© National Portrait Gallery 2025
King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
Phone +61 2 6102 7000
ABN: 54 74 277 1196
Fits of delicacy and despair
Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009
Henry Mundy's portraits flesh out notions of propriety and good taste in a convict colony.
Public hanging
Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2008
As a convict Thomas Bock was required to sketch executed murders for science; as a free man, fashionable society portraits.
Fine and dandy
Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010
Whether the result of misadventure or misdemeanour, many accomplished artists were transported to Australia where they ultimately left a positive mark on the history of art in this country.
Four from the 30s
Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003
Australia's tradition of sculpted portraits stretches back to the early decades of the nineteenth century and continues to sustain a group of dedicated sculptors.
Brothers on farms
Magazine article by Malcolm Robertson, 2011
Malcolm Robertson tells the family history of one of Australia's earliest patrons of the arts, his Scottish born great great great grandfather, William Robertson.
Nobel and his prize
Magazine article by Jennifer Gason, 2003
To complement the exhibition Australians and the Nobel Prize, Jennifer Gason gives us a sense of the proceedings that occur during the award ceremony.
Paper weight
Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022
Joanna Gilmour delves into a collection display that celebrates the immediacy and potency of drawing as an art form in its own right.
Unknown drawer
Magazine article by Dr David Hansen, 2017
Dempsey’s People curator David Hansen chronicles a research tale replete with serendipity, adventure and Tasmanian tigers.
The art of conciliation
Magazine article by Gareth Knapman, 2017
Gareth Knapman explores the politics and opportunism behind the portraits of Tasmania’s Black War.
Vanity fair
Magazine article by Ashleigh Wadman, 2012
Ashleigh Wadman rediscovers the Australian characters represented with a kindly touch by the British portrait artist Leslie Ward for the society magazine Vanity Fair.
The shipwright's arms
Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013
Joanna Gilmour explores the life and times of convict-turned-artist William Buelow Gould.
Heartfelt
Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009
The portrait of Janet and Horace Keats with the spirit of the poet Christopher Brennan is brought to life by artist Dora Toovey.
My dream job
Magazine article by David Thomas AM, 2012
Artist David M Thomas lists some of the ideas and influences behind his video portraits.
Empire records
Magazine article by Kylie Scroope, 2011
Celebrates the centenary of the first national art collection, the Historic Memorials Collection, housed at Australia's Parliament House.
Pre-Raphaelite Profile
Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006
In 2006 the National Portrait Gallery acquired a splendid portrait of Victoria's first governor, Lieutenant Governor Charles Joseph La Trobe by Thomas Woolner.
Mrs Cameron and the V&A
Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2003
In March 2003 Magda Keaney travelled to London to join the photography section of the Victoria & Albert Museum for three months.