Search / anna walker

Portrait, albumen print photograph, carte de visite format on paper on card

Anna Frances Walker (1830–1913), botanical artist and collector, was one of the thirteen children of Thomas Walker, a high-ranking colonial public servant, and his wife Anna Elizabeth, the daughter of merchant and landowner John Blaxland.

1 portrait in the collection

Anna Frances Walker, c. 1865

George Perry

Purchased 2022

Olly's Trolly, Freddie's Brushes, 1989

Murray Walker

Portrait, monoprint on paper

Gift of the artist 2001

Portrait of Johnson Pilton Walker, Inside the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, 25 Hours 31 minutes, 22-23rd of May 2009

Portrait of Johnson Pilton Walker, Inside the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, 25 Hours 31 minutes, 22-23rd of May 2009, 2009 (printed 2010)

Ingvar Kenne

Portrait, type C photographs on paper

Purchased with funds provided by the Circle of Friends 2009

Nic Walker

Nic Walker spent his early years in Cairo and Beijing with his father Tony Walker, a foreign correspondent.

1 portrait in the collection

Sue Walker

Sue Walker (b. 1936) is a weaver and arts administrator. After studying fine arts in Melbourne she began her professional career as a weaver in London.

1 portrait in the collection

Max Walker

Max Walker AM (1948–2016) was one of a small group of sportsmen to have played both senior VFL/AFL football and Test cricket.

1 portrait in the collection

Don Walker

Don Walker (b. 1951) is considered one of Australia's best songwriters.

1 portrait in the collection

Alex Perry, 2016

by Nic Walker

Adela R. Walker

Adela Russell Walker (1847–1932), the youngest of her parents' thirteen children, was born in Longford and was 22 when she married George Coleridge Nixon, who was the son of Francis Russell Nixon – an amateur artist and Anglican Bishop of Tasmania from 1843 to 1862.

1 portrait in the collection

Theresa Walker

Theresa Walker is acknowledged as Australia’s first female sculptor.

3 portraits in the collection

Kerry Walker AM

Kerry Walker AM, actor, graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1974 and made her professional stage debut in a melée in Act 1 of Romeo and Juliet with the Australian Ballet.

1 portrait in the collection

Anna Sande is a Victorian painter, photographer, curator and writer. With qualifications in art history and political science from the University of Melbourne, she was co-founder and joint co-ordinator of the Women's Art Register Extension Project, established at Carringbush Library in 1977 and now a substantial reference resource on women’s art work.

1 portrait in the collection

Anna Meares OAM

Anna Meares OAM (b. 1983) is both the youngest Australian track cyclist and first Australian female track cyclist to win an Olympic gold medal.

1 portrait in the collection

Anna Volska

by Anna Osk Erlingsdottir

Anna Volska (b. 1944), actor, came from Poland to Australia with her mother when she was seven.

1 portrait in the collection

Anna Meares

In their own words

Recorded 2018

Solitude, 2006

The Capability, 2017

by Anna Sinclair

My room, 2015

by Anna Sinclair

Karl Fender, 2019

Anna Minardo

We make do in hard lockdown

Anna Kiparis

My father

Anna Gottlieb

My daddy has dementia, he rests a lot

Anna Macak

Don Walker, 2006

by Nathan David Kelly

Max Walker, 1976 (printed 2010)

Bruce Postle

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by James Bain AM and Janette Bain 2010

Sue Walker, 1977

Lewis Morley

Portrait, inkjet print on paper

Gift of the artist 2003. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Don Walker, Songwriter, 2021

Mark Lang

Gift of the artist 2023

Don Watson, 2002

Anna Sande

Portrait, oil on canvas board

Gift of the artist 2004

Kerry Walker, c. 1979

Stuart Campbell

Portrait, albumen print photograph, carte de visite format on paper on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Estate of Stuart Campbell 2012

Adela Russell Walker, 1864

William P. Dowling

Purchased 2022

Lloyd Rees, 1973

Robert Walker

'Come along for the ride'

Purchased 1999

Sir George Grey, c. 1845

Theresa Walker

Portrait, cast wax

Purchased 1999

Anna Meares and Narelle Autio

Portrait story

Champion track cyclist, Anna Meares, discusses her portrait with artist Narelle Autio.

