Search / benjamin west

John Raphael Smith after 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

Sir Joseph Banks, c. 1788

Purchased 2010

John West

Magazine article by Benjamin Law, 2025

John West (1809–1873), clergyman and newspaper editor, was accepted for service in Van Diemen’s Land by the Colonial Missionary Society in 1838.

1 portrait in the collection

Benjamin Law, sculptor and lithographer, arrived in Hobart in 1834 aboard the Sarah.

2 portraits in the collection

Venus, 2022 Jordan Richardson, Archibald Prize 2022 finalist

We Were There

Preserving stories, subverting power and posing nude: Benjamin Law explores the potency and persuasiveness of portraiture.

Leanne Benjamin AM OBE

Leanne Benjamin AM OBE (b. 1964) was Principal Dancer with the Royal Ballet between 1993 and 2013.

1 portrait in the collection

Benjamin Duterrau

Benjamin Duterrau, who arrived in Tasmania in 1832 at the age of 65, created the first Australian history paintings with his images celebrating Robinson's conciliatory relocation project.

2 portraits in the collection

Ned, 2011

by Benjamin Liew

Michael, 2013

by Benjamin Galli

Portrait, cast plaster, painted

Trucaninny [Trukanini], wife of Woureddy [Wurati]

Trucaninny [Trukanini], wife of Woureddy [Wurati], 1836

Benjamin Law

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Woureddy [Wurati], an Aboriginal Chief of Van Diemen's Land

Woureddy [Wurati], an Aboriginal Chief of Van Diemen's Land, 1835

Benjamin Law

Portrait, cast plaster, painted

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Woureddy [Wurati], a wild native of Brune Island

Woureddy [Wurati], a wild native of Brune Island, 1835

Benjamin Duterrau

Portrait, etching, printed in black ink from one copper plate on paper

Purchased with funds provided by The Ian Potter Foundation 2009

Truggernana [Trukanini], a native of southern part of V.D. Land

Truggernana [Trukanini], a native of southern part of V.D. Land, 1835

Benjamin Duterrau

Portrait, etching, printed in black ink from one copper plate on paper

Purchased with funds provided by The Ian Potter Foundation 2009

Leanne Benjamin, 1999 (printed 2022)

Polly Borland

Purchased 2022

Herbert Benjamin George Larkin CBE

Benjamin Warlngundu Ellis Bayliss

Herbert Benjamin George Larkin CBE (c. 1871- 1944), shipping administrator, came to Australia from England and joined the office of the Australian Steam Navigation Company.

1 portrait in the collection

Ngarrga Jawandaji Dancing for The Sandridge Band Performing Their Song Ngabaya (Spirit People) at the 2021 Malandarri Festival, Yanyuwa Country 2021

Portrait of Truganini, daughter of the Chief of Bruny Island, Van Diemens Land, c. 1835

Black and white history

Benjamin Warlngundu Ellis Bayliss

English artist Benjamin Duterrau took up the cause of the Indigenous peoples of Tasmania with his detailed and sympathetic renderings.

Wandangula Dancers & the Song People Perform Ngabaya (Spirit People) at the 2014 Malandarri Festival, Yanyuwa Country 2014

Benjamin Warlngundu Ellis Bayliss

Wandangula Dancers & the Song People Perform Ngabaya (Spirit People) at the 2014 Malandarri Festival, Yanyuwa Country 2014

Portrait, pen and ink on paper

H.B.G Larkin, 1928

L E. Reynolds

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Yellow portrait (portrait of Alex Jelinek)

Fugue in Yellow

Magazine article by Roger Benjamin, 2015

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

The Conciliation, 1840 by Benjamin Duterrau

The art of conciliation

Magazine article by Gareth Knapman, 2017

Gareth Knapman explores the politics and opportunism behind the portraits of Tasmania’s Black War.

Queen Victoria, 1901

The Illustrated London News after Jean Joseph Benjamin-Constant

Portrait, photogravure on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Reverend John West, Sydney., n.d.

John Cochran

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

Benjamin Horgan and Jake Scourfield

Elizabeth Looker

John Young

John Young, mezzotint engraver, studied under Valentine Green then worked with several of the painters who collaborated with Green, notably Benjamin West, John Hoppner and Johann Gerhard Huck.

1 portrait in the collection

Gilbert Stuart

Gilbert Stuart was an American painter who arrived in London by way of Scotland in 1775.

1 portrait in the collection

John Braine, Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire

John Braine, Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire, 1958 (printed 2000)

David Moore

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
The series 'David Moore: From Face to Face' was acquired as a gift of the artist and with financial assistance from Timothy Fairfax AC and L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2001.

Festival opening night dinner with Paul West

25 August 2016

International News Photos Inc

Join the host of River Cottage Australia for a special meal and conversation

Charles Kingsford Smith and crew of the Southern Cross before the east-west crossing of the Atlantic, June 1930

Charles Kingsford Smith and crew of the Southern Cross before the east-west crossing of the Atlantic, June 1930, 1930

Purchased 2019

Thomas Phillips

John Noone after William Strutt

Thomas Phillips was born in Dudley, Warwickshire and initially trained as a glass painter before moving to London, aged 20, with a letter of introduction to the painter Benjamin West.

