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People's Choice Award announcement

We are delighted to announce the winner of the $10,000 People's Choice Award for the inaugural Darling Portrait Prize is David Darcy for his painting of farmer and environmentalist Wendy Bowman.

A non-material and non-physical portrait

Inner Worlds features the recently commissioned portrait of world-renowned philosopher of consciousness David Chalmers by Melbourne-based artist Nick Mourtzakis.

Harold David Takes out the People’s Choice Award for this year’s National Photographic Portrait Prize

The votes are in and the National Portrait Gallery is pleased to announce The Honourable Bob Hawke savouring a strawberry milkshake by Harold David is the people’s choice for the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018.

David McAllister to join National Portrait Gallery collection

Artistic Director of The Australian Ballet, David McAllister AM will join the Portrait Gallery’s national collection in a newly-commissioned portrait taken by illustrious Australian photographer, Peter Brew-Bevan.

Jessica Mauboy, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by Sony Music Entertainment Australia 2018

What the tree saw: David Foster, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2018

Ivan Gaal

I know David, whom I used to work with 40 years ago, when he got his HIV/AIDS.

David Cossini

Godfrey's amazing man. I've known him for four years now. He has a very tough story.

American dream leads to tragic end

Young love lost, treasured

‘Never break this heart of stone’

Desired by millions

Bangarra brothers: songman, storyteller, dancer

Creative kin

Listen: Mysterious eyes

An open house, recollections of my early life: extracts from the reminiscences of David Boyd.

Larry Clark

Larry Clark's black-and-white documentary images of young outsiders reveal raw feelings. 

Alex Frayne

An interview with the photographer.

Treading Water, 2017

Finalist, DPA 2017
Single channel digital video

Art Handler's Award 2023

The Art Handlers' Award for 2023 went to Ugandan Ssebabi, 2022 by David Cossini.

The Murdoch

Sport was a potent means by which, in the lead up to Federation, Australians began to assert a sense of themselves as youthful, manly and athletic – the products of an equally young and virile new nation.

Sharon Zwi

We were in Gaza shooting a documentary and we had heard about the orphanages and wanted to visit and document some of the children who had lost parents during the wars in Gaza.

Donors

Backstage on the way to the top

Living for the moment

The Hinders: doyens of Australian modernism

Progressive partnership

Troppo Architects

The studios of Troppo Architects are located away from Australia’s major urban centres.

To coin a (farewell) phrase

A penny for their thoughts

Capital Cool

Outsiders tend to give Canberra a bad rap: sterile, plagued by politicians, a comatose capital for professionals and academics. Nick Cave once said he didn’t like the city because there were too many punks.

The Assumption of Virginity, 2014

Finalist, MDPA 2014

Shirley Purdie

Born: 1947, Gilbun – Mabel Downs Station, WA
Works: Warmun, WA

Oz Rock

Two of the music industry’s highest-selling performers originated in suburban Australia. The Bee Gees started out in Brisbane, for instance, and AC/DC played their first gigs at a nightclub in inner Sydney.

Arianne McNaught

I think the most important thing in capturing candid shots is to never take the photo when people are expecting you to press the shutter. The more poignant moments are not the stock standard images of people looking at the camera smiling but after or before when they are really interacting with each other.

2020 Annual Appeal

In 2020 the Annual Appeal was focussed on Sally Robinson's remarkable portrait of author Tim Winton.

National Portrait Gallery Director's tenure ends in triumph

National Portrait Gallery Director Angus Trumble is ending his five-year tenure with a flourish, after announcing that Gallery publication Dempsey’s People: A Folio of British Street Portraits 1824-1844 has been awarded the 2018 William MB Berger Prize for British Art History.

Dissections: Layered portraits from the collection is now open

Dissections, showcases the hyper-realist sculptural self-portrait of artist Sam Jinks, Divide, alongside the painted portrait of philosopher David Chalmers by Nick Mourtzakis, which was commissioned by the Gallery in 2011.

