Search / anton cook

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Gina and Ted Gregg 2010

Plenty, 2009

by Anton Perry

Samantha Cook

Samantha Cook is a Nyikina woman from the north-west Kimberley region of Western Australia who is based between Los Angeles and Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Thomas Cook

Thomas Cook produced portraits for the Gentleman's Magazine and frontispieces for book publishers, as well as a number of single plates in different genres for Boydell.

1 portrait in the collection

Yassmin Abdel-Magied, 2017

by Adrian Cook

Magazine article by Robert Cook, 2018

Snap decisions

NPPP judge Robert Cook provides irreverent insight into this year’s fare, and having to be a bit judgemental.

Captain Cook's Tablet at Cape Solander, Botany Bay, New South Wales

Captain James Cook RN

James Cook (1728-1779), maritime explorer, surveyed and claimed the east coast of Australia on the first of his three great voyages of discovery in the Pacific.

12 portraits in the collection

Billy Cook and Pride of Egypt, 1954

Ern McQuillan OAM

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2004

Samantha Cook, c. 2000

Penny Tweedie

Gift of the artist 2004

Kylie and Nell

Adrian Cook

Portrait of Captain James Cook RN, 1782

John Webber

'The photojournalists of their time'

Purchased by the Commonwealth Government with the generous assistance of Robert Oatley AO and John Schaeffer AO 2000

Captain Cook

Portrait story

An exploration of the role of artists such as John Webber who, whilst a member of Cook’s crew over many voyages, created paintings and drawings of the situations and people the explorers encountered.

Jasperware medallion of Captain James Cook

Jasperware medallion of Captain James Cook, 1779

Wedgwood and Bentley

Portrait, white on blue Jasper Ware in oval shaped wood and gilt frame

Purchased with funds provided by Robert Oatley AO 2007

The Royal Society medal in commemoration of Captain James Cook

The Royal Society medal in commemoration of Captain James Cook, 1784

Lewis Pingo

Portrait, silver medal

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Robert Oatley AO 2007

The hand of Captain Cook

Google Arts and Culture

Learning resources

Take a close look at a portrait with a hidden message in its hands. For Year 7 – 9 students.

Le Cap.ne Jacques Cook, Membre de la Société Royale des Londres

Le Cap.ne Jacques Cook, Membre de la Société Royale des Londres, c. 1778

Robert Bénard

An interview with Betty Churcher

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Gina and Ted Gregg 2010

'The portraits of Captain Cook'

Portrait story

Betty Churcher describes the creation of the portrait of Captain James Cook in the National Portrait Gallery.

Captain Cook's Tablet at Cape Solander, Botany Bay, New South Wales, 1839

G E. Madeley after John Lhotsky

Portrait, lithograph on paper

Purchased 2018

View of Owhyhee in the Sandwich Islands in the south Seas (The Death of Cook)

View of Owhyhee in the Sandwich Islands in the south Seas (The Death of Cook), 1787-1788

Francis Jukes after John Cleveley

Portrait, aquatint, hand coloured on paper

Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family 2012

Captain James Cook, engraving after John Webber

Captain James Cook, engraving after John Webber, 1784

Francesco Bartolozzi after John Webber

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2007

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Robert Oatley AO 2007

Cook in context

Robert Oatley's continuing benefaction has helped the National Portrait Gallery acquire works that add another layer to the story of Captain Cook.

Capturing Cook

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2003

In focussing on the importance of gifts in the building of the collection, prominence must be given to the most spectacular of the National Portrait Gallery's acquisitions; the portrait of Captain James Cook RN by John Webber R.A.

Cook, n.d.

an unknown artist after Antoine Maurin

Portrait, engraving, hand coloured on paper

Gift of Ted and Gina Gregg 2012

The Quiet Australian

Magazine article by Brian Dale, 2001

Robert Oatley talks about the repatriation of the John Webber portrait of Captain James Cook.

Thrown together

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

Shipmates for years, James Cook and Joseph Banks each kept a journal but neither man shed light on their relationship.