Anna Pavlova, 1926

Harold Cazneaux

Portrait, inkjet print on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Anna Meares, 2018

Narelle Autio

Commissioned with funds provided by King & Wood Mallesons 2018

Anna Culliton

Anna Culliton never had a colouring-in book when she was little. Her parents –Tony, a filmmaker, and Stephanie, a painter – wouldn’t let her have one. Instead, they insisted on her drawing her own pictures to colour-in.

Anna Volska, n.d.

Stuart Campbell

Portrait, watercolour and gouache on ivory

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Estate of Stuart Campbell 2012

Anna Josepha King, c. 1826-1832

an unknown artist

Purchased 2018

Stan Grant and Tracey Holmes

Nic Walker

Portrait, archival pigment print on Canson Edition Etching cotton rag paper

Stan Grant and Tracey Holmes, 2020

Nic Walker

Gift of the artist 2021

Dame Elisabeth Murdoch

'Weaving the Dame'

Portrait story

An interview with Victorian Tapestry Workshop artists Sue Walker and Christopher Pyett.

Mrs Grey, c. 1845

Theresa Walker

Portrait, cast wax

Purchased 1999

Sir John Franklin, c. 1846

Theresa Walker after David D'Angers

Portrait, cast wax

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Thinking about architecture and portraiture

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

Dr Christopher Chapman describes the experimental exhibition Portraits + Architecture

Johnson Pilton Walker

Sydney-based practice Johnson Pilton Walker designed the new National Portrait Gallery building.

Anna Wintour

Alex Katz

Anna

Matthew Newton

Kath Walker (Oodgeroo Noonuccal), 1965

Clif Peir

Portrait, oil on board

Gift of Richard Brian Close, Githabul people, Woodenbong 2000. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

An example of the wheelchairs available at the Gallery

Book a wheelchair or walker

Access

Wheelchairs and walkers are available at no charge. Please ask our friendly staff at the Information Desk or book here online. Wheelchair access is available in our public spaces, with lift access from the underground to the public ground level.

Anna Meares, 2018

by Narelle Autio

Commissioned with funds provided by King & Wood Mallesons 2018

Anna May Wong

Dorothy Wilding

Kath Walker part one

In their own words

Recorded 1976

Untitled, 2013

by Brett Walker

Finalist, MDPA 2013

Kath Walker part two

In their own words

Recorded 1976

The spirit walker, 2017

by Alex Ellinghausen

Kath Walker (Oodgeroo Noonuccal) and Lowitja O’Donoghue at the opening of the inaugural National Aboriginal Conference, Canberra

Kath Walker (Oodgeroo Noonuccal) and Lowitja O’Donoghue at the opening of the inaugural National Aboriginal Conference, Canberra, 1978 (printed 2014)

Mervyn Bishop

Purchased 2015

Téa-Anna Parvathy Murrin – Australian cultural identity

Franca Turrin

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

by Bridget Walker

Finalist, iD2012

Mamma och Mormor

Teva Cosic

Men of the Day No. 25 "Baronet or butcher" (Sir Roger Doughty Tichborne), 1871

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

First Conservative Whip (Sir Alexander Fuller-Acland-Hood Bart MP)

First Conservative Whip (Sir Alexander Fuller-Acland-Hood Bart MP), 1903

Gift of Ronald Walker 2002

Statesmen No. 83 "By birth a man, by inheritance a Marquis and a Governor by his Sovereign's favour, he fills all his positions with credit" (Marquis of Normanby), 1871

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

New South Wales (Earl of Jersey Victor Albert George Child-Villiers)

New South Wales (Earl of Jersey Victor Albert George Child-Villiers), 1890

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

The Cape High Commissioner (Sir Henry Brougham Loch)

The Cape High Commissioner (Sir Henry Brougham Loch), 1894

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

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

Julius Mendes Price, Vanity Fair Magazine

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

W. A. (Sir John Forrest), 1897

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

The Australian Commonwealth (Henry Stafford Northcote)

The Australian Commonwealth (Henry Stafford Northcote), 1904

Alick Ritchie, Vanity Fair Magazine

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

Kismet (Mr Oscar Asche), 1912-1913

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

Maurice Felton

Maurice Appleby Felton (1803-1842) arrived in Sydney with his wife and four children in late 1839 as surgeon to the immigrant ship the Royal Admiral.

