Search / alfred vincent

Alfred Vincent began working for the Bulletin in 1896, taking over from the renowned Phil May, his idol, with whom he was often - inevitably - unfavourably compared.

1 portrait in the collection

Hugh Jackman by Vincent Fantauzzo

'I'm painting my truth'

Portrait story

Vincent Fantauzzo on painting his portrait of Hugh Jackman.

Albert and Vincent

Vincent Namatjira OAM

Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pours soil into the hand of traditional land owner Vincent Lingiari

Vincent Lingiari AM

Vincent Lingiari AM (1919–1988) was an Elder of the Gurindji people of the Northern Territory.

1 portrait in the collection

Vincent Fantauzzo

Vincent Fantauzzo (b. 1977), award-winning portrait artist, was born in England and grew up in Melbourne's northern suburbs.

2 portraits in the collection

Bradley Vincent considers Samuel Hodge’s use of the archive to create a queer vernacular of portraiture.

Sir Vincent Charles Fairfax CMG

Portrait, pen and ink, brush and ink on paper

Sir Vincent Charles Fairfax CMG (1909-1993), pastoralist, was the son of JHF Fairfax.

1 portrait in the collection

George Lambert in London, c. 1912

Alf Vincent

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Malcolm McCusker & Vincent Fantauzzo

'How can I get out of doing this?'

Portrait story

Malcolm McCusker talks with artist Vincent Fantauzzo about starting out as a lawyer and becoming Governor of Western Australia.

Vincent Fantauzzo on Hugh Jackman

In their own words

Recorded 2021

Malcolm McCusker AC CVO KC, 2022

Vincent Fantauzzo

Gift of Nigel Satterley AM and Denise Satterley 2022

Hugh Jackman, 2020

Vincent Fantauzzo

Magazine article by Vincent Fantauzzo, 2022

Commissioned with funds provided by the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation and Paul Dainty AM and Donna Dainty 2020

Portrait story

Artist Vincent Fantauzzo on dyslexia, connection and virtual sittings with Hugh Jackman.

Sir Vincent Fairfax, 1981

Portrait, type C photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of John Fairfax Holdings Ltd 2002
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pours soil into the hand of traditional land owner Vincent Lingiari, 1975

Mervyn Bishop

Purchased 2000

A handful of sand

Magazine article by Ellen Kent, 2007

Ellen Kent examines the portrait of Vincent Lingiari and Prime Minister Gough Whitlam taken by photographer Mervyn Bishop.

HRH Prince Alfred

Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (1844–1900) was the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria.

4 portraits in the collection

Alfred Simpson

Alfred Simpson (1805–1891), manufacturer, started his professional life as a tinsmith in his native London and also worked as a hatter before financial difficulties caused him to emigrate to Australia in 1849.

1 portrait in the collection

Alfred Hill CMG OBE

Alfred Hill CMG OBE (1869-1960) was a composer, conductor and violinist.

2 portraits in the collection

Hon. Alfred Deakin

Alfred Deakin (1856-1919), Australia's second, fifth and seventh Prime Minister, was central to the Federation movement.

1 portrait in the collection

Alfred Barry

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

Alfred William Cox

Alfred William Cox (1857–1919), racehorse owner and breeder, was born in Liverpool, England, the son of a successful cotton broker.

1 portrait in the collection

Dr Alfred Barry, c. 1870

Sarony & Co

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Alfred George Stephens

Alfred George Stephens (1865–1933), editor, journalist and publisher, was born and educated in Toowoomba.

1 portrait in the collection

Alfred Simpson, c. 1866

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2014

Alfred Arthur Greenwood Hales

Portrait, cast plaster, patinated on wooden base

Alfred Arthur Greenwood Hales (1860-1936), adventurer, writer and newspaper correspondent, left school and started writing short stories in his teens.

