Search / alan bond

Portrait, watercolour, coloured pencil, crayon and gouache on paper

Born in London, Alan Bond (1938–2015) emigrated with his family in 1950 and began his working life as a signwriter.

2 portraits in the collection

Alan Bond,

Joe Greenberg

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001

Alan Bond, 1985

Rennie Ellis

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2007

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006

Good, bad and the ugly

Michael Desmond explores what makes a portrait subject significant.

Alan Mitchell

Alan Mitchell is based in Melbourne and specialises in room set photography.

4 portraits in the collection

Alan Goldberg AO QC

Alan Goldberg AO QC (1940-2016), Federal Court judge, was born into a pioneering Jewish Melbourne family and graduated from the University of Melbourne law school in the early 1960s.

1 portrait in the collection

Alan Marshall AM OBE

Alan Marshall AM OBE (1902-1984), writer, began life in Victoria’s Western District.

4 portraits in the collection

Alan Sandow

Alan Sandow (b. 1952), drummer, joined Clive Shakespeare in the initial Sherbet lineup in 1969, before Daryl Braithwaite joined the band.

3 portraits in the collection

Alan Sumner MBE

Alan Sumner MBE (1911-1994) was a painter, printmaker, teacher and stained glass designer.

1 portrait in the collection

Alan Jessop

Alan Jessop OAM (b. 1930) is known to Canberrans as the Salvo Man, having collected donations for the Salvation Army in the city for over 30 years.

1 portrait in the collection

Alan Jones

Alan Jones (b. 1977), artist, completed an advanced diploma of fine arts at the National Art School, Sydney, in 1997.

1 portrait in the collection

Alan Alder

Alan Alder (1937–2019), dancer and ballet teacher, began his career studying tap and Scottish highland dancing in Canberra.

2 portraits in the collection

Alan Marshall

In their own words

Recorded 1964

Alan Bishop Stretton AO OBE LLB (1922-2012) enlisted in the Australian Army in 1940 as a private and retired as a Major-General in 1978 being one of the few Australian generals to rise from the ranks.

1 portrait in the collection

Estate of Alan Boxer

Alan Boxer, public servant, academic and art collector, was schooled in Melbourne and gained his economic qualifications in Melbourne and Oxford.

Alan Marshall, 1984

Jacqueline Mitelman

Portrait, oil on cardboard

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Portrait of Alan Marshall, 1955

Lina Bryans

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Alan Goldberg, 2014

Jacqueline Mitelman

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2015

Alan Freeman, c. 1970 (printed 2002)

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen and pen and ink on paper laid down on cardboard

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2003
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Alan Marshall, n.d.

Louis Kahan AO

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mrs Lily Kahan 2017
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Alan Alder, c. 1970 (printed 2012)

Janice McIllree

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Janice McIllree 2012

Alan Sandow, 1975 (printed 2001)

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

Alan Alder, c. 1970 (printed 2012)

Janice McIllree

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Janice McIllree 2012

Alan Sumner, 1993

Francis Reiss

Portrait, oil on masonite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2004

Alan Marshall, 1971

Noel Counihan

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Barrie and Jenny Hadlow 2015

Alan Freeman MBE, c. 1970 (printed 2002)

Portrait, gilcée print on paper

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

Alan 'Salvo Man' Jessop, 2019 (printed 2022)

Gino Zardo

Purchased 2022

Portrait of John Flaus, 2022

Portrait, oil and synthetic polymer paint on linen

Gift of the artist 2022

Adam (Adam Goodes), 2014

Alan Jones

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2015. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Beyond the bow tie

Magazine article by Diana O'Neil, 2016

Nathan Faiman delves into the rich life story and legacy of Alan Goldberg.

Of jumpers and river gums, red

Diana O’Neil on Noel Counihan’s vivid 1971 portrait of Alan Marshall.