3 portraits in the collection

Closer to Heaven, 2013

by Molly Harris

Oodgeroo Noonuccal

Previous exhibition, 2009

Oodgeroo Noonuccal (1920–1993), formerly Kath Walker, was a Quandamooka woman, activist, poet, writer and educator.

5 portraits in the collection

Portraits + Architecture

This exhibition explores creative process and identity.

Before hand

The private life of a portrait

Previous exhibition, 2020

Revealing the backstories behind the NPG collection, Before hand features interviews with artists and sitters as well as working drawings, scrapbooks, sketches and footage taken in artists’ studios and out on location.

The Popular Pet Show

Previous exhibition, 2016

This exhibition expresses the joy and warmth that many of us derive from our animal companions, and celebrates their trusting, unpretentious ways, with portraits of Australians and their furry, feathered and fluffy friends.

The Pavlova

It is a painful truth, but one which must be faced up to, that the pavlova, that iconic Australian dessert, a staple since the 1930s, was actually invented in New Zealand.

Darling Portrait Prize 2024

Upcoming exhibition

The Darling Portrait Prize is a biennial national prize for Australian portrait painting honouring the legacy of Mr L Gordon Darling AC CMG (1921-2015). The winner receives a cash prize of $75,000.

The Tangles

Moustaches

According to an 1981 Australian Women’s Weekly profile of fast bowler Dennis Lillee, a moustache was a ‘compulsory’ accessory for sportsmen.

Small Holdings (The Earl Carrington Baron Charles Robert Carrington)

Small Holdings (The Earl Carrington Baron Charles Robert Carrington), 1907

Gift of Ronald Walker 2002

Tony Clark

Canberra-born artist Tony Clark moved to London with his family in 1960.

1 portrait in the collection

Jessie Whyte

Jessie Whyte (née Walker, 1779–1864). Born in Berwickshire, Scotland, Jessie married George Whyte (d.

1 portrait in the collection

The Lord Chamberlain (Earl of Hopetoun John Adrian Louis Hope)

The Lord Chamberlain (Earl of Hopetoun John Adrian Louis Hope), 1900

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Statesmen No. 20 "A Returned Colonist" (Rt Hon. Hugh C.E. Childers), 1869

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Australia (The Hon. Alfred Deakin), 1908

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

Sir Robert Helpmann CBE

Sir Robert Helpmann CBE (1909–1986) was a dancer, actor and choreographer.

3 portraits in the collection

Sydney (Sir Daniel Cooper), 1882

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Dan (Sir Daniel Cooper), 1890s

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

a squatter (Sir Samuel Wilson), 1885

Portrait, pastel and chalk on paper laid down on cotton over Cedar strainer

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Jessie Whyte, c. 1840

Thomas Bock

Purchased 2017

Phil (Phil May), 1895

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Richard Johnson 23 May 2009 3:07PM

Ingvar Kenne

John Gaden AM

Sir Leslie Ward, Hentschel-Colourtype, Vanity Fair Magazine

John Gaden AM (b. 1941), actor, studied arts and law at the University of Sydney, but when he joined the Sydney University Players, he abandoned his other pursuits for the stage.

1 portrait in the collection

Frank Wootton, c. 1908

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

Police (Lieut Colonel Edmund Yeamans Walcott Henderson)

Police (Lieut Colonel Edmund Yeamans Walcott Henderson), 1875

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Sir Robert Helpmann, c. 1965 (printed 2015)

Jozef Vissel

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Jozef Vissel 2015

Rosemary Dobson, 1981

Max Dupain OBE

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

Nothing black and white about the Greys

It's Complicated

Marriage: a prolonged disaster

Will Dyson

Portrait, albumen silver photograph

Will (William Henry) Dyson, cartoonist, caricaturist, writer and draughtsman, was born in Alfredtown, near Ballarat, and studied for a short time in Melbourne, where he worked closely with his older brother Ambrose.