1 portrait in the collection

Alfred Hill, 1936

Rayner Hoff

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2000

The Bishop of Sydney DD (Alfred Barry), 1884

Albert Fradelle

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite photograph on card

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

Prince Alfred, 1860

John J. Mayall

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

HRH Prince Alfred, c. 1868

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on laid on paper with printed boarder

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

H.R.H. The Prince Alfred, 1860

John J. Mayall

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite photograph on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

A G Stephens, c. 1910 (printed later)

Roberts Brothers, Ballarat

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh and Suite in Mining Costume after descending the Band of Hope Gold Mine, Ballarat, Australia

H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh and Suite in Mining Costume after descending the Band of Hope Gold Mine, Ballarat, Australia, 1867

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite photograph on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

Alfred Stephen, 1885

William Macleod after Newman

Portrait, tinted lithograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Australia (The Hon. Alfred Deakin), 1908

Sir Leslie Ward, Vanity Fair Magazine

Alfred Thompson, Vanity Fair Magazine

Gift of Ronald A Walker 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Men of the Day No. 5 "As straight as a reed" (Henry John Rous), 1870

Sir Leslie Ward, Hentschel-Colourtype, Vanity Fair Magazine

Purchased 2015

Fairie (A W Cox), 1910

Sir Leslie Ward, Vanity Fair Magazine

Purchased 2015

Peace and War (Mr A. G. Hales), 1908

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

Gift of Ronald A Walker 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Four from the 30s

Australia's tradition of sculpted portraits stretches back to the early decades of the nineteenth century and continues to sustain a group of dedicated sculptors.

Alfred Hill, c. 1911-1913

May and Mina Moore photographic studio, Annie May Moore, Minnie Louise Moore

Portrait, photograph on paper on card mounted on canvas

Gift of Catherine Dwyer 2021

Fits of delicacy and despair

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

Henry Mundy's portraits flesh out notions of propriety and good taste in a convict colony.

Vincent, 2012

by Linda Wachtel

Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer

On train from New York to Memphis, July 4, 1956 by Alfred Wertheimer

Elvis At 21

Previous exhibition, 2013

Elvis at 21 is a photographic exhibition capturing Elvis’ rise to fame in the year 1956, before security and money built walls between him and his fans.

Never let you go

Nearest & Dearest

Country, culture, connection

Sarah Simpson, c. 1866

Elvis at 21 media information

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2014

Image downloads

Elvis at 21

Hi-resolution images for media representatives, password required.

Portrait 24

June - August 2007

Magazine

This issue of Portrait Magazine features Robert Hannaford, Walter Lindrum, John Brack, judicial portraits, Vincent Lingiari and more.

Elvis at 21 media information

25 October 2013

Archived media releases 2013

Press releases and images downloads for media.

Help warm the Canberra community

4 July 2016

Archived media releases 2016

National Portrait Gallery and the St Vincent de Paul Society are asking Canberrans to pick up their knitting needles and crochet hooks to create warm winter scarves to assist people in need.

Portrait 68

Summer 2022/23

Magazine

Rebecca Ray on Robert Fielding’s Mayatjara series, Jennifer Higgie on Alice Neel, Elspeth Pitt chats with Yvette Coppersmith, Vincent Fantauzzo on virtual sittings with Hugh Jackman and more.

Study for a portrait of Alex Wodak, 2003

Nick Mourtzakis

Portrait, conté pencil and pastel on paper

Gift of Dr Jack Wodak 2006. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Dr Edward MacMahon, 1959

Sir William Dobell OBE

Portrait, oil on masonite

Gift of the MacMahon family in affectionate memory of Edward MacMahon and William Dobell 2015. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Alex Wodak AM

Previous exhibition, 2007

Alex Wodak, doctor, trained at St. Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, then worked as a medical registrar in several London teaching hospitals before beginning research on alcoholic liver disease.

1 portrait in the collection

Headspace 8

The Journey

This year's theme calls upon students to consider the concept of 'The Journey'.

Stanley Argyle, 1924

Tom Glover

Portrait, pen and ink on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

In another land

Geoff Harvey

George Nicholas CBE

Previous exhibition, 2022

George Nicholas CBE (1884-1960), pharmacist and philanthropist, grew up in South Australia and Victoria.

1 portrait in the collection

WHO ARE YOU

Australian portraiture

Featuring 130 works across painting, film, photography, screen printing, sculpture, and then some – it explores our inner worlds, outer selves, intimacy, isolation, celebrity and more.

