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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.

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Nell, 2008

Abbey McCulloch

Portrait, oil and charcoal on canvas

Gift of Nell Schofield 2020. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Woburn Sheepshearing, 1811

Thomas Morris, M N. Bates, Joseph C. Stadler after George Garrard

Portrait, aquatint with stipple and etching and engraving, hand coloured on chine colle on paper laid down on cotton stretched over wooden strainer

Purchased 2018

David Smith

Biography

David Smith, painter, draughtsman, printmaker and teacher, was born in Lowestoft, Suffolk, where he attended the Technical School and the Lowestoft and Norwich Schools of Art.

1 portrait in the collection

The Coronation Theatre, Westminster Abbey: A Portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 2012

Imagination

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

Dr Sarah Engledow tells the story of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee portrait by Australian artist Ralph Heimans.

James Moorhouse

Biography

James Moorhouse (1826-1915), Anglican bishop, had an exceptionally distinguished career and publication record before he came from England to Melbourne to succeed Charles Perry.

1 portrait in the collection

Alfred Barry

Biography

Alfred Barry (1826-1910), Anglican bishop of Sydney and primate of the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, was educated at King’s College, London and at Cambridge.

2 portraits in the collection

Melbourne University with portraits of six Melbourne Anglican clergymen: Bishop Perry, Revd Clarke, Revd Waugh, Revd Henderson, Revd Dr Cairns, Revd Bailey

Melbourne University with portraits of six Melbourne Anglican clergymen: Bishop Perry, Revd Clarke, Revd Waugh, Revd Henderson, Revd Dr Cairns, Revd Bailey, c. 1871

Paterson Brothers

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Purchased 2010

Dr Charles Perry

Biography

Charles Perry (1807-1891) was consecrated the first Bishop of Melbourne at Westminster Abbey in 1847, only eleven years after he was ordained into the Anglican church.

4 portraits in the collection

Dr Alfred Barry, c. 1870

Sarony & Co

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

The Bishop of Sydney DD (Alfred Barry), 1884

Albert Fradelle

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ted and Gina Gregg 2012

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

Biography

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother (1900–2002) was born the Honourable Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon.

2 portraits in the collection

Portrait of Helen Caldicott, 2021

Leeanne Crisp

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint and gold leaf on birch panel

Gift of Dr Helen Caldicott 2022

Ralph Heimans AM

Biography

Sydney-based painter Ralph Heimans AM (b. 1970) is one of the world's foremost contemporary portraitists, having created a body of work that has expanded and redefined the possibilities of what is sometimes perceived as an inflexibly traditional genre.

19 portraits in the collection

Dame Joan Sutherland OM AC DBE

Biography

Dame Joan Sutherland OM AC DBE (1926–2010) was one of the world's greatest operatic divas.

3 portraits in the collection

Dame Joan Sutherland, c. 1977

Robert Hannaford AM

Portrait, oil on board

Gift of William Bowmore AO OBE 2003. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

The Right Reverend Lord Bishop of Melbourne (Dr. Charles Perry), 1876

Thomas Atkinson, Samuel Mullen after Henry Weigall Jnr

Portrait, mezzotint on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Joan Sutherland, n.d. (printed 1992)

Lewis Morley

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Adam Lindsay Gordon

Biography

Adam Lindsay Gordon (1833-1870) was a poet and horseman. Well-educated, from a relatively well-to-do family, he learned to ride as a boy in England and secured a position in the South Australian Mounted Police in 1852.

1 portrait in the collection

A Life in Service

Magazine article by Mandy Martin, 2005

Artist Mandy Martin describes the creation of her portrait of Aldo Giurgola, principal architect of Australia's Parliament House.

Arthur Phillip

Biography

Arthur Phillip (1738–1814), first governor of New South Wales, began his career while a boy in London.

2 portraits in the collection

Angus Trumble with Self portrait at easel by Fred Williams

Autumn in Canberra

About Face article

In Persuasion (1818), a long walk on a fine autumn day affords Anne Elliot an opportunity to ruminate wistfully and at great length upon declining happiness, youth and hope.

Dr Helen Caldicott

Biography

Dr Helen Caldicott (b. 1938), physician, author and activist, was born Helen Broinowski in Melbourne and gained her degree in Medicine from the University of Adelaide in 1961.