11 portraits in the collection

First High Court of Australia, c. 1903

an unknown artist

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

International Penny Postage (Mr John Henniker Heaton MP)

International Penny Postage (Mr John Henniker Heaton MP), 1887

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

Gift of Ronald Walker 2002

Intense identity

Dr Chistopher Chapman discusses the portrait of Australian author Christos Tsiolkas taken by John Tsiavis.

New South Wales (Earl Beauchamp), 1899

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

Friendship’s rhyme and reason

Nearest & Dearest

Poetic trio

Gordon Darling Hall, National Portrait Gallery

Architecture

About us

Natural light and human proportions – the design by Johnson Pilton Walker

Oodgeroo of the Noonuccal Tribe, 1992 (printed 2009)

George Fetting

Portrait, montage of gelatin silver photographs on paper

Gift of the artist 2010

Robert Helpmann, 1969

David Moore

Purchased 1998

Oodgeroo Noonuccal at Moongalba, 1982

Juno Gemes

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Purchased 2004

Oodgeroo Noonuccal at Moongalba Stradbroke Island (her sitting down place)1982

Oodgeroo Noonuccal at Moongalba Stradbroke Island (her sitting down place)1982, 1982

Juno Gemes

Gift of the artist 2009

Jane Campion DNZM

Jane Campion DNZM (b. 1954), director, producer and screenwriter, is the first woman to win the Palme d'Or at Cannes and the second woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, both for her acclaimed film The Piano (1993).

1 portrait in the collection

Angelica Mesiti

Artists and Collectives

Internationally renowned, Paris-based artist Angelica Mesiti creates video installations that are absorbing and profound experiences for audiences.

Jimmy Barnes AO

Moses Griffith after John Lewin

Jimmy Barnes AO (b. 1956), singer/songwriter, is a solo performer and the former lead singer of the quintessential Australian pub band, Cold Chisel.

3 portraits in the collection

Yango Mungo ye Yango of Bathurst's Plains

Yango Mungo ye Yango of Bathurst's Plains, 1824

Portrait, copper engraving, hand coloured on paper

Purchased 2011

Kate Fitzpatrick, 1983

William Yang

Purchased 2003

Westralia (Mr Albert Frederick Calvert), 1895

Gift of Ronald Walker 2002

Sir William Northam CBE

Australian Tapestry Workshop, Merrill Dumbrell, Christopher Pyett, Normana Wight

Sir William Northam CBE (1905-1988), yachtsman, won the gold medal in the 5.5 m class event at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, 2000

Portrait, warp: cotton No.12 seinetwine; weft: wool and cotton

Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2000

Australia (Sir Edmund Barton), 1902

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Marilyn Rowe AM OBE

Previous exhibition, 2003

Marilyn Rowe AM OBE (b. 1946), former prima ballerina, was the first graduate of The Australian Ballet School to become its director.

2 portraits in the collection

Icons Syndicate

Lists alphabetically

Honour board

Headspace 4

Facing Memory

Facing Memory: Headspace 4 provides us with valuable insights into the thoughts, creative processes and art-making practices of secondary students from Year 7 to Year 12 from sixty-two schools in the Australian Capital Territory, regional New South Wales and Victoria

Oz Punk

Sends a permanent shiver down my spine

In 1976, without having been blooded on the Sydney or Melbourne pub circuit, The Saints recorded a single – ‘(I’m) Stranded’ – earning them the distinction of releasing a punk single before The Sex Pistols did.

Johnny Day

Previous exhibition, 2000

‘The Australian Wonder’, Johnny Day (1856–1885), was an undefeated world-champion juvenile walker.

1 portrait in the collection

Sporting Archibald

Celebrating the focus on sport during 2000, this special exhibition features our national sporting heroes and heroines immortalised on canvas

Master Johnny Day, Australian Champion Pedestrian, c. 1866

an unknown artist

Portrait, albumen photograph carte de visite

Purchased 2014

Peter Goldsworthy AM

Peter Goldsworthy AM (b. 1951), medical doctor and writer, was born in Minlaton, South Australia, and grew up in various country towns as his father, a school teacher, moved for work.