The Death of Captain Cook, 1784

Francesco Bartolozzi, William Byrne after John Webber

William Holl, Fisher, Son & Co London after Nathaniel Dance

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Robert Oatley AO 2007

Captain James Cook, 1837

William Holl, Peter Jackson, London & Paris after Nathaniel Dance

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

Captain James Cook from the original in the Naval Gallery, Greenwich Hospital

Captain James Cook from the original in the Naval Gallery, Greenwich Hospital, c. 1837

Portrait, oil on composition board

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

Self portrait, c. 1930

Percy Leason

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Anton Cook 2009

James King (c. 1750-1784), naval officer, was born in Lancashire and educated at Clitheroe Grammar School before entering the navy in 1762.

1 portrait in the collection

Lawrence Daws

When John Webber R.A. (c. 1752-1793), the son of a Swiss sculptor, living in London, submitted his work to the Royal Academy Schools, one of the first to admire his paintings was Dr Daniel Solander, the Swedish naturalist who had accompanied Cook and Banks on the first voyage.

1 portrait in the collection

John Webber

5 portraits in the collection

Ignatius Jones, Jimmy and the Boys. Captain Cook Uni Bar, 30 December 1979

'pling

Ignatius Jones, Jimmy and the Boys. Captain Cook Uni Bar, 30 December 1979

'pling

Jimmy and the Boys, Captain Cook Uni Bar, 30 December 1979. (Ignatius Jones - vocals)

'pling

William Daniell after George Dance

William Hodges RA, 1808 (dated 1810)

Portrait, etching on paper

Purchased 2010

Captain James King, engraving after Webber, 1784

Francesco Bartolozzi after John Webber

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Robert Oatley AO 2007

Omai

an unknown artist after Sir Joshua Reynolds

Omai (Mai) (c. 1750-1778), the first Polynesian to visit Britain, was a young man of middling social standing who volunteered to sail from Huahine to England with Captain Furneaux on the Adventure (the ship accompanying James Cook's Resolution on Cook's second voyage of discovery (1772-1775).

2 portraits in the collection

Portrait of Dr John Hawkesworth, c. 1770

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family 2018

Daniel Solander

Daniel Solander (1733-1782), naturalist, was a student of Carl Linnaeus, the Swede who devised and systemised the classification of plants and animals used today.

3 portraits in the collection

Johnny, 2006

by Sean Hobbs

James Caldwall after William Hodges

Omai, 1777

Portrait, copper-line engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Portrait of Dr Johann Reinhold Forster and his son George Forster

Portrait of Dr Johann Reinhold Forster and his son George Forster, c. 1780

Jean Francois Rigaud

December 2001 - February 2002

Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family, the Ian Potter Foundation and John Schaeffer AO 2009

Portrait 2

Magazine

This issue of Portrait Magazine features David Moore, Midnight Oil, Dr Joan Croll by John Brack, the acquisition of the Captain Cook portrait, and more.

Jacob Nash

Jacob Nash (born 1982) is a Daly River artist and designer and was Head of Design at Bangarra Dance Theatre between 2010 and 2023, working on over 20 productions.

2 portraits in the collection

Portrait 31

March - May 2009

Magazine

This issue features the new National Portrait Gallery building, James Cook and John Banks, Cate Blanchett, Irina Baranova, Annette Kellerman, Shepard Fairey and more.

Robert Bénard

Robert Bénard engraved, or directed the engraving of, at least 1800 plates for Diderot's groundbreaking Encyclopédie, published between 1751 and 1772.

1 portrait in the collection

William Hodges

John Raphael Smith after Sir Benjamin West

William Hodges (1744-1797) trained from an early age at William Shipley's drawing school at Castle Court in the Strand, and was afterward apprenticed to a landscape painter.

3 portraits in the collection

Sir Joseph Banks, c. 1788

Portrait, mezzotint on paper

Purchased 2010

Mr Robert Oatley AO

Portrait, copper-line engraving on paper

Robert Oatley AO (1928–2016), businessman, was one of Australia’s most successful wine industry figures.

