Search / tony bilson

Tony Bilson, OAM (1944-2020), chef, grew up in Melbourne and was educated at Melbourne Grammar school before opening his first restaurant, La Pomme d'Or, in Camberwell in 1971.

1 portrait in the collection

Tony Bilson, c. 2005

George Fetting

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Tony Bilson 2008

Gay Bilson

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Gay Bilson (b. 1944), writer and former restaurateur, trained as a librarian before moving to Sydney from Melbourne with her partner, Tony Bilson, in the early 1970s (the couple were never married, but had two daughters, and Gay has long used Tony's surname).

2 portraits in the collection

Considering Persephone - Gay Bilson, 2009

Leeanne Crisp

Purchased with funds provided by Jan and Gary Whyte, Brian and Barbara Crisp, Gloria Kurtze, Jonathon Mills and Lawsoft Pty Ltd 2011

Gay Bilson, 2004

Peter Fisher

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Tony Roche

Tony Roche, a left-hander with a fine backhand volley who was twice ranked No 2 in the world, was born the son of a Tarcutta butcher in 1945.

2 portraits in the collection

Tony Adam

Tony Adam (b. 1938) model, grazier and farmhand, grew up in Melbourne and attended Melbourne Grammar school, but left when he was sixteen.He went to work on Angledool and Llanillo stations in outback New South Wales and Queensland.

1 portrait in the collection

Tony Mitchell

Tony Mitchell was in a band called Wheelbarrow, who released a single, 'Dame Zara' before Mitchell left to join Harry Young and Sabbath.

3 portraits in the collection

Tony Wheeler

Maureen and Tony Wheeler are the founders and owners of Lonely Planet Publications.

1 portrait in the collection

Tony Clark

Canberra-born artist Tony Clark moved to London with his family in 1960.

1 portrait in the collection

Tony Shaw AM

Tony Shaw AM (b. 1953), rugby union footballer, made his debut for Queensland in 1973 and went on to play 112 games for his state team.

1 portrait in the collection

Tony Kearney

Magazine article by Tony Albert, 2017

Tony Kearney, a self-described amateur photographer, is a full time director of Designmakers Pty Ltd, a leading industrial design consultancy based in Adelaide.

3 portraits in the collection

Tony Albert (after Brownie Downing), 2016 by Tony Albert

Observation point

I think the truest representation of someone is a portrait.

As long as you're here, 2013 by Tony Curran

Touchy touchy

Magazine article by Tony Curran, 2015

Tony Curran ponders whether our phones can change the course of painting.

Tony Shaw, 2018

Sarah Rhodes

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on dibond

Commissioned with funds from the Patrick Corrigan Portrait Commission Series 2018

Tony Adam, c. 1968

Janice McIllree

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Janice McIllree 2012

Tony Mitchell, 1975 (printed 2001)

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

Tony Ghee, c. 2000

Penny Tweedie

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004

Heath Ledger, 1998 (printed 2017)

Tony Amos

Gift of the artist 2020

Heath Ledger, 1998 (printed 2017)

Tony Amos

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2020

Gill Hicks, 2016

Tony Kearney

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint and permanent marker on canvas

Purchased 2016

Peter Porter, 2004

Tony Clark

Purchased with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2004

Tony Roche and Ivan Lendl, 1986

Joe Greenberg

Portrait, watercolour, crayon, coloured pencil and gouache on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001

Wentja Morgan Napaltjarri, 2017

Tony Kearney

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Linda Syddick Tjunggkiya Napaltjarri, 2017

Tony Kearney

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2022

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

The story of us

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

Aden Ridgeway & pallbearers entering Sydney Town Hall, State Funeral for Kwementyaye Perkins AO, 25th October 2000

Aden Ridgeway & pallbearers entering Sydney Town Hall, State Funeral for Kwementyaye Perkins AO, 25th October 2000, 2000

Mervyn Bishop

Purchased 2001

Tony Roche, Harry Hopman and John Newcombe

Tony Roche, Harry Hopman and John Newcombe,

Ern McQuillan OAM

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Sherbet, 1974 (printed 2002)

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

Sherbet, 1974

Francis Reiss and June Orford

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

Tony and Maureen Wheeler, 2005

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Tony Shaw, 2018

by Sarah Rhodes

Commissioned with funds from the Patrick Corrigan Portrait Commission Series 2018

Tony Sowersby

Vox pops

Sabine's the sister-in-law of one of my oldest friends so I've known her for a while.