2 portraits in the collection

Maria Kozic

Maria Kozic (b. 1957), painter and sculptor, and Philip Brophy (b. 1959), film director, composer, performer and curator, collaborated in the avant-garde performance/happening group ??? (spoken as tsk tsk tsk) and other projects between 1977 and the mid-1980s.

1 portrait in the collection

2022 Annual Appeal

Annual Appeal

In 2022 the Annual Appeal was focussed on Mayatjara by Robert Fielding, a series of 24 photographs of Elders of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara community.

Fame or celebrity?

A question lately cropped up in connection with Madame Melba as to whether fame and celebrity are not essentially the same thing. My feeling is that they are different.

Phillip Brophy

Previous exhibition, 2018

1 portrait in the collection

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018

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.

Shaun Gladwell

Portrait, inkjet print on paper

Shaun Gladwell (b. 1972), new-media artist, photographer and painter, gained his qualifications in art at Sydney College of the Arts and the University of New South Wales.

1 portrait in the collection

Maria Kozic and Philip Brophy 1, 1981, 1981 (printed 2012)

Robert Rooney

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

David Mitchell

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2009

David Mitchell (1829-1916), builder, contractor and businessman, arrived in Melbourne in mid-1852 in the Anna.

1 portrait in the collection

In the round

Andrew Sayers outlines the highlights of the National Portrait Gallery's display of portrait sculpture.

Animation 1 from the series Hereinbefore, 2012 by Laura Moore

iD Digital Portraiture Award winner announced

2 August 2012

Archived media releases 2012

The inaugural winner of the $10,000 iD Digital Portraiture Award was announced this morning at the National Portrait Gallery.

Studio portrait of servicewoman Lance Corporal Kathleen Jean Mary (Kath) Walker, c.1942

Past present

Magazine article by Krysia Kitch, 2016

Krysia Kitch celebrates Oodgeroo Noonuccal.

Pets of all types take over the National Portrait Gallery

3 November 2016

Archived media releases 2016

It is not every day that a national gallery turns its walls over to the animal companions that bring unconditional love and joy to their owners but this summer we have opened the doors to 15 contemporary artists with very different ways of depicting our furry, feathered and scaled pets.

HM Queen Elizabeth II, 2001

Polly Borland

Archived media releases 2013

Purchased 2002

Annual Appeal

Listed by year

Honour board

Our only concern is the void, 2013 by Nik Lee, video: 12 minutes

Macquarie Digital Portraiture Award media information

28 August 2013

The National Portrait Gallery recently announced the finalists for the Macquarie Digital Portraiture Award 2013.

The National Portrait Gallery building in twilight

On a human scale

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2006

The design concepts behind the new National Portrait Gallery building in Canberra.

National Portrait Gallery unveils twenty new portrait commissions to celebrate twenty years

18 October 2018

Archived media releases 2018

The National Portrait Gallery has unveiled twenty new portrait commissions of Australian leaders and individualists as part of its twentieth birthday celebrations in a new exhibition, 20/20: Celebrating twenty years with twenty new portrait commissions.

Jemima Bellette

Previous exhibition, 2003

George Billett (also Bellett, Bellette and Billet, 1812–1885) was a farmer and landowner, an early settler of Sorell in Tasmania, and the son of two ex-convicts.

1 portrait in the collection

Max Dupain

The Vintage Years

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

Dancer

Hosting a touring exhibition

From letting loose in the loungeroom to enthralling audiences on stage, this exhibition celebrates dance and dancers.

Nicholas Harding

28 Portraits

Previous exhibition, 2017

Nicholas Harding: 28 portraits features paintings of Robert Drewe, John Bell and Hugo Weaving alongside gorgeously coloured recent oil portraits, delicate gouaches and bold ink and charcoal drawings.

Little women

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

Joanna Gilmour looks beyond the ivory face of select portrait miniatures to reveal their sitters’ true grit.

To Look Within

Self Portraits in Australia

Previous exhibition, 2004

This exhibition is the first comprehensive survey of self-portraits in Australia, from the colonial period to the present

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.

2015-17 Acquisition Fund

Annual Appeal

From 2015 to 2017 the Acquisition Fund was focussed on Reg Richardson AM by Mitch Cairns, a finalist in the Archibald Prize 2014, and a great example of minimalist portraiture.