Major General Alan Stretton, 1987

Gwendolene Pratt

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Stretton family 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Queen's Birthday Weekend, 2013

by Alan Hill and Kelly Hussey-Smith

Alan Dowler and Dwayne Tickner, c. 2000

Penny Tweedie

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004

Neil Finn, 1987 (printed 2021)

Gift of the artist 2021

Neil Finn and Paul Hester, 1987 (printed 2021)

Gift of the artist 2021

Paul Hester, 1987 (printed 2021)

Portrait, inkjet print on canvas

Gift of the artist 2021

Sherbet, 1974 (printed 2002)

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

Sherbet, 1974

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2003
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Redfern, I love you - Alan, 2012

by Ben Lawrence

Australia's America's Cup challengers

A magnificent rivalry

Magazine article by Yvonne Audette AM, 2005

Alexander (Jock) Sturrock and Alan Bond

A bond of friendship

Australia's major abstract painter Yvonne Audette discusses her portrait of sculptor Robert Kippel.

Janet Holmes a Court AC

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Janet Holmes à Court AC (b. 1943), businesswoman and philanthropist, graduated in science and worked as a teacher before marrying young Perth lawyer Robert Holmes à Court in 1966.

1 portrait in the collection

Emily Kame Kngwarreye, 1995

Jenny Sages

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Bequest of Alan Boxer 2014

Luis and Finn - two scruffy buddies, 2015

by Ralph Whitten

Janet Holmes á Court, 2001 (printed 2011)

Lorrie Graham

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Julian Burnside AO KC

Archived media releases 2015

Julian Burnside AO (b. 1949), barrister, grew up in Melbourne, attending Melbourne Grammar and studying economics and law at Monash in the late 1960s.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait Gallery benefits from generous Boxer bequest

8 April 2015

Canberran and modernist art collector Alan Boxer has generously bequeathed two works by artists Arthur Boyd and Jenny Sages to the National Portrait Gallery.

A girl and her boy

Kirsty Sycz

John Davis

Alan Davies' and Peter Stanbury's The Mechanical Eye in Australia lists Sydney photographer John Davis (life dates unknown) as having a carte-de visite studio on King Street, and as working from addresses on Pitt and George Streets between 1870 and 1873..

1 portrait in the collection

The Christening, 2014

by Sarah Rhodes

Wesley Enoch and David McAllister, 2020

Peter Brew-Bevan

Purchased with funds provided by Alan Dodge AM and Neil Archibald 2021

James Gillray

James Gillray, caricaturist and printmaker, was born in Chelsea and learned the art of engraving as a youth in London.

1 portrait in the collection

'Sunju Calabrese' #2

Renato Colangelo

Pamela and Colin McPherson

Elizabeth Looker

Unconditional Love, 2006

by Samuel Khusunawi

Kel, 2018

Tom Farrell

Donors

$10,000 - $49,999

Honour board

Bassano Ltd

The Bassano studios operated from 1850, when photographer Alexander Bassano (1829-1913) opened premises in Regent Street, London.

2 portraits in the collection

Ernest Walter Histed

Ernest Walter Histed was born in Brighton, UK, but made his reputation as a photographer in Chicago and later in Pittsburgh.

1 portrait in the collection

Clive Shakespeare

Clive Shakespeare formed the soul/Tamla Motown cover group the Downtown Roll Band in 1968.

3 portraits in the collection

Slow Motion @ 300kms per hour Mark ‘Sparky’ Webber, Formula 1 Driver, 2016

by Gino Zardo

Sir Charles Mackerras AC KT CBE

Sir (Alan) Charles Mackerras AC CBE (1925-2010) was chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra from 1982 to 1985.

1 portrait in the collection

Slow Motion @ 300kms per hour Mark 'Sparky'™ Webber, Formula 1 Driver

Slow Motion @ 300kms per hour Mark 'Sparky'™ Webber, Formula 1 Driver, 2016

Gino Zardo

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2019

John Button

John Button (1933-2008), Labor politician, studied arts and law at the University of Melbourne and made his name as a barrister in Melbourne before becoming involved in the Victorian branch of the Labor Party in the late 1950s.

