In their own words is an audio-guide with a difference. We let the portraits of these remarkable Australians speak for themselves.
In these uncertain times, with physical gatherings restricted, we can all still recall major events such as the bogong moth migration, and remain connected to each other through nature.
Paul Montford came to Australia from England in 1921, attracted by the light, which he believed to be conducive to monumental sculpture.
2 portraits in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999
Livingston Hopkins, cartoonist, was born in Ohio and fought in the American Civil War before beginning his cartooning career in New York.
3 portraits in the collection
Sir George Coles CBE (1885–1977) was the founder of the retail concern GJ Coles and Coy.
1 portrait in the collection
Paul Newton (b. 1961), is a Sydney-based portrait painter noted for his ability to capture likeness and sensibility.
6 portraits in the collection
Adrian Lawlor, critic and artist, came to Australia from his native England at the age of about twenty.
2 portraits in the collection
Bruce Dawe AO (1930-2020), poet and teacher, was born in Fitzroy and worked as a labourer, clerk, sawmill hand, farmhand and postman before joining the RAAF in 1959.
1 portrait in the collection
The Foundation encourages gifts, donations, bequests and legacies in service of the Gallery's mission.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008
Thomas Purves (1909-1969), known as Tam, founded the Australian Galleries in Smith Street, Collingwood, Melbourne with his wife Anne in 1956.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2008
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Commissioned with funds provided by the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2018
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
