Search / peter weiss

Portrait, oil and hand-stitching on canvas

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

1 portrait in the collection

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

Kerrie Lester

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

Peter Schipperheyn

'A quintessential Australian character'

Portrait, carved marble on travertine marble base

Sculptor Peter Schipperheyn talks about working with marble and his portrait of Peter Garrett.

Bust of Peter Garrett, 1991-2016

Peter Schipperheyn

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

Peter Eve

Previous exhibition, 2009

Peter Eve is a Darwin-based editorial, industrial and commercial photographer.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Sculthorpe

A Celebration

To celebrate Peter Sculthorpe's 80th birthday, the National Portrait Gallery has created a feature exhibition of portraits and associated biographic material drawn from the National Portrait Gallery and the composer’s personal collection.

Peter Brock AM

Peter Brock (1945-2006), a professional racing driver from 1972 to 1997, was undoubtedly Australia's best known and most popular motor sports personality.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Travis AM

Peter Travis AM (1929-2016), ceramic artist, designer and teacher, was born in the beachside Sydney suburb of Manly.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Allen

Peter Allen (1944–1992), singer/songwriter and entertainer, was born Peter Allen Woolnough in Tenterfield, NSW.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter van der Veer

Peter van der Veer, photographer, designer and painter, studied at Prahran College in the 1970s.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter English

Peter English was an RAAF photographer from the early 1950s onward, taking air and ground photographs in Australia and Malaya.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Drewett

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

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Steele

Father Peter Steele AM (1939-2012), poet and Jesuit Provincial, grew up in Perth, destined from youth for the priesthood.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter O'Shaughnessy OAM

Peter O'Shaughnessy (1923-2013), actor and producer, has produced many Australian plays and acted the major Shakespearian tragic roles both in Australia and overseas.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Nicholson

Peter Nicholson (b. 1950), poet and author, grew up in Sydney. He published his first volume of poetry and narrative, A Temporary Grace, in 1991.

3 portraits in the collection

Peter Skrzynecki OAM

Of Polish/Ukrainian descent, Peter Skrzynecki was born in 1945 in Germany and came to Australia with his parents in 1949.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Elliott AM

Peter Elliott AM (1927–2014) was an obstetrician, gynaecologist and gynaecological oncologist as well as a significant art collector and patron.

6 portraits in the collection

Peter Rushforth AO

Peter Rushforth AO (1920-2015), ceramic artist, was born in Sydney and studied art at the Royal Melbourne Technical College after World War 2.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Churcher

Peter Churcher's first qualifications were in music, not art. Travelling through Europe after gaining his Licentiate for Piano Performance from Trinity College, London, he visited a great many galleries and was persuaded to return to his original preoccupation, painting.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Fisher

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

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Carey AO

Peter Carey (b. 1943) is an author whose novels sweep between the fantastic and the realistic, the comic and the tragic, and the present and the past.

3 portraits in the collection

Peter Corris

Peter Corris (1942-2018), author, was educated at Melbourne High School and the University of Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Porter OAM

Peter Porter OAM (1929-2010), poet and critic, moved from Brisbane to London in 1951 at age 22.

2 portraits in the collection

Peter Weir AM

Peter Weir AM (b. 1944) is a film director. Educated at Scots College and the University of Sydney, he worked as a stage hand at Channel 7 and made documentaries for the Commonwealth Film Unit before directing The Cars That Ate Paris in 1974.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Sculthorpe AO OBE

Peter Sculthorpe AO OBE (1929–2014), composer, was born in Launceston and began music lessons around age seven, writing his first compositions by torchlight under the bedclothes at night.

4 portraits in the collection

Peter Schipperheyn

Peter Schipperheyn (b. 1955), Melbourne-based sculptor, is well known for his contemporary marble and bronze sculptures of the human form.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Hall

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

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Thomson AO MBE CBE

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

2 portraits in the collection

Peter Dombrovskis

Peter Dombrovskis, photographer and environmental activist, was born of Latvian parents in a refugee camp in Wiesbaden at the end of World War 2.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Hudson

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

5 portraits in the collection

'Come + see the real thing, come + see' Conquistadors parts Hong. Ranger 3: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground'

Peter Garrett AM

Peter Garrett AM (b. 1953), musician, environmental and social activist, and former politician, is the lead singer of the band Midnight Oil, which originated in Sydney's northern beaches in the mid-1970s.

12 portraits in the collection

Peter Wegner

Peter Wegner first participated in a group exhibition in 1977, when he had had no art training.

7 portraits in the collection

Peter Booth

Peter Booth (b. 1940) grew up in the English steel mill town of Sheffield, bike-riding on the nearby moors.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Goldsworthy AM

Peter Goldsworthy AM (b. 1951), medical doctor and writer, was born in Minlaton, South Australia, and grew up in various country towns as his father, a school teacher, moved for work.

2 portraits in the collection

Miriam Vale Merlo Coffee Shop

Peter Hughes

Peter Porter

Recorded 1970

Peter Sculthorpe

Recorded 1967

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

Together We Stand

Peter Rossi

Peter Sculthorpe

'Brings in the sun'

'Use whatever colour you like'

Legendary Australian composer, Peter Sculthorpe, describes the development of his career.

Peter Russell-Clarke

'Not your stereotypical scientist'

Peter Russell-Clarke on colour in painting and cooking.

Professor Peter Doherty

Australian Nobel Prize winner, Professor Peter Doherty, provides some entertaining insights into his career and the science profession.

Peter Brew-Bevan

Peter Brew-Bevan (b. 1969) is a leading Australian portrait and fashion photographer.

25 portraits in the collection

Peter Thomson, 1970

Ern McQuillan OAM

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

Professor Peter Doherty AC

Professor Peter Doherty (b. 1940), immunologist, shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1996 for his discoveries about how the immune system recognises virus-infected cells.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Russell-Clarke

Peter Russell-Clarke, cook, started his career as a freelance cartoonist, working for advertising agencies in Australia and overseas.

1 portrait in the collection

The New Arrivals at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art

Peter Purves Smith

Peter Purves Smith (1912–1949), artist, went to Geelong Grammar with his lifelong friend Russell Drysdale.

2 portraits in the collection

Peter Elliott, 1964

Portrait, oil on masonite

Gift of Richard Elliott 2016. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Sir Peter Abeles, TNT Ansett, n.d.

Joe Greenberg

Portrait, watercolour, crayon, coloured pencil, fibre-tipped pen and gouache on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001

Peter Russell-Clarke

Recorded 2022

Study for the portrait of Peter Elliott, 1964

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

War hero, 2013

by Peter Brew-Bevan

Study for portrait of Peter Elliott, 1964

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

Study for portrait of Peter Elliott, 1964

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

Study for portrait of Peter Elliott, 1964

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

Study for the portrait of Peter Elliott, 1964

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

Mike Smith, 2007 (printed 2013)

Peter Eve

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Eve 2013

Gay Bilson, 2004

Peter Fisher

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on cardboard

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Self portrait, 2004

Peter Russell-Clarke

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Songman, portrait of Kev Carmody, 2006

Courtesy of Kev Carmody, Song Cycles Pty Ltd.

