

Sharon Peoples contemplates costumes and the construction of identity.

Life class

Magazine article by Leonie Hellmers, 2004

Barbara Blackman reflects on her experiences as a life model.

Judicial portraits

Magazine article by Leslie Moran, 2007

Leslie Moran investigates the portraits of judges in the National Portrait Gallery's collection.

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.

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.

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.

Portrait of an English Woman c. 1532-5 (detail)

A new perspective

Magazine article by Celina Fox, 2006

An exhibition devoted to Hans Holbein's English commissions shows the portraitist bringing across the Channel new technical developments in art - with a dazzling facility.

Sophisticated and glamorous

Magazine article by Amanda Rowell, 2015

Michael Riley’s early portraits by Amanda Rowell.

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.

Exposed: Voyeurism Surveillance and the camera since 1870

Magazine article by Sandra Phillips, 2010

The Tate/SFMOMA exhibition Exposed examined the role of photography in voyeurism and how it challenges ideas of privacy and propriety.

I'm not there

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2008

Christopher Chapman looks at some contemporary portraits that explore the construction of identity.

Vintage Max

Magazine article by Gael Newton, 2003

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

Getting a head

Magazine article by Alexandra Roginski, 2015

Alexandra Roginski gets a feel for phrenology’s fundamentals.

Top shot that

Magazine article by Gideon Haigh, 2009

Gideon Haigh discusses portraits of Australian cricketers from the early 20th century

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.

Have you forgotten yet? 2014 by Lee Grant

All that fall

Magazine article by Raimond Gaita, 2015

Raimond Gaita comments on war and truth in the context of the First World War.

Full time

Magazine article by Alistair McGhie, 2017

Alistair McGhie reminisces about three Australian rugby greats commissioned for the Portrait Gallery collection by Patrick Corrigan AM.

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

The Thyssen Art Macabre

NPPP 2017 exhibition essay

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.

Trevor Jamieson, 2016 by Brett Canet-Gibson

The more things change...

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

S Teddy D

by Elly Kent

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

Nadiah Bamadhaj

by Beverly Yong

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2016

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 boy, the bed and the gun

Christopher Chapman contemplates the provocative performance art of Chris Burden.

Mick Jagger, Madonna and Tony Curtis, 1997

The Vanity model

Magazine article by David Friend, 2009

Vanity Fair Editor David Friend describes how the rebirth of the magazine sated our desire for access into the lives of celebrities and set the standard for the new era of portrait photography.

History

About us

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

Mugshots

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

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

Aretha Brown

In conversation

Magazine article by Rebecca Ray, 2023

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

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.

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.

Star signs

Magazine article by Barry York, 2018

Barry York charts the course from childhood request to autographed celebrity portrait anthology.

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

Of plague and portraits

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

Inner Worlds and psychoanalysis

Lecture, 4 June 2011

Magazine article by Ashleigh Wadman, 2012

Inner Worlds evokes a broad view of psychology as a discipline. However, the specific interests of the practitioners whose portraits are included in the exhibition incorporate specialist areas including psychoanalysis.

Vanity fair

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

Technical terminology

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2010

Michael Desmond introduces some of the ideas behind the exhibition Present Tense: An imagined grammar of portraiture in the digital age.

Stigma stigmata

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2015

Angus Trumble provides poignant context for Aña Wojak’s portrait of Tony Carden.

Snap chat

Magazine article by Anne O'Hehir, 2019

2019 National Photographic Portrait Prize judge Anne O’Hehir looks beneath the surface of this year’s entries.

Head, hand, heart

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2007

An extensive selection of portraits by John Brack were on display at the National Portrait Gallery in late 2007.

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.

Donated duo

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

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

Black tie or wombat: How formal should I go?

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2008

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

The art of Inner Worlds

Lecture, 7 May 2011

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

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

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

A rogue's calling card

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

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.

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

Written in Water

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

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

Mental as everything

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2006

Chris O'Doherty, also known as Reg Mombassa, is best-known for his Mambo imagery but he also paints a lot of self portraits.

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

The right note

Magazine article by Leslie Ureña, 2020

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

Tiny Trace of a Colonial Giant

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2004

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.

Chet Baker, singer, New York City, January 16, 1986 by Richard Avedon

The existential lens

Magazine article by Stephen Zagala, 2013

Stephen Zagala discusses Richard Avedon’s work from an Australian perspective.

Less than six degrees of separation

Lecture, 28 May 2011

Magazine article by Pamela Gerrish Nunn, 2016

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

Adam’s Prize Apples

Pamela Gerrish Nunn explores New Zealand’s premium award for portraiture.

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.

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 Cutmear sisters, Jane and Lucy, c. 1842

A man of superior attainments

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

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

Portrait of William Manning, c.1821 by Henry Bone

Of beef in burgundy

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2017

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

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.