Prison and death in the 19th century

Two iBooks of authentic records

Learning resources

These books include sixteen inmates including Ned Kelly, Captain Moonlite and Frederick Deeming and twelve sketches of the deceased, including several children. For Year 7 – 9 students.

Annie May Moore

Annie May Moore (1881-1931) was born in New Zealand and studied at the Elam School of Art and Design in Auckland.

5 portraits in the collection

Jane Rouse

Jane Kennerley (nee Rouse) was born in Parramatta and in 1834 married Alfred Kennerley (1810-1897) who, like Jane's father, owned large amounts of land in western Sydney and on the Cudgegong River.

1 portrait in the collection

Antoine Maurin

Portrait, pencil on paper laid down on masonite

Antoine Maurin, lithographer, is little known. He was born in Perpignan, France, and died in Paris.

6 portraits in the collection

Portrait of Elioth Gruner, c. 1922

Norman Lindsay

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Vincent Day and John Bradley 2017

Coral Browne

Coral Browne (1913-1991) was an Australian actress who left for England in 1934.

1 portrait in the collection

Elliott and Fry

Portrait, painted cast iron

Elliott & Fry, a photography studio and photographic film manufacturer, was founded in 1863 at 55-56 Baker Street, London by Joseph John Elliott and Clarence Edmund Fry.

2 portraits in the collection

George Reid paperweight, c. 1910

unknown artist

Purchased 2006

George Reid paperweight, c. 1910

unknown artist

Portrait, painted cast iron

Purchased 2001

Charles Woolley

Charles Alfred Woolley (1834-1922), photographer and sketcher, ran a studio on Macquarie Street in Hobart from 1859 to 1870, producing numerous portraits along with views and stereographs of Hobart and surrounding areas.

6 portraits in the collection

Sir Stanley Seymour Argyle

Family, friends, fanatics and foes (and everything in between!)

Sir Stanley Seymour Argyle (1867-1940), premier and medical practitioner, studied medicine at the University of Melbourne and at King’s College, London.

1 portrait in the collection

Rachel Ward and Bryan Brown (detail), 2006 (printed 2020) © Peter Brew-Bevan

Australian Love stories

Previous exhibition, 2021

Reconnect and reflect with our new major exhibition, Australian Love Stories (in real life!) as we explore love, affection and connection in all its guises.

Decorative portrait – Len Lye, c.1925 by Rayner Hoff (1894-1937)

Presence and Absence

Portrait Sculpture in Australia

Previous exhibition, 2003

This exhibition focuses on exploring national and communal identity through sculptural production in Australia, from the early decades of settlement through to the present day

Nobel and his prize

Magazine article by Jennifer Gason, 2003

To complement the exhibition Australians and the Nobel Prize, Jennifer Gason gives us a sense of the proceedings that occur during the award ceremony.

Lady Florence Packer

Lady Florence Packer (1915-2012) was born in Paris to Edmond Porges, a major in the British Army, and his Russian wife Marie-Mathilde Brodsky.

1 portrait in the collection

Prime Ministers

On the day before the Hon. E. G. Whitlam, AC, QC, died last month, at the great age of 98, there were seven former prime ministers of Australia still living, plus the incumbent Mr. Abbott – eight in all.

H B. Hall

Henry Bryan Hall grew up in England and began his trade as an apprentice to the engravers Benjamin Smith and Henry Meyer.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir George Houston Reid GCB GCMG KC

Sir George Houstoun Reid GCB GCMG KC (1845-1918) was Australian prime minister from August 1904 to July 1905.

3 portraits in the collection

Tuisko Turso Seppelt

Tuisko Turso (‘TT’) Seppelt (1891-1957) was Victorian manager of the Seppelt wine company from 1917.

1 portrait in the collection

Xavier Herbert

Portrait, pencil with ink wash on paper

Xavier Herbert (1901 –1984), author, was born Alfred Jackson to a single mother in Geraldton, WA.

2 portraits in the collection

Coral Browne, 1975

Don Bachardy

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Dr Edward MacMahon CBE

Learning resource archive

Edward MacMahon CBE (1904–1987), surgeon, studied medicine at the University of Sydney and completed his residency at the Sydney Hospital.