Charles Blondin, 1874

Timothy Noble

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Visiting at a quiet time

Visual Stories

Access support for visitors with sensory sensitivities or autism.

George Bellette

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

George Billett (also Bellett, Bellette and Billet, 1812–1885) was a farmer and landowner, an early settler of Sorell in Tasmania, and the son of two ex-convicts.

1 portrait in the collection

Is the truth of portraiture vested exclusively in likeness?

Curator Michael Desmond introduces the exhibition Truth and Likeness, an investigation of the importance of likeness to portraiture.

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa

Husbands and Wives

Photographic Portraits from 19th Century Australia

Previous exhibition, 2010

'I have just been to my dressing case to take a peep at you.

Icons

Parliament House

Touring exhibition, 2019

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.

Australian Love Stories

4 January 2021

Archived media releases 2021

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

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Honour board

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

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.

Krystal Seigerman

Finalist interviews

The photograph was a brief, candid moment, which unfolded into a portrait. Peter and I were in Silverton, NSW, chatting as our students explored the town. The weak afternoon light suddenly became dramatic and defined, so I asked Peter if I could take his portrait.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018

8 March 2018

Archived media releases 2018

Images for media use will be available from 8 March 2018.

Stevie

Magazine article by Gregory McBean, 2005

Gregory McBean writes about photographing recent ARIA Hall of Fame inductee, singer Stevie Wright.

More cash than dash

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2011

Joanna Gilmour describes how colonial portraitists found the perfect market among social status seeking Sydneysiders.

L. Gordon Darling AC CMG

31 August 2015

Archived media releases 2015

The Chairman, Board, Director and all the Staff of the National Portrait Gallery mourn the loss of our Founding Patron, who died peacefully in Melbourne this morning. He was 94.

Vincent Brady leading anti Bicentenary Protest, Brisbane, 1987 Michael Aird

Activating the space

Magazine article by Sandra Phillips, 2020

Sandra Phillips on portraits of Indigenous activism from Cairns Art Gallery’s 2019 Queen’s Land Blak Portraiture exhibition.

The 1950s to the present day

Mo and beard timeline

Certain European leaders (needless to name) had the effect of making certain styles of facial hair decidedly undesirable in the years immediately after World War 2.

Jim Cobb at Chroma factory Mt Kuring-gai, NSW, 2017 by Mark Mohell

The alchemist’s profile

Magazine article by John Zubrzycki, 2017

John Zubrzycki meets Australian paint pioneer Jim Cobb.

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.

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.

The Writer: Peter Goldsworthy, 2018

by Deidre But-Husaim

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Commissioned with funds provided by Jillian Broadbent AO and Dr Helen Nugent AO 2018.

Relaxed mornings

Visual Stories

Access support for a visiting the Gallery before the general 10:00am opening time.

Uncommon Australians

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.

Nicholas Harding

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

Over the years the young Nicholas Harding got his hands on various mice and guinea pigs, but they served mainly to illustrate the concept of mortality.

Sideshow Alley

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.

Louis Claude de Saulces de Freycinet

NPPP 2012 learning resource

Louis-Claude Desaulses de Freycinet (1779–1842), hydrographer and cartographer, sailed with Nicolas Baudin on the Expédition aux terres australes, a journey of discovery, commissioned by Napoléon, to the unknown southern coast of New Holland.

1 portrait in the collection

Anthony Anderton

An interview with the photographer.

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.

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.

About grace

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2020

Penelope Grist finds philanthropy and fashion underpin the story of Susan Wakil AO.

Study for Aunty Mary King, 2010 by Mathew Lynn

The animating signature

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

Joanna Gilmore delights in the affecting drawings of Mathew Lynn.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2023

Learning resources

We encourage you to look, to feel, to think, to question and most importantly, to identify and connect.

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.

In the mirror: self portrait with Joy Hester

Spring exhibition program

18 August 2020

Archived media releases 2020

The following on-line and physical exhibitions are planned to open at the National Portrait Gallery in coming months. For those who can’t travel at present, selected works from all exhibitions will be included online

Shakespeare to Winehouse: Icons from the National Portrait Gallery, London

Announcing Shakespeare to Winehouse

24 November 2021

Archived media releases 2021

More than eighty treasures from the National Portrait Gallery London will travel to Canberra for a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from March 2022.