2 portraits in the collection

Literary lovers’ life liaison

Lust

Desire drives forbidden love

The silent spectre of motion (Le spectre silencieux du movement), 2012

by Bridget Walker

Tom Roberts, Goupil & Cie

Finalist, iD2012

Opening of the first Parliament of the Australian Commonwealth, 9th May 1901

Opening of the first Parliament of the Australian Commonwealth, 9th May 1901, 1903

Portrait, photogravure on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Penny Amberg and Andrew Bond 2001
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Jimmy and Jane Barnes, 2020

Jesse Lizotte

Portrait, cast bronze on mosaic tile panel

Purchased 2021

Sir Charles Mackerras, 1983

Arthur Fleischmann

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Sir Charles Mackerras 2009

Linda and Binni, 1984 (printed 2013)

Michael Riley

Purchased 2013

Portrait of Florence Broadhurst, 1968

Joshua Smith

Purchased 2007

The Legend of Ruby and Archie

Devotion

A bond in song

Harry Messel AC CBE

Harry Messel AC CBE (1922-2015), scientist and academic, was born in Canada and gained his qualifications there and in Scotland and Ireland.

2 portraits in the collection

David Brooks

David Brooks, poet, literary critic and academic, studied in the early 1970s at the Australian National University, where he fell in with a group of Canberra writers including AD Hope, Rosemary Dobson, David Campbell and Judith Wright and co-founded Open Door Press with Alan Gould.

1 portrait in the collection

Mike Brown

Portrait, pencil on paper

Mike Brown (1938-1997) artist, was a participant (with Ross Crothall and Colin Lanceley) in the 1962 Annandale Imitation Realists exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art and Design, Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Study for portrait of Senator John Button, 1992

Andrew Sibley

Gift of the artist 2002. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Artist lovers re-united across the seas

Devotion

Exile burnishes love’s bond

Senator John Button, 1987

Andrew Sibley

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

POL

Portrait of a Generation

POL was a magazine that ran from 1969 to 1986

Portrait of a beautiful mind - Adam Cullen, Blue Mountains

Portrait of a beautiful mind - Adam Cullen, Blue Mountains, 2005 (printed 2019)

George Fetting

A cross-curriculum learning resource

Purchased with funds provided by Alan Dodge AM & Neil Archibald 2019

Awesome Achievers

Learning resource archive

What makes someone awesome? And how does a portrait tell a person's story? Bring your students up close and personal with some great Australians. For upper primary school students.

Carl Cooper, 1945-1946

Arthur Boyd AC OBE

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on masonite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Bequest of Alan Boxer 2014

Professor Margaret Seares AO

Pamela Joyce, Australian Tapestry Workshop

Margaret Seares AO (b. 1948), chair of the Perth International Arts Festival from 2012 to 2016 and senior deputy vice chancellor at the University of Western Australia from 2004 to 2008, began her academic career specialising in keyboard music of the eighteenth century.

1 portrait in the collection

The Honourable Margaret Lusink AM, 2019

Portrait, wool and cotton tapestry

Gift of The Honourable Margaret Lusink AM 2021

Andrew Sibley

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Andrew Sibley (1933–2015), painter and teacher, is known for his figurative paintings, landscapes and abstract works.

20 portraits in the collection

Malcolm Fraser, Randwick Racecourse, 1975 (printed 2002)

Roger Scott

Purchased 2012

Dr Paul Scully-Power, 2005

Evert Ploeg

Portrait, cast metal with gold finish

Purchased with funds provided by donors 2006

Bert Hinkler, 1930s

Nison Tregor

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Alan Foulkes in memory of Mark Graham Cleghorn 2012

Sir John Cornforth, 1993 (printed 2003)

Nick Sinclair

Portrait, bromide print on photographic paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2004

Mick Dodson, 2010

Ricky Maynard

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Commissioned with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2010

Margaret Seares, 2018

Cherry Hood

Commissioned with funds provided by the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2018

Two grounps of three people standing in a studio with walls and shelves filled with artworks

Arts Project Australia

Artists and Collectives

Arts Project Australia is a creative social enterprise based in Naarm/Melbourne that supports neurodiverse artists, promoting their work and advocating for inclusion within contemporary arts practice.