1 portrait in the collection

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022)

9 September 2022

Media

The National Portrait Gallery is deeply saddened by the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history. Throughout her 70-year reign, Her Majesty represented graciousness, humanity and stability during times of enormous social change.

Athol Guy

Biography

The Seekers, folk music band, formed in 1962 when jazz singer Judith Durham met Athol Guy, who sang and played bass in a folk trio with Bruce Woodley and Keith Potger.

3 portraits in the collection

Bruce Woodley

Biography

The Seekers, folk music band, formed in 1962 when jazz singer Judith Durham met Athol Guy, who sang and played bass in a folk trio with Bruce Woodley and Keith Potger.

3 portraits in the collection

Keith Potger

Biography

The Seekers, folk music band, formed in 1962 when jazz singer Judith Durham met Athol Guy, who sang and played bass in a folk trio with Bruce Woodley and Keith Potger.

3 portraits in the collection

Charles Perry, c. 1863

Batchelder & O'Neill

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Judith Durham AO

Biography

The Seekers formed in Melbourne in 1962 when jazz singer Judith Durham met Athol Guy, who was in a folk trio with Bruce Woodley and Keith Potger.

3 portraits in the collection

Thomas Woolner

Biography

Thomas Woolner, sculptor, studied first with the brothers Henry and William Behnes, painter and sculptor respectively, and later at the Royal Academy, at which he was to become professor of sculpture in his fifties.

5 portraits in the collection

Queen Elizabeth II

Biography

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022) was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, who subsequently became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

4 portraits in the collection

The Seekers, 1993

Rennie Ellis

Portrait, type C photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

The Seekers reunite 50 years on, 2011

Helen Edwards

Portrait, synthetic polymer on linen

Gift of Judith Durham, Athol Guy, Keith Potger and Bruce Woodley 2012. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Sketches and sermons

Magazine article by Jessica Smith, 2009

Jessica Smith looks at the 'fetching' portrait of Tasmania's first Anglican Bishop, Francis Russell Nixon by George Richmond

HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, 2006 Ralph Heimans AM

Announcing... Ralph Heimans: Portraiture. Power. Influence.

30 November 2023

Media

In March 2024, the National Portrait Gallery will launch a major exhibition of the work of Ralph Heimans AM, the Australian artist who’s painted some of the world’s most recognisable people.

Graham Kennedy and the Seekers in Melbourne

Graham Kennedy and the Seekers in Melbourne, c. 1968

Robert Whitaker

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2007

Past directors

History

Directors of the National Portrait Gallery from 1998 to today.

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.

Grateful admiration and brotherly love

About Face article

In the earliest stages of the Great War, the Royal Pavilion in Brighton was turned into a military hospital, and arrangements made there to accommodate the different dietary and other requirements of Hindu, Sikh and Muslim patients.

Australian Visit

Previous exhibition, 2006

The exhibition will include works of art from the NPG Canberra's permanent collection with some inward loans and aims to highlight the achievements of notable Australians.

Safe space

Magazine article by Amy Middleton, 2023

Amy Middleton on the power of portraiture in promoting inclusivity and connecting with intersectionality and diversity in all its forms.

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, 1885-86 by
John Singer Sargent

A feast of friends

Magazine article by Richard Ormond, 2015

John Singer Sargent: a painter at the vanguard of contemporary movements in music, literature and theatre.

Portfolio of 54 portraits compiled by Queen Victoria, 1859–1861 by John Jabez Edwin Mayall, Camille Silvy, Frances Day and William Bambridge

Queen of cartes

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

Joanna Gilmour discusses the role of the carte de visite in portraiture’s democratisation, and its harnessing by Victoria, the world’s first media monarch.

The stately lotus

About Face article

I spent much of my summer holiday at D’Omah, on the outskirts of Yogyakarta. Lotus and waterlilies sprout in extraordinary profusion in artful ponds amid palms and deep scarlet ginger flowers.

The Multifarious Career of George Selth Coppin

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2004

George Selth Coppin (1819-1906) comedian, impresario and entrepreneur, was a driving force of the early Australian theatre.

Worth her salt

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

Jerrold Nathan's portrait of Jessie Street shows the elegant side of a many-faceted lady.

Lady Jane Grey, c.1590-1600 (also known as The ‘Streatham’ portrait) Artist unknown

The Royal she

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2019

Traversing paint and pixels, Inga Walton examines portraits of select women in Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits.

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.

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