6 portraits in the collection

Opening of the First Legislative Council of Victoria by Governor Charles Joseph LaTrobe at St Patrick's Hall, Bourke Street West, Melbourne November 13th 1851

Opening of the First Legislative Council of Victoria by Governor Charles Joseph LaTrobe at St Patrick's Hall, Bourke Street West, Melbourne November 13th 1851, 1883

Portrait, photolithograph on paper

Purchased 2013

Batchelder & O'Neill

The American brothers Perez Mann, Benjamin and Nathaniel Batchelder worked in Victoria and New South Wales in the 1850s and 1860s.

9 portraits in the collection

Portrait 32

June - August 2009

Magazine

This issue features Vanity Fair, Nancy Bird Walton, William Barak, Sidney Kidman, Benjamin Duterrau's portraits of the Indigenous peoples of Tasmania, and more.

James Heath

James Heath commenced an apprenticeship with an engraver named Joseph Collyer at the age of fourteen.

2 portraits in the collection

Valentine Green

Valentine Green, engraver, spent two years in a solicitor’s office in Evesham before abandoning the law and becoming a pupil of Robert Hancock, an engraver in Worcester.

1 portrait in the collection

Margaret Robertson, c. 1863

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

Alex Jelinek

Alex Jelinek (1925–2007), architect and designer, graduated from the technical building school of Hradec Králové, near Prague, during World War II.

1 portrait in the collection

Voyage de Découvertes aux Terres Australes folio atlas (second edition)

Bidgee Bidgee

Bidgee Bidgee (c. 1787–c. 1837), a leader of the Burramattagal clan of the Dharug people, joined a number of sealing and whaling voyages to Bass Strait in the early 1800s, and acted as a tracker to an 1816 expedition aimed at quelling attacks against settlers in west and north-west Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Yellow portrait (portrait of Alex Jelinek), 1955

Lina Bryans

Portrait, oil on plywood

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Paul and James Bryans 2015. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Maria Dowling and her children Leura, Bessie, Selina, Jane, Jack, Ben and Joe Dowling [Selina Dowling, Jane Dowling, Maria Jane Dowling (née Ware), John Ware Dowling, Joseph Dowling, Benjamin Dowling, Elizabeth (Bessie) Dowling, Leura Dowling]

Maria Dowling and her children Leura, Bessie, Selina, Jane, Jack, Ben and Joe Dowling [Selina Dowling, Jane Dowling, Maria Jane Dowling (née Ware), John Ware Dowling, Joseph Dowling, Benjamin Dowling, Elizabeth (Bessie) Dowling, Leura Dowling], c. 1859

Portrait, ambrotype, hand coloured

Gift of Malcolm Robertson in memory of William Thomas Robertson 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Our First Lesson

Jimmy Widders Hunt

Professor Margaret Seares AO

Portrait, glass plate negative

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

1 portrait in the collection

Trukanini, 1866 (printed 1890s)

Charles Woolley

Purchased 2011

Lucy, 2006

by Sally McInerney

Kim, 2006

by Lisa Garland

Olegas Truchanas, 1971

Ralph Hope-Johnstone

Purchased 2005

Edward John Eyre

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Edward John Eyre (1815-1901), explorer and administrator, emigrated to New South Wales from England when he was 17.

3 portraits in the collection

Margaret Seares, 2018

Cherry Hood

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

Portrait 67

Winter 2022

Magazine

William Yang on his autobiographical self portraits, David Parker's 1970s and 80s Melbourne music photographs, seven-time NPPP finalist Chris Budgeon, and Benjamin Warlngundu Ellis.

Olegas Truchanas

Olegas Truchanas (1923-1972) was born in 1923 in Siauliai, Lithuania.

1 portrait in the collection

Aborigines, the last of the race, Tasmania

Bessy Clark

Portrait, oil on composition board

Pangernowidedic also known as Bessy Clark (c. 1825-1867) was a woman from the Port Davey district in south west Tasmania, the daughter of Tingernoop and Cordwanene.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Charles Court and Richard Court, 2006-2007

Mary Moore

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2006

Gen

Daniel Sullivan

Sir Samuel Wilson

Portrait, engraving, hand coloured on paper

Sir Samuel Wilson was elected to the British House of Commons in 1886.

1 portrait in the collection

Corroboree, or Dance of the Natives of New South Wales

Corroboree, or Dance of the Natives of New South Wales, 1820

Walter Preston

Purchased 2013

Dean Home

Archived media releases 2013

Dean Home was born in Busselton, south-west Western Australia. He obtained a Bachelor of Art Degree from Curtin University in 1981, and a Diploma of Education some years later.

1 portrait in the collection

Angus Trumble National Portrait Gallery Director

National Portrait Gallery Director announced

20 December 2013

The National Portrait Gallery welcomes Angus Trumble

Sir Alexander Fuller-Acland-Hood Bart

Sir Alexander Fuller-Acland-Hood Bart MP (1853-1917) was MP for West Somerset from 1892 to 1911, when he was created Lord St Audries.