Mem Fox, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by Peronelle Windeyer 2021

Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel

Sir Peter Paul Rubens

Mal Meninga, 2018

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

Guy in his studio

Peter Morgan

Test #5 Garrett in landscape: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground'

Test #5 Garrett in landscape: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground', 2001

Portrait, watercolour, gouache, mangrove bark pigment with alum on vellum

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Portrait of Peter Nicholson, 1995

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Nicholson 2001

Portrait of Peter Nicholson, 1995

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Nicholson 2001

Portrait of Peter Nicholson, 1995

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Nicholson 2001

The Writer, Peter Goldsworthy, 2018

Deidre But-Husaim

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

Peter Travis, 1971 (printed 2009)

Douglas Thompson

Portrait, cast bronze on granite base

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Peter Brock, 2000-2001

Julie Edgar

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

Peter O'Doherty, 2013

by Stuart Spence

Study for The Writer, Peter Goldsworthy, 2018

Deidre But-Husaim

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by Jillian Broadbent AC and Dr Helen Nugent AO 2018

Peter Carey in Kelly country, 2000

Bruce Armstrong

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Peter Allen, 1980

William Yang

Purchased 2003

Peter O'Shaughnessy, 1947

Howard Matthews

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Peter Singer, 2002

Juliet van Otteren

Magazine article by Katherine Russell, 2006

Gift of Mr and Mrs Wilbur van Otteren 2002

Inspiration + Realisation: Peter Wegner

Peter Wegner's approach to portraiture could be considered a visual record of the rapport, the dynamic space between artist and subject.

Peter Sculthorpe, 1977 (printed 2002)

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

Peter Carey, 1989

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

Peter Carey, 1989 (printed 2002)

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

Peter Sculthorpe, c. 1969

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1998

Peter Weir, 1974 (printed 2001)

Gordon Glenn

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Peter Thomson, c. 1960

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mary Thomson 2017

Peter Rushforth, 1971 (printed 2009)

Douglas Thompson

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint and permanent marker on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Peter Porter, 2004

Tony Clark

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2004

Peter Hall, n.d.

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

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

Peter Sculthorpe, 1982

Eric Smith

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2004

Peter Wright, 1999

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

Peter Craven, 2015

Jacqueline Mitelman

Portrait

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

Peter Garrett, 1999

Karin Catt

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

Peter Corris, 1982 (printed 2011)

Lorrie Graham

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Peter Skrzynecki, 2012

John Slaytor

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2013

Peter Brocklehurst, 2005 (printed 2010)

Bill McAuley

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Peter Kingston, 2003

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

Peter Powditch, 1995

Portrait, bromide fibre print

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

Peter Porter, 2009

Norman McBeath

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Norman McBeath 2011

Dr Peter Farrell, 2001

Salvatore Zofrea OAM

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

Father Peter Steele, 2009

Kristin Headlam

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2015

Tami, 2011

by Peter West

Peter Garrett, Midnight Oil

Bob King

Peter Garrett, Midnight Oil

Bob King

Get Wet series (Peter O'Doherty)

Peter Booth 3, September 1978, 1978 (printed 2012)

Robert Rooney

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Gunther Gorman, 2009

by Peter West

Creatures of Leisure series (Peter O'Doherty)

Pat and Lewis Morley 50 years on, 2008

by Peter Luck

Magazine article by Eric Smith, 2004

Creative space

Eric Smith describes the agony and finally the ecstasy of winning the 1982 Archibald Prize with the portrait of Peter Sculthorpe.

Halo: Clement Meadmore, 2001 (printed 2019)

Peter Hyatt

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2019

Chad (portrait of Chad Morgan), 2013

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2013

Jacques Miller, 2002

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

Neil Murray, 2008

Portrait, pastel and watercolour on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2010
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Ian Thorpe, 2012 (printed 2021)

Portrait, pokerwork on spotted gum

Gift of the artist 2021

Joan Kerr, 2004

Peter Drewett

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of James Semple Kerr 2004

Victor Smorgon, 2000

Gift of the artist 2002

Archie Roach, 2008

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

Don Argus, 2004

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

John Marsden, 1998

Gift of the artist 2002

Sir Gustav Nossal, 1999

Peter Churcher

Magazine article by Peter Jeffrey, 2016

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by Karen McLeod Adair and Anthony Adair 1999

Hottie's Snifter to port

Peter Jeffrey trips the hound nostalgic.

Graham Kennedy, c. 1962 (printed 2000)

Peter English

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Tony Sattler 2016

Professor Peter Doherty, 2001

Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2002

Gough Whitlam, 2005 (printed 2015)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2015

Ellie Cole, 2016 (printed 2021)

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2021

Portrait of Professor Graeme Clark, 2000

Gift of the family of Professor Graeme Clark 2001. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Julia Gillard, 2013

Gift of the artist 2013

Chris Hemsworth, 2016 (printed 2021)

Gift of the artist 2021

Jack Thompson, 2019 (printed 2021)

Gift of the artist 2021

Leisel Jones, 2015 (printed 2021)

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2021

Susie Porter, 2000 (printed 2001)

Purchased 2001

The Dance - David McAllister, 2016

Commissioned with funds provided by The Stuart Leslie Foundation 2016

Dawn Fraser, 1998 (printed 2001)

Purchased 2001

Naomi Watts, 2003

Gift of the artist 2004

Kerry Stokes, 2014 (printed 2021)

Gift of the artist 2021

Turia Pitt, 2017 (printed 2021)

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2021

Akira Isogawa, 2001

Gift of the artist 2005

Sketchbook journal for the commission portrait

Sketchbook journal for the commission portrait "The Dance - David McAllister", 2016

Portrait, 48 page journal with 25 illustrated pages in pencil, pastel, ink and collage of printed images with masking tape

Commissioned with funds provided by The Stuart Leslie Foundation 2016

Dichotomia, Barry Otto, 2008

Gift of the artist 2010

Kristian Fredrikson, 2000 (printed 2001)

Purchased 2001

Professor Graeme Clark (profile), 2000

Gift of the artist 2002

Professor Graeme Clark, 2000

Gift of the artist 2002

Poets' Portraits

The Portrait Gallery's paintings of two poets, Les Murray and Peter Porter, demonstrate two very different artists' responses to the challenge of representing more than usually sensitive and imaginative men.

Paul Kelly, 2007

Gift of the artist 2012

Keith Urban, 2007

Purchased 2011

George Gregan, 1999 (printed 2001)

Purchased 2001

General Cosgrove, Dili, East Timor 1999, 2006

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2001

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Andrew Cannon and L. Gordon Darling AC CMG 2006

Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground

Seduce and Destroy

Magda Keaney explores the symbolism in eX de Medici's portrait of Midnight Oil.

