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.
Roslyn Oxley AM, gallerist and art dealer, is the daughter of John Walton, owner of the department store Waltons. From 1957 to 1960 she studied at the National Art School, Sydney, and for twenty years after that worked as an interior designer for firms in Sydney, Melbourne and New York. In 1982, with her husband Tony Oxley, she established Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery in Paddington. Since then, she has fostered the careers of some of Australia’s highest-profile and most influential artists. Thirteen artists she represents have shown at the Venice Biennale; four have exhibited in dOCUMENTA in Kassel, Germany. Located in Soudan Lane, Paddington since 1990, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery remains among the most prominent of Sydney's long-established high-end contemporary art dealerships.
Sally Ross is well known for her collage-style, flattened landscapes in rich blues and greens. In her Archibald statement she said: 'Roslyn is a true bohemian of great visual intelligence, acumen and spirit … [She] has dragged the blokey art establishment away from clichés of the Australian landscape or bad-boy artists painting the breasts or arse of a faceless woman … I was struck by her unique physical appearance: porcelain skin, bright eyes and glorious hair – a perfect subject for me. I instinctively knew I wanted to paint her.'
Purchased 2017
© Sally Ross
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
Penelope Grist spends some quality time with the Portrait Gallery’s summer collection exhibition, Eye to Eye.
Eye to Eye is a summer Portrait Gallery Collection remix arranged by degree of eye contact – from turned away with eyes closed all the way through to right-back-at-you – as we explore artists’ and subjects’ choices around the direction of the gaze.
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