Imelda Roche AO

Imelda Roche AO (b. 1934), with husband Bill, introduced the Nutri-Metics skin care range to Australia in 1968.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Mark Oliphant, c. 1948

Lotte Meitner-Graf

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ms Vivian Wilson 2004

Imelda Roche, 2003

Paul Newton

Commissioned 2003

John Passmore

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint and red ochre on canvas

John Passmore (1904-1984), painter, studied with Julian Ashton in Sydney between the ages of fourteen and twenty-nine, and took some instruction from George Lambert.

1 portrait in the collection

Richard Walley, 2015

Dr Julie Dowling

Commissioned with funds provided by Neil Archibald and Alan R. Dodge AM, Brandon and Angela Munro, Dr Walter Ong and Graeme Marshall 2015

Allan Lowe, c. 1955

Reshid Bey

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Alan Lowe and Marian Lowe 2000

Professor Harry Messel, 1973

Louis Kahan AO

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mrs Lily Kahan 2006
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Glenn McGrath AM

Previous exhibition, 2010

Glenn McGrath AM (b. 1970), philanthropist and former Test cricketer, is one of international cricket's greatest ever fast bowlers.

1 portrait in the collection

Australian of the Year

Inspiring a Nation

The Australian of the Year Awards have often provoked controversy about who is selected and whether their achievements are remarkable.

Thomas Townshend, Lord Viscount Sydney

Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney PC (1733-1800) was British Home Secretary in the Pitt Government, given responsibility for devising a plan to settle convicts at Botany Bay.

1 portrait in the collection

Lina Bryans

Lina Bryans OAM (1909-2000), artist, was born into a prosperous Melbourne family and grew up moving freely between Toorak and Europe.

3 portraits in the collection

Heath Ledger, Prague, 2000 (printed 2009)

Bruce Weber

Purchased with the assistance of Alan Dodge AM 2009

Mal Meninga, 2018

by Peter Hudson

Previous exhibition, 2023

Commissioned with funds provided by Maliganis Edwards Johnson and Alan Dodge AM 2018

Little Darlings Youth Portrait Prize 2023

Little Darlings is for primary and secondary students, with four separate categories across Kindergarten to Year 12. Responding to the theme ‘Me and my place’, students painted, drew, photographed, printed or combined all of these to make their portrait.

Mysterious eyes

Arthur Boyd portraits from 1945

Previous exhibition, 2016

Boyd’s self-portrait at age 25 is joined by his equally emotive portraits of those around him.

Michael Leunig, 2004

Jacqueline Mitelman

Portrait, mixed media, fibre-tipped pen, pencil charcoal, pastel, gouache on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Portrait of Lin Bloomfield, 1992

Frank Hinder

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lin Bloomfield 2017

Little Darlings Youth Portrait Prize finalists

Little Darlings Youth Portrait Prize 2022

Previous exhibition, 2022

Little Darlings is for primary and secondary students, with four separate categories across Kindergarten to Year 12. Responding to the theme ‘identity’, students painted, drew, photographed, printed or combined all of these to make their portrait.

John Sumner AO CBE

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

John Sumner AO CBE (1924–2013), described as the 'father of Australian drama', was born in England and trained and worked in repertory theatre there before World War 2.

2 portraits in the collection

Mal Meninga, 2018

Peter Hudson

Commissioned with funds provided by Maliganis Edwards Johnson and Alan Dodge AM 2018

Richard Walley OAM honoured in new Portrait Gallery commission

2 September 2015

Archived media releases 2015

A new commissioned portrait funded by the Gallery’s Foundation will be launched at Murdoch University in Perth tonight, Wednesday 2 September.

Nellie Melba, 1898

Ernest Walter Histed

Previous exhibition, 2006

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Rennie Ellis

Aussies All

Rennie Ellis: Aussies All is a celebration of the life and work of the late Australian photographer Rennie Ellis.

Australia and the Nobel Prize

Archived media releases 2015

This unique exhibition will give an insight into the private lives, pursuits and work of all the Nobel laureates associated with Australia

Foundation members announced

18 May 2015

The newly-established National Portrait Gallery Foundation met for its inaugural meeting last Friday 15 May in Canberra.