1 portrait in the collection

Elvis at 21 learning resource

Complementing our 2013 exhibition Elvis at 21, this resource has connections with the Australian Curriculum and is designed primarily for Year 10 teachers of English, History, Music and Visual Arts.

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

Sir Cecil Colville, c. 1965

Sir William Dargie CBE

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Richard Due 2010

Sir Warwick Fairfax, 1981

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of John Fairfax Holdings Ltd 2002
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Adam Knott

Adam Knott (b. 1966) began taking photographs for local newspapers as a schoolboy in St George, South Sydney.

7 portraits in the collection

Horatio Nelson

Sir William Beechey

Celebrating 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection

Of Kings and men

Previous exhibition, 2011

This display celebrates 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection and its role in commissioning portraits of parliamentary and judicial figures in Australia.

Julian Smith

Julian Smith, surgeon and photographer, came to Australia with his family from England at the age of three.

2 portraits in the collection

The Surgeon (Dr Julian Smith), 1934

Harold Cazneaux

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Penny Tweedie

Aboriginal people and their culture have been the focus of much of Penny Tweedie's photography during the last period of her career.

47 portraits in the collection

Billy Hughes paperweight, n.d.

Portrait, cast iron, painted

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ric Techow and Jenny Techow-Coleman in memory of Roy and Bet Techow 2001

Tim Storrier

Tim Storrier AM (b. 1949), painter, studied at the National Art School from 1967 to 1969.

4 portraits in the collection

Julia Margaret Cameron

Julia Margaret Cameron was of the most important photographers of the nineteenth century.

1 portrait in the collection

George Baxter

George Baxter, a Londoner, is credited with inventing the first commercially viable colour printing process.

1 portrait in the collection

Axel Poignant

Axel Poignant (1906-1986) photographer, was born in England. His mother was English, his father Swedish.

4 portraits in the collection

Sir Cecil Colville

Sir Cecil Colville (1891-1984), medical practitioner, was the first president of the Australian Medical Association.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Ivor Hele

Sir Ivor Hele (1912–1993) was born in Adelaide and studied art at Prince Alfred College and the South Australian School of Arts and, later, in Paris and Munich.

3 portraits in the collection

Len Evans AO OBE

Len Evans AO OBE (1930-2006), wine expert, writer and company chairman, pioneered wine columns in Australia with his 'Cellar Master' column in The Bulletin (1962-1988).

1 portrait in the collection

Sir George Ferguson Bowen, c. 1873

Bardwell's Royal Studio

Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

Tim Storrier, 1995

Greg Weight

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Mervyn Bishop

Mervyn Bishop (b. 1945), a Murri photographer, began a cadetship with the Sydney Morning Herald in 1963.

6 portraits in the collection

Jacques Miller AC

Jacques Miller AC (b. 1931), immunologist, spent his early childhood in Shanghai and Lausanne before coming to Sydney with his parents at the age of ten.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir William John Lyne

Sir William John Lyne (1844-1913), politician, was a Premier of New South Wales and a minister in the first Australian parliament.

1 portrait in the collection

Reg Richardson AM

Archived media releases 2021

Reg Richardson AM, charity fundraiser, grew up in Broken Hill, and left school at fifteen for an office job with the Zinc Corporation mine.

1 portrait in the collection

Australian Love Stories

4 January 2021

A major new exhibition celebrating love in all its guises. Opening 20 March 2021.

Adut, The Studio Series, 2015 Atong Atem

Icons and Identities

Portrait, pen, ink and gouache on paper

It’s often thought that foremost among portraiture’s many functions is the documentation of individuals who are celebrated and familiar, or who best exemplify the temper and identity of a certain place at a certain time.

Flynn of the Inland, 1955-1956

Harry Hudson

Purchased 1999

Gnoung-a-gnoung-a Mour-re-mour-ga (dit Collins)

Gnoung-a-gnoung-a Mour-re-mour-ga (dit Collins), 1807-1817

Nicolas-Martin Petit after Barthélemy Roger

Portrait, engraving on paper

Purchased 2009

Dame Judith Anderson, 1962

Don Bachardy

Portrait, pen and ink and drybrush on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Naomi Watts

Naomi Watts (b. 1968), actress, was born in England and came to Australia from Wales at the age of fourteen.