The Dipper

One of the versions of thick, macho moustache strongly associated in the Australian visual lexicon with sportsmen of the 1970s and 80s.

Icons Syndicate

Janet Dawson

When soulmates Janet Dawson and Michael Boddy moved from Sydney to a property, Boddy was clear about why: ‘Our marriage is one long conversation - we moved to the bush so we could talk to each other without so many interruptions.’

Calling all family history buffs

The National Portrait Gallery is calling on family history enthusiasts and amateur historians to tell it more about the people in its new show, Dempsey’s People: A folio of British street portraits from 1824-1844.

Blek Bala MJ, 2017

Finalist, DPA 2017
Single channel HD digital video

Arthur Boyd’s Mysterious Eyes

The National Portrait Gallery has unveiled a focus exhibition of captivating portraits by renowned artist Arthur Boyd, titled Mysterious eyes: Arthur Boyd portraits from 1945.

Arcadia: Sound of the sea

One night in the spring of 1970 in an old house in Whale Beach, north of Sydney, John Witzig, Albe Falzon and David Elfick put together the first issue of Tracks, playing Neil Young’s album Harvest over and over again as they pasted up galleys of type.

Myles Nelson

It was definitely a candid encounter as was the expression on the face. It was constructed insofar as the image was deliberately taken from a distance so as to minimize intrusion and to magnify the effect of the image.

Prizes

Thanks to Canon Australia, the Winner of Living Memory will be awarded over $50,000 in prizes. Thanks to Eizo, the Highly Commended winner will receive a ColorEdge monitor, and the winner of the Art Handlers' Award will receive $2,000 thanks to IAS Fine Art Logistics.

To Look Away – Tilda, 2015

Finalist, DPA 2016

Jaq Grantford

A self-portrait from a different time, feels like a different time, even though it's only a couple of years ago or one and a half years, if that, and it was my commentary on COVID and how I was feeling about it at the time.

Rare Set of Watercolour Paintings on Display for the First Time

A rare and enchanting collection of 52 portraits of British street people will be on display for the first time in the National Portrait Gallery’s winter show, Dempsey’s People: a folio of British street portraits 1824-1844.

NPPP 2009 exhibition essay

Dr Christopher Chapman, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2009 Prize.

Cat Leedon

This was taken as part of a series, documenting my, I call it my shit show roller coaster.

Oz Origins

Australia’s passion for rock ‘n roll was kindled by American and British acts in the 1950s and 60s. The novel genre’s driving, licentious rhythms and voices captured imaginations and libidos, not to mention aspiring young musicians.

Nikki Toole

An interview with the photographer.

Wayne Quilliam

The important part about it is is where it was captured. That's the Laura Quinkan Dance Festival, where our remote communities gather every two years to celebrate culture, to share knowledge, and to share stories.

Annual Appeal

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018

Images for media use will be available from 8 March 2018.

2022 Annual Appeal

In 2022 the Annual Appeal was focussed on Mayatjara by Robert Fielding, a series of 24 photographs of Elders of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara community.

Collier Schorr

This is the first time Collier Schorr's photographs, which explore gender and identity, have been shown in Australia.

Yu Hong

Born 1966 in Beijing, China. Lives and works in Beijing.

Boxer, Blake Travers, 2017

Finalist, DPA 2017
Single channel HD digital video

National Portrait Gallery unveils twenty new portrait commissions to celebrate twenty years

The National Portrait Gallery has unveiled twenty new portrait commissions of Australian leaders and individualists as part of its twentieth birthday celebrations in a new exhibition, 20/20: Celebrating twenty years with twenty new portrait commissions.

Younger Australians more engaged with arts and history

The second annual brand-awareness snapshot of the National Portrait Gallery is again positive, with indicators moving in the right direction – for the Gallery and for Australia’s cultural engagement.