David Morrison, 2016

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Russell Drysdale and Peter Sculthorpe, Tallow Beach, New South Wales

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

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

Jane Campion, 2009

Portrait, gouache on paper

Purchased 2011

Maisie, 1938-1939

Peter Purves Smith

Bequest of Lady Maisie Drysdale 2001

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

Written in Water

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

Rachel Ward and Bryan Brown, 2006 (printed 2020)

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2002

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

A Meeting of Great Minds

The story behind Rick Amor's portrait of Professor Peter Doherty.

Wesley Enoch and David McAllister, 2020

Magazine article by Sam Bowker, 2007

Purchased with funds provided by Alan Dodge AM and Neil Archibald 2021

On active service

The National Portrait Gallery has acquired an evocative depiction of soldier Peter Cosgrove by the Victorian-based painter, printmaker and sculptor Rick Amor.

Professor Peter Karmel, 1996

Robin Wallace-Crabbe, Dianne Fogwell

Portrait, etching

Gift of the artist 2000. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Gough and John, 1981

Peter van der Veer

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

N.T. Ranger Uranium: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground'

N.T. Ranger Uranium: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground', 2001

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground, 2001

Portrait, mangrove bark pigment, watercolour and gouache on vellum

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Head studies: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground'

Head studies: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground', 2001

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Cultural kaleidoscope

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

Off grid

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2019

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

Test #4 Broadhead and Wing Pattern: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground'

Test #4 Broadhead and Wing Pattern: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground', 2001

Portrait, watercolour, gouache, mangrove bark dye with alum on vellum

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

'Come + see the real thing, come + see' Conquistadors parts Hong. Ranger 3: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground', 2001

Portrait, mangrove bark pigment and pencil on paper

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

Test #2 Ranger 3 Pit Mine Kakadu, N.T.: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground'

Test #2 Ranger 3 Pit Mine Kakadu, N.T.: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground', 2001

Portrait, mangrove reduced bark dye (no alum) on unsanded vellum

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

M.O. Ranger 3: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground'

M.O. Ranger 3: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground', 2001

Portrait, watercolour, gouache and pencil on paper

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Test #1 Ranger 3 Pit Mine Kakadu, N.T.: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground'

Test #1 Ranger 3 Pit Mine Kakadu, N.T.: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground', 2001

Portrait, mangrove bark pigment on vellum

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground'

Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground', 2001

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Creatures of Leisure, 1982

Portrait, 5 screenprints on paper

Get Wet Series, 1979

Portrait, five screenprints on paper

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Captain James Cook from the original in the Naval Gallery, Greenwich Hospital

Captain James Cook from the original in the Naval Gallery, Greenwich Hospital, c. 1837

William Holl, Peter Jackson, London & Paris after Nathaniel Dance

Portrait, engraving on paper

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

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.

Painting writing

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2007

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

The New Arrivals at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, 1941

Russell Drysdale

Portrait, pen and pencil on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Bequest of Lady Maisie Drysdale 2001

Peter Dombrovskis, 1996

Liz Dombrovskis

Portrait, duo-tone print on photographic paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Peter Brown

Qiang Zhang

Peter, Silverton, NSW, 2012

by Krystal Seigerman

Peter Hadfield OAM, from the series ‘People’s Park’, 2012

by Mirek Rzadkowski

Peter Robinson, Lingerie Importer, 2006

by Vasili Vasiliadis

Peter Brew-Bevan Portraits

Portrait, oil and ink on canvas

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

Richard Tognetti #1510, 2018

Louise Hearman

Commissioned with funds provided by Peter Weiss AO 2018

The Writer: Peter Goldsworthy, 2018

by Deidre But-Husaim

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

Reclaimed youth, 2019

Sanjeev Singh

Mal Meninga, 2018

by Peter Hudson

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

Richard Tognetti #1510, 2018

by Louise Hearman

Support your Portrait Gallery

Commissioned with funds provided by Peter Weiss AO 2018

Honour board

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges and thanks all its supporters.

Peter de Waal and Peter Bonsall-Boone, St Kilda, October 1966 Unknown artist

Committed to the cause and each other

Devotion

Love versus the law

Peter Cleary smiling

Carol Jerrems

Norman and "Peter Ward", c. 1906

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, toned on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Rose Lindsay in garden at Springwood with Peter the fox terrier

Rose Lindsay in garden at Springwood with Peter the fox terrier, c. 1924

Harold Cazneaux

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Peter Cleary, Katoomba, 25th June 1978

Carol Jerrems

Ahn & Pete, The Bus Stop Project, 2012

by Simone Darcy

Autumn Dinner 2012 photos

19 April 2012

With author and media identity Peter FitzSimons.

Our First Lesson

Jimmy Widders Hunt

'I always dreamed of being a mermaid'

Ellie Cole

Ellie Cole on the freedom of the pool and being photographed by Peter Brew-Bevan.

Lucie

Who are you?

The works I chose are Quong Tart by Pamela See, and Monga Khan by Peter Drew.

Marjorie Jackson, 1953

Purchased 2011

Thomas Fitzherbert Hawkins, c. 1790

Portrait, oil on cotton laid down on cardboard

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter E.B. Mansell 2018

Portrait 12

June - August 2004

This issue of Portrait Magazine features Peter Brew-Bevan, daguerreotypes, the exhibition Depth of Field, Ern McQuillan's photographs of sportspeople and more.

Portrait 23

March - May 2007

This issue of Portrait Magazine features the Reveries: On Photography and Mortality exhibition, Peter Cosgrove, Martin Sharp, Terence Tao and more.

Portrait 16

June - August 2005

September - November 2005

This issue of Portrait Magazine features portraits by Rick Amor, colonial charicatures, Les Murray, Peter Porter, Helen Garner and more.

Portrait 17

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

This issue of Portrait Magazine features conservationists Olegas Truchanas and Peter Dombrovskis, Michael Leunig, legendary photographer Cecil Beaton and more.

Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V)

Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V), 1901

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on original studio backing card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Portrait 4

June - August 2002

This issue of Portrait Magazine features articles on Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, George Lambert's self-portrait, Professor Peter Doherty, the man behind the Dr. Who theme, and more.

Richard Divall OBE in the church mantle of the Order of Malta

Richard Divall OBE in the church mantle of the Order of Malta, 1999

Eric Smith

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Bequest of Richard Divall AO OBE 2017

Lewis Morley

Lewis Morley (1925–2013) established his reputation as one of the key British photographers of the 1960s and is known for his iconic image of a nude Christine Keeler straddling an Arne Jacobsen chair.

50 portraits in the collection

Krystal Seigerman

The photograph was a brief, candid moment, which unfolded into a portrait. Peter and I were in Silverton, NSW, chatting as our students explored the town. The weak afternoon light suddenly became dramatic and defined, so I asked Peter if I could take his portrait.