1 portrait in the collection

Dame Judith Anderson AC DBE

Portrait, type C photograph on paper

Dame Judith Anderson AC DBE (1897–1992) was an Adelaide-born stage and film actress well known for her role as the sinister Mrs Danvers in Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940).

1 portrait in the collection

Dan Sultan, 2011

Martin Philbey

Purchased with funds provided by Ruth and Peter McMullin 2013

The Australian exploring expedition travelling through scrub (from the Illustrated London News 1879)

The Australian exploring expedition travelling through scrub (from the Illustrated London News 1879), 1876

The Illustrated London News after Jesse Young

Portrait, wood engraving on paper

Purchased 2010

Peter Steele

Portrait, inkjet print on paper

Father Peter Steele AM (1939-2012), poet and Jesuit Provincial, grew up in Perth, destined from youth for the priesthood.

1 portrait in the collection

Tim Fairfax AC, 2018

Russell Shakespeare

Commissioned with funds provided by The Calvert-Jones Foundation 2018

Jacques Miller, 2012

Dave Tacon

Portrait, type C photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Rayner Hoff

George Rayner Hoff (1894-1937), sculptor, was born in England and trained at the Royal College of Art, London.

2 portraits in the collection

Dan Sultan

Dan Sultan (b. 1983), Arrernte/Gurindji singer/songwriter, grew up in Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Joseph Darling

Joseph Darling (1870–1946) took up cricket in earnest while a student at Prince Alfred College in Adelaide and was fifteen when he set a new record for the highest innings (252) scored in South Australia.

2 portraits in the collection

Professor Paul Korner, 2011

Andrew Sullivan

Portrait, lithograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ann Korner, Nicholas Korner, Anthony Korner and Harriet Bingham 2015

Gooseberry, widow of King Bungaree, 1836

William Fernyhough

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Robert Edwards AO 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Harriet Schwarzrock: spaces between movement and stillness

10 February 2021

Archived media releases 2021

To celebrate the new exhibition Australian Love Stories, renowned Australian glass artist Harriet Schwarzrock has been commissioned to make a large-scale installation reflecting on the role the heart plays as our emotional centre.

Thomas and John Clarke, bushrangers, photographed in Braidwood Gaol

Thomas and John Clarke, bushrangers, photographed in Braidwood Gaol, 1867

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on laid down on a section cut from a nineteenth century album page

Purchased 2019

Ernest Giles

Portrait, oil and gold leaf on cedar panel

Ernest Giles (1835-1897), explorer, came to Australia at the age of fifteen, settling in Adelaide.

1 portrait in the collection

Acacius (Stigmata) - Tony Carden, 1991

AñA Wojak

Gift of Lesley Saddington 2015

Henry Crock AO

London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company

Henry 'Harry' Crock AO (1929-2018), surgeon and educator, attended school and university in Perth and studied further in Melbourne, where he won the Rector's Medal for Debating at Newman College as well as academic honours including the Gold Medal for Anatomy and the Ryan Scholarship and Medal in Medicine and Surgery.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Oswald Brierly, c. 1870

Portrait, pen and ink on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Barton and Watson, 1902

G. H. Dancey

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Video still from Dream Job, 2011 by David M Thomas

My dream job

Magazine article by David Thomas AM, 2012

Artist David M Thomas lists some of the ideas and influences behind his video portraits.

Joe Darling (Joseph Darling, member of the 1896 Australian Cricket Team), 1896

H Parker Rolfe

Portrait, albumen photograph on cabinet card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2014

John Cobley

John Cobley (1914-1989), doctor, historian and television host, studied at State schools, won a scholarship to the University of Sydney and graduated in medicine and science in 1937.

1 portrait in the collection

Tim Fairfax AC

Tim Fairfax AC (b.1946), company director, grazier and philanthropist, is a founding benefactor of the National Portrait Gallery and a former chair of its board of directors.