Patrick Corrigan AM

Patrick Corrigan AM (b. 1932), businessman, art collector and arts patron, was born in Hanghow (Hankou) in China.

3 portraits in the collection

Max Dupain

The Vintage Years

NPPP 2007 exhibition essay

During his long and distinguished career Max Dupain took thousands of photographs of people

Seduce, Amuse, Entertain

Archived media releases 2018

Michael Desmond, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2007 Prize.

Finalists announced for National Photographic Portrait Prize

14 November 2018

The National Portrait Gallery would like to congratulate the forty finalists for the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2019.

The Textiles Scientist, 2018 by Kate Atkinson

Textiles Scientist Voted the People’s Favourite

27 March 2019

Archived media releases 2019

The black and white portrait of an elderly woman with sidelong glance and irreverent, contemplative smile has taken out the people’s choice award in this year’s National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Seduce Amuse Entertain

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2007

Michael Desmond profiles a handful of the entrants in first National Photographic Portrait Prize and notes emerging themes and categories.

Star signs

Magazine article by Barry York, 2018

Barry York charts the course from childhood request to autographed celebrity portrait anthology.

Arnold Shore

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2011

Arnold Shore, a lifelong inhabitant of Melbourne, was apprenticed to a stained glass and leadlight company called Brooks, Robinson soon after leaving school at the age of twelve.

2 portraits in the collection

How to be a boy

Christopher Chapman profiles Chris Lilley, actor and creator of Angry Boys.

Margaret Seares, 2018

by Cherry Hood

Commissioned with funds provided by the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2018

Australians in Hollywood

Although perceived to be a recent phenomenon, the 'Aussie invasion' of Hollywood can actually be traced as far back as the early 1900s

The great South Sea caterpillar transformed into a Bath Butterfly (Sir Joseph Banks)

The Bath Butterfly

The caricaturist and engraver James Gillray's biting satires about Sir Joseph Banks.

Barry Humphries

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2008

Barry Humphries AO CBE (1934–2023), actor, writer and artist, was the world's all-time most successful solo theatrical performer.

12 portraits in the collection

Form and reality

A photographic portrait by Kerry Dundas captures the contemplative mind of visionary painter Godfrey Miller.

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa

Tiny Trace of a Colonial Giant

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2004

At just 7.8 x 6.2 cm, the daguerreotype of Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa is one of the smallest works in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery.

The Gladiators (Norm Provan and Arthur Summons)

Who's that?

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2009

Michael Desmond discusses the iconic picture of two Rugby League players which became known as 'The Gladiators'.

Sir Les Patterson, 1999

Polly Borland

Archived media releases 2018

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Portrait of a Manchu Noblewoman, 18th-19th C.

Facing East

Magazine article, 2007

An exhibition at the Freer and Sackler Galleries in Washington DC showcases the art of portraiture in Asia over two thousand years.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018 winner announced

23 March 2018

Finalists have been eagerly awaiting the announcement of the Winner and Highly Commended for the National Photographic Portrait Prize since December. It is our pleasure to announce the Winner for 2018 is Lee Grant for her portrait titled Charlie and Highly Commended has been awarded to Filomena Rizzo for her portrait titled My Olivia.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022

Previous exhibition, 2022

The exhibition is selected from a national field of entries, reflecting the distinctive vision of Australia's aspiring and professional portrait photographers and the unique nature of their subjects.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2023

Previous exhibition, 2023

The exhibition is selected from a national field of entries, reflecting the distinctive vision of Australia's aspiring and professional portrait photographers and the unique nature of their subjects.

The fat of the land

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

Sir Sidney Kidman (1857-1935) is inscribed in Australian legend as the ‘Cattle King’.

Figurative foundation

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

Joanna Gilmour explores the life and art of the Australian artist Janet Dawson.

First Ladies

Significant Australian Women 1913–2013

Previous exhibition, 2013

First Ladies profiles women who have achieved noteworthy firsts over the past 100 years.

Indomitable spirit

Magazine article by Ricky Maynard, 2010

Photographer Ricky Maynard talks us through the creation of the portrait commission of Mick Dodson.