The photographers

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2020

The eight photographers represent diverse styles, specialities and career paths. Abigail Varney, Peter Brew-Bevan, Martin Philbey, John Tsiavis, Michelle Day, Julian Kingma, and Giovanni Lovisetto.

The long game

Penelope Grist spends some quality time with the Portrait Gallery’s summer collection exhibition, Eye to Eye.

E. W. Knox, 1933

Lyndon Dadswell CMG

Portrait, cast plaster, painted

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter and Susan Dadswell 2015

2013-14 Acquisition Fund

This 1910 portrait of Elizabeth Sarah (Lillie) Roberts by Tom Roberts was brought into the Gallery's collection with the assistance of the Acquisition Fund in 2013.

Face the Music

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

John Davis

Alan Davies' and Peter Stanbury's The Mechanical Eye in Australia lists Sydney photographer John Davis (life dates unknown) as having a carte-de visite studio on King Street, and as working from addresses on Pitt and George Streets between 1870 and 1873..

1 portrait in the collection

Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE

Previous exhibition, 2024

Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE (b. 1931), former sprinter, was Governor of South Australia from 2001 to 2007.

3 portraits in the collection

Gallery Two

David McAllister to join National Portrait Gallery collection

26 April 2016

Archived media releases 2016

Artistic Director of The Australian Ballet, David McAllister AM will join the Portrait Gallery’s national collection in a newly-commissioned portrait taken by illustrious Australian photographer, Peter Brew-Bevan.

The mahi-mahi, 2019

Rob Palmer

Portraits & Other Stories

Sam Haskins

Haskins is known for his poetic combinations of images and this exhibition of 'extended' portraits builds on this approach.

Mortality

More about In the flesh

In Western religious art a Pietà, also called a ‘lamentation’, is an image of the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Christ.

The way out is the way through, 2010

by Richard Martin

Ellie Cole

Recorded 2021

Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE, 2006

Avril Thomas

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

Commissioned 2006

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.

Self portrait, 2005

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

Self portrait, 1999

Portrait, drypoint on paper

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

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

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

Avril Thomas

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Commissioned 2006

Before hand

The private life of a portrait

Previous exhibition, 2020

Revealing the backstories behind the NPG collection, Before hand features interviews with artists and sitters as well as working drawings, scrapbooks, sketches and footage taken in artists’ studios and out on location.

Bob Ellis

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

3 portraits in the collection

Ralph Hope-Johnstone

Ralph Hope-Johnstone was a hydro-electric engineer and photographer who worked with Olegas Truchanas on the campaign to save Lake Pedder in the late 1960s.

1 portrait in the collection

Lunch at Fran's

Abigail Varney

Previous exhibition, 2019

Eye to eye

Eye to Eye is a summer Portrait Gallery Collection remix arranged by degree of eye contact – from turned away with eyes closed all the way through to right-back-at-you – as we explore artists’ and subjects’ choices around the direction of the gaze.

Ryder Jack Susman in a Williamstown hairdresser by Abigail Varney

PROMO

Portraits from prime time

Previous exhibition, 2014

This exhibition goes behind-the-scenes and into the spotlight with professional photographers and the stars of Australian television, music and comedy. Whether negotiating the logistics of a big publicity shoot or quietly capturing moments on set during filming, the photographers' stories are intriguing and compelling.

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.

Portrait 65

Autumn/Winter 2021

Hugh Ramsay, the fashion of Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson, Peter Wegner's centenarian series, John and Elizabeth Gould's family connections, Karen Quinlan's top five portraits and more.

2012-13 Acquisition Fund

The Circle of Friends Acquisition Fund for 2012 was dedicated to purchasing a portrait of David Malouf by Rick Amor.

Hugo Wolfsohn

Hugo Wolfsohn, a Dunera Boy, was Foundation Professor of Politics at Latrobe University.

2 portraits in the collection

A moment, 2016

by Millie Brown

Previous exhibition, 2015

Life and time

Portraits by Rod McNicol

Australian photographer Rod McNicol has consistently analysed the passing of time through the evidence of the photographic portrait. At once confronting and tender, McNicol’s portrait photographs are bold and intimate.

2015-17 Acquisition Fund

From 2015 to 2017 the Acquisition Fund was focussed on Reg Richardson AM by Mitch Cairns, a finalist in the Archibald Prize 2014, and a great example of minimalist portraiture.

Darren McDonald

Darren McDonald gained his Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting) degree from RMIT in 2000, having completed an associate diploma in painting at the same institution.

1 portrait in the collection

2014-15 Acquisition Fund

Kristin Headlam's portrait of Chris Wallace-Crabbe was acquired with the support of the Circle of Friends in 2014.

The spirit walker, 2017

by Alex Ellinghausen

Akira Isogawa

Inside the patterns

Portraits by Stuart Campbell

Iconic Australian fashion designer, Akira Isogawa discusses the development of his unique style.

Between Light and Shadow

Previous exhibition, 2011

The late Australian photographer Stuart Campbell produced superb photographs of Australian actors of stage and screen.

Neville Gruzman, 1968

Eric Smith

Portrait, oil on masonite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2007

In Sync

Magazine article by Peter Brew-Bevan, 2004

Peter Brew-Bevan discusses two experiences where his plans for his portraits produced surprising results.

Through thick and thin

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2017

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

Supporters

$5,000 - $9,999

Australia and the Nobel Prize

This unique exhibition will give an insight into the private lives, pursuits and work of all the Nobel laureates associated with Australia

Philip Hunter

Previous exhibition, 2013

Philip Hunter (1958-2017), painter, studied art in Melbourne before holding his first solo exhibition there in 1982.

1 portrait 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.

Sir Macfarlane Burnet, late 1960s

Portrait, pen and ink on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1998

Sir Macfarlane Burnet, late 1970s

Portrait, pen and ink on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1998

Ross Edwards

Previous exhibition, 2014

Ross Edwards (b. 1943), composer, became determined upon a life of composition as a child.

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.

Portrait Story

Magazine article by Ellie Cole AM, 2022

For me, swimming was particularly special because it was the only sport that I could participate in as a kid where I could take my prosthetic leg off, jump in the water, and I could be the same as all the other kids.

Philip Hunter, 2004

Julian Kingma

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

Bruce Pollard

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

Beatrix Potter

Delmar Banner

Nancy Wake AC

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

1 portrait in the collection

Stuart Campbell

Stuart Campbell, born in Ballarat, became interested in photography as a student at Swinburne Technical College in Melbourne.

10 portraits in the collection

Study for portrait of Bob Ellis, 1999

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Gift of the artist 2001

Study for portrait of Bob Ellis, 1999

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Gift of the artist 2001

Untitled (Chamber Music)

Paul Knight

Portrait, pastel on paper

Geoffrey Parsons, 1972

Michael Shannon

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Les Rowe 1998
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Russell Drysdale

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

6 portraits in the collection

2021 Annual Appeal

In 2021 the Annual Appeal was focussed on Peter Brew-Bevan's portraits of athletes Turia Pitt, Leisel Jones OAM and Ellie Cole OAM.