Giving a dam

True south #1

Magazine article by Karen Vickery, 2016

Ensconced and meditative in crisp Tasmania, Joanna Gilmour pays tribute to passionate green advocate and photographer Olegas Truchanas.

Diamond Doll

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

Rethinking foundational histories

Magazine article by Kate Fullagar, 2019

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

Miles from nowhere, 2008 (printed 2014) from the Games of consequence series 2008 Polixeni Papapetrou

Mother’s muse

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2020

Inga Walton traces the poignant path of photographer Polixeni Papapetrou, revealed in the NGV’s summer retrospective.

Thinking about architecture and portraiture

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

Dr Christopher Chapman describes the experimental exhibition Portraits + Architecture

Studio portrait of servicewoman Lance Corporal Kathleen Jean Mary (Kath) Walker, c.1942

Past present

Magazine article by Krysia Kitch, 2016

Krysia Kitch celebrates Oodgeroo Noonuccal.

Missionary positions

Magazine article by Stella Ramage, 2016

Stella Ramage on Father McHardy’s Bougainville portraiture.

Off grid

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2019

Aimee Board ventures within and beyond to consider two remarkable new Gallery acquisitions.

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.

Their brilliant careers

Magazine article by Jenny Gall, 2017

Jenny Gall delves into Starstruck to celebrate some of Australian cinema’s iconic women.

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.

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.

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.

Some women you may not know

Alison Alder

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

Confessional conversations

The portraiture of Kristin Headlam

Magazine article by Fiona Gruber, 2015

Fiona Gruber investigates the work of Australian painter Kristin Headlam.

Uncommon Australians

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2022

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

Yanyuwa young men, The Song Peoples Sessions CD Launch Rehearsals, Yanyuwa Country, 2012 Benjamin Warlngundu Ellis

Us being ourselves

Penelope Grist talks to photographer Benjamin Warlngundu Ellis about capturing moments, telling stories and keeping Culture strong.

The mind's eye

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2017

Christopher Chapman takes a trip through the doors of perception, arriving at the junction of surrealism and psychoanalysis.

Revd Dr Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch, c.1795 by Sir Henry Raeburn

Great Scots

Magazine article by Diana O'Neil, 2017

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

Heartfelt

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

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

Some prime ministers

Magazine article by Glynis Jones, 2022

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

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

Shiny, happy people

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

Cover, first minute book of the Tasmanian Society of Natural History

Embrace your inner nerd

Magazine article by Jennifer Higgie, 2022

The southern winter has arrived. For people in the northern hemisphere (the majority of humanity) the idea of snow and ice, freezing mist and fog in June, potentially continuing through to August and beyond, encapsulates the topsy-turvidom of our southern continent.

Hard truths

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

Murray frees himself from straightjacket in public, 1928 by Sam Hood

Risky business

Magazine article by John Zubrzycki, 2016

John Zubrzycki lauds the characters of the Australian escapology trade.

Friends and Acquaintances

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

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

Home truths

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

Despite once expressing a limited interest in the self portrait, the idea of it has figured strongly in much of Tracey Moffatt's work and has done so in some of her most distinctive and compelling images.

The numbers man

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2011

Dr. Sarah Engledow tells the story of Australia's first Federal statistician, Sir George Knibbs.

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.

Fiona McMonagle

Explore The Popular Pet Show

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.

Lucy Culliton

Explore The Popular Pet Show

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.

Asiel Timor Dei, ca. 1728 by a master of Calamarca

The Viceroyalty of New Spain

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2017

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

Progressive pictures

Athol Shmith’s photographs contributed to the emergence of a new vision of Australian womanhood.

Noel McKenna

Explore The Popular Pet Show

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.

Through blue eyes

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

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.

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.

Rick Amor: 21 Portraits

Magazine article by Stephen Valambras Graham, 2021

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

Nannultera, a young cricketer of the Natives' Training Institution, Poonindie , 1854 John Michael Crossland

The catechist and the cricketer

Stephen Valambras Graham traverses the intriguing socio-political terrain behind two iconic First Nations portraits of the 1850s.

Getting bare

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2015

How seven portraits within Bare reveal in a public portrait parts of the body and elements of life usually located in the private sphere.

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

Unknown drawer

Magazine article by Dr David Hansen, 2017

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

Portrait of a Pioneer , 1917
Violet Teague

Off her own bat

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

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

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, 1885-86 by
John Singer Sargent

A feast of friends

Magazine article by Richard Ormond, 2015

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

Generous Janice

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

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

A real Pratt

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

The death of a gentlewoman is shrouded in mystery, a well-liked governor finds love after sorrow, and two upright men become entangled in the historical record.

The personal and the historical

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

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.

The Right Honourable Sir Ninian Stephen KGAK GCMG GCVO KBE QC, 2006 by Rick Amor

Prima facie

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

Material culture

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2018

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

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

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.

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.

Nicholas Harding: 28 Portraits

Exhibition essay

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

Christmas Island