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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.

Search / maximilian kreitmayer

Ned Kelly death mask

Ned Kelly death mask

Ned Kelly death mask

Ned Kelly death mask, date unknown

an unknown artist after Maximilian Kreitmayer

Portrait, cast plaster

Collection: National Portrait Gallery Study Collection, Canberra
Gift of John Molony 2018

Clara Crosbie, aged 12 years, now on exhibition at the Australian Waxworks

Clara Crosbie, aged 12 years, now on exhibition at the Australian Waxworks

Clara Crosbie, aged 12 years, now on exhibition at the Australian Waxworks

Clara Crosbie, aged 12 years, now on exhibition at the Australian Waxworks, c. 1885

Carrington Photo Galleries

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of John McPhee 2018

Clara Crosbie

Clara Crosbie

Clara Crosbie

Clara Crosbie, c. 1885

Arthur William Burman

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Gift of John McPhee 2018

Mexico from the Palace painted by ‘Maximilian Emperor'

Empirical art

About Face article

Several years ago I came across this curious painting on the racks in a distant, dusty corner of the store room in the basement of the Johannesburg Art Gallery in South Africa. Since then the mystery surrounding it has never been far from my mind.

Ned Kelly death mask

The Waxworks

General content

Waxworks were among the various types of entertainment venue to emerge in Australian cities in the mid-nineteenth century.

Olga Radalyski prison records, on loan from the Public Record Office of Victoria.

The sensational denouement of the case

The Yarra Boot Trunk Tragedy, 12 January 1899

About Face article

The 'Yarra Boot Trunk Tragedy' unfolded a week before Christmas 1898, when some neighbourhood boys noticed a wooden box floating in the river at Richmond.

Charles Summers

Charles Summers

Charles Summers

Charles Summers, late 1860s

Batchelder & Company Photo

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

Ned Kelly death mask

Sideshow Alley

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

Previous exhibition, 2015

Death masks, post-mortem drawings and other spooky and disquieting portraits... Come and see how portraits of infamous Australians were used in the 19th century.

Helena Rubinstein in a red brocade Balenciaga gown

Philanthropic donations enable otherwise unobtainable acquisition

20 October 2016

Archived media releases 2016

A magnanimous portrait of Helena Rubinstein has been acquired for the National Portrait Gallery’s collection.

Ned Kelly death mask

Getting a head

Magazine article by Alexandra Roginski, 2015

Alexandra Roginski gets a feel for phrenology’s fundamentals.

Christmas Island

About Face article

This is my last Trumbology before, in a little more than a week from now, I pass to my successor Karen Quinlan the precious baton of the Directorship of the National Portrait Gallery.

© National Portrait Gallery 2025
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Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
Phone +61 2 6102 7000
ABN: 54 74 277 1196

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