Nick Enright AM

Nick Enright (1950-2003), playwright and screenwriter, attended Sydney University and the New York University School of the Arts before establishing himself as a dramatist with plays such as Summer Rain and Mongrels.

2 portraits in the collection

Nigel Boonham

Nigel Boonham is a British sculptor. He studied under John Ravera from 1973-1977 and later worked in the studio of sculptor Oscar Nemon.

1 portrait in the collection

Chris O'Doherty

Chris O’Doherty (b. 1951), also known as Reg Mombassa, is an artist and musician.

2 portraits in the collection

Allan Lowe

Portrait, pencil with ink wash on paper

Allan Lowe (1907-2007) is considered to be one of the major ceramic artists of his time particularly in the field of arthenware (lower-fired and more colourful work than stoneware).

1 portrait in the collection

Coral Browne, 1975

Don Bachardy

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

The inside story

Previous exhibition, 1999

The photographers reveal the technical side of their work and reflect on changes in their profession. Now everyone has a camera in their pocket, is everyone a photographer? What is it like to sustain a career as a photographer in the entertainment industry? How do you work with celebrity subjects, negotiate the complex logistics of big shoots, and create captivating portraits under pressure?

Arthur Boyd Portraits

This is the first in a series of National Portrait Gallery exhibitions to survey the portraits painted by artists who are not thought of, primarily, as portrait painters

Horace Keats

Horace Keats (1895-1945) came to Australia from his native England in 1915 as accompanist to vaudeville performer Nella Webb.

1 portrait in the collection

Lewis Morley

Myself and Eye

Photographed by Nathalie Latham

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

Steven Bishop, performer by Nathalie Latham

Australia's Creative Diaspora

Previous exhibition, 2007

Paris based Australian photographer and filmmaker Nathalie Latham has an ongoing interest in the creative achievements of other Australian artists living in various locations around the globe.

Russell Crowe, 2001 (printed 2004)

Karin Catt

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Match made in entertainment heaven

Passion

When the stars align

Dr Alice M. Moyle, 1998

Chris Gentle

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Carolyn and Peter Lowry 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

David Malouf, 2012

Commissioned with the assistance of funds provided by the Circle of Friends 2012

David Foster OAM

David Foster OAM (b. 1957), champion axeman, is the most successful competitor in the history of the sport of woodchopping.

1 portrait in the collection

Les Murray AO

Leslie Allan ‘Les’ Murray AO (1938-2019) was acknowledged during his lifetime as one of the great poets writing in English.

4 portraits in the collection

Anne Boyd AM

Archived media releases 2018

Anne Boyd AM (b. 1946), composer and teacher, was born in Sydney and studied composition with Peter Sculthorpe at the University of Sydney before earning a PhD at the University of York.

1 portrait in the collection

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

18 October 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.

Linda Jackson

Sir Leslie Ward, Vincent Brooks, Day & Son, Vanity Fair Magazine

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

1 portrait in the collection

H. Searle Professional Champion Sculler of the World (Henry Searle)

H. Searle Professional Champion Sculler of the World (Henry Searle), 1889

Portrait, chromolithograph on paper

Purchased 2014

Angel Street (Adam Cullen), 2010

Darren McDonald

Portrait, oil on linen

Purchased 2012

Douglas Frew Waterhouse

'A bug in the hand'

Australian entomologist and inventer of the Aerogard insect repellent, Douglas Frew Waterhouse describes the evolution of his career.

John Bell AO OBE

John Bell AO OBE (b. 1940), actor and director, is one of Australia's best-known theatre personalities.

3 portraits in the collection

Nick Enright, c. 1976 (printed 2004)

Robert McFarlane

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Sir Frank MacFarlane Burnet OM AK KBE

Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet OM AK KBE (1899–1985), medical scientist, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1960 for his work with Sir Peter Medawar on acquired immunological tolerance, paving the way for successful human organ transplants.

5 portraits in the collection

Sir Macfarlane Burnet, 1968

Mark Strizic

Purchased with funds provided by Sir Roderick Carnegie 2003

Billy Cook and Pride of Egypt, 1954

Ern McQuillan OAM

Previous exhibition, 2018

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

Collection: Icons

Volume One

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.

Barry Gibb

Barry Gibb (b. 1946) and twins Robin (b. 1949) and Maurice Gibb (1949-2003), were the brothers comprising the band The Bee Gees.

1 portrait in the collection

Reg Mombassa aka Chris O'Doherty, 1995

Portrait, bromide fibre print

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

Les Murray, 2003

Norman McBeath

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Norman McBeath 2011

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.

Bridget Elliot

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

1 portrait in the collection

Les Murray, 1995

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Geoffrey Shedley

Geoffrey Shedley was a prominent South Australian architect, with a lifelong interest in drawing and sculpture.

1 portrait in the collection

Lewis Morley, 2003

Sage

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2003

Sketch of Clifton Pugh painting John Perceval

Sketch of Clifton Pugh painting John Perceval, 1985

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2016

2020 Annual Appeal

In 2020 the Annual Appeal was focussed on Sally Robinson's remarkable portrait of author Tim Winton.

Henry Mayer

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

2 portraits in the collection

Edward Knox, c. 1855

Portrait, daguerreotype

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

Mr and Mrs Horace Keats in the "Christopher Brennan Cycle", 1945

Dora Toovey

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Gift of Anne and Brennan Keats 2009

Self portrait with Spots and Veins, 2003

Chris O'Doherty

Purchased with funds provided by the Circle of Friends 2007

Tamara Tchinarova

Tamara Tchinarova (1919–2017), dancer, was one of the original 'baby ballerinas' of the Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo.

2 portraits in the collection

George Rrurrambu Burarrwanga

George Rrurrambu Burarrwanga (1957–2007) was a Yolngu singer, activist and a founding member of the Warumpi Band.

2 portraits in the collection

David McAllister

Portrait, inkjet print on rag paper

Recorded 2017

James Iyuna, 1986

Martin van der Wal

Purchased 2005

John Bell, c. 1968

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

John Bell, 1962 (printed 2006)

Jozef Vissel

Portrait, oil and egg tempera on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

Portrait of Jill Neville, 1967 (completed 1997)

Reginald Gray

Gift of the artist 2002

Duchess of Cornwall and York (later Queen Mary)

Duchess of Cornwall and York (later Queen Mary), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Duchess of Cornwall and York (later Queen Mary), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Duchess of Cornwall and York (later Queen Mary), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Jim Paterson

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

1 portrait in the collection

Lord Kitchener, n.d.