Arcadia media information

Press releases and image downloads for media.

Living Memory – National Photographic Portrait Prize extended to January 2022

In light of recent and ongoing gallery closures brought on by the COVID pandemic, the NPG’s 2021 National Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition season will be extended until 16 January next year.

The People’s Choice Awards

The votes have been counted, and the winners of the National Portrait Gallery’s People’s Choice Awards for the Prize exhibitions are...

Learning programs

Unique experiences and programs for enquiring young minds, teachers and lifelong learners.

2015-17 Acquisition Fund

From 2015 to 2017 the Acquisition Fund was focussed on Reg Richardson AM by Mitch Cairns, a finalist in the Archibald Prize 2014, and a great example of minimalist portraiture.

The artist and the doctor

Art, war, scandal

The most material advantages

A one-in-a-thousand woman

Entry guidelines 2024

Read the full requirements for entering the prize.

The 1950s to the present day

Certain European leaders (needless to name) had the effect of making certain styles of facial hair decidedly undesirable in the years immediately after World War 2.

The actor, the artist, her life and her fantasies

Feeling sexy

Announcing Shakespeare to Winehouse

More than eighty treasures from the National Portrait Gallery London will travel to Canberra for a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from March 2022.

Who is Lillie Roberts?

Talented wife for a talented husband

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022

Let’s look closely at the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022 together! For students and family groups.

The Legend of Ruby and Archie

A bond in song

An international troupe of two

Office romance

Of Burke, Wills ... and wills

Infatuation and (ill-fated) exploration

2021 Annual Appeal

In 2021 the Annual Appeal was focussed on Peter Brew-Bevan's portraits of athletes Turia Pitt, Leisel Jones OAM and Ellie Cole OAM.

All that fall artist interviews

Lawrence English, Ellis Hutch and Lee Grant talk about the works they created for All that fall.

Announcing.... In their own words

Inspiring Australians tell their own stories in a unique new gallery audio tour, developed in collaboration with the National Library of Australia.

Selected images

Take a peek at a selection of the portraits you can see in the exhibition.

Gail Kelly, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by Westpac Group and Optus 2018

2013-14 Acquisition Fund

This 1910 portrait of Elizabeth Sarah (Lillie) Roberts by Tom Roberts was brought into the Gallery's collection with the assistance of the Acquisition Fund in 2013.

Do you know more?

The National Portrait Gallery is calling on family history enthusiasts and amateur historians to help reveal more about the people in Dempsey’s People: A folio of British street portraits from 1824-1844.

2012-13 Acquisition Fund

The Circle of Friends Acquisition Fund for 2012 was dedicated to purchasing a portrait of David Malouf by Rick Amor.

A photographer’s glamorous friends

Community, arts, activism

The National Portrait Prizes

The National Portrait Gallery today announced finalists for the inaugural Darling Portrait Prize, a national new $75,000 prize for Australian portrait painting, and released selected images from the final prize pool for the popular National Photography Portrait Prize.

Ben McNamara

This is Marissa Gallagher from Kintore, which if you're in Alice Springs, just go west until the WA border, just before that, a traditional area of Pintupi mob.

The 2023 National Photographic Portrait Prize

Shea Kirk’s portrait of friend and fellow-artist Emma Armstrong-Porter has won the 2023 National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Amrita Hepi

Bundjulung/Ngapuhi woman Amrita Hepi’s work considers the body’s relationship to personal histories and archive, and investigates dance as social function.

Angelica Mesiti

Internationally renowned, Paris-based artist Angelica Mesiti creates video installations that are absorbing and profound experiences for audiences.

2014-15 Acquisition Fund

Kristin Headlam's portrait of Chris Wallace-Crabbe was acquired with the support of the Circle of Friends in 2014.

Ngarranggarni

The third row of paintings come from Ngarranggarni (Dreaming).

Storytelling

The fourth row of paintings interweave Ngarranggarni, memories, relationships and Country.