Dr Solander, 1772

an unknown artist

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

New South Wales State Repatriation Board

Arthur Vernon

Arthur Vernon was the general secretary of the United Labourers’ Protective Society, a delegate to the Sydney Labour Council, a member of the Eight Hours committee, and a Labour alderman of the city for Cook ward.

1 portrait in the collection

Gav & Ray, 2007

by Richard Walker

Maggie Beer AO and Del Kathryn Barton

In Conversation

Watch

Join us with Maggie Beer AO, cook restaurateur and businesswoman and Del Kathryn Barton, artist, in celebration of the National Portrait Gallery's most recent commissioned portrait, Maggie, 2023 by Del Kathryn Barton.

Omai, A Native of Ulaietea, 1774

Francesco Bartolozzi after Nathaniel Dance

Valentine Green after Johann Zoffany

Purchased with funds provided by Robert Oatley AO 2007

John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, c. 1774

Portrait, mezzotint on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Maggie Beer AO

Maggie Beer AO (b. 1945) is a cook, restaurateur, businesswoman and media personality.

1 portrait in the collection

1967, 2019

Dave Laslett

Johann Reinhold Forster

Johann Reinhold Forster (1729-1798), German/Scottish naturalist and writer, began his career as a pastor near Danzig.

1 portrait in the collection

Alexander Dalrymple

Previous exhibition, 2006

Alexander Dalrymple (1737-1808), hydrographer and writer, began work with the East India Company in Madras in 1752.

1 portrait in the collection

Kenneth Binns

In their own words

Recorded 1967

Portraits for Posterity

Drawn from some of the many donations made to the Gallery's collection, the exhibition Portraits for Posterity pays homage both to the remarkable (and varied) group of Australians who are portrayed in the portraits and the generosity of the many donors who have presented them to the Gallery.

Sir Benjamin West

Benjamin West (1738-1820), an American painter, arrived in England in 1763 after a Grand Tour in Italy and soon won acclaim.

1 portrait in the collection

Antoine Maurin

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

6 portraits in the collection

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.

Margaret Fulton OAM

Margaret Fulton (1925-2019), a major figure in developing Australia's appreciation of food, was instrumental in teaching generations of people to cook.

1 portrait in the collection

Lieutenant John Watts

Lieutenant John Watts (1755-1801) joined the Navy in 1770 and embarked with James Cook in 1776 on the fatal voyage of the Resolution.

1 portrait in the collection

Paul Hester

William Evans, Anthony Cardon after Sir Thomas Lawrence

Paul Hester (1959–2005), musician and former drummer for Crowded House, was born in Melbourne.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Joseph Banks, 1810

Purchased with funds provided by the Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Society Canberra 2000

Peter Russell-Clarke

Peter Russell-Clarke, cook, started his career as a freelance cartoonist, working for advertising agencies in Australia and overseas.

1 portrait in the collection

Thomas Pennant

Thomas Pennant (1726-1798), Welsh traveller, antiquary, naturalist, and author, visited Joseph Banks in September 1771, shortly after Banks returned from his voyage with Cook on the Endeavour.

1 portrait in the collection

Edward Riou

Edward Riou (1762-1801), naval officer, began his career with the Royal Navy at the age of twelve.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Captain Charles Ulm

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith MC AFC

Archived media releases 2015

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith MC AFC (1897- last seen 1935) and Captain Charles Ulm (1898-last seen 1934) together founded Australian National Airlines.

3 portraits in the collection

Welcome home, Captain Bligh

27 March 2015

The National Portrait Gallery will, next Tuesday, unveil an exciting new acquisition of irrefutable importance to all Australians. Portrait of William Bligh, in master’s uniform c. 1776, attributed to John Webber, is one of the earliest portraits of the contentious, historical figure, and extends the Gallery’s remarkable collection of early colonial portraits.

