© National Portrait Gallery 2025
King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
Phone +61 2 6102 7000
ABN: 54 74 277 1196
Hall of Mirrors
Anne Zahalka Portraits 1987-2007
Previous exhibition, 2007
Hall of Mirrors: Anne Zahalka Portraits 1987-2007 explores the thread of portraiture through the artist's prolific career, now spanning more than 20 years.
Black Gold
The Aboriginal and Islander Sports Hall of Fame
Previous exhibition, 2001
Reflecting the breadth and diversity of Aboriginal and Islander achievement within and beyond the world of sport, this exhibition tells the little known tales of triumph over adversity.
The Popular Pet Show
Previous exhibition, 2016
This exhibition expresses the joy and warmth that many of us derive from our animal companions, and celebrates their trusting, unpretentious ways, with portraits of Australians and their furry, feathered and fluffy friends.
A Tribute to William Dobell
Previous exhibition, 1999
Adapted from A Tribute to William Dobell an exhibition presented by the Australian National University's Drill Hall Gallery in association with the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation, The National Gallery of Australia, and the Australian War Memorial. Dobell is of course, celebrated for his achievements in portraiture, winning the Archibald prize (1943, 1948 and 1959), the Wynne Prize (1948), and representing Australia at the 1954 Venice Biennale. Curator Mary Eagle concludes her essay in the catalogue of the exhibition thus, "Overall I see a dissonance in Dobell’s art and life
Icons
Parliament House
Touring exhibition, 2019
When a portrait communicates determination and individuality as boldly as these do, it has the potential to become an iconic image. For the Gallery’s 20th birthday this display brings together a group contemporary photographic portraits of inspiring women and men.
Contemporary Australian Portraits
Previous exhibition, 2002
Contemporary Australian Portraits is a cross section, a sampling, of some of the present-day directions in Australian portrait practice
So Fine
Contemporary women artists make Australian history
Previous exhibition, 2018
This exhibition features new works from ten women artists reinterpreting and reimagining elements of Australian history, enriching the contemporary narrative around Australia’s history and biography, reflecting the tradition of storytelling in our country.
Pub Rock
Your backstage pass to 70s and 80s sounds and scenes
Previous exhibition, 2020
Celebrate the people, places and sounds of Australian pub rock and its enduring impact on our nation’s identity.
Australian of the Year
Inspiring a Nation
Previous exhibition, 2010
The Australian of the Year Awards have often provoked controversy about who is selected and whether their achievements are remarkable.
Elegance in exile
Portrait drawings from colonial Australia
Previous exhibition, 2012
Elegance in exile is an exhibition surveying the work of Richard Read senior, Thomas Bock, Thomas Griffiths Wainewright and Charles Rodius: four artists who, though exiled to Australia as convicts, created many of the most significant and elegant portraits of the colonial period.
Sir William Dargie
A Ninetieth Birthday Tribute
Previous exhibition, 2002
As a tribute to Sir William Dargie's singular contribution to Australian art and cultural institutions, and on the occasion of his birthday, The Australian War Memorial, Parliament House and the National Portrait Gallery will mount exhibitions of his work between May and October
Recognition
Percy Leason's Aboriginal Portraits
Previous exhibition, 1999
Originally conceived as an anthropological record, Percy Leason’s powerful 1934 portraits of Victorian Aboriginal people are today considered to be a highlight of 20th century Australian portraiture
Open Air
Portraits in the Landscape
Previous exhibition, 2008
Open Air is an exhibition of portraits of Australians in environments of particular significance to them.
Thousand Mile Stare
Portrait photography by John Elliott
Previous exhibition, 2004
Thousand mile stare provides a unique portrait of people of rural Australia
Mirror With A Memory
Photographic Portraiture in Australia
Previous exhibition, 2000
This is the first major exhibition to examine photographic portraiture in Australia, from its beginnings in the early 1840s to the present day
Australia and the Nobel Prize
Previous exhibition, 2003
This unique exhibition will give an insight into the private lives, pursuits and work of all the Nobel laureates associated with Australia