1 portrait in the collection

Lady Primrose Potter AC

Lady Primrose Potter AC was born in Sydney in 1931 and lives in Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Laurence Hartnett

Sir Lawrence Hartnett (1898-1986), automotive engineer, was born in Woking, Surrey.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Ian McLennan, c. 1978

Portrait, oil on board

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

David Lloyd Jones

Previous exhibition, 2010

David Lloyd Jones (1931–1961) was the great-grandson of the original David Jones – who founded the eponymous department store in Sydney in 1838 – and the eldest son of Sir Charles Lloyd Jones (1878–1958), who was chairman of David Jones Ltd from 1920 until his death.

1 portrait in the collection

National Youth Self Portrait Prize

NYSPP 2010

An annual event, the National Youth Self Portrait Prize seeks to encourage young people to embrace self portraiture and its expressive possibilities.

Sir Ian Potter, 1973

Portrait, oil on composition board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lady Primrose Potter 2006
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

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.

Anthony Charles Carden

Portrait, inkjet print on paper

Anthony Charles Carden (1961–1995), activist and actor, became interested in performance while a school student at Knox Grammar, Wahroonga.

1 portrait in the collection

Paul Cox, 2015

Jacqueline Mitelman

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

Xavier Herbert, early 1980s (printed 2018)

Jacqueline Mitelman

Portrait, inkjet print on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Right Rev Dr Lawrence Bonaventure Sheil OSF

Right Rev Dr Lawrence Bonaventure Sheil OSF, c. 1872

Bardwell's Royal Studio

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Milestones

This month I turn fifty, soI am just now looking rather more closely than usual at Fiona Foley, Steven Heathcote, Brenda Croft, Russell Crowe, Jeff Fenech, Akira Isogawa, Lee Kernaghan, My Le Thi, Shona Wilson and Mark Taylor AO, mindful that they too were 1964 arrivals.

Sir Oswald Brierly

Magazine article by India Bednall, 2015

Sir Oswald Brierly (1817–1894), marine painter and adventurer, studied art, naval architecture and navigation in England before his fascination with seafaring caused him to sign up as staff artist on the Wanderer – a schooner owned by entrepreneur Benjamin Boyd, who was about to embark on a round-the-world trip.

1 portrait in the collection

Dan the man

Martin Philbey’s portrait of Dan Sultan.

Peter Brew-Bevan Portraits

Previous exhibition, 2005

In this exhibition Sydney based photographer Peter Brew-Bevan brings together an intimate collection of works that highlight his passion for the genre of portraiture over the last 10 years

Rennie Ellis

Aussies All

Previous exhibition, 2006

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

Edward John Eyre, 1867

Julia Margaret Cameron

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on paper

Presented by Sir Roy Strong and the late Dr Julia Trevelyan Oman in memory of their friendship with Gordon Darling and Marilyn Darling 2006

Rosina Carandini, mid 1860s

Charles Hewitt

Previous exhibition, 2018

Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

Collection: Icons

Volume One

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.

The Fairfax Gift

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

This article examines the portraits gifted to the National Portrait Gallery by Fairfax Holdings in 2003.

Thomas Woolner

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

Marlene Rubuntja

Born in Alice Springs, Arrernte/Western Arrarnta woman Marlene Panankga Rubunjta (b.

3 portraits in the collection

Arthur T. Woodward

Arthur Thomas 'A T' Woodward (1865–1943), painter and art scholar, was born in Birmingham, England.

1 portrait in the collection

Fannie Carandini, mid 1860s

Charles Hewitt

NPPP 2012 learning resource

Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

Nikki Toole

An interview with the photographer.

Martha Mary Robertson, 1866

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Malcolm Robertson in memory of William Thomas Robertson 2018
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

William St. Leonards Robertson, c. 1869

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Malcolm Robertson in memory of William Thomas Robertson 2018
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Australians in Hollywood

Previous exhibition, 2003

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

Lionel Rose, World Champion Bantam Weight Boxer before departing to the USA to defend his title

The champs

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2008

Two lively portrait photographs reflect the agility of their subjects: world champion Australian sportsmen Lionel Rose and Anthony Mundine.