William Howitt

Portrait, carved Jarrah

Purchased 2016

Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V), 1903

Portrait, platinum photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Headspace 4

Facing Memory

Facing Memory: Headspace 4 provides us with valuable insights into the thoughts, creative processes and art-making practices of secondary students from Year 7 to Year 12 from sixty-two schools in the Australian Capital Territory, regional New South Wales and Victoria

Daniel Thomas, 1987

Judy Cassab AO CBE

Portrait, linocut on paper

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

Desert Island, 1967

Eric Thake

Gift of Professor Peter Van Sommers 2011

Self portrait among the ant hills, 1950

Eric Thake

Portrait, linocut on paper

Gift of Professor Peter Van Sommers 2011

Figure in a rocky landscape, 1965

Eric Thake

Portrait, linocut on paper

Gift of Professor Peter Van Sommers 2011

My Favourite Australian

Previous exhibition, 2008

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

The Story So Far...

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2002

A reflection on the National Portrait Gallery's first four years.

Greg Weight

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

113 portraits in the collection

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

Nude self portrait, 1977

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

Anne Boyd, 1977

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

Australians in Hollywood

Although perceived to be a recent phenomenon, the 'Aussie invasion' of Hollywood can actually be traced as far back as the early 1900s

Julie Edgar

Julie Edgar (b. 1951) is a Melbourne artist who studied at RMIT, Monash University and the University of Melbourne.

3 portraits in the collection

Geoffrey Rush, 1997

Montalbetti + Campbell

Purchased 1999

Rose Byrne, 2001 (printed 2004)

Karin Catt

Purchased 2005

The Seekers

Celebrating 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection

Recorded 2013

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.

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

Sir William Dargie

A Ninetieth Birthday Tribute

Previous exhibition, 2002

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

Famous

Karin Catt Portraits

Portrait, cast bronze on granite plinth

Australian photographer Karin Catt has photographed world leaders, a host of rock stars and Oscar-winning compatriots Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, and Cate Blanchett.

Jack Brabham, 2004

Julie Edgar

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2005

Arianne McNaught

I think the most important thing in capturing candid shots is to never take the photo when people are expecting you to press the shutter. The more poignant moments are not the stock standard images of people looking at the camera smiling but after or before when they are really interacting with each other.

Portrait 63

Winter 2019

Rod McNicol's method and motivation, 19th century Indigenous peoples, Barrie Cassidy on Bob Hawke, five generations of the Kang family from Korea and more.

Home is where the art is

Tedi Bills on how social media in the age of COVID-19 has fanned the flames of our portrait fascination.

David Malouf

Magazine article by Michelle Fracaro, 2004

David Malouf (b.1934), educated at Brisbane Grammar and the University of Queensland, left Australia at the age of 24 and remained abroad for a decade, teaching in England and travelling throughout Europe.

3 portraits in the collection

101 photographic portraits

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

Barry Humphries

Barry Humphries AO CBE (1934–2023), actor, writer and artist, was the world's all-time most successful solo theatrical performer.

12 portraits in the collection

Kenneth Rowell AM

Portrait, inkjet print and oil on canvas, mounted with inset axe pendant

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

2 portraits in the collection

What the tree saw: David Foster, 2018

Jacqui Stockdale

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

Basil Hetzel AC

Basil Hetzel AC (1922-2017), medical scientist, came to South Australia as a three year old and was educated - like Nobel Prize winners William Lawrence Bragg, Howard Florey and Robin Warren - at St Peter's College and the University of Adelaide.

1 portrait in the collection

Jill Neville

Jill Neville (1932–1997), writer and critic, grew up in Sydney and attended a Blue Mountains boarding school.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Professors Margaret Gardner and Glyn Davis

Portrait of Professors Margaret Gardner and Glyn Davis, 2017

Jacqueline Mitelman

Chefs, winemakers, providores

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

Masters of Fare

Previous exhibition, 2004

Masters of fare: chefs, winemakers, providores celebrates men and women who have championed the unique culinary characteristics and produce of Australia, enriching our lives with new ideas and new flavours over the past forty years.

Self portrait, n.d.

Ada May Plante

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

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

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

Hong Fu

Hong Fu was born in China in 1946 and held his first solo exhibition at the National Art Gallery, Beijing, in 1988.

1 portrait in the collection

Dan Sultan, 2011

Martin Philbey

Purchased with funds provided by Ruth and Peter McMullin 2013

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Icons

Parliament House

Touring exhibition, 2019

Edward Knox Jnr and Thomas Forster Knox.

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

Portrait, daguerreotype

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

Portraits for Posterity

Drawn from some of the many donations made to the Gallery's collection, the exhibition Portraits for Posterity pays homage both to the remarkable (and varied) group of Australians who are portrayed in the portraits and the generosity of the many donors who have presented them to the Gallery.

Mitch Cairns

Mitch Cairns (b. 1984), painter and cartoonist, won the 2017 Archibald Prize with a portrait of his partner, artist Agatha Gothe-Snape.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Les Patterson, 1999

Polly Borland

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2021

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Drawn from life

Penelope Grist discovers the rich narratives in Peter Wegner’s series of centenarian portraits.

Martha Knox, c. 1855

Portraits in the Landscape

Portrait, daguerreotype

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

Open Air

Previous exhibition, 2008

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

Cressida Campbell AM

Cressida Campbell AM (b. 1960), artist, has worked for decades in a studio at her home in Bronte, Sydney.

2 portraits in the collection

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

Steve Kilbey, 1981 (printed 2018)

Gary Ede

Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2018

Portrait of Patricia Piccinini, 2019

Allissa Oughtred

Gift of an anonymous donor 2019

Sigrid Thornton AO

Sigrid Thornton AO (b. 1959), actor, has been a household name since her performance in the box-office hit The Man from Snowy River in 1981.

1 portrait in the collection

Tim Johnson

Tim Johnson, Sydney-based artist, was part of a circle of urban conceptual artists in the 1970s.

4 portraits in the collection

Basil Hetzel, 2007-2008

Mark Kimber

Commissioned with funds provided by Mrs Diana Ramsay AO 2008

James Oswald Fairfax, c. 1991

Bryan Westwood

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

John Dease

Conly John Paget Dease (1906-1979), actor and broadcaster, spent thirty years as one of the signature voices of the ‘Golden Age’ of Australian radio.

1 portrait in the collection

David Wenham AM

David Wenham AM (b. 1965), actor, studied drama at the Nepean College of Advanced Education (now the University of Western Sydney), graduating with a BA in Performing Arts in 1987.

1 portrait in the collection

The World of Thea Proctor

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

James Houston

Scoring first prize in New South Wales for Art in the 1983 HSC was a signal that a talented creative career lay ahead and this has indeed proven the case.

2 portraits in the collection

Richard Tognetti AO

Richard Tognetti AO (b. 1965), violinist, conductor and composer, trained with William Primrose in Wollongong and Alice Waten in Sydney before undertaking further studies with Igor Ozim in Switzerland.

2 portraits in the collection

Self portrait in reflection, 1973

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

Bob Ellis, 1999

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Lisa McCune

Recorded 2022

Henry Searle

Henry Searle (1886–1889), a sculler known as the ‘Clarence River Comet’, took up rowing as a boy as a means of getting himself and his siblings to and from school.