Tim Pak Poy, 1998 (printed 2005)

Kate Gollings

Portrait, oil and gold leaf on cedar panel

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Acacius (Stigmata) - Tony Carden, 1991

AñA Wojak

Gift of Lesley Saddington 2015

George Fetting

George Fetting (b. 1964) is a Sydney-based photographer specialising in portrait, travel and editorial work.

8 portraits in the collection

Portrait 63

Winter 2019

Magazine

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.

Tetsuya Wakuda, 2004

Quentin Jones

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Peter Garrett, Midnight Oil, 1986 Bob King

The Mosh Pit

'I have found a peace within myself'

More photographs by Bob King, Stuart Spence, 'pling, Tony Mott, and Wendy McDougall.

Gill Hicks

Portrait story

Peace advocate, author, musician and artist Gill Hicks on her portrait by Tony Kearney.

Frank Clune, 1952

Jacques van Meergeren

Portrait, pastel with gouache on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Tony Clune 1999

Graham Kennedy, c. 1962 (printed 2000)

Peter English

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Tony Sattler 2016

Tim Pak Poy

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2019

Tim Pak Poy is a chef and owner of The Wharf in Sydney. Trained as a perfumer, in 1983 Pak Poy followed a passion for food, securing a job with the celebrated Cheong Liew at Adelaide's Nediz Neddy's.

1 portrait in the collection

Eating the seasons

Anne Sanders imbibes Tony Bilson’s gastronomic revolution.

Roslyn Oxley

Roslyn Oxley AM, gallerist and art dealer, was born Roslyn Walton, the daughter of John Walton, owner of the department store Waltons.

1 portrait in the collection

Chrissy Amphlett

'I was never submissive'

Portrait story

An interview with the iconic Australian rocker Chrissy Amphlett.

Anders Ousback, 1986 (printed 2018)

Gary Ede

Purchased 2018

Valentin Shkolny

Valentin Shkolny grew up in his native Ukraine, where he began painting as a child and took his first photograph - of his mother - when he was 12.

1 portrait in the collection

Alana Landsberry

Alana Landsberry (b. 1982) is a Sydney-based professional photographer who specialises in portrait, lifestyle, beauty and fashion photography.

2 portraits in the collection

Andrew Gaze, 2018

by George Fetting

Commissioned with funds provided by Trent Birkett 2018

Kristin Headlam

Kristin Headlam, born in Launceston, completed a BA at the University of Melbourne in the 1970s and studied painting at the Victorian College of the Arts in 1980-1981.

2 portraits in the collection

Clive Shakespeare

Clive Shakespeare formed the soul/Tamla Motown cover group the Downtown Roll Band in 1968.

3 portraits in the collection

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

Maureen Wheeler

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Maureen and Tony Wheeler are the founders and owners of Lonely Planet Publications.

1 portrait in the collection

Study for portrait of Bob Ellis, 1999

David Naseby

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of David Naseby 2001

Study for portrait of Bob Ellis, 1999

David Naseby

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of David Naseby 2001

Ern McQuillan Senior

Ern McQuillan (Senior) (1905-1988), boxing trainer, was born in Newtown, Sydney, and worked there all his life.

1 portrait in the collection

AñA Wojak

AñA Wojak describes themselves as a 'cross-disciplinary artist working in performance, painting, assemblage, installation and theatre design, with a particular interest in site-specificity, ritual and altered states'.

1 portrait in the collection

Nic Walker

Chefs, winemakers, providores

Nic Walker spent his early years in Cairo and Beijing with his father Tony Walker, a foreign correspondent.

1 portrait in the collection

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.