Icons

Parliament House

Touring exhibition, 2019

Nicholas Chevalier, c. 1867

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

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

Tim Fairfax, 2018

by Russell Shakespeare

Previous exhibition, 2006

Commissioned with funds provided by The Calvert-Jones Foundation 2018

Australian Visit

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.

Yu Hong

Featured Artists

Born 1966 in Beijing, China. Lives and works in Beijing.

Uncommon Australians

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Previous exhibition, 2015

This exhibition showcases portraits acquired through the generosity of the National Portrait Gallery’s Founding Patrons, L Gordon Darling AC CMG and Marilyn Darling AC.

Catholic clergymen from the Diocese of Adelaide

Catholic clergymen from the Diocese of Adelaide, c. 1862

Stephen Edward Nixon

Previous exhibition, 2023

Purchased 2018

Time and light

In Gallery Seven

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.

Private practice

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

David Smith portrayed Dr Henry Crock without the accoutrements of an orthopaedic surgeon, adding to the National Portrait Gallery's collection of eminent Australian medical practitioners.

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.

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.

First Ladies

Significant Australian Women 1913–2013

Previous exhibition, 2013

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

Dr Edward MacMahon, 1959 by William Dobell

Bill and Ted's excellent portrait.

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2016

Sarah Engledow on Messrs Dobell and MacMahon and the art of friendship.

Stigma stigmata

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2015

Angus Trumble provides poignant context for Aña Wojak’s portrait of Tony Carden.

Vanity fair

Magazine article by Ashleigh Wadman, 2012

Ashleigh Wadman rediscovers the Australian characters represented with a kindly touch by the British portrait artist Leslie Ward for the society magazine Vanity Fair.

The National Portrait Prizes

29 January 2020

Archived media releases 2020

The National Portrait Gallery today announced finalists for the inaugural Darling Portrait Prize, a national new $75,000 prize for Australian portrait painting, and released selected images from the final prize pool for the popular National Photography Portrait Prize.

Vintage Cassab

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

The oil portrait of Sir Frank Packer KBE by Judy Cassab was gifted to the National Portrait Gallery in 2006.

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.

Heartfelt

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

The portrait of Janet and Horace Keats with the spirit of the poet Christopher Brennan is brought to life by artist Dora Toovey.

Drawing inspiration

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2017

Christopher Chapman absorbs the gentle touch of Don Bachardy’s portraiture.

The mystery of Enoch Arden

Magazine article by Kylie Scroope, 2011

Tennyson's Enoch Arden was inspired by a story that Thomas Woolner passed on to him – but whose story and of whom?

Opening of the First Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia by H.R.H. The Duke of Cornwall and York, May 9, 1901, 1903 by Tom Roberts

Empire records

Celebrates the centenary of the first national art collection, the Historic Memorials Collection, housed at Australia's Parliament House.

Pre-Raphaelite Profile

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

In 2006 the National Portrait Gallery acquired a splendid portrait of Victoria's first governor, Lieutenant Governor Charles Joseph La Trobe by Thomas Woolner.

Louise Whelan

Finalist interviews

I met Kaloti Parmjit the day I took the photo. I first visited the Sikh temple in the suburb of Glenwood to take photos as part of a social documentary project I'm undertaking for the State Library of NSW.

Past, present, future, 2002 by Wang Qingsong
M+ Sigg Collection

Chinese Art

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2003

A short overview of modern Chinese art from 1949 to the present.

Mrs Cameron and the V&A

In March 2003 Magda Keaney travelled to London to join the photography section of the Victoria & Albert Museum for three months.

Face of South Sudan, 2012 by Melanie Faith Dove

NPPP 2013 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

Joanna Gilmour, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2013 Prize.

Surface tension

Joanna Gilmour on the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2013.

Apollo's breath

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2016

Christopher Chapman delights in the intimacy of Robert Mapplethorpe's photography

Miss Robertson of Colac (Dolly), 1885-86

Brothers on farms

Magazine article by Malcolm Robertson, 2011

Malcolm Robertson tells the family history of one of Australia's earliest patrons of the arts, his Scottish born great great great grandfather, William Robertson.

