Search / ross wilson

Ross Wilson (b. 1947), musician and producer, started playing in bands as a schoolboy, fronting the Pink Finks and the Party Machine in the late 1960s.

3 portraits in the collection

Eagle Ross (Ross Wilson), 2005

Tessa Jones

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

The Boss, Ross Wilson, 2009

Chris Budgeon

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2005

Collection: National Portriat Gallery
Gift of the artist 2011

Now Listen...

Artist Tessa Jones recalls creating her portrait of Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock singer and music producer, Ross Wilson.

Joshua Ross

Joshua Ross (b. 1981) excelled at athletics as a child, but didn't take up sprinting in earnest until 2000, inspired by watching the Sydney Olympics on television.

1 portrait in the collection

Ross Watson

Ross Watson specialises in interpolating representations of lithe semi-naked men into copies of paintings by masters such as Vermeer, Ter Borsch, David and Bronzino.

2 portraits in the collection

Ross Honeysett

Ross Honeysett (b. 1953) is a professional photographer who began his career in London and Paris, shooting for fashion magazines Vogue, Tatler, Glamour and Elle.

2 portraits in the collection

Robert Ross

Robert Ross (1792–1862), clergyman, studied medicine in his native Edinburgh before being ordained into the Church of Scotland in 1818.

1 portrait in the collection

Ross Edwards

Portrait, oil on composition board

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

1 portrait in the collection

Ian Roberts (after Coypel 1709), 2003

Ross Watson

Gift of the artist 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Ross Edwards, 2013

Bridget Elliot

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on resin-coated paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2013
To mark the 70th birthday of composer Ross Edwards (23 December 2013)

Joshua Ross, 2006

Sahlan Hayes

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006

David Gulpilil's Hands, 2004

Ross Honeysett

Portrait, photographic print from film on paper

Gift of the artist 2021

Roslyn, 2016

Sally Ross

Portrait, oil on linen

Purchased 2017

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

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

Ross Watson

Portrait, oil on board

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

Noah Taylor, 1994 (printed 2010)

Ross Honeysett

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2010

Sir Samuel Wilson

Sir Samuel Wilson was elected to the British House of Commons in 1886.

1 portrait in the collection

James Wilson

James Wilson (1760–1840), naval officer, was the commander of a ship called the Duff, which in 1797 brought a group of missionaries from the London Missionary Society to Tahiti.

1 portrait in the collection

Call Me Daddy, 2014

by Claire Wilson

Magazine article by Natalie Wilson, 2023

A potpourri of portraits

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

Super League

Magazine article by David Sequeira, 2004

The portrait of Ian Roberts by Ross Watson.

William Hardy Wilson

Portrait, woven shag pile rug

William Hardy Wilson (1881-1955) - or Hardy Wilson, as he styled himself - is regarded as one of the most significant and visionary Australian architects of the twentieth century.

1 portrait in the collection

Fuzzy Leo (Leo Schofield), c. 2000

Martin Wilson

Gift of Nell Schofield 2020. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Reverend Robert Ross MD, Sydney, New South Wales, n.d.

John Cochran after Henry Room

Portrait, engraving on paper

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

Shona Wilson, 1998

Greg Weight

Portrait, type C Duraflex print on paper

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

Margaret Wilson, 1990

Anne Zahalka

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

Captain Wilson, 1819

Freeman, T Hamilton

Portrait, Engraving on paper

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

Toby Wilson, Murwillumbah, 1966 (printed 2000)

David Moore

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
The series 'David Moore: From Face to Face' was acquired as a gift of the artist and with financial assistance from Timothy Fairfax AC and L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2001.

Julian Rossi Ashton, 1933

Eric Wilson

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Philip Bacon AM 2012

Portrait of Mr W.M. Hughes, Prime Minister of Australia

Portrait of Mr W.M. Hughes, Prime Minister of Australia, 1916

J H Barratt & Co Ltd, Stoke-on-Trent

Portrait, photographic image on glazed ceramic tile

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ian Ross 2001

William Hardy Wilson at Purulia, Warrawee, 1921 (printed by Max Dupain 1981)