Portrait 59

Autumn 2018

Magazine

NPG Washington director Kim Sajet on the Obama portraits, Sarah Ball’s Immigrants, judging the NPPP, Frances Hodgkins, and Picnic at Hanging Rock.

a Traveller (2nd Baron Lamington), 1892

Sir Leslie Ward, Vanity Fair Magazine

Portrait, chromolithograph on paper

Purchased 2015

Peter Russell-Clarke

In their own words

Recorded 2022

Wainburranga

Wainburranga (Paddy Fordham) (c. 1932-2006), Rembarrnga painter, sculptor, printmaker and dancer, lived in the bush before moving to Maranboy, where he first saw white people.

1 portrait in the collection

Babette Hayes, London, early 1960s

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Henry Reynolds

Portrait, wood engraving (Baxter print) on paper

Henry Reynolds (b. 1938), historian, studied at the University of Tasmania before taking up a lectureship at Townsville University College (later James Cook University) in 1965.

1 portrait in the collection

Reverend John Williams, c. 1837

George Baxter

Purchased 2012

Charles Wallace Alexander Napier Cochrane-Baillie

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

Charles Wallace Alexander Napier Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington (1860–1940) had served four years in the House of Commons before being appointed governor of Queensland in October 1895.

1 portrait in the collection

In the National Interest

Margaret Fulton, 1980 (printed 2002)

Archived media releases 2018

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

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.

Anne Boyd AM

Anne Boyd AM (b. 1946), composer and teacher, was born in Sydney and studied composition with Peter Sculthorpe at the University of Sydney before earning a PhD at the University of York.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Asher Joel

Pierre Langlume after Jacques Etienne Victor Arago

Sir Asher Joel (1912-1998), public relations entrepreneur and state politician, started out as a copyboy at Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.

1 portrait in the collection

'Timbere sauvage de la nouvelle galles du sud en grand costume (Relache au Port Jackson)'

'Timbere sauvage de la nouvelle galles du sud en grand costume (Relache au Port Jackson)', 1822

Portrait, lithograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

The Hinders: doyens of Australian modernism

Passion

Progressive partnership

Wainburranga (Paddy Fordham), 1986

Martin van der Wal

Portrait, inkjet print on rag paper

Purchased 2005

Queenie McKenzie Nakara

Queenie McKenzie (c. 1930–1998) was a prominent Gija artist in the East Kimberley painting movement.

1 portrait in the collection

She saved his life. He showed her painting.

Nearest & Dearest

Leaders, painters, friends

Centenary of ANZAC

Portrait, inkjet print on canvas

Just now we pause to mark the centenary of ANZAC, the day when, together with British, other imperial and allied forces, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed at Gallipoli at the start of the ill-starred Dardanelles campaign.

Myles Nelson

Finalist interviews

It was definitely a candid encounter as was the expression on the face. It was constructed insofar as the image was deliberately taken from a distance so as to minimize intrusion and to magnify the effect of the image.

Paul Hester, 1987 (printed 2021)

Alan Mitchell

Gift of the artist 2021

Jean-François de Galaup La Perouse

Jean-François de Galaup la Pérouse, Comte de la Pérouse (1741-1788), navigator, joined the French navy as a boy, rising to the rank of captain and serving with distinction and humanity in campaigns against the English in Hudson Bay in 1782.

4 portraits in the collection

Lewis Morley, 2003

Sage

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2003

Henry Reynolds, 2012

Dave Tacon

Anne Zahalka Portraits 1987-2007

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Hall of Mirrors

Previous exhibition, 2007

Hall of Mirrors: Anne Zahalka Portraits 1987-2007 explores the thread of portraiture through the artist's prolific career, now spanning more than 20 years.

Bonita Mabo

Bonita Mabo AO (c. 1943–2018), South Sea Islander reconciliation activist, was the widow of Torres Strait Islander land claimant Eddie Mabo.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir George Fisher CMG

Jean Coutant after Jacques Etienne Victor Arago

Sir George Fisher CMG (1903-2007), mining industry executive, began work at the Zinc Corporation at Broken Hill in 1925 after having completed a mining engineering degree in Adelaide.

