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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

Search / shona wilson

Shona Wilson, 1998

Greg Weight

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

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

Ross Wilson

Biography

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

Sir Samuel Wilson

Biography

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

1 portrait in the collection

James Wilson

Biography

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

William Hardy Wilson

Biography

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

Portrait, woven shag pile rug

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

"A Squatter" Sir Samuel Wilson (Image plate from Vanity Fair), 1885

Sir Leslie Ward

Portrait, chromolithograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

The Boss, Ross Wilson, 2009

Chris Budgeon

Portrait, type C photograph on paper

Collection: National Portriat Gallery
Gift of the artist 2011

Eagle Ross (Ross Wilson), 2005

Tessa Jones

Portrait, oil on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Captain Wilson, 1819

Freeman, T Hamilton

Portrait, Engraving on paper

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

Margaret Wilson, 1990

Anne Zahalka

Portrait, type C Duraflex print on paper

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

Toby Wilson, Murwillumbah, 1966 (printed 2000)

David Moore

Portrait, type C photograph 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.

Now Listen...

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2005

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

Julian Rossi Ashton, 1933

Eric Wilson

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Philip Bacon AM 2012

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

Harold Cazneaux, Max Dupain OBE

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Simpson Family in memory of Caroline Simpson OAM 2008
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Daddy Cool, Melbourne, 1974

Rennie Ellis

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Purchased 2005

Marcie Elizabeth Wilson, 1922

George Lambert

Portrait, pencil on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
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

General content

Winner, DPA 2016

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 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

Sir Mark Oliphant, 1939

Bassano Ltd

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ms Vivian Wilson 2004

John Austin

Biography

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

Archived media releases 2016

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

Marcie Elizabeth Fairfax

Biography

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)

George Dance, William Daniell

Portrait, etching on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

The Delltones, 1964 (printed 2019)

Ern McQuillan OAM

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2019

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

Charles Summers, late 1860s

Batchelder & Company Photo

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite

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

Self portrait, 1965

Jean Appleton

Portrait, oil on masonite

Gift of the Estate of Nicolaas van der Waarden 2013

Florence Austral, c. 1930

Howard Barron

Portrait, oil on canvas

Gift of the University of Newcastle (Australia) 2007

Frederick E. Du Faur

Biography

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

Sir Mark Oliphant, c. 1948

Lotte Meitner-Graf

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ms Vivian Wilson 2004

Michele Aboud

Biography

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

1 portrait in the collection

Douglas Annand

Biography

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

2 portraits in the collection

Johann Zoffany

Biography

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

2012-13 Acquisition Fund

Annual Appeal

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

Florence Austral

Biography

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

1 portrait in the collection

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Richard Henry Horne, mid 1860s

Batchelder & Company Photo

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite

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

Dan the man

Magazine article by India Bednall, 2015

Martin Philbey’s portrait of Dan Sultan.

Face the Music

Previous exhibition, 2005

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

Frank Lowy, 1998 (printed 2011)

Lorrie Graham

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

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.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020

Previous exhibition, 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.

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.

Sideshow Alley

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

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.

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

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.

The God-shaped hole

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2010

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

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Honour board

Naked nostalgia

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2016

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

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.

The long game

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2020

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

Two painters

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2007

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

The play’s the thing

About Face article

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

The Multifarious Career of George Selth Coppin

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2004

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

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.

Regarding Henrys

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

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

62 results

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This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. Copyright in all materials and/or works comprising or contained within this website remains with the National Portrait Gallery and other copyright owners as specified.

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Requests for a reproduction of a work of art or other content can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

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Search / shona wilson

Shona Wilson, 1998

Ross Wilson

Sir Samuel Wilson

James Wilson

William Hardy Wilson

Fuzzy Leo (Leo Schofield), c. 2000

"A Squatter" Sir Samuel Wilson (Image plate from Vanity Fair), 1885

The Boss, Ross Wilson, 2009

Eagle Ross (Ross Wilson), 2005

Captain Wilson, 1819

Margaret Wilson, 1990

Toby Wilson, Murwillumbah, 1966 (printed 2000)

Now Listen...

Julian Rossi Ashton, 1933

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

Daddy Cool, Melbourne, 1974

Marcie Elizabeth Wilson, 1922

Fuzzy Prime Ministers of Australia

Charles, 2015

Digital Portraiture Award 2016

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

Sir Mark Oliphant, 1939

John Austin

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

Marcie Elizabeth Fairfax

William Hodges RA, 1808 (dated 1810)

The Delltones, 1964 (printed 2019)

Sporting Archibald

Charles Summers, late 1860s

Self portrait, 1965

Florence Austral, c. 1930

Frederick E. Du Faur

Sir Mark Oliphant, c. 1948

Michele Aboud

Douglas Annand

Johann Zoffany

2012-13 Acquisition Fund

Florence Austral

Pretty in peach

Supporters

John Pascoe Fawkner, c. 1867

Richard Henry Horne, mid 1860s

Dan the man

Face the Music

Frank Lowy, 1998 (printed 2011)

Mr Movies - Bill Collins OAM, 2009

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020

Nicholas Harding

Sideshow Alley

To Look Within

The Avedon effect

The God-shaped hole

Portrait Donors

Naked nostalgia

The Saint and the merchant

Getting a head

The long game

Two painters

The play’s the thing

The Multifarious Career of George Selth Coppin

In good company

Regarding Henrys