Tan Le, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2018

Yang Na

Born 1983, Chongqing, Sichuan Province. Lives and works in Beijing.

2023 Annual Appeal

In 2023 the Annual Appeal was focussed on a work by one of Australia's best loved and most successful portrait painters, Judy Cassab AO CBE, depicting model, entrepreneur and deportment icon, June Dally-Watkins OAM.

Memories

The second row of paintings recall stories relating to specific sites, experiences and activities.

The art of Inner Worlds

Dr Christopher Chapman NPG Curator of Inner Worlds explains the development of an exhibition that spans from Surrealism to contemporary art.

Out of the blocks

Dawn Fraser, Lionel Rose, Shane Gould and Cathy Freeman

Grow the Portrait Gallery of Australia

The Portrait Gallery is calling for contributions to support in the acquisition of superb portraits for the national collection.

National arts and history? Yes, please

Recent research shows that two thirds of all Australians have a sterling interest in the arts and Australian history. This is just one of the promising findings to arise from the National Portrait Gallery’s commissioned snapshot of its national brand awareness, via a nationally representative survey.

Coming into being

Dr Christopher Chapman, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2018 Prize.

Gallery unveils Portrait of Mark Ella

Last night in Sydney, the National Portrait Gallery unveiled a newly commissioned portrait of Australian sporting legend Mark Ella AM.

All the world's a stage

Joan Sutherland, Robert Helpmann and Raigh Roe

Portrait Donors

Last week to vote for your favourite portrait

The National Portrait Gallery’s National Photographic Portrait Prize 2015 will close Monday 8 June 2015, this is the last week to visit the exhibition in Canberra and vote for your favourite portrait in the People’s Choice.

Nusra Latif Qureshi

Born: 1973, Lahore, Pakistan
Works: Melbourne

Spring exhibition program

The following on-line and physical exhibitions are planned to open at the National Portrait Gallery in coming months. For those who can’t travel at present, selected works from all exhibitions will be included online

Arianne McNaught

An interview with the photographer.

Leah King-Smith

Born: 1957, Gympie, QLD
Works: Brisbane

Elvis at 21 media information

Press releases and images downloads for media.

The more things change...

Dr Sarah Engledow, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2017 Prize.

Matthew Abbott

An interview with the photographer.

Bree Pickering appointed Director of the National Portrait Gallery

The Board of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia announced the appointment of Bree Pickering to the role of Director.

Ahmad Sabra

We were in Gaza shooting a documentary and we had heard about the orphanages and wanted to visit and document some of the children who had lost parents during the wars in Gaza.

Tough & Tender Media Release

Photographs from internationally acclaimed artists Robert Mapplethorpe, Larry Clark, Nan Goldin, Collier Schorr and Chris Burden along with contemporary Australian artists, Rozalind Drummond and Warwick Baker will call the National Portrait Gallery home during our extraordinary winter exhibition Tough and Tender.

Adrian Brown

An interview with the photographer.

Foundation members announced

The newly-established National Portrait Gallery Foundation met for its inaugural meeting last Friday 15 May in Canberra.

Louise Whelan

I met Kaloti Parmjit the day I took the photo. I first visited the Sikh temple in the suburb of Glenwood to take photos as part of a social documentary project I'm undertaking for the State Library of NSW.

New app gets kids excited about portraits at the National Portrait Gallery

The National Portrait Gallery has officially launched a new digital interactive Gallery experience called Headhunt!, the first app of its kind being used in museums and galleries. Headhunt! is a tablet-based app for visitors aged 7-15 that encourages children to take the lead and independently explore the Gallery.

More about the National Photographic Portrait Prize

Comments from our judges and information about entering the 2017 Prize.

Pets of all types take over the National Portrait Gallery

It is not every day that a national gallery turns its walls over to the animal companions that bring unconditional love and joy to their owners but this summer we have opened the doors to 15 contemporary artists with very different ways of depicting our furry, feathered and scaled pets.