Indexing, the art of

The first index I created was for my first book, and, to my astonishment, that was almost twenty-five years ago.

Reflections

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2007

All that fall: Sacrifice, life and loss in the First World War exhibition co-curators Dr Anne Sanders and Dr Christopher Chapman reflect on the evolution of the Gallery’s Anzac Centenary exhibition.

Oz and beyond

Martin Sharp fulfils the Pop art idiom of merging art and life.

Some prime ministers

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2011

Sarah Engledow explores the history of the prime ministers and artists featured in the exhibition.

Staffordshire bull terrier belonging to the Rev. John Gower, 1851

Essential portraiture

Michael Desmond in conversation with University of Houston professor of philosophy Cynthia Freeland.

Mary (or Diana) Croker, mat woman, Colchester, 1823 by John Dempsey

Unknown drawer

Magazine article by Dr David Hansen, 2017

Dempsey’s People curator David Hansen chronicles a research tale replete with serendipity, adventure and Tasmanian tigers.

Queen Alexandra and Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia, Hvidore, circa 1908 by Mary Steen

The cost of living luxuriously

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2007

In 1904, the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia purchased as a gift for her sister, Queen Alexandra, a fan composed of two-color gold, guilloché enamel, mother-of-pearl, blond tortoiseshell, gold sequins, silk, cabochon rubies, and rose diamonds from the House of Fabergé in Saint Petersburg.

Head, hand, heart

An extensive selection of portraits by John Brack were on display at the National Portrait Gallery in late 2007.

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.

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.

Portrait of William Manning, c.1821 by Henry Bone

Of beef in burgundy

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2017

Angus Trumble reveals the complex technical mastery behind a striking recent acquisition, Henry Bone’s enamel portrait of William Manning.

Picture this...

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

This edited version of a speech by Andrew Sayers examines some of the antecedents of the National Portrait Gallery and set out the ideas behind the modern Gallery and its collection.

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.

Portrait of Elizabeth Gould with a raptor, possibly a red-footed falcon (Falco vespertinus), painted in her lifetime Artist unknown

Birds of a feather

Magazine article by Annette Twyman, 2021

Charting a path from cockatiel to finch, Annette Twyman explores her family portraits and stories.

You are who?

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

Joanna Gilmour reflects on merging collections and challenging traditional assumptions around portraiture in WHO ARE YOU.

The portrait writ large

Magazine article by Karen Vickery, 2015

Karen Vickery on Chang the Chinese giant in Australia.

Illuminating history

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2023

Joanna Gilmour reflects on 25 years of collecting at the 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.

Beguiling impressions

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2012

Sarah Engledow is seduced by the portraits and the connections between the artists and their subjects in the exhibition Impressions: Painting light and life.

What price self?

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2013

Jane Raffan investigates auction sales of self portraits nationally and internationally.

Getting a head

Magazine article by Alexandra Roginski, 2015

Alexandra Roginski gets a feel for phrenology’s fundamentals.

Madame Sibly, Phrenologist and Mesmerist

Sibly irresistible

Magazine article by Alexandra Roginski, 2019

Alexandra Roginski reveals a forceful feminist figure in the colonial period’s slippery science, phrenology.

Virginia Woolf, 1902 George Charles Beresford

Love my way

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2022

Inga Walton delves into the bohemian group of artists and writers who used each other as muses and transformed British culture.

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.

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Honour board

Studio portrait of Lord Kitchener, British Secretary of State for War, 1914 by J Russell & Sons

All the way with K of K

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2016

Sarah Engledow bristles at the biographers’ neglect of Kitchener’s antipodean intervention.

Christmas Island

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.

Forest Creek, Mount Alexander Diggings, 1852 by S. T. Gill

The Rothschilds, the Montefiores, and the Victorian Gold Rush

Some years ago my colleague Andrea Wolk Rager and I spent several days in the darkened basement of a Rothschild Bank, inspecting every one of the nearly 700 autochromes created immediately before World War I by the youthful Lionel de Rothschild.

Less than six degrees of separation

Lecture, 28 May 2011