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In 2024, the National Portrait Gallery took the extraordinary step of inviting the Australian public to choose the subject of its next commission. Twenty-five years after the Gallery’s first commission – the iconic Nick Cave by Howard Arkley – and nearly 90 commissions later, the people of Australia were invited to make their voice heard. Who did the public most want to see represented in their National Portrait Gallery?


A one-in-a-thousand woman

You saucy minx

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

Deep foundations, shared vision

The Board of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia is delighted to announce the appointment of Ms Karen Quinlan as its incoming Director.

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.

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.

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