1 portrait in the collection

Lady Maisie Drysdale

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

1 portrait in the collection

Top of their game

Nobel Laureates

Previous exhibition, 2024

Macfarlane Burnet and Patrick White

Darling Portrait Prize 2024

The Darling Portrait Prize is a biennial national prize for Australian portrait painting honouring the legacy of Mr L Gordon Darling AC CMG.

The painter transmogrified and Mrs Smith

Eric Smith

Eric Smith (1919-2017), painter, was born in Brunswick, Melbourne, and trained in commercial art at the Brunswick Technical College before serving in the army during World War 2.

6 portraits in the collection

Reinis Zusters

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

2 portraits in the collection

Dave Tice

Dave Tice (b. 1950) was the lead singer for the trailblazing Australian hard rock band Buffalo.

1 portrait in the collection

Ivy Shore

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

2 portraits in the collection

Donors

$10,000 - $49,999

Previous exhibition, 2020

Tribute

Bob Ellis

Magazine article, 2016

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

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.

Cressida Campbell, 2001

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2005

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

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.

Nicholas Harding: 28 Portraits

Exhibition essay

Five Years of National Portrait Gallery Commissions

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

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

Richard Tognetti, c. 1985

Stuart Campbell

Murray Fredericks, Lisa Giles

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Estate of Stuart Campbell 2012

Matt Moran, 2004

Gift of the artists 2005

Dave Tice, 1978 (printed 2018)

Gary Ede

Previous exhibition, 2009

Purchased 2018

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009

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

Patricia Piccinini

Patricia Piccinini (b. 1965) is an artist best known for her mutant life-like creatures rendered in silicone and her iconic hot-air balloons.

1 portrait in the collection

Annual Appeal

Listed by year

Stop in all the byways, playin' rock 'n roll

Guthugga Pipeline, Christmas Show, upstairs, The (old) Griffin Centre, Civic, 22 December 1979. Crowd, L-R : Ben Donaldson, Anne Redmond, Nick Vollis, Esa Makela, Megan Woodrow (Mohawk), Andy Hall (scarf) 'pling

Capital Cool

Outsiders tend to give Canberra a bad rap: sterile, plagued by politicians, a comatose capital for professionals and academics. Nick Cave once said he didn’t like the city because there were too many punks.

Danila Vassilieff

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

1 portrait in the collection

John Bradfield

Portrait, oil on composition board

John Bradfield (1867-1943), engineer, was a key figure in the development of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and inner city transport network.

1 portrait in the collection

Study of Archbishop Daniel Mannix, 1962

Clifton Pugh AO

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

The Bee Gees

Known as the 'Kings of Disco', The Bee Gees have sold over 120 million records worldwide and are among the highest-selling musical artists in history.

1 portrait in the collection

Olegas Truchanas

Olegas Truchanas (1923-1972) was born in 1923 in Siauliai, Lithuania.

1 portrait in the collection

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.

Hilary McPhee AO

Previous exhibition, 2022

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

1 portrait 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.

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.

David Williamson, 1974 (printed 2001)

Gordon Glenn

Purchased 2001

Australian Visit

Magazine article by Rod Kemp, 2003

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.

A gift for all ages

The then Minister for the Arts and Sport, Rod Kemp, reflects on the value of the Cultural Gifts Program.

Sir Macfarlane Burnet, 1960-1961

Sir William Dargie CBE

Portrait, oil on composition board

Purchased 1999

Video still from Dream Job, 2011 by David M Thomas

My dream job

Magazine article by David Thomas AM, 2012

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

Mark Strizic

A Journey in Photography

Previous exhibition, 2004

This exhibition traces the creative output of nearly 50 years by one of Australia's landmark living photographers.

Glossy 2

Faces, Magazines, Now

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

Hugh Jackman AC

Previous exhibition, 2019

Hugh Jackman AC (b. 1968) is the ultimate triple threat – actor, singer and dancer.

1 portrait in the collection

Primed

Some Prime Ministers

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

Brett Whiteley - portrait 1, 1975

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2015

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

Self Portrait with Stetson, 2011 by Darren McDonald

Painting them gently

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

Graeme Murphy, n.d.

Stuart Campbell

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Gift of the Estate of Stuart Campbell 2012

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.

Barry Gibb, 1970-1971

Rennie Ellis

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2012

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Real close

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

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

Announcing Shakespeare to Winehouse

24 November 2021

Archived media releases 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.

Hide/Seek

Magazine article by David Ward, 2010

David Ward writes about the exhibition Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture on display at the National Portrait Gallery, Washington.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018

Previous exhibition, 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.

Self portrait as Sarah Wisse, Transported

Self portrait as Sarah Wisse, Transported, 1996

Margaret Woodward

How can we dance when our earth is turning?

Gift of the Karmel family in memory of Lena and Peter Karmel 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Protest!

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2003

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.

Australians in Hollywood

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

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

Dementia and the arts

Previous exhibition, 2010

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.

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.

Twenty new portraits marking Portrait Gallery’s twentieth birthday

21 August 2018

Archived media releases 2018

To celebrate the National Portrait Gallery’s twentieth anniversary as an institution, twenty portraits of outstanding Australian individuals have been commissioned for the permanent collection. This is the largest undertaking for the Gallery’s commissioning program in its twenty-year existence.

Adrian Rawlins

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

1 portrait in the collection

Myles Nelson

It was definitely a candid encounter as was the expression on the face. It was constructed insofar as the image was deliberately taken from a distance so as to minimize intrusion and to magnify the effect of the image.

Marion Borgelt

Marion Borgelt (b. 1954) grew up on a farm in the Wimmera district in western Victoria and attained her Diploma in Fine Art, majoring in painting, from the South Australian School of Art in 1976.

1 portrait in the collection

Jenny Kee AO

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

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

1 portrait in the collection

The spirit of the gift

Former NPG Director, Andrew Sayers celebrates the support given to the Gallery by Gordon and Marilyn Darling.

How to be a boy

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2011

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

Capturing the Mouse

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2004

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

Unboxed

Magazine article by Sandra Bruce, 2022

Sandra Bruce explores a new acquisition that has within it a story of interconnectivities in the Australian art world.

Miscellaneous obsessions

Magazine article by William Yang, 2022

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

Catholic clergymen from the Diocese of Adelaide

Catholic clergymen from the Diocese of Adelaide, c. 1862

Stephen Edward Nixon

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Purchased 2018

What the tree saw: David Foster, 2018

by Jacqui Stockdale

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

Richard Flanagan

Magazine article by Mette Skougaard, 2006

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

Australian visit in Denmark

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

Private practice

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

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

Thomas Mathewson (inset) and his studio on Queen Street, c. 1908 by Thomas Mathewson & Co

Northern exposure

Magazine article by Phil Manning, 2017

Phil Manning celebrates a century of Brisbane photographic portraiture.