Heather Corrigan

The lovely faces in my photograph are that of my best friends. Some I have only known for a couple of months, others for most of my life. For me, recreating a family portrait with individuals I love was supremely important. I was reconstructing a photo of people I cherish with people I adore.

Definitions

Access is about creating the necessary conditions for all individuals and organisations to use services, facilities, programs and employment opportunities.

Seduce, Amuse, Entertain

Michael Desmond, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2007 Prize.

Liu Wei

Born 1965 in Beijing. Lives and works in Beijing.

Graeme Drendel

I like talking about Drendel’s pictures as if they expressed dreams of my own.

Australian Love Stories

A major new exhibition celebrating love in all its guises. Opening 20 March 2021.

Janet Tavener

Mikala is the eldest of my three daughters. I have photographed her on many an occasion. Needless to say we are both extremely at home with the practice.

Some women you may not know

‘Everybody’s lives are built by so many influences, and for me, it is writers, artists and activists who have influenced how I think about the world.’

Catherine Livingstone, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2018

Katherine Bennett

The lady in the centre of this photograph is my partner's Granny. So we are almost directly related, and here, as with all photographic work. I am in a state of exchange though I think only directly, with one of the women!

Margaret Seares, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2018

Paul Kelly and The Portraits media information

Paul Kelly & The Portraits presents a multifaceted image of the performer over the course of his career.

Andrew Gaze, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by Trent Birkett 2018

Nusra Latif Qureshi

Nusra Latif Qureshi was born in Pakistan in 1973 and originally trained in the traditional art of Mughal miniature (musaviri) paintings.

Fang Lijun

Born 1963, Handan, Hebei Province China. Lives and works in Beijing.

Reflections

All that fall: Sacrifice, life and loss in the First World War exhibition co-curators Dr Anne Sanders and Dr Christopher Chapman reflect on the evolution of the Gallery’s Anzac Centenary exhibition.

Kristin Headlam

Basil grew into a speckled beauty – a long-legged leaper and an exceptionally vocal dog, with a great register of sounds, ascending in shock value from a whimper to a growl to a bark to a yelp that’s a violation of the ears.

Tim Fairfax, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by The Calvert-Jones Foundation 2018

Nicholas Paspaley Jnr, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by Ross Adler AC 2018

Melanie Faith Dove

I had been watching Agnes with intrigue, her face and profile were so mesmerizing. On our final day together I pulled her aside and convinced her that she had such an amazing face that I needed to get a photograph for myself. It was very spontaneous in that I decided quickly how it would best look and shot it in only two frames.

Krystal Seigerman

The photograph was a brief, candid moment, which unfolded into a portrait. Peter and I were in Silverton, NSW, chatting as our students explored the town. The weak afternoon light suddenly became dramatic and defined, so I asked Peter if I could take his portrait.

Nadiah Bamadhaj

Born in Malaysia in 1968, to a Malaysian Muslim father and a New Zealander mother of Scottish descent Nadiah Bamadhaj studied Fine Arts in New Zealand, and is currently working on a PhD from Curtin University, Western Australia.

Winner announced for National Photographic Portrait Prize 2019

From an outstanding field of more than 3,000 entries, culminating in a shortlist of 39 exceptional finalists, the Winner and Highly Commended entries for this year’s National Photographic Portrait Prize have been named.

Everybody, look serious

Dr Sarah Engledow, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2014 Prize.

History

How the National Portrait Gallery and its unique collection came to be

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018 winner announced

Finalists have been eagerly awaiting the announcement of the Winner and Highly Commended for the National Photographic Portrait Prize since December. It is our pleasure to announce the Winner for 2018 is Lee Grant for her portrait titled Charlie and Highly Commended has been awarded to Filomena Rizzo for her portrait titled My Olivia.

Anthony Anderton

An interview with the photographer.

