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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.

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The Gallery’s Acknowledgement of Country, and information on culturally sensitive and restricted content and the use of historic language in the collection can be found here.

Self portrait in green hues

c. 1962
Roland Wakelin

oil on composition board (frame: 68.0 cm x 55.3 cm, support: 56.0 cm x 43.5 cm)

Roland Wakelin (1887-1971) was born in New Zealand and studied at the RAS school in Sydney under Dattilo Rubbo from 1912 to 1914. In 1917 he joined the advertising firm of Smith and Julius, where he worked alongside de Maistre, Rees, Leason and others. At the RAS he had seen prints of modern French paintings and had fallen under the spell of Cézanne. After travel in London and Paris, he returned to Sydney and joined the Contemporary Group. Becoming a leading figure in the Sydney modernist movement, he held annual exhibitions from 1936 at the Macquarie Galleries. The National Gallery and state and regional galleries hold many of Wakelin's serene, cubist-inspired works, and four years before he died he was honoured by a major retrospective show at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. This is one of a number of restrained self-portraits painted over the course of his career.

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Philip Bacon AM 2001
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
© Estate of Roland Wakelin

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. Works of art from the collection are reproduced as per the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). The use of images of works from the collection may be restricted under the Act. Requests for a reproduction of a work of art can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

Artist and subject

Roland Wakelin (age 75 in 1962)

Subject professions

Visual arts and crafts

Donated by

Philip Bacon AO (3 portraits)

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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.

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