Harold Cazneaux, Max Dupain OBE

Sir Leslie Ward, Vanity Fair Magazine

Gift of the Simpson Family in memory of Caroline Simpson OAM 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

a squatter (Sir Samuel Wilson), 1885

Portrait, chromolithograph on paper

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

The Memoirs of George Barrington, 1790

an unknown artist, J Bird & Simmonds

Portrait, octavo in fours, with an engraved frontispiece

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Sir Garfield Barwick, 1972

Reg Campbell

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ross G Barwick and family 2013
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Thinking about architecture and portraiture

Dr Christopher Chapman describes the experimental exhibition Portraits + Architecture

Gift of the Simpson family in memory of Caroline Simpson OAM 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

The Hon. Edward Gough Whitlam by Martin Wilson

Fuzzy Prime Ministers of Australia

Previous exhibition, 2001

In the one hundred years since Federation, Australia has produced twenty-five Prime Ministers of all shapes, shades and sizes

Charles, 2015

by Amiel Courtin-Wilson

Portrait, albumen silver photograph, hand coloured on paper

Winner, DPA 2016

Sir Edward Eyre Williams, 1872

Thomas Foster Chuck

Gift of Ross and Judy O'Connell 2016

Sir George Grey, Governor of New Zealand

Sir George Grey, Governor of New Zealand, 1861

William-Wolfe Alais

Portrait, engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Digital Portraiture Award 2016

Previous exhibition, 2016

An annual event to extend traditional notions of portraiture and foster emerging artists with an interest in new technology.

Study for portrait of Nicholas Paspaley Jnr

Study for portrait of Nicholas Paspaley Jnr, 2018

Andrew Bonneau

Portrait, pencil and white pastel on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by Ross Adler AC 2018

Sidney Nolan, 1982

Albert Tucker

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas board

Purchased with funds provided by Ross Adler AC 2022

CO-AP

Based in Sydney, CO-AP endeavour to realise unique outcomes for each project, achieved through a strong and reliable collaborative process.

Emily Fairfax

Magazine article by Sandra Bruce, 2022

Emily Ross (née Fairfax) (1832-1871) was the eldest child of newspaper publisher John Fairfax - who founded the Fairfax news dynasty in Sydney in 1841 - and his wife Sarah.

1 portrait in the collection

People are people

Sandra Bruce chats with seven-time NPPP finalist Chris Budgeon about photography, guitars and representing the human story.

Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker OM

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker OM GCSI CB MD FRS (1817-1911), botanist, explorer and medical doctor, visited Australia as a member of James Clark Ross's Antarctic expedition of 1839 to 1843.

2 portraits in the collection

Death mask of George Melville courtesy of National Trust of Australia (Victoria), Old Melbourne Gaol Collection

A colourful story from Sideshow Alley

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on board

From infamous bushranger to oyster shop display, curator Jo Gilmour explores the life of George Melville.

Emily Fairfax, 1870

William Macleod

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of John Fairfax Holdings Ltd 2002
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Robert, 2010

by CJ Taylor

Robert Kermode

James Faed, W Wilding after John Watson Gordon

Robert Quayle Kermode (1812-1870), politician, was born on the Isle of Man and educated at Castletown.

1 portrait in the collection

General Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1850 (published)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Icons Syndicate

Lists alphabetically

Gil Askey, 2011

by Titian Scheffer

James, 2009

by Nicole Marie

Donors

$10,000 - $49,999

Sir Mark Oliphant, 1939

Bassano Ltd

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ms Vivian Wilson 2004

John Austin

Archived media releases 2016

John Austin was born and developed his skills as a photographer in England.

2 portraits in the collection

Charles (still from video) by Amiel Courtin-Wilson

The Winner of the Digital Portraiture Award 2016 is...

2 December 2016

The winner of the Digital Portraiture Award 2016 has been announced. Congratulations to Amiel Courtin-Wilson for his submission titled Charles.

Milestones

This month I turn fifty, soI am just now looking rather more closely than usual at Fiona Foley, Steven Heathcote, Brenda Croft, Russell Crowe, Jeff Fenech, Akira Isogawa, Lee Kernaghan, My Le Thi, Shona Wilson and Mark Taylor AO, mindful that they too were 1964 arrivals.

Sir Ian McLennan KBE

Sir Ian McLennan KBE (1909-1998) was chairman of BHP from 1971 to 1977.

1 portrait in the collection

Marcie Elizabeth Fairfax

William Daniell after George Dance

Marcie Elizabeth 'Betty' Fairfax (1907–1995) was a leading figure in fashionable circles in Sydney in the 1920s and 1930s.

