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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.

Doodles of the Diva

Three tiny sketches of Dame Nellie Melba in the NPG collection were created by the artist who was to go on to paint the most imposing representation of the singer: Rupert Bunny.

More information on Doodles of the Diva

Selected images

4 images
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Portrait sketch of Nellie Melba
Portrait sketch of Nellie Melba, 1902 Hugh Ramsay
Madame Melba, 1901-02
Madame Melba, 1901-02
Dame Nellie Melba
Dame Nellie Melba, c. 1901 Rupert Bunny
Dame Nellie Melba
Dame Nellie Melba an unknown artist
4 images
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Related information

Nellie Melba
Nellie Melba
Nellie Melba
Nellie Melba

Fame or celebrity?

About Face article

1 August 2014

A question lately cropped up in connection with Madame Melba as to whether fame and celebrity are not essentially the same thing. My feeling is that they are different.
Charles Haddon Chambers
Charles Haddon Chambers
Charles Haddon Chambers
Charles Haddon Chambers

Suave

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

Charles Haddon Chambers the Australian-born playboy playwright settled permanently in London in 1880 but never lost his Australian stance when satirising the English.
Florence Austral
Florence Austral
Florence Austral
Florence Austral

Pretty in peach

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008
It's remarkable that the inner Melbourne suburb of Richmond has produced two of Australia's most successful opera singers. Three decades apart, but within a short distance of each other, both Helen Porter Mitchell and Florence Wilson were born.
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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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