Our achievements to date

During the period 2018–20, the Gallery implemented our first Access Action Plan.

Simon Harsent

I like to think I'm an artist who uses photography as my medium, but I work commercially as a photographer and it's my full time occupation so I guess that defines me as a photographer or maybe a commercial artist?

Uncommon Australians

Sarah Engledow writes about Gordon and Marilyn Darling and their support for the National Portrait Gallery throughout its evolution.

Inner Worlds and psychoanalysis

Inner Worlds evokes a broad view of psychology as a discipline. However, the specific interests of the practitioners whose portraits are included in the exhibition incorporate specialist areas including psychoanalysis.

Chinese Art

A short overview of modern Chinese art from 1949 to the present.

Some prime ministers

Sarah Engledow explores the history of the prime ministers and artists featured in the exhibition.

Rick Amor: 21 Portraits

Sarah Engledow chronicles Rick Amor's work and accomplishments in this extensive essay in conjunction with the exhibition Rick Amor: 21 Portraits.

Fiona McMonagle

Fiona aims to create a dangerous situation with a flood of water on the paper, forcing each work to the point where it can fail, and then rescuing it. 

NPPP 2016 exhibition essay

Penny Grist, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2016 Prize.

Announcing... Jonathan Jones Bogong Cluster: Physically distant, socially connected

A new light installation by Jonathan Jones reflects on the importance of community through the lens of his Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi heritage, whilst also acting as a prompt for gallery visitors to maintain social distancing.

Herra Pahlasari

At the time of Herra Pahlasari’s birth in 1978, her academic parents were living in Canberra.

Nicholas Harding

Over the years the young Nicholas Harding got his hands on various mice and guinea pigs, but they served mainly to illustrate the concept of mortality. 

Exhibition opening speech

Leo Schofield introduces the exhibition, Masters of fare: chefs, winemakers, providores.

S Teddy D

S Teddy D was born in Padang, Sumatra in 1970, and studied painting at the Institut Seni Indonesia (Indonesian Institute of Art) in Yogyakarta.

Less than six degrees of separation

Dr Anne Sanders NPG Curatorial Researcher investigated the lives of the pioneering psychologists whose portraits are featured in Inner Worlds.

Faces of war

Lesley Harding, Curator, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne explores Albert Tucker’s experience of World War II, his interests in the intersection between psychology and creativity, and their influence on his portrait making.

Noel McKenna

It’s a matter beyond dispute that in the entire history of Australian art, it’s Noel McKenna who’s painted the liveliest rendition of the head of a Chihuahua.

Nikhil Chopra

Nikhil Chopra was born in 1974, in Calcutta. His first degree was in commerce, but in 1997 he took up fine art studies, eventually gaining a Masters in Fine Art from Ohio State University, United States.

Nicholas Harding: 28 Portraits

Sarah Engledow looks at three decades of Nicholas Harding's portraiture.

Ken Done

With a mum who was married to a tradie, you’d think it a fair chance that the baby Jesus would have grown up with a dog in the house.

The Board

The Board oversees the Gallery's strategic directions, objectives and governance.

Darren McDonald

The wild balancing act of McDonald’s home décor (is that there as a joke? where do I actually sit down? is this ironic or what? what a lovely photo of Darren and Robin in Europe!) is reflected in his own personality.

Robyn Sweaney

Robyn's parents had two terriers, Wuff and Snuff. In spite of Snuff’s ominous name and a couple of close shaves – once, he jumped out of a moving car, and another time, on a long road trip, he was accidentally left behind at a petrol station – he outlived Wuff.

The Bare story

Curator, Penny Grist, reveals how this exhibition came to be

Anna Culliton

Anna Culliton never had a colouring-in book when she was little. Her parents –Tony, a filmmaker, and Stephanie, a painter – wouldn’t let her have one. Instead, they insisted on her drawing her own pictures to colour-in.