Eating the seasons

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2019

Anne Sanders imbibes Tony Bilson’s gastronomic revolution.

Cormac + Callum Kenne, My Children, Sydney, Australia, 2009

Citizen Kenne

Magazine article by April Thompson, 2013

April Thompson explores an exhibition of Ingvar Kenne’s global portrait project.

20/20 launch speech

Magazine article by Sandra Phillips, 2010

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

Exposed: Voyeurism Surveillance and the camera since 1870

The Tate/SFMOMA exhibition Exposed examined the role of photography in voyeurism and how it challenges ideas of privacy and propriety.

Vivan Sundaram

by Rakhee Balaram

Artist essays

Born in 1943 in Simla, Vivan Sundaram’s long career has given him opportunities to work in a range of mediums – painting, installation, assemblage, photography, digital media and film.

The long game

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2020

Penelope Grist spends some quality time with the Portrait Gallery’s summer collection exhibition, Eye to Eye.

Lucy Culliton

Most well-regarded pictures of chickens show them dead. A reliable way to tell if a chicken in a painting is dead is to check if it’s hanging upside down, because unlike, say, cockatoos, chickens don’t practise inversion for enjoyment in life.

NPPP 2016 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

Penny Grist, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2016 Prize.

Flash mob

Sarah Engledow trains her exacting lens on the nine photographs from 20/20.

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

The cost of living luxuriously

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

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.

Each morning when I wake up I put on my mothers face, 2000

Paths to portraiture

The life and art of Australian artist Jenny Sages is on display in the exhibition Paths to Portraiture.

In the galleries

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

Christopher Chapman highlights the inaugural hang of the new National Portrait Gallery building which opened in December 2008.

Painting writing

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2007

Dr Sarah Engledow explores the portraits of writers held in the National Portrait Gallery's collection.

Marian Anderson, contralto, New York, June 30, 1955 Richard Avedon

The right note

Magazine article by Leslie Ureña, 2020

Marian Anderson’s glorious voice thrust her into stardom, and a more reluctant role as American civil rights pioneer.

Mia Wasikowska as Robyn Davidson at Hamelin Pool, 2013 by Matt Nettheim

Hump days

Magazine article by Jessica Bolton, 2017

Jessica Bolton navigates the parallel tracks documenting Robyn Davidson’s astonishing journey.

Fine and dandy

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

Whether the result of misadventure or misdemeanour, many accomplished artists were transported to Australia where they ultimately left a positive mark on the history of art in this country.

A nose by any other name

Magazine article by Jane Kinsman, 2013

In the exhibition William Kentridge: Drawn from Africa at the National Gallery of Australia, the artist marries Gogol's Tsarist Russia, with that of Stalin and the damaging history of his homeland, South Africa.

Profile of a marriage

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

Dr Sarah Engledow explores the lives of Sir George Grey and his wife Eliza, the subjects of a pair of wax medallions in the National Portrait Gallery's collection.

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.

‘Untitled’ - Yellow Kangaroo Paw, 2008 by Christian Thompson

The 'I' in Indigenous art

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2013

Jane Raffan examines unique styles of Indigenous portraiture that challenge traditional Western concepts of the artform.

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.

Kristin Headlam

Magazine article by Alexandra Roginski, 2015

Basil grew into a speckled beauty – a long-legged leaper and an exceptionally vocal dog, with a great register of sounds, ascending in shock value from a whimper to a growl to a bark to a yelp that’s a violation of the ears.

Getting a head

Alexandra Roginski gets a feel for phrenology’s fundamentals.

A spectral sentience

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2019

Aimee Board reveals method, motivation and mortality in the portraiture of Rod McNicol.

History

About us

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

Nicholas Harding: 28 Portraits

Exhibition essay

NPPP 2014 exhibition essay

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

The Art Lovers - Megan, 2013 by Gary Grealy

Everybody, look serious

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Dr Sarah Engledow, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2014 Prize.

Uncommon Australians

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

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.

Christmas Island