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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.

What's on

Sunday 1 October – Tuesday 31 October 2023

Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman

At ease

In Gallery One

Exhibition closes 3 December

Enjoy, sit back, and relax with some of our favourites from the Gallery’s collection, where they find themselves expertly – and comfortably – captured by their artists.

Maggie
Maggie
Maggie
Maggie

Collection Highlights Tour

Daily at 2:15pm

Join us in the Gallery for this free 30-minute tour of the collection, exploring portrait stories and the history of the building.

Bookings optional
Self-nature is subtle and mysterious - Tree Woman / Woman Tree
Self-nature is subtle and mysterious - Tree Woman / Woman Tree
Self-nature is subtle and mysterious - Tree Woman / Woman Tree
Self-nature is subtle and mysterious - Tree Woman / Woman Tree

New acquisitions

In Gallery Two

Open every day

A collection display that showcases some recent major acquisitions including Nell and Julie Rrap.

Marea Gazzard
Marea Gazzard
Marea Gazzard
Marea Gazzard

The Iconoclasts

In Gallery Three

Open every day

Australian portraiture of the mid-twentieth century was rich with the influence of European modernism, exemplified by the work of artists including Arthur Boyd, Judy Cassab and Clifton Pugh.

Mary Chomley
Mary Chomley
Mary Chomley
Mary Chomley

The Cosmopolitans

In Gallery Two

Exhibition closes 8 February

Spanning the 1880s to the 1930s, this collection display celebrates the innovations in art – and life – introduced by the generation of Australians who travelled to London and Paris for experience and inspiration in the decades either side of 1900.

Self portrait, 2022 RJ Parker
Self portrait, 2022 RJ Parker
Self portrait, 2022 RJ Parker
Self portrait, 2022 RJ Parker

Gulgawarnigu

Thinking of something, someone

Exhibition closes 2 October

In partnership with Big hART we are proud to present Gulgawarnigu - Thinking of something, someone, a national presentation of digital artworks created from Ngarluma country leramagadu (Roebourne), in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

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

Exhibition closes 2 October

The exhibition is selected from a national field of entries, reflecting the distinctive vision of Australia's aspiring and professional portrait photographers and the unique nature of their subjects.

Bookings available
An Afternoon (Aunty Jenny Munro at the Redfern Aboriginal Tent Embassy)
An Afternoon (Aunty Jenny Munro at the Redfern Aboriginal Tent Embassy)
An Afternoon (Aunty Jenny Munro at the Redfern Aboriginal Tent Embassy)
An Afternoon (Aunty Jenny Munro at the Redfern Aboriginal Tent Embassy)

This is my place

In Gallery Four

Open every day

We all have places where we feel at ease, a sense of belonging, of ownership, of relaxation, of self. Given the opportunity, portraitists love to place their sitters in an environment where they are most at home.

Self portrait
Self portrait
Self portrait
Self portrait

Self portrait: Myself and I

In Gallery Five

Open every day

Encompassing works created over the past 80 years, this selection of portraits from the Gallery’s collection celebrates inventiveness and diversity in approaches to self portraiture.

Cathy Freeman
Cathy Freeman
Cathy Freeman
Cathy Freeman

Frocked up

In Gallery Six

Open every day

The selection of works in Frocked up richly demonstrates the interconnectedness of costume and portraiture – and the many ways in which artists have employed the representation of dress to powerful, insightful effect.

Tempe Manning Self-portrait 1939
Tempe Manning Self-portrait 1939
Tempe Manning Self-portrait 1939
Tempe Manning Self-portrait 1939

Archie 100

A Century of the Archibald Prize

Exhibition opens 20 October

This major exhibition celebrates 100 years of Australia’s oldest and most-loved portrait award and reflects upon the changing face of our nation.

Bookings available

More events

Wednesday 1 November – Thursday 30 November 2023
© 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