Herbert 'Smoky' Dawson MBE (1913-2008), entertainer, began his musical career in 1934 with a series of live broadcasts on Melbourne's Radio 3UZ - the first broadcasts of their kind in Australia.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005
Patrick Dawson is believed to have been trained as a surveyor and learnt photography while surveying in Victoria in the 1850s.
1 portrait in the collection
Janet Dawson (b. 1935), painter, printer, teacher and stage designer, is known for her contribution to abstract art in Australia.
10 portraits in the collection
Paula Dawson (b. 1954), artist and university lecturer, is an internationally recognised pioneer in the field of holography.
1 portrait in the collection
Gift of the artist 2000
Recorded 1965
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.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015
Purchased with the assistance of Ann Lewis AM and the Basil Bressler Bequest 2004
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Joseph Mathew Cotta and Gladys Maria Cotta 2016
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Joseph Mathew Cotta and Gladys Maria Cotta 2016
Joanna Gilmour explores the life and art of the Australian artist Janet Dawson.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2000, part gift of Michael Boddy
Sam Bowker examines Paula Dawson's Mirror, Mirror - a holographic portrait of Graeme Murphy.
When soulmates Janet Dawson and Michael Boddy moved from Sydney to a property, Boddy was clear about why: ‘Our marriage is one long conversation - we moved to the bush so we could talk to each other without so many interruptions.’
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Professor Derek Denton AC and Dame Margaret Scott AC 2014
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2009
Lee Kernaghan (b.1964) is a country music singer and songwriter. Born in Victoria, son of travelling country music artist and impresario Ray Kernaghan, Lee Kernaghan grew up in the Riverina area of New South Wales.
1 portrait in the collection
This issue features convict portraitists, Janet Dawson, Paul Grabowsky, Nam Le, the Present Tense exhibition and more.
Books, beets and heat
Thousand mile stare provides a unique portrait of people of rural Australia
John Elliott talks about his photographic portrait practice, including his iconic image of Slim Dusty arm-in-arm with Dame Edna Everage.
This exhibition expresses the joy and warmth that many of us derive from our animal companions, and celebrates their trusting, unpretentious ways, with portraits of Australians and their furry, feathered and fluffy friends.
Intimate Portraits is an exhibition of paintings, drawings and prints that explore the less public side of portraiture
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Les Rowe 1998
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
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.
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
William Jackson Hooker (1785–1865), botanist, was the first Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in which capacity he had significant influence on the study of Australian flora.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Anne and Brennan Keats 2009
Michael Boddy (1934–2014), writer and actor, was born in England and educated at Cambridge before arriving in Australia as a 'ten quid migrant' in 1960.
2 portraits in the collection
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.
It is not every day that a national gallery turns its walls over to the animal companions that bring unconditional love and joy to their owners but this summer we have opened the doors to 15 contemporary artists with very different ways of depicting our furry, feathered and scaled pets.
This exhibition is the first comprehensive survey of self-portraits in Australia, from the colonial period to the present
The National Portrait Gallery acquired the self-portrait by Grace Cossington Smith in 2003.
This exhibition features new works from ten women artists reinterpreting and reimagining elements of Australian history, enriching the contemporary narrative around Australia’s history and biography, reflecting the tradition of storytelling in our country.
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.
Andrew Sayers explores the self-portraits created by Australian artist Sidney Nolan.
Former NPG Director, Andrew Sayers describes the 1922 Self-portrait with Gladioli by George Lambert.
Andrew Sayers outlines the highlights of the National Portrait Gallery's display of portrait sculpture.
Michael Wardell samples the fare in the University of Queensland National Self-portrait Prize.
Penelope Grist, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2020 Prize.
The portrait of Janet and Horace Keats with the spirit of the poet Christopher Brennan is brought to life by artist Dora Toovey.
How seven portraits within Bare reveal in a public portrait parts of the body and elements of life usually located in the private sphere.
Joanna Gilmour explores photographic depictions of Aboriginal sportsmen including Lionel Rose, Dave Sands, Jerry Jerome and Douglas Nicholls.
A design diary retrospective.
Pamela Gerrish Nunn explores New Zealand’s premium award for portraiture.
Curator, Penny Grist, reveals how this exhibition came to be
Sarah Engledow ponders the divergent legacies of Messrs Kendall and Lawson.
Sarah Engledow chronicles Rick Amor's work and accomplishments in this extensive essay in conjunction with the exhibition Rick Amor: 21 Portraits.
