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
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012
Paul Hester (1959–2005), musician and former drummer for Crowded House, was born in Melbourne.
2 portraits in the collection
Aspects of singer songwriter Paul Kelly’s performance persona are communicated by portraits selected from a range of artists and leading music photographers in this focus exhibition.
Paul Kelly AO (b. 1955), singer/songwriter and producer, grew up in Adelaide and made his performing debut in Hobart in 1974.
4 portraits in the collection
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 (b. 1952), an abstract artist, graduated from art school in Melbourne in 1972.
1 portrait in the collection
Paul Worstead (b. 1950) is a conceptual artist, poster maker, T-shirt and fabric designer.
10 portraits in the collection
Paul Haefliger (1914-1982) trained in Sydney and then in London with Bernard Meninsky and Mark Gertler.
1 portrait in the collection
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, a Melbourne-based artist, made his career as a professional portraitist.
4 portraits in the collection
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
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 (b. 1961), is a Sydney-based portrait painter noted for his ability to capture likeness and sensibility.
6 portraits in the collection
Paul Taylor (1957-1992), critic and curator, graduated from Monash Univeristy in 1979.
1 portrait in the collection
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 (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
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2004
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2015
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Rex Dupain 2003
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014
Gift of Danina Dupain Anderson 2021. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
An interview with Paul Newton, the creator of the portrait of rugby legend David Campese.
Commissioned with funds provided by Ian Darling 2013
Commissioned with funds provided by Patrick Corrigan AM 2009
Commissioned with funds provided by Patrick Corrigan AM 2009
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008
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
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Rick Amor and Meg Williams 2015
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2003
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2017
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by the Circle of Friends 2009
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Bruno Grollo 1999
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001
Katherine Russell examines the art of Australian artist Paul Newton, referencing the portraiture of John Singer Sargent.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2007
Dr Anne Sanders previews the works in the new focus exhibition Paul Kelly and The Portraits.
Commissioned with funds provided by Westpac Group and Optus 2018
Commissioned 2003
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of The Australian Industry Group 2012
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2016
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of HOTA (Home of the Arts), Gold Coast 2019 with the encouragement of Patrick Corrigan AM
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Coles Myer Ltd 2002
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Gift of the artist 2012
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ann Korner, Nicholas Korner, Anthony Korner and Harriet Bingham 2015
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with donated funds 2006
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2013
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
The story behind the creation of the portrait of singer-songwriter Paul Kelly by the artist Jon Campbell.
Gift of the New South Wales Jewish War Memorial 2002
Dr Christopher Chapman discusses the portrait of Australian composer Paul Grabowsky by photographer Martin Philbey.
Gift of Mercy Health and Aged Care 2006
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Australian Securities Exchange 2012
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Gift of the artist 2021
Portrait launch of Major-General Paul Cullen AC CBE DSO and Bar ED (Rtd) and George Judah Cohen.
Gift of the artist 2021
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mrs Lily Kahan 2017
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Hilton Nicholas AM OBE 2010
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
A companion to our 2013 exhibition Paul Kelly & The Portraits. For Year 7 to Year 12 students.
Finalist, DPA 2016
Paul Kelly & The Portraits presents a multifaceted image of the performer over the course of his career.
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
Commissioned with funds provided by Westpac Group and Optus 2018
Join the host of River Cottage Australia for a special meal and conversation
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
This issue features convict portraitists, Janet Dawson, Paul Grabowsky, Nam Le, the Present Tense exhibition and more.
This issue features Paul Kelly, Rineke Dijkstra, John Brack, the National Photographic Portrait Prize and more.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005
Paul Cézanne, Bill Henson and Simone Young, Australian cinema’s iconic women, and feminist portraits by Kate Just.
This issue of Portrait Magazine features Nancy Wake, Jon Campbell's portrait of Paul Kelly, George Selth Coppin, Henri Cartier-Bresson and more.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Paul and Wendy Greenhalgh 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
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.
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
Leaders, painters, friends
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
Celebrate the people, places and sounds of Australian pub rock and its enduring impact on our nation’s identity.
Purchased 2012
Peteris Ciemitis was born in Western Australia in 1959, the son of Latvian refugees.
1 portrait in the collection
Ruby Hunter (1955-2010), singer/songwriter, was a Ngarrindjeri/ Kukatha/ Pitjantjatjara woman from South Australia.
