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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.

The Captain

Jo's mo show
 /
Style guide
 /
Clean shaven
 

It was the norm for eighteenth century men to have clean-shaven faces and to wear wigs, regardless of class or profession.

The Captain
The Captain

Beards in this era were associated with criminals, radicals, the insane, or similarly unreasoned characters. Wigs got shorter as the century progressed; by the 1780s, shoulder-length wigs had been replaced by a shorter style known as a bag wig – one with perfectly rolled curls either side of the temples and a chignon tied with ribbon at the back.

4 portraits
view all

Portrait of Captain James Cook RN
Sir Joseph Banks
Arthur Phillip Esq., Captain General and Commander in Chief in & over the territory of New South Wales
1 Portrait of Captain James Cook RN, 1782 John Webber. 2 Sir Joseph Banks, c. 1788 John Raphael Smith after Sir Benjamin West. 3 Arthur Phillip Esq., Captain General and Commander in Chief in & over the territory of New South Wales, 1789 W Sherwin after Francis Wheatley.
Jo's mo show
(with beards)
Style guide
Clean shaven
The Captain
The Hunter
Mo and beard timeline
Style guide
Who's Jo?

Related information

Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

Jo's mo show

(with beards)

Previous exhibition, 2011

This exhibition illustrates changes in beards, moustaches and sideburns from the 1780s to the 1980s.
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The National Portrait Gallery building front entrance
The National Portrait Gallery building front entrance
The National Portrait Gallery building front entrance

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

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