POL

Portrait of a Generation

Previous exhibition, 2003

POL was a magazine that ran from 1969 to 1986

John Newcombe, 2006

Robin Sellick

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006

Barry Humphries, 1962

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

Lew Hoad, 1954

Ern McQuillan OAM

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

John Newcombe and family, 1973

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

Lew Hoad

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2015

Lew Hoad (1934-1994), tennis champion, was born in Sydney. He played his first Davis Cup competition in 1952 and helped the Australian team to victory with a thrilling win over Tony Trabert.

1 portrait in the collection

Stigma stigmata

Angus Trumble provides poignant context for Aña Wojak’s portrait of Tony Carden.

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.

Ern McQuillan Senior, c. 1980s

Ern McQuillan OAM

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Anthony Mundine, 1992 (printed 2008)

Mervyn Bishop

Purchased 2008

Barry Humphries

Previous exhibition, 2013

Barry Humphries AC CBE (b. 1934), actor, writer and artist, is the world’s all-time most successful solo theatrical performer.

12 portraits 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.

Professor Denise Ferris, Tony Ellwood AM and Karen Quinlan AM

Darling Portrait Prize judges announced

26 August 2019

Archived media releases 2019

The National Portrait Gallery is excited to announce the judging panel for the prestigious inaugural Darling Portrait Prize with first place prize valued at $75,000.

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

Geoffrey Rush, 1997

Montalbetti + Campbell

Portrait, pen and ink and drybrush on paper

Purchased 1999

Dame Judith Anderson, 1962

Don Bachardy

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Roslyn, 2016

Sally Ross

Portrait, oil on linen

Purchased 2017

Klaus Friedeberger

Klaus Friedeberger (1922-2019) fled Germany for England at the age of sixteen, and the next year found himself on the Dunera bound for internment in Australia.

3 portraits in the collection

Dame Judith Anderson AC DBE

Dame Judith Anderson AC DBE (1897–1992) was an Adelaide-born stage and film actress well known for her role as the sinister Mrs Danvers in Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940).

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Les Patterson, 1999

Polly Borland

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Mick Molloy, 2009

Andrew Maccoll

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2009

Bob Ellis

Portrait, soft ground etching on paper.

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

3 portraits in the collection

Michael Kelly, 1998

Rick Amor

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

Ken Rosewall AM MBE

Ken Rosewall AM MBE (b. 1934), champion tennis player, won the Australian Open in 1953 and again nineteen years later in 1972 (he remains both the youngest, and oldest, person to win the title).

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait 66

Summer 2021/22

Magazine

The Huxleys, National Portrait Gallery London’s masterpieces, Jennifer Higgie on portraits of women by women, Tamara Dean, Bangarra, Glynis Jones on fashion photographers, and NPG/NGV collaboration.

Bob Ellis, 1999

David Naseby

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

Tribute

Bob Ellis

Magazine article, 2016

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

Exhibition opening speech

The Lives of Barry Humphries

Leo Schofield introduces the exhibition, Masters of fare: chefs, winemakers, providores.

Slim Dusty and Dame Edna Everage, Carlton Hill Station, WA, 10 July 1993

Rarely Everage

Previous exhibition, 2002

The exhibition begins with Barry's childhood in Camberwell, Melbourne and chronicles his days as a struggling actor in Australia and England, his creation of characters including Barry McKenzie, Dame Edna Everage, Sandy Stone and Sir Les Patterson

Portraits for Posterity

Previous exhibition, 2006

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.

Self portrait, 2002

Barry Humphries

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Margaret Olley Art Trust 2003

Barry Humphries, 1958

Clifton Pugh AO

Gift of L Gordon Darling AC CMG and Marilyn Darling AC 1998. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Graham Kennedy and the Seekers in Melbourne

Graham Kennedy AO

Graham Kennedy AO (1934-2005), entertainer, began his career in Melbourne radio in 1949.

2 portraits in the collection

In their own words

Audio-guide

Apps

In their own words is an audio-guide with a difference. We let the portraits of these remarkable Australians speak for themselves.