1 portrait in the collection

Nlle. Holland Port Jackson: Sauvages des environs de Sydney: Nani, Taran, Abinghou, Broten, Timbere

Nlle. Holland Port Jackson: Sauvages des environs de Sydney: Nani, Taran, Abinghou, Broten, Timbere, 1825

Portrait, line engraving on paper

Purchased 2015

Nude self portrait, 1977

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

Anne Boyd, 1977

William Daniell after George Dance

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

Sir Joseph Banks, 1811

Portrait, soft ground etching on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

Rethinking foundational histories

Magazine article by Kate Fullagar, 2019

A focus on Indigenous-European relationships underpins Facing New Worlds. By Kate Fullagar.

Sir Joseph Banks, Bt

Sir Joshua Reynolds

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

To the end of the earth

The portrait of Dr. Johann Reinhold Forster and his son George Forster from 1780, is one of the oldest in the NPG's collection.

Michael Boddy

Portrait, pencil on paper

Michael Boddy (1934–2014), writer and actor, was born in England and educated at Cambridge before arriving in Australia as a 'ten quid migrant' in 1960.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Asher Joel, n.d.

Louis Kahan AO

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

Neil Perry, 1997

Selina Snow

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Gift of the artist 1999

Peter Skrzynecki OAM

Portrait, pen and ink, brush and ink and pencil on paper

Of Polish/Ukrainian descent, Peter Skrzynecki was born in 1945 in Germany and came to Australia with his parents in 1949.

1 portrait in the collection

Margel and Tarquin, Canberra, c. 1945

Frank Hinder

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by the Ross family in memory of Noel and Enid Eliot 2014

Lewis Morley

Lewis Morley (1925–2013) established his reputation as one of the key British photographers of the 1960s and is known for his iconic image of a nude Christine Keeler straddling an Arne Jacobsen chair.

50 portraits in the collection

Queenie McKenzie Nakara, 1997

Greg Weight

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

Self portrait in reflection, 1973

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

Ben Chifley, n.d.

Max Dupain OBE

Previous exhibition, 2006

Gift of Danina Dupain Anderson 2017. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

William Barak

In their own words

Famous

Karin Catt Portraits

Australian photographer Karin Catt has photographed world leaders, a host of rock stars and Oscar-winning compatriots Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, and Cate Blanchett.

Sir Joseph Banks KCB

Joseph Banks KCB (1743-1820), naturalist, grew up on his father's Lincolnshire estate, Revesby, but his lifelong interest in botany developed at Eton and Oxford.

13 portraits in the collection

Alex Kolozsy

Alex Kolozsy left his native Transylvania for Hungary as a small child.

1 portrait in the collection

Wendy Sharpe, 2000

Greg Weight

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

William Bligh

William Bligh (1754-1817), naval officer, was born in Plymouth and first went to sea at around the age of eight.

3 portraits in the collection

Wendy Sharpe

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2011

Wendy Sharpe undertook art studies in Sydney between 1978 and 1984 and held her first solo exhibition at the Nicholson Street Gallery in 1985.

3 portraits in the collection

In a good paddock

Celebrating a new painted portrait of Joseph Banks, Sarah Engledow spins a yarn of the naturalist, the first kangaroo in France and Don, a Spanish ram.

Giving and getting

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

The exhibition Portraits for Posterity celebrates gifts to the Gallery, of purchases made with donated funds, and testifies to the generosity and community spirit of Australians.

Unbuttoning uniforms

Magazine article by Sharon Peoples, 2017

Sharon Peoples contemplates costumes and the construction of identity.

Portrait of Sir Joseph Banks, c. 1814

Thomas Phillips

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

Purchased 2011

Woburn Sheepshearing, 1811

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

Purchased 2018

Masters of Fare

Chefs, winemakers, providores

Previous exhibition, 2004

Masters of fare: chefs, winemakers, providores celebrates men and women who have championed the unique culinary characteristics and produce of Australia, enriching our lives with new ideas and new flavours over the past forty years.