Yellow portrait (portrait of Alex Jelinek)

Fugue in Yellow

Magazine article by Roger Benjamin, 2015

Roger Benjamin explores the intriguing union of Lina Bryans and Alex Jelinek.

Making Portraits

Five Years of National Portrait Gallery Commissions

Previous exhibition, 2004

The considered matching of artist to subject has produced an amazing collection of unique and original works in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery

Chairman Sid Myer AM, Hayley Baillie, Tim Bednall, Jillian Broadbent AC, Patrick Corrigan AM, Marilyn Darling AC, Tim Fairfax AC, Penny Fowler AM, John Liangis, Dr Helen Nugent AC and Nigel Satterley AM

Foundation Members

Foundation

Chairman Sid Myer AM, Hayley Baillie, Tim Bednall, Jillian Broadbent AC, Patrick Corrigan AM, Marilyn Darling AC, Tim Fairfax AC, Penny Fowler AM, John Liangis, Dr Helen Nugent AC and Nigel Satterley AM.

Primed

Some Prime Ministers

Previous exhibition, 2019

Seventeen of Australia’s thirty prime ministers to date are represented in the contrasting sizes, moods and mediums of these portraits.

Commander Skyring, Gang-gang cockatoo by Leila Jeffreys

A real tweet

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2016

Sarah Engledow plays wingman to Leila Jeffreys.

A bear of great substance

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2006

Just in time for Christmas, Angus reflects on the most special present he has ever received.

Ingres in Paris

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres was one of the greatest portrait painters in history.

Time and light

In Gallery Seven

Previous exhibition, 2023

This sample of 56 photographs takes in some of the smallest photographs we own and some of the largest, some of the earliest and some of the most recent, as well as multiple photographic processes from daguerreotypes to digital media.

Facing the inferno

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

Tara James speaks to Cam Neville about his portrait series, Firefighters.

2023 Annual Appeal

Annual Appeal

In 2023 the Annual Appeal was focussed on a work by one of Australia's best loved and most successful portrait painters, Judy Cassab AO CBE, depicting model, entrepreneur and deportment icon, June Dally-Watkins OAM.

Study for Aunty Mary King, 2010 by Mathew Lynn

The animating signature

Joanna Gilmore delights in the affecting drawings of Mathew Lynn.

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Honour board

First-Class Marksman, 1946 by Sidney Nolan

Money for Myth

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2015

Australian character on the market by Jane Raffan.

Family collective

Magazine article by Beatrice Gralton, 2013

Beatrice Gralton looks at a larger than life portrait by Chinese artist Song Dong.

Someone to watch over you

Magazine article by Carrie Kibbler, 2013

Carrie Kibbler looks at how portraiture fits into the Australian Artbank Collection.

Life class

Magazine article by Leonie Hellmers, 2004

Barbara Blackman reflects on her experiences as a life model.

Boyd to man

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2016

Christopher Chapman looks at influences and insight in the formative years of Arthur Boyd.

Uncommon Australians

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Magazine article by Gael Newton, 2003

Sarah Engledow writes about Gordon and Marilyn Darling and their support for the National Portrait Gallery throughout its evolution.

Vintage Max

Gael Newton delves into the life and art of renowned Australian photographer, Max Dupain.

Living landscape

Magazine article by Gillian Raymond, 2016

Gillian Raymond ponders landscapes as self-portraiture in Michael Taylor’s intimate expressionism.

Be bold

Magazine article by Katherine Russell, 2007

The name of Florence Broadhurst, one of Australia’s most significant wallpaper and textile designers, is now firmly cemented in the canon of Australian art and design.

Sitter still

Magazine article by Emeritus Professor Jaynie Anderson AM, 2015

Jaynie Anderson reflects on her experience as sitter for Reshid Bey’s 1962 portrait.

Feminist Fan#1 (PUSSY: Casey at the Melbourne Pussy Riot Protest, 2012) 2015 by Kate Just

Heroine knits

Magazine article by Sophia Cai, 2017

‘Dear Kate Just – I’m your feminist fan’. Interview by Sophia Cai.

Aussies all

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2006

The exhibition Aussies all features the ecclectic portrait photography of Rennie Ellis which captures Australian life during the 70s and 80s.

HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, 2006 Ralph Heimans AM

Dane reign

Magazine article by Mette Skougaard and Thomas Lyngby, 2018

Mette Skougaard and Thomas Lyngby bring eloquent context to Ralph Heimans’ portraits of Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark.

Generous Janice

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

Dr Sarah Engledow puts four gifts to the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection in context.

Ms Anna Burke MP, Speaker of the House of Representatives 2015 by Jude Rae

Hired guns, bounty hunters and horse whisperers

Magazine article by Jude Rae, 2016

Jude Rae contemplates the portrait commission.

Miles from nowhere, 2008 (printed 2014) from the Games of consequence series 2008 Polixeni Papapetrou

Mother’s muse

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2020

Inga Walton traces the poignant path of photographer Polixeni Papapetrou, revealed in the NGV’s summer retrospective.

Dupain detective

Magazine article by Johanna McMahon, 2019

Johanna McMahon revels in history and mystery in pursuit of a suite of unknown portrait subjects.

Self Portrait with Stetson, 2011 by Darren McDonald

Painting them gently

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2015

Penny Grist on motivation, method and melancholy in the portraiture of Darren McDonald.

Confessional conversations

The portraiture of Kristin Headlam

Magazine article by Fiona Gruber, 2015

Fiona Gruber investigates the work of Australian painter Kristin Headlam.

Lyndall Hobbs and Marilyn at the Come as your favourite blonde party, Blitz Club, London, 1979 Robert Rosen

Shiny, happy people

Magazine article by Glynis Jones, 2022

Glynis Jones on the Powerhouse’s retrospective of one of Australia’s foremost fashion reportage and social photographers.

Revd Dr Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch, c.1795 by Sir Henry Raeburn

Great Scots

Magazine article by Diana O'Neil, 2017

Diana O’Neil samples the tartan treats on offer in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

A potpourri of portraits

Magazine article by Natalie Wilson, 2023

Archie 100 curator (and detective) Natalie Wilson’s nationwide search for Archibald portraits unearthed the fascinating stories behind some long-lost treasures.

My father-in-law watering his garden, 1986 by Davida Allen

Lovingly observed

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

Sarah Engledow previews the beguiling summer exhibition, Idle hours.

Big bouquet of Blackmans

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

Dr. Sarah Engledow explores the context surrounding Charles Blackman's portrait of Judith Wright, Jack McKinney and their daughter Meredith.

Cultural kaleidoscope

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

The complex connections between four creative Australians; Patrick White, Sidney Nolan, Robert Helpmann and Peter Sculthorpe.

Friends and Acquaintances

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

Dr. Sarah Engledow discusses a collection of drawings and prints by the Victorian artist Rick Amor acquired in 2005.

Woman with Fair Hair and Pink Cardigan, 1949 by John Perceval.

The family scene

Magazine article, 2016

Traudi Allen discovers sensitivity, humour and fine draughtsmanship in the portraiture of John Perceval.

Portrait of Thea Proctor, 1905 by George Lambert

The real Thea

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

Long after the portraitist became indifferent to her, and died, a beguiling portrait hung over its subject.

Through blue eyes

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

Works by Arthur Boyd and Sidney Nolan bring the desert, the misty seashore and the hot Monaro plains to exhibition Open Air: Portraits in the landscape.

History

About us

How the National Portrait Gallery and its unique collection came to be

20/20 launch speech

Dr Helen Nugent AO, Chairman, National Portrait Gallery at the opening of 20/20: Celebrating twenty years with twenty new portrait commissions.

Rick Amor: 21 Portraits

Sarah Engledow chronicles Rick Amor's work and accomplishments in this extensive essay in conjunction with the exhibition Rick Amor: 21 Portraits.

The personal and the historical

NPPP 2014 exhibition essay

Where do we draw a line between the personal and the historical? Although she died in Melbourne in 1975, when I was not quite eleven years old, I have the vividest memories of my maternal grandmother Helen Borthwick.

The Art Lovers - Megan, 2013 by Gary Grealy

Everybody, look serious