Equation of a life - a portrait of Professor Derek Denton

Equation of a life – a portrait of Derek Denton

9 September 2016

Archived media releases 2016

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

True fella

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2011

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

John McRae

NPPP 2012 learning resource

An interview with the photographer.

The line of fire

Magazine article by Michelle Fracaro, 2005

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

Spikes: then and now

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

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

Sharon Zwi

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2017

We were in Gaza shooting a documentary and we had heard about the orphanages and wanted to visit and document some of the children who had lost parents during the wars in Gaza.

20 20

Sarah Engledow picks some favourites from a decade of the National Photographic Portrait Prize.

The play’s the thing

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

The Good Doctor

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2006

Dr Sarah Engledow describes the achievements of internationally renowned burns and trauma surgeon Professor Fiona Wood.

Mental as everything

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

2023 Annual Appeal

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2013

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.

Pop poet

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

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

Imagination

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

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

A guy from Paris

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2018

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

No Laughing Matter

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2002

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

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.

Why do painted portraits still matter?

Magazine article by Sandy Nairne, 2006

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

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2023

Learning resources

We encourage you to look, to feel, to think, to question and most importantly, to identify and connect.

Anne-Louise Lambert as Miranda Courtesy Picnic Productions

Rock star

Magazine article by Jennifer Coombes, 2018

Jennifer Coombes explores the lush images of Picnic at Hanging Rock, featuring Anne-Louise Lambert’s Miranda, the face of the film.

In the mirror: self portrait with Joy Hester

Spring exhibition program

18 August 2020

Archived media releases 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 Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

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

My Favourite Australian

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2009

The Australian public was invited in 2008 to vote for their favourite Australian. After the votes were tallied an exhibition of the top-ten Popular Australians and the top-twenty unsung heroes was displayed at the National Portrait Gallery.

Selfhood transcended

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

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

Thua Tich, South Vietnam, 1969-06 by Christopher Bellis

The jungle look

Magazine article by David Gist, 2019

David Gist steps beyond the public relations veneer of Australia’s official Vietnam War portrait photographs.

Giving and getting

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

The exhibition Portraits for Posterity celebrates gifts to the Gallery, of purchases made with donated funds, and testifies to the generosity and community spirit of Australians.

The Changing Face of the Scientist

Magazine article by Elizabeth Finlay, 2003

Scientists tend to conjure up images of men in white coats in labs but this is just one stereotype in an evolving history of how we have perceived scientists, and how their profession has been understood over the years.

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.

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

The last word

Magazine article by Dr David Hansen, 2022

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

Trevor Jamieson, 2016 by Brett Canet-Gibson

The more things change...

NPPP 2017 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Stephen Valambras Graham, 2021

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

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.

Robyn Sweaney

Explore The Popular Pet Show

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

Lauded legacy

Magazine article by Karl James, 2015

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

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

Lovingly observed

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

Sarah Engledow previews the beguiling summer exhibition, Idle hours.

Depth of Field

Magazine article by Lauren Dalla, 2004

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

The story of us

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2022

Gallery directors Karen Quinlan and Tony Ellwood talk to Penelope Grist about the NPG and NGV collaborative exhibition, Who Are You: Australian Portraiture.

Self Portrait, Stuart Campbell by Stuart Campbell

The essence of you

Magazine article by Lee Tulloch, 2011

Lee Tulloch remembers her great friend NIDA-trained actor turned photographer Stuart Campbell.

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

Prima facie

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

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

Portraits and other stories

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2006

As the National Portrait Gallery opens its exhibition of portrait and figurative work by veteran photographer Sam Haskins, the artist reflects on the highlights of his fifty-year career so far.

The boy, the bed and the gun

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2016

Christopher Chapman contemplates the provocative performance art of Chris Burden.

Oz and beyond

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2007

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

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.

The Long Awaited, 2008 by Patricia Piccinini

In the flesh

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2015

An exhibition of humanness in ten themes by Penelope Grist.

Rick Amor: 21 Portraits

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

The eye and the heart

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

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

General Birdwood, the Idol of Anzac, taking a dip in the sea after a hard days work 1915

In the thick of it

Projecting the splendour of the empire, and the resolve of its subjects, the bust of William Birdwood keeps a stiff upper lip in the National Portrait Gallery.

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.

Sandor Ferenczis 50th birthday dinner, Budapest, 1923

Less than six degrees of separation

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2011

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

Picture this...

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

This edited version of a speech by Andrew Sayers examines some of the antecedents of the National Portrait Gallery and set out the ideas behind the modern Gallery and its collection.

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

Portraiture in a Bleak House

Magazine article by Robyn Sweaney, 2016

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

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

Finding Mrs Frisby

Robyn Sweaney's quiet Violet obsession.

Giving a dam

True south #1

Magazine article by Jenny Gall, 2017

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

Their brilliant careers

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

Uncommon Australians

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

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

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

Take thy face hence

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

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.

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

Back in black

Magazine article by Krysia Kitch, 2017

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

The silent partner

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

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

The life of Bryant

Magazine article by Tenille Hands, 2018

Tenille Hands explores a portrait prize gifted to the National Screen and Sound Archive.

Unbuttoning uniforms

Magazine article by Sharon Peoples, 2017

Sharon Peoples contemplates costumes and the construction of identity.

Hard truths

Magazine article by Jennifer Higgie, 2022

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

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

Shiny, happy people

Magazine article by Glynis Jones, 2022

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

A potpourri of portraits

Magazine article by Natalie Wilson, 2023

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

The Art Lovers - Megan, 2013 by Gary Grealy

Everybody, look serious

NPPP 2014 exhibition essay

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

Friends and Acquaintances

Magazine article by Tom Fryer, 2021

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

Face House – Kyoto, Japan Architect: Kazumasa Yamashita

Alter ego

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

Beguiling impressions

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2012

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

Earth to earth

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

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

Flesh, figure and rock

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2018

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

Getting a head

Magazine article by Alexandra Roginski, 2015

Alexandra Roginski gets a feel for phrenology’s fundamentals.

Eileen Dunne in The Hospital for Sick Children, 1940

The incomparable Beaton

Explore The Popular Pet Show

To accompany the exhibition Cecil Beaton: Portraits, held at the NPG in 2005, this article is drawn from Hugo Vickers's authorised biography, Cecil Beaton (1985).

Woman with Fair Hair and Pink Cardigan, 1949 by John Perceval.

The family scene

Magazine article, 2016

Traudi Allen discovers sensitivity, humour and fine draughtsmanship in the portraiture of John Perceval.

Anna Culliton

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

Seeing stars

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

Joanna Gilmour explores photographic depictions of Aboriginal sportsmen including Lionel Rose, Dave Sands, Jerry Jerome and Douglas Nicholls.

A sketch for some portraits

Magazine article by Judith Pugh, 2005

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

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

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.

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.

Some prime ministers

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

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

You are who?

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

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

All the way with K of K

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2016

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

The art of Inner Worlds

Lecture, 7 May 2011

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

Christmas Island