Hugh Jackman AC

Magazine article by Lee Tulloch, 2011

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

1 portrait in the collection

Self Portrait, Stuart Campbell by Stuart Campbell

The essence of you

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

Self Portrait (Textanude) by Arlene TextaQueen

Animated

Self Portraits Online

Previous exhibition, 2008

Animated is the National Portrait Gallery's first online exhibition.

Lewis Morley

Myself and Eye

Previous exhibition, 2003

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

Discussion between Bob Hawke and Galarrwuy Yunupingu, Burunga Festival, Northern Territory

Discussion between Bob Hawke and Galarrwuy Yunupingu, Burunga Festival, Northern Territory, 1988 (printed 2015)

Sue Ford

Archived media releases 2018

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

NPG Announces departure of Director, Karen Quinlan AM

3 August 2022

Media

National Portrait Gallery Chair Penny Fowler announced today that NPG Director Karen Quinlan will leave the Gallery in September to take up a new position as Chief Executive Officer of Arts Centre Melbourne.

Twenty new portraits marking Portrait Gallery’s twentieth birthday

21 August 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.

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

Darling Portrait Prize 2022

Previous exhibition, 2022

The Darling Portrait Prize is a biennial national prize for Australian portrait painting honouring the legacy of Mr L Gordon Darling AC CMG (1921-2015). The winner receives a cash prize of $75,000.

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

18 October 2018

Archived media releases 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.

Poets' Portraits

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

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.

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.

Sketch of Clifton Pugh painting John Perceval

Sketch of Clifton Pugh painting John Perceval, 1985

Rick Amor

Portrait, pencil on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2016

2020 Annual Appeal

Annual Appeal

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

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Honour board

Announcing... Pub Rock

11 August 2020

Archived media releases 2020

An exhibition that celebrates the people, places and sounds of Australian pub rock and its enduring impact on the nation’s identity, opens at the National Portrait Gallery on 5 September, 2020.

Clifton Pugh

Australians

Previous exhibition, 2005

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.

Australian Visit

Previous exhibition, 2006

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.

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.

Primed

Some Prime Ministers

Previous exhibition, 2019

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

Lucy Culliton

Explore The Popular Pet Show

Most well-regarded pictures of chickens show them dead. A reliable way to tell if a chicken in a painting is dead is to check if it’s hanging upside down, because unlike, say, cockatoos, chickens don’t practise inversion for enjoyment in life.

References

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

About the exhibition curator Claire Roberts, and writers Eugene Wang and Zhang Letian.

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.

The National Portrait Prizes

29 January 2020

Archived media releases 2020

The National Portrait Gallery today announced finalists for the inaugural Darling Portrait Prize, a national new $75,000 prize for Australian portrait painting, and released selected images from the final prize pool for the popular National Photography Portrait Prize.

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.

Study for Aunty Mary King, 2010 by Mathew Lynn

The animating signature

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

Joanna Gilmore delights in the affecting drawings of Mathew Lynn.

The Honourable Bob Hawke savouring a strawberry milkshake, 2017 by Harold David

The intellectual larrikin

Magazine article by Barrie Cassidy, 2019

Barrie Cassidy pays textured tribute to the inimitable Bob Hawke.

Myself and Eye

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2003

Magda Keaney speaks with Lewis Morley about his photographic career and the major retrospective of his work on display at the NPG.

Annual Appeal

Listed by year

Honour board

Anna Culliton

Explore The Popular Pet Show

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.

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.

Drawing inspiration

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2017

Christopher Chapman absorbs the gentle touch of Don Bachardy’s portraiture.

Facing Australia, Composite portrait: Facing St Lucia, 2003

Conflicting images

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2008

Michael Desmond reveals the origins of composite portraits and their evolution in the pursuit of the ideal.

Moving pictures

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2008

The exhibition California Video at the J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles demonstrated how video artists expand the boundaries of portraiture.

20/20 launch speech

About Face article

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

Generous Janice

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

Dr Sarah Engledow puts four gifts to the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection in context.

Pop poet

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2013

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

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.

Friends and Acquaintances

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

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

Flash mob

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

Sarah Engledow trains her exacting lens on the nine photographs from 20/20.

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.

Some prime ministers