1 portrait in the collection
Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kosciuszko (1746–1817) is a national hero in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and the United States.
1 portrait in the collection
Kev Carmody (b. 1946) grew up on a cattle station on the Darling Downs, where his parents worked as drovers.
1 portrait in the collection
Kylie Minogue, one of Australia's most famous cultural exports is now the subject of her own exhibition.
Explore an Indian treasure trove, photography by Robert McFarlane and Nan Goldin, Michael Taylor's expressionist paintings, the Great War portraits, and more!
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of BHP Billiton 2003
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Jon Campbell (b. 1961) came to Australia from Northern Ireland as a three-year-old.
2 portraits in the collection
Delve into the lives, loves and labour of the world’s most prominent portrait galleries in this international conversation series.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Margaret Olley Art Trust 2002
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Paul and Wendy Greenhalgh 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
This display celebrates 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection and its role in commissioning portraits of parliamentary and judicial figures in Australia.
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 (b. 1952), photographer, was born in Scotland and moved to Australia with her family at the age of five.
23 portraits in the collection
Winner, MDPA 2013
Norman McBeath, Edinburgh-based photographer and printmaker, has fifty portraits in the National Portrait Galleries of London and Edinburgh.
2 portraits in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of David Naseby 2001
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of David Naseby 2001
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
Purchased 2004
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
Animated is the National Portrait Gallery's first online exhibition.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009
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 (1912-1998), public relations entrepreneur and state politician, started out as a copyboy at Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.
1 portrait in the collection
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
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
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
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Reg, Lesley, Glen and Paul Thoms 2011
Don Watson (b. 1949), writer, is an authority on aspects of Australian history, culture, politics and language.
1 portrait in the collection
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.
Gift of Dr Andrew Lu OAM 2013 . Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
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
Christine Anu (b. 1970), singer/songwriter and actor, was born in Cairns, Queensland.
1 portrait in the collection
Courtesy of Kev Carmody, Song Cycles Pty Ltd.
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.
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
Peter Hudson (b. 1950), is a landscape and portrait painter who lives and works in Maleny, Queensland.
5 portraits in the collection
Purchased 2010
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Paul and Wendy Greenhalgh 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Purchased 2013
A Yankunytjatjara man, Yami Lester OAM (1941–2017) was born at Walyatjata in the north of South Australia.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Cast 1999 from terracotta donated by Paul and Wendy Greenhalgh 1999
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
Purchased 2012
Purchased 2012
Purchased 2012
Purchased 2012
Purchased 2012
Purchased 2012
Commissioned with funds provided by the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation and Paul Dainty AM and Donna Dainty 2020
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mrs Lily Kahan 2017
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
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
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
Hélène Kirsova (1910–1962), dancer and founder of Kirsova Ballet, the first professional ballet company in Australia.
4 portraits in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mrs Lily Kahan 2017
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
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
Louis Kahan (1905-2002) was born in Vienna, Austria to Jewish parents.
63 portraits in the collection
My Favourite Australian is a project developed in collaboration with ABC TV and the people of Australia.
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
Gift of the artist 2021
Gift of the artist 2005. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Gift of the artist 2010. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999
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
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011
Bob Ellis (1942-2016) was a journalist, columnist, screenwriter, film director and playwright.
3 portraits in the collection
Sir William Deane AC KBE QC (b. 1931), High Court judge, was governor-general of Australia from early 1996 to mid-2001.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011
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 (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
Australia has become recognised for the range and talent of its musicians, composers, conductors and celebrities in general associated with the music industry
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Madeleine Howell 2013
Purchased 2011
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Laurie Curley OAM and Mrs Robyn Curley 2012
Purchased 2017
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.
Dan Sultan (b. 1983), Arrernte/Gurindji singer/songwriter, grew up in Melbourne.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Paul and James Bryans 2015. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2020
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2020
Singer/songwriter Archie Roach AM (b. 1956) lived at Framlingham Mission before being removed from his parents at the age of four.
2 portraits in the collection
Gift of John Fairfax Holdings Ltd 2002. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
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
Commissioned with funds from the Patrick Corrigan Portrait Commission Series 2018
Meryl Tankard AO (b. 1955) is an internationally renowned dancer, choreographer, director and filmmaker.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004
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
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
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001
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
Geoff Dyer (1947-2020) was renowned landscape and portrait painter whose practice depicted Tasmania and its people.
