Temporary road closures will be in place around the Gallery until 11 March during the Enlighten Festival.
Temporary road closures will be in place around the Gallery until 11 March during the Enlighten Festival.
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.
Responsible government – the system wherein members of the Executive (the premier and cabinet) are also elected members of Parliament – was introduced in New South Wales in 1856. Before this, the colony had been administered by governors who, from 1824, governed with the assistance of a Legislative Council. The end of convict transportation, the gold rush, and other upheavals of the 1840s and 1850s contributed to demands for a more democratic system of government, ultimately resulting in the creation of a new constitution in 1855. The first elections for the Legislative Assembly were held in March and April 1856; the first ministry was sworn in in June, its members being (left to right): Thomas Holt (1811–1888), treasurer; Sir William Manning (1811–1895), attorney-general; Sir Stuart Donaldson (1812–1867), premier; Sir John Darvall (1809–1883), solicitor-general; and George Robert Nichols (1809–1857), auditor-general and secretary for works.
Brothers William (1809–1895) and James Freeman (1814–1870) emigrated to New South Wales in 1853 and 1854 respectively, having become involved in photography in England. In early 1855 they advertised that their revamped studio was ‘the most perfect room in the colony’ for photography, boasting a 45 square-metre skylight and a ‘separate dressing compartment for ladies’. In the late 1860s they opened a new premises on Castlereagh Street which included an outdoor gallery for taking ‘Equestrian Portraits, Groups, Horses, Dogs and Cats’. William continued the business following James’s death in 1870. By the time the studio finally closed it had become the longest-running photography business in the country.
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2009
Thomas Holt (age 45 in 1856)
Sir William Montagu Manning (age 45 in 1856)
Sir Stuart Donaldson (age 44 in 1856)
Sir John Darvall (age 47 in 1856)
George R. Nichols (age 47 in 1856)
L Gordon Darling AC CMG (38 portraits supported)
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
This sample of 56 photographs takes in some of the smallest photographs we own and some of the largest, some of the earliest and some of the most recent, as well as multiple photographic processes from daguerreotypes to digital media.
The Darling Prize is a new biennial prize for Australian portrait painters, painting Australian sitters. The winner receives a cash prize of $75,000.
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