1 portrait in the collection

William Hodges RA, 1808 (dated 1810)

Portrait, etching on paper

Purchased 2010

Martha Kermode, c. 1840

Henry Mundy

Purchased 2008. The original frame for this work was donated to the National Portrait Gallery of Australia by the National Gallery of Victoria 2009.

Robert Kermode, c. 1840

Henry Mundy

Purchased 2008. The original frame for this work was donated to the National Portrait Gallery of Australia by the National Gallery of Victoria 2009.

The Delltones, 1964 (printed 2019)

Ern McQuillan OAM

Previous exhibition, 2000

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2019

Sporting Archibald

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

Self portrait, 1894

Livingston Hopkins

Portrait, etching on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Stan Coster

Batchelder & Company Photo

Stan Coster (1930-1997) was one of Australian country music's greatest songwriters.

1 portrait in the collection

Charles Summers, late 1860s

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

Study for "Portrait of the artist as an evolving landscape", 1991

James Gleeson

Portrait, pencil, charcoal and paper collage on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ray Wilson OAM in memory of James Agapitos OAM 2011
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Sahlan Hayes

Born in the United Kingdom, Sahlan Hayes lived with his family in the USA, New Zealand and the United Kingdom before settling in Australia.

9 portraits in the collection

Olive Cotton

Olive Cotton (1911-2003) was one of Australia's pioneering modernist photographers.

2 portraits in the collection

Stan Coster, Manilla, NSW, 1994 (printed 2004)

John Elliott

Portrait, oil on masonite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Self portrait, 1965

Jean Appleton

Gift of the Estate of Nicolaas van der Waarden 2013

Y-erran-gou-la-ga, published 1807

Nicolas-Martin Petit after Barthélemy Roger

Portrait, engraving, hand coloured on paper

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Mike Brown

Mike Brown (1938-1997) artist, was a participant (with Ross Crothall and Colin Lanceley) in the 1962 Annandale Imitation Realists exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art and Design, Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Henry Mundy

Artist Henry Mundy arrived in Van Diemen’s Land in 1831 and took up a position as teacher of drawing, French and music at Ellinthorp Hall, a school near Ross established ‘with a view to the improvement of Young Ladies’.

4 portraits in the collection

Bridget Elliot

Daniel Orme after Robert Dighton

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

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Captain John Hunter, 1792

Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Florence Austral, c. 1930

Howard Barron

Gift of the University of Newcastle (Australia) 2007

Frederick E. Du Faur

Frederick Eccleston du Faur (1832–1915), environmentalist, public servant and arts patron, came to Australia from his native London in 1853.

1 portrait in the collection

Tom Carroll

Tom Carroll (b.1961), former professional surfer, made the finals of the 1979 Pipe Masters on his first ever world tour, finishing 24th in the world that same year.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Mark Oliphant, c. 1948

Lotte Meitner-Graf

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ms Vivian Wilson 2004

Richard Nicoll

Richard Nicoll (1977‒2016), fashion designer, was born in London but spent much of his childhood in Perth.

1 portrait in the collection

Two grounps of three people standing in a studio with walls and shelves filled with artworks

Arts Project Australia

Artists and Collectives

Arts Project Australia is a creative social enterprise based in Naarm/Melbourne that supports neurodiverse artists, promoting their work and advocating for inclusion within contemporary arts practice.

Michele Aboud

Portrait, enamel and synthetic polymer paint on conservation card

Michele Aboud, commercial, fashion and portrait photographer, is a graduate of the Photographic College of London and UCLA.

1 portrait in the collection

JS Study 1, 2014

Jasper Knight

Gift of Ross Steele AM 2021. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Douglas Annand

Previous exhibition, 2000

Douglas Annand (1903–1976), graphic designer and artist, moved to Sydney from Brisbane in 1930.