1 portrait in the collection
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.
Thousand mile stare provides a unique portrait of people of rural Australia
Bob Ellis (1942–2016) was a journalist, columnist, screenwriter, film director, playwright, speechwriter and critic.
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
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 (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
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Estate of Geoffrey Tozer 2012
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
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006
Jean Appleton (1911–2003), painter and art teacher, studied at the East Sydney Technical College, completing a diploma in drawing and illustration in 1932.
2 portraits in the collection
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
George Hurrell, born in Kentucky, began his working life studying painting at the Art Institute of Chicago.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005
Hilary McPhee AO (b. 1941), writer and editor, began her career at Meanjin before starting a small magazine, Theatre.
1 portrait in the collection
Geoffrey Tozer (1954-2009), pianist, achieved national fame as a child prodigy in the 1960s.
1 portrait in the collection
The Darling Prize is a new annual prize for Australian portrait painters, painting Australian sitters. The winner receives a cash prize of $75,000.
An annual event, the National Youth Self Portrait Prize seeks to encourage young people to embrace self portraiture and its expressive possibilities.
Commissioned with funds provided by Ian Darling 2008
During his long and distinguished career Max Dupain took thousands of photographs of people
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lady Primrose Potter 2006
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Sarah Engledow on a foundational gallery figure who was quick on the draw.
Seventeen of Australia’s thirty prime ministers to date are represented in the contrasting sizes, moods and mediums of these portraits.
Ellen Kent examines the portrait of Vincent Lingiari and Prime Minister Gough Whitlam taken by photographer Mervyn Bishop.
National Gallery of Australia curator Jane Kinsman discusses the portraiture of Henri Matisse.
Celebrates the centenary of the first national art collection, the Historic Memorials Collection, housed at Australia's Parliament House.
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 exhibition California Video at the J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles demonstrated how video artists expand the boundaries of portraiture.
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.
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.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Robert Dessaix 2000
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015
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.
Martin Philbey’s portrait of Dan Sultan.
Rock’s raw potency made it the ideal medium for fomenting protest. The 1970s, 80s and onwards saw calls for social and environmental justice ring out through song.
The Australian of the Year Awards have often provoked controversy about who is selected and whether their achievements are remarkable.
Rennie Ellis: Aussies All is a celebration of the life and work of the late Australian photographer Rennie Ellis.
Comments from our judges and information about entering the 2017 Prize.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Gillian Appleton (McClelland) 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
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.
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.
This exhibition is the first comprehensive survey of self-portraits in Australia, from the colonial period to the present
First Ladies profiles women who have achieved noteworthy firsts over the past 100 years.
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
Portraits of philanthropists in the collection honour their contributions to Australia and acknowledge their support of the National Portrait Gallery.
Commissioned with funds from the Patrick Corrigan Portrait Commission Series 2018
This article examines the portraits gifted to the National Portrait Gallery by Fairfax Holdings in 2003.
John Elderfield lauds the portraiture of Paul Cézanne, the artist described by both Matisse and Picasso as ‘the father of us all’.
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.
Tim Storrier describes the influences on the development of his artistic style.
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
Michael Desmond discusses Irving Penn's photographic portrait of Nicole Kidman.
Gift of the artist 2011
Edward Riou (1762-1801), naval officer, began his career with the Royal Navy at the age of twelve.
2 portraits in the collection
Anne Sanders imbibes Tony Bilson’s gastronomic revolution.
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.
Robert James Lee (Bob) Hawke (1929-2019) moved with his family from South Australia to Perth in 1939.
9 portraits in the collection
Purchased 2018
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.
Christopher Chapman describes the art and life of Australian artist Richard Larter.
Lauren Dalla examines the life of Australian painter Roy de Maistre and his portrait by Jean Shepeard.
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.
The National Portrait Gallery, has welcomed the newest portrait commission of Emeritus Professor Derek Denton AC by Evert Ploeg.
Michael Desmond profiles the Australian songwriter and performer Neil Murray and his contribution to Australian music.
Commissioned with funds provided by Maliganis Edwards Johnson and Alan Dodge AM 2018
Michelle Fracaro examines the life of World War II nurse Margaret Anderson, whose portrait by Napier Waller is in the NPG collection.
