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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.

Learning resources

Choose your content with these learning resources. They’re designed for classroom use and available via Google Arts & Culture.

Ruby (left view), 2022 Shea Kirk
Ruby (left view), 2022 Shea Kirk
Ruby (left view), 2022 Shea Kirk
Ruby (left view), 2022 Shea Kirk

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2023

We encourage you to look, to feel, to think, to question and most importantly, to identify and connect.

Silent Strength, 2021 Wayne Quilliam
Silent Strength, 2021 Wayne Quilliam
Silent Strength, 2021 Wayne Quilliam
Silent Strength, 2021 Wayne Quilliam

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022

Let’s look closely at the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022 together! For students and family groups.

Nick Cave
Nick Cave
Nick Cave
Nick Cave

The Amazing Face

This free introduction to portraiture features 14 modules designed to banish boredom, manifest mindfulness, and conjure creativity!

The mahi-mahi, 2019 Rob Palmer
The mahi-mahi, 2019 Rob Palmer
The mahi-mahi, 2019 Rob Palmer
The mahi-mahi, 2019 Rob Palmer

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020

Google Arts and Culture

Exploring select works from the NPPP 2020. For secondary students.

Troye Sivan, 2018 by James Brickwood
Troye Sivan, 2018 by James Brickwood
Troye Sivan, 2018 by James Brickwood
Troye Sivan, 2018 by James Brickwood

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2019

Google Arts and Culture

Exploring select works from the NPPP 2019. For secondary students.

Corroboree, or Dance of the Natives of New South Wales
Corroboree, or Dance of the Natives of New South Wales
Corroboree, or Dance of the Natives of New South Wales
Corroboree, or Dance of the Natives of New South Wales

Facing New Worlds

Google Arts and Culture

Providing a closer look at individuals and groups who established contact with Asia and Oceania during the European age of discovery. This resource ties in with the Australian Curriculum, specifically for Year 4 and Year 9 students.

Michael Johnson, McMahon's Point, Sydney
Michael Johnson, McMahon's Point, Sydney
Michael Johnson, McMahon's Point, Sydney
Michael Johnson, McMahon's Point, Sydney

Visual Arts

Google Arts and Culture

Travel the collection and see how portraiture reflects aspects of identity, art conventions, technology, storytelling, making processes and reveal historical connections. For Year 5 to Year 7 students.

Dr John Yu
Dr John Yu
Dr John Yu
Dr John Yu

Migration and Identity in Australia

Google Arts and Culture

Explore migrant stories of individuals from early European colonisation to today. For secondary school students.

Dame Jean Macnamara
Dame Jean Macnamara
Dame Jean Macnamara
Dame Jean Macnamara

Dame Jean Macnamara

Google Arts and Culture

Learn about the Australian doctor and scientist who dedicated her life to the research and treatment of poliomyelitis. For Year 5 – 7 students.

Louise Sauvage
Louise Sauvage
Louise Sauvage
Louise Sauvage

Australia: Sport and Identity

Google Arts and Culture

Australians love their sport. We find many of our heroes and shared values on the sporting field – notions of being a good sport, having dignity in defeat, being socially inclusive and playing fair. For anyone with an interest in sport.

Tracey Moffatt dreaming, 2017 by James Horan
Tracey Moffatt dreaming, 2017 by James Horan
Tracey Moffatt dreaming, 2017 by James Horan
Tracey Moffatt dreaming, 2017 by James Horan

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018

Google Arts and Culture

Exploring select works from the NPPP 2018. For teachers of primary and secondary Visual Arts.

The Dance - David McAllister
The Dance - David McAllister
The Dance - David McAllister
The Dance - David McAllister

Photographic Portraits

Google Arts and Culture

Through visual analysis, activity and conversation you will evaluate how photographic portraits communicate artistic intentions, see the impact of evolving technologies and be inspired! For Years 7 to Year 10 students.

Portrait of Heidi Middleton and Sarah-Jane Clarke (Sass & Bide)
Portrait of Heidi Middleton and Sarah-Jane Clarke (Sass & Bide)
Portrait of Heidi Middleton and Sarah-Jane Clarke (Sass & Bide)
Portrait of Heidi Middleton and Sarah-Jane Clarke (Sass & Bide)

Photography

Google Arts and Culture

The images and themes in this resource are designed to provide inspiration and to encourage critical thinking. For Year 11 and 12 students.

Trukanini
Trukanini
Trukanini
Trukanini

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Activists

Google Arts and Culture

Explore our complex history and those who have been living in Australia, connecting with the land and telling their stories for 60,000 years. For year 5 – 8 students.

Kuei - The Sea of Gazelles - South Sudan to Oz, 2016 by Kellie Maree Leczinska
Kuei - The Sea of Gazelles - South Sudan to Oz, 2016 by Kellie Maree Leczinska
Kuei - The Sea of Gazelles - South Sudan to Oz, 2016 by Kellie Maree Leczinska
Kuei - The Sea of Gazelles - South Sudan to Oz, 2016 by Kellie Maree Leczinska

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017 learning resource

Google Arts and Culture

Explore pose, place, expression and meaning in the photographic portraits from the 2017 Prize. For secondary students.

Portrait of Tam Purves
Portrait of Tam Purves
Portrait of Tam Purves
Portrait of Tam Purves

John Brack's Portraiture

Google Arts and Culture

Learn about artist John Brack, who said that portraits involve three people: the painter, the sitter and the viewer. For Year 6 – 8 students.

Portrait of Captain James Cook RN
Portrait of Captain James Cook RN
Portrait of Captain James Cook RN
Portrait of Captain James Cook RN

The hand of Captain Cook

Google Arts and Culture

Take a close look at a portrait with a hidden message in its hands. For Year 7 – 9 students.

Self portrait
Self portrait
Self portrait
Self portrait

The good, the bad and the ugly

Google Arts and Culture

Learn about some colourful characters from Australia's colonial past. For Year 9 students.

Prison and death in the 19th century

Two iBooks of authentic records

These books include sixteen inmates including Ned Kelly, Captain Moonlite and Frederick Deeming and twelve sketches of the deceased, including several children. For Year 7 – 9 students.

Cathy Freeman
Cathy Freeman
Cathy Freeman
Cathy Freeman

Australian Portraits

Radio National Books and Arts

In this ten-part series on Australian portraits, Angus Trumble and Fiona Gruber hold a wide-ranging, thought-provoking and often unexpected face-off with history and culture.

Self portrait (Full Length in front of Easel)
Self portrait (Full Length in front of Easel)
Self portrait (Full Length in front of Easel)
Self portrait (Full Length in front of Easel)

Look Within: Self-Portraiture

ABC Education

Self-portraits are among the most direct yet intriguing works created by artists for analysis and self-expression. As both subject and creator, the artist is represented entirely in their own terms. For primary students.

Trukanini
Trukanini
Trukanini
Trukanini

Colonial Women

ABC Education

Features the stories of five colonial women. For Years 3 to Year 6 students.

Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly

Digital portraits

ABC Education

Explore the medium of digital portraiture (will take you to the ABC Splash website). For Year 7 to Year 12 students.

Learning resource archive

Older resources for previous exhibitions

© National Portrait Gallery 2024
King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia

Phone +61 2 6102 7000
ABN: 54 74 277 1196

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 past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

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.

The National Portrait Gallery is an Australian Government Agency