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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.

Heads of the People

A Portrait of Colonial Australia

Previous exhibition
from Friday 30 June until Sunday 29 October 2000

For Tom Roberts - Australia's best nineteenth-century portrait painter - neither a proto-national portrait gallery nor more popular collections of portrait heads, were sufficient public celebrations for the notables of Australian history.

Bungaree, late chief of the Broken Bay tribe, Sydney
Bungaree, late chief of the Broken Bay tribe, Sydney, 1836 William Fernyhough

This exhibition examines the development of portraiture in colonial Australia that led to the emergence of a National Portrait Gallery.

13 portraits
view all

Boardman, Lake Macquarie tribe
Tommy, Broken Bay tribe
1 Boardman, Lake Macquarie tribe, 1836 William Fernyhough, Currently on display. 2 Tommy, Broken Bay tribe, 1836 William Fernyhough, Currently on display.
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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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