2 portraits in the collection

Monochromatic Self-Portrait, 2000 by Genevieve Preston

Headspace 1

Headspace showcases portrait art produced by secondary students from Year 7 to Year 12 in Government, Catholic and Independent schools in Canberra and its surrounding regions extending to Wollongong, Deniliquin, Leeton, Crookwell, Bombala, Narooma and Albury

Johann Zoffany

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Johann Zoffany, painter of portraits and conversation pieces, grew up in the court of the Prince von Thurn und Taxis in Germany, where his father was employed.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Hartley Williams, c. 1871

Portrait, albumen silver photograph, hand coloured on paper

Gift of Ross and Judy O'Connell 2016

Edith Ellen Williams, c. 1871

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Portrait, albumen silver photograph, hand coloured on paper

Gift of Ross and Judy O'Connell 2016

Portrait of Mrs Sarah Fairfax, c. 1864

Edwin Dalton

Portrait, pastel on paper laid on canvas

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

2012-13 Acquisition Fund

Support your Portrait Gallery

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

Portrait 69

Magazine

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

Honour board

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges and thanks all its supporters.

John Clarke

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

Nicholas Paspaley Jnr, 2018

by Andrew Bonneau

Portrait, engraving on paper

Commissioned with funds provided by Ross Adler AC 2018

Portrait of Bennilong, Native of New Holland

Portrait of Bennilong, Native of New Holland, c. 1798

an unknown artist

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Florence Austral

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

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Cressida Campbell AM

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2020

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

2 portraits in the collection

The long game

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

Pretty in peach

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

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

Margel and Tarquin, Canberra, c. 1945

Frank Hinder

Portrait, pen and ink, brush and ink and pencil on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by the Ross family in memory of Noel and Enid Eliot 2014

David McAllister AC

David McAllister AC (b. 1963), dancer and former artistic director of the Australian Ballet, was born in Perth and began studying ballet in the early 1970s.

3 portraits in the collection

Nicholas Paspaley Jnr, 2018

Andrew Bonneau

Commissioned with funds provided by Ross Adler AC 2018

Supporters

$5,000 - $9,999

2014-15 Acquisition Fund

Batchelder & Company Photo

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

John Pascoe Fawkner, c. 1867

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Cressida Campbell, 2001

Greg Weight

Nicolas-Martin Petit after Barthélemy Roger

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

Cour-rou-bari-gal, 1807

Portrait, engraving, hand coloured on paper

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Frank Hurley OBE

Batchelder & Company Photo

Frank Hurley (1885-1962), photographer, first made his name on Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-14.

2 portraits in the collection

Richard Henry Horne, mid 1860s

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

Flash

Australian Athletes in Focus

Previous exhibition, 2006

Introduction The National Portrait Gallery’s photographic exhibition Flash: Australian Athletes in Focus explores various interpretations of Australian sporting men and women.

Self portrait, 1976 (printed 2005)

David Malin

Frederick Bromley after Robert Frain

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Sir Ian McLennan, c. 1978

Bryan Westwood

Portrait, oil on board

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

Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1842

Previous exhibition, 2017

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Nicholas Harding

28 Portraits

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.

Dan the man

Magazine article by India Bednall, 2015

Martin Philbey’s portrait of Dan Sultan.

Self portrait, 1921

Thea Proctor

Portrait, lithograph on paper

Purchased with funds provided by the Ross family in memory of Noel and Enid Eliot 2013

William John Wills, 2nd in command of the Victorian Expedition

William John Wills, 2nd in command of the Victorian Expedition, 1860-1861

Henry Samuel Sadd, Fergusson & Mitchell, Melbourne after Thomas Adams Hill

Previous exhibition, 2022

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2007

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.

Keith Miller, early 1950s (printed 2008)

Max Dupain OBE

Previous exhibition, 2006

Purchased 2008

Rennie Ellis

Aussies All

Rennie Ellis: Aussies All is a celebration of the life and work of the late Australian photographer Rennie Ellis.

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa

Husbands and Wives

Photographic Portraits from 19th Century Australia

Previous exhibition, 2010

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

Open Air

Portraits in the Landscape

Previous exhibition, 2008

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

Frank Lowy, 1998 (printed 2011)

Lorrie Graham

Henry Samuel Sadd, Fergusson & Mitchell, Melbourne after Thomas Adams Hill

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Robert O'Hara Burke, Leader of the Victorian Expedition

Robert O'Hara Burke, Leader of the Victorian Expedition, 1860-1861

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2007

Sideshow Alley

Previous exhibition, 2015

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

Mr Movies - Bill Collins OAM, 2009

Evert Ploeg

Portrait, oil on linen

Gift of Joan Collins and the Todd-Wilson family in memory of Bill Collins 2019. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Annual Appeal

Listed by year

Dalton's Royal Photographic Gallery

Lucy Escott, c. 1861

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

Purchased 2009

Skyhooks (Red Symons, Bob Starkie, Shirley Strachan, Greg Macainsh, Freddie Strauks) in Parker’s studio, Fitzroy, 1975 David Parker

Cool cool world

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2022

Penelope Grist unpacks photographs by David Parker, who captured the phenomenal emergence of the 1970s and 80s Melbourne music scene.