Margel Hinder AM

Margel Hinder AM (née Harris) (1906-1995), sculptor, trained in Buffalo and Boston in the 1920s.

1 portrait in the collection

Anne Zahalka

Photo media artist Anne Zahalka was born in Sydney in 1957, following her parent’s migration to post-war Australia.

19 portraits in the collection

Robert Oatley AO

1928–2016

Previous exhibition, 2018

The National Portrait Gallery mourns the loss of one our most generous benefactors, Robert Oatley AO.

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.

Sydney Cove medallion, 1789 by Josiah Wedgwood

The medallion

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

In recent years I have become fascinated by the so-called Sydney Cove Medallion (1789), a work of art that bridges the 10,000-mile gap between the newly established penal settlement at Port Jackson and the beating heart of Enlightenment England.

Picture this...

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.

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

William Bligh

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2002

The life of William Bligh offers up a handful of the most remarkable episodes in the history of Britain’s eighteenth and early nineteenth-century maritime empire.

The Story So Far...

A reflection on the National Portrait Gallery's first four years.

Clifton Pugh

Australians

Previous exhibition, 2005

This exhibition offers a comprehensive display of Clifton Pugh's portraits revealing his development and growth from tonal paintings to a unique style that was in demand from politicians, artists, academics and Australian personalities.

Marilyn Ball, Albatross, 2018 (detail) by Linde Ivimey

So Fine

Contemporary women artists make Australian history

Previous exhibition, 2018

This exhibition features new works from ten women artists reinterpreting and reimagining elements of Australian history, enriching the contemporary narrative around Australia’s history and biography, reflecting the tradition of storytelling in our country.

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.

Barry Humphries

Previous exhibition, 2020

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

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020

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.

Sir Les Patterson, 1999

Polly Borland

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

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.

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 2018

8 March 2018

Archived media releases 2018

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

International issue

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2009

Michael Desmond looks at the history of the Vanity Fair magazine in conjunction with the exhibition Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008

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.

Old Blighty

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2016

Angus Trumble ponders the many faces of William Bligh.

Australian visit in Denmark

Magazine article by Mette Skougaard, 2006

In April 2006 the National Portrait Gallery showcased Australian portraits at the Fredenksborg Castle in Denmark.

Virtual lives

Magazine article by Gillian Raymond, 2007

A brief introduction to the Weird, Wired World of Internet Portraiture.

Part of the crew of His Majesty's Ship Guardian endeavouring to escape in the boats

South-bound and down

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

Joanna Gilmour recounts the story of ill-fated sea voyages in the early stages of the Antipodean colony.

Queen Victoria, 1901

The Illustrated London News after Jean Joseph Benjamin-Constant

Portrait, photogravure on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Wylie

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2002

Wylie (c. 1824–unknown) is thought to have been born near King George’s Sound in south-west Western Australia, which would make him a Noongar man.

1 portrait in the collection

The Final Frontier

Magda Keaney talks with Montalbetti+Campbell about their photographic portrait of Australian astronaut Andy Thomas.

Big shots

Magazine article by Djon Mundine OAM, 2017

Djon Mundine OAM brings poignant memory and context to Martin van der Wal’s 1986 portrait photographs of storied Aboriginal artists.

The painter and the princess

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

Michael Desmond interviews Ralph Heimans about his portrait of Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.

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

Imagination

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

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

Wylie, 1840-1841

Robert Neill

Portrait, steel engraving with later hand-colouring on paper

Purchased 2018

9 lives of Karin Catt

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2006

Australian photographer Karin Catt has shot across the spectrum of celebrity, her subjects including rock stars, world leaders and actors.

Thilin-Thilin Gooragall Nyajaringil Garnkiny-nu (white gum tree, mother for the moon), 2018 by Shirley Purdie

Storytelling

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2002

The fourth row of paintings interweave Ngarranggarni, memories, relationships and Country.

No Laughing Matter

The biographical exhibition of Barry Humphries was the first display of its kind at the National Portrait Gallery.

