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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 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.

Clive James

1999
Polly Borland

from the series ‘Australians’
type C photograph on paper (image: 48.8 cm x 38.6 cm)

Clive James AO CBE (1939–2019), writer, broadcaster and critic, grew up in Sydney, attending Hurstville Opportunity School, Sydney Tech. High School and the University of Sydney before leaving Australia for Cambridge. Working toward his MA in literature, he became president of the Footlights revue team that included Germaine Greer and Eric Idle. He published the first of many non-fiction works in 1974. His subsequent books included three best-selling volumes of autobiography, four novels, and many collections of travel essays, journalism and literary criticism. After a decade as television critic for The Observer, throughout the 1980s he played the genial host of television talk shows such as Saturday Night Clive, and wrote and presented BBC and ITV specials documenting absurdities of the decade. James lived in England for most of his adult life, although in contrast to other expatriates of his generation, he escaped punishment for it in the Australian press. His deep and skilful poems, which appeared in such cerebral publications as the New Yorker, the Times Literary Supplement and the New Statesman, were collected in The Book of my Enemy (2003), Opal Sunset (2007), Angels over Elsinore (2008) and Nefertiti in the Flak Tower (2012). In 2013, critically ill with leukaemia and emphysema, he saw the publication of his masterful translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy.

Purchased 2001
© Polly Borland

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

Polly Borland (age 40 in 1999)

Clive James AO CBE (age 60 in 1999)

Subject professions

Media and communications

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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