Home is where the art is

Previous exhibition, 2020

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

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.

To Look Within

Self Portraits in Australia

Previous exhibition, 2004

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

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.

2020 Annual Appeal

Dalton's Royal Photographic Gallery

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

Henry Squires, c. 1861

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

Purchased 2009

Celebrity cutpurse

Magazine article by Dr Grace Blakeley-Carroll, 2010

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

The play’s the thing

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2010

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

Glamour vs grunge

Christopher Chapman examines the battle of glamour vs. grunge which played out in the fashion and advertising of the 1990s.

Ready , set... shoot

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2006

The exhibition Flash: Australian Athletes in Focus offers various interpretations of sporting men and women by five Australian photographers.

James Baldwin, writer, Harlem, New York 1945 by Richard Avedon

The Avedon effect

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2013

Dr Christopher Chapman explores how we can understand Richard Avedon's photographs.

2022 Annual Appeal

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2010

In 2022 the Annual Appeal was focussed on Mayatjara by Robert Fielding, a series of 24 photographs of Elders of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara community.

The God-shaped hole

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

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

Embrace your inner nerd

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

Little John of Colchester, a poor lunatic, c.1823 by John Dempsey

Dempsey's people

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2016

Those of you who are active in social media circles may be aware that through the past week I have unleashed a blitz on Facebook and Instagram in connection with our new winter exhibition Dempsey’s People: A Folio of British Street Portraits, 1824−1844.

Naked nostalgia

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

Fits of delicacy and despair

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

Henry Mundy's portraits flesh out notions of propriety and good taste in a convict colony.

The Saint and the merchant

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

Emanuel Solomon gave shelter to the Sisters of St Joseph upon the excommunication of St Mary MacKillop.

Getting a head

Magazine article by Alexandra Roginski, 2015

Alexandra Roginski gets a feel for phrenology’s fundamentals.

Two painters

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2007

Chris Chapman explains how Matthys Gerber bridges the gap between abstraction and portraiture.

The highest honour

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2007

Bringing eminent scientist Frank Fenner and artist Jude Rae together for the National Portrait Gallery commission was like matchmaking.

Portrait of Truganini, daughter of the Chief of Bruny Island, Van Diemens Land, c. 1835

Black and white history

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2009

English artist Benjamin Duterrau took up the cause of the Indigenous peoples of Tasmania with his detailed and sympathetic renderings.

Christmas Island

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2004

This is my last Trumbology before, in a little more than a week from now, I pass to my successor Karen Quinlan the precious baton of the Directorship of the National Portrait Gallery.

The Multifarious Career of George Selth Coppin

George Selth Coppin (1819-1906) comedian, impresario and entrepreneur, was a driving force of the early Australian theatre.

Aussies all

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2006

The exhibition Aussies all features the ecclectic portrait photography of Rennie Ellis which captures Australian life during the 70s and 80s.

Give me five

Magazine article by Karen Quinlan AM, 2021

National Portrait Gallery director Karen Quinlan AM nominates her quintet of favourites from the collection, with early twentieth-century ‘selfies’ filling the roster.

The Conciliation, 1840 by Benjamin Duterrau

The art of conciliation

Magazine article by Gareth Knapman, 2017

Gareth Knapman explores the politics and opportunism behind the portraits of Tasmania’s Black War.

In good company

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

Jean Appleton’s 1965 self portrait makes a fine addition to the National Portrait Gallery’s collection writes Joanna Gilmour.

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.

20/20 launch speech

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

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

Regarding Henrys

Sarah Engledow ponders the divergent legacies of Messrs Kendall and Lawson.

An evening at Yarra Cottage, Port Stephens

Maria Caroline Brownrigg

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2015

At first glance, this small watercolour group portrait of her two sons and four daughters by Maria Caroline Brownrigg (d. 1880) may seem prosaic, even hesitant

Getting bare

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

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.

Nicholas Harding: 28 Portraits

Exhibition essay