Andrew Sayers AM FAHA

13 October 2015

Archived media releases 2015

The Chairman, Board, Director and staff mourn the loss of the National Portrait Gallery's inaugural director.

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.

In the round

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2009

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

Louis XVI giving final instructions to the Comte de La Perouse, c. 1785

Sea legged frogs

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2011

Joanna Gilmour describes some of the stories of the individuals and incidents that define French exploration of Australia and the Pacific.

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Honour board

One hundred days at 7pm 2015 by Fiona McMonagle

Self-effacing

Magazine article by Michael Wardell, 2016

Michael Wardell samples the fare in the University of Queensland National Self-portrait Prize.

History

About us

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

Unheroic Materialism: little harmless fragments of memory and association: a portrait of Angus Trumble, 2019 Evert Ploeg

The last word

Magazine article by Dr David Hansen, 2022

David Hansen’s tribute to his close friend, prince of words and former National Portrait Gallery director, the late Angus Trumble.

The Mutineers turning Lieut Bligh and part of the Officers and Crew adrift from His Majesty's Ship the Bounty

High & Bligh

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

Joanna Gilmour explores the 1790 portrait of William Bligh by Robert Dodd.

Exhibition opening speech

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

Leo Schofield introduces the exhibition, Masters of fare: chefs, winemakers, providores.

Expect the unexpected

Joanna Gilmour revels in accidental artist Charles Rodius’ nineteenth century renderings of Indigenous peoples.

The story of us

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2022

Gallery directors Karen Quinlan and Tony Ellwood talk to Penelope Grist about the NPG and NGV collaborative exhibition, Who Are You: Australian Portraiture.

Starry knight

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

Aircraft designer, pilot and entrepreneur, Sir Lawrence Wackett rejoins friends and colleagues on the walls of the National Portrait Gallery.

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 cook (Michael Schmidt/architect), 1987

Hall of mirrors

Magazine article by Naomi Cass, 2007

Naomi Cass, Director of the Centre of Contemporary Photography, in conversation with Anne Zahalka.

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’.

Aretha Brown

In conversation

Magazine article by Rebecca Ray, 2023

Gumbaynggirr artist Aretha Brown talks street art, collaboration and ghost stories with First Nations Curator and Meriam woman, Rebecca Ray.

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.

Omai, Sir Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander, 1775-76

First encounters

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2011

Representations of the inhabitants of the new world expose the complexities of the colonisers' intentions.

Portrait of the Gallery

Magazine article by Graeme Dix, 2016

A design diary retrospective.

Sunset in the drawing room at Chesney Wold by Hablot Knight Brown

Portraiture in a Bleak House

Magazine article by Dr Grace Blakeley-Carroll, 2015

It may seem an odd thing to do at one’s leisure on a beautiful tropical island, but I spent much of my midwinter break a few weeks ago re-reading Bleak House.

Christian Waller with Baldur, Undine and Siren at Fairy Hills, 1932 by Napier Waller

Enigma

Grace Carroll contemplates the curious case of Christian Waller.

Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil de Cavagnial, Marquis de Vaudreuil, ca.1753-55

Canadian identities

Magazine article by Lilly Koltun, 2004

An exploration of national identity in the Canadian context drawn from the symposium Face to Face at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in 2004.

William Shakespeare, c. 1600-1610 associated with John Taylor

Take thy face hence

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

Joanna Gilmour travels through time to explore the National Portrait Gallery London’s masterpieces in Shakespeare to Winehouse.

‘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.

Naked ambition

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

Joanna Gilmour dives into the life of Australian swimming legend Annette Kellerman.

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.

The Dissecting Room

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

Joanna Gilmour accounts for Australia’s deliciously ghoulish nineteenth century criminal portraiture.

Mugshots

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

A toast to the acquisition of an unconventional new portrait of former Prime Minister, Stanley Melbourne Bruce.

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.

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.

Anangu landscape learning

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Angus' initial perception of Uluru shifts, as he comes to see it as central to the entire order of Anangu life.

Uncommon Australians

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

Some prime ministers

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

Christmas Island