Penelope Grist charts an immersive path through Stuart Spence’s photography.
The story behind George Lambert's Self-portrait with Gladioli.
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.
The current exhibition of portraits at the National Gallery of Ireland Print Gallery investigates just how paper-thin ideas of likeness are.
Anne Sanders finds connections in Inner Worlds between Hungarian expatriates and the development of psychoanalysis in Australia.
Biographies of participants in the Writing lives, revealing lives forum.
Lecture by Sandy Nairne, Director, National Portrait Gallery, London, given at the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra on 28 April 2006.
Barrie Cassidy pays textured tribute to the inimitable Bob Hawke.
Exploring the photographs of Martin Schoeller, Michael Desmond delves into the uneasy pact that exists between celebrity and the camera.
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
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.
Roger Benjamin explores the intriguing union of Lina Bryans and Alex Jelinek.
Alison Weir explores the National Portrait Gallery, London and the BP Portrait Award to find what makes a good painted portrait - past and present.
Leslie Moran investigates the portraits of judges in the National Portrait Gallery's collection.
John Elliott talks about his photographic portrait practice, including his iconic image of Slim Dusty arm-in-arm with Dame Edna Everage.
Joanna Gilmour revels in accidental artist Charles Rodius’ nineteenth century renderings of Indigenous peoples.
The Tate/SFMOMA exhibition Exposed examined the role of photography in voyeurism and how it challenges ideas of privacy and propriety.
Tegan McAuley looks at the evolution of video portraiture.
Gael Newton delves into the life and art of renowned Australian photographer, Max Dupain.
Dr Sarah Engledow, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2017 Prize.
How the National Portrait Gallery and its unique collection came to be
Michael Desmond, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2007 Prize.
Michael Desmond profiles a handful of the entrants in first National Photographic Portrait Prize and notes emerging themes and categories.
Barry York charts the course from childhood request to autographed celebrity portrait anthology.
Angus Trumble salutes the glorious portraiture of Sir Thomas Lawrence.
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’s glorious voice thrust her into stardom, and a more reluctant role as American civil rights pioneer.
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.
Stephen Zagala discusses Richard Avedon’s work from an Australian perspective.
George Selth Coppin (1819-1906) comedian, impresario and entrepreneur, was a driving force of the early Australian theatre.
Dr Christopher Chapman describes the experimental exhibition Portraits + Architecture
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.
Penelope Grist speaks to Robert McFarlane about shooting for the stars.
Krysia Kitch reviews black chronicles at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
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.
Sarah Engledow bristles at the biographers’ neglect of Kitchener’s antipodean intervention.
Christopher Chapman takes a trip through the doors of perception, arriving at the junction of surrealism and psychoanalysis.
Penelope Grist explores the United Nations stories in the Gallery’s collection.
Sarah Engledow explores the history of the prime ministers and artists featured in the exhibition.
John Zubrzycki lauds the characters of the Australian escapology trade.
Dr. Sarah Engledow discusses a collection of drawings and prints by the Victorian artist Rick Amor acquired in 2005.
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.
Penny Grist, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2016 Prize.
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.
Tedi Bills talks to George Gittoes about canvassing conflict.
Sarah Engledow chronicles Rick Amor's work and accomplishments in this extensive essay in conjunction with the exhibition Rick Amor: 21 Portraits.
Dempsey’s People curator David Hansen chronicles a research tale replete with serendipity, adventure and Tasmanian tigers.
John Singer Sargent: a painter at the vanguard of contemporary movements in music, literature and theatre.
Angus Trumble reflects on the force of nature that was Helena Rubinstein.
Dr Sarah Engledow puts four gifts to the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection in context.
Sarah Engledow casts a judicious eye over portraits in the Victorian Bar’s Peter O’Callaghan QC Portrait Gallery.
Dr Anne Sanders NPG Curatorial Researcher investigated the lives of the pioneering psychologists whose portraits are featured in Inner Worlds.
Inner Worlds features the recently commissioned portrait of world-renowned philosopher of consciousness David Chalmers by Melbourne-based artist Nick Mourtzakis.
Sarah Engledow writes about Gordon and Marilyn Darling and their support for the National Portrait Gallery throughout its evolution.
Dr Christopher Chapman NPG Curator of Inner Worlds explains the development of an exhibition that spans from Surrealism to contemporary art.