1 portrait in the collection

Elizabeth Henrietta Fitzgerald

Elizabeth Henrietta Fitzgerald (née Rouse, 1818–1863) was born at Rouse Hill, New South Wales, the youngest daughter of colonial public servant and landowner Richard Rouse (1774–1852) and his wife Elizabeth (née Adams, 1772–1849), who’d come to Sydney as free settlers in 1801.

1 portrait in the collection

Ralph Sutton

Ralph Sutton (1908-1967), Methodist minister, trained in Sydney, was ordained in 1935 and began his career in Mosman Methodist Church.

1 portrait in the collection

Ricardo Frank, 2012

by Graham Caughley

Gav & Ray, 2007

by Richard Walker

John Brown after H Hering

Edward John Eyre, Late Governor of Jamaica

Edward John Eyre, Late Governor of Jamaica, 1867

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Karen McLeod Adair and Anthony Adair 2003

Bodie, 2017

by Brett Canet-Gibson

Francois Peron, Louis de Freycinet, Nicolas-Martin Petit

Voyage de Découvertes aux Terres Australes folio atlas (second edition), 1824

Portrait, leather bound volume containing a double-page map of Australia, seven full-page charts, two double-page views, 27 hand-coloured engraving plates and 31 uncoloured engraving plates

Purchased 2017

Guido Maestri

Guido Maestri, born in Mudgee, completed a Bachelor of Fine Art (Hons) in painting at the National Art School, Darlinghurst in 2003.

1 portrait in the collection

Ben McNamara

Vox pops

This is Marissa Gallagher from Kintore, which if you're in Alice Springs, just go west until the WA border, just before that, a traditional area of Pintupi mob.

Elizabeth Henrietta Fitzgerald (née Rouse), c. 1850

Portrait, hand coloured photograph

Gift of Pamela Glasson 2009
Collected by Leila Haigh (nee Rouse)

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

Indigo

Matthew Newton

Sir Alexander C. Onslow

Sir Alexander Campbell Onslow (1842-1908), judge, was educated at Cambridge and practised law in England before being appointed attorney general of British Honduras in 1878.

1 portrait in the collection

Walter Preston

Walter Preston, engraver and convict, came to New South Wales aboard the Guildford in 1812.

1 portrait in the collection

Bushwalk

Matthew Abbott

Tokyo, 2010

by Lisa Tomasetti

Frances Perry, c. 1863

Purchased 2012

Free Range Cousins, 2015

by Jennifer Stocks

Simon Griffiths

Simon Griffiths has been acclaimed in numerous publications as Australia's leading food and garden photographer.

1 portrait in the collection

Kerry Stokes AC

Kerry Stokes AC (b. 1940), businessman and philanthropist, was born John Patrick Alford in Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Kumantjayi, 2010

by Rhett Hammerton

Henry Samuel Sadd

Henry Sadd was born in London and exhibited engravings there before emigrating to the USA some time around 1840.

8 portraits in the collection

Gordon Watson AM

Gordon Watson AM (1921-1999), pianist and teacher, taught at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music from 1964 to 1986 and was head of its keyboard department when he retired.

1 portrait in the collection

Charles Perry, c. 1863

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

John Eason

John Eason (1799–1858) was a shipwright who worked in Van Diemen’s Land during the 1830s, 1840s and 1850s.

1 portrait in the collection

Heiress to the Pied Piper, 2019

Caroline Zilinsky

William Dickinson after Sir Joshua Reynolds

Joseph Banks Esq, 1774

Purchased 2008

Reading the map

Davina Jogi

Portraits by Michael Riley

Beauty and strength

Previous exhibition, 2014

Influential Indigenous Australian artist Michael Riley (1960 - 2004) created these portrait photographs between 1984 and 1990 - they stand as an intricately connected group portrait of the vibrant urban-based Indigenous arts community in Sydney's inner-west at a formative moment.

Tim Winton, 2019

Sally Robinson

Hon. Sir John Forrest GCMG

Sir John Forrest (1847-1918), explorer and politician, trained as a surveyor and led an 1869 expedition in search of Ludwig Leichhardt.

2 portraits in the collection

Darren McDonald

Darren McDonald gained his Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting) degree from RMIT in 2000, having completed an associate diploma in painting at the same institution.

1 portrait in the collection

The choices of a modern woman

It's Complicated

When opposites attract

William Dampier

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

William Dampier (1651-1715), seafarer and writer, had spent a good deal of time at sea as a buccaneer and merchant sailor before he spent three months in 1688 around King Sound (northern Western Australia) on the Cygnet.

1 portrait in the collection

Tim Winton, 2019

Sally Robinson

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal 2020

Darby McCarthy OAM

Richard 'Darby' McCarthy OAM (1945–2020), former jockey who rode in three Melbourne Cups and won more than 1000 races, is a proud descendant of the Mithaka and Goongurri people of south-west and central Queensland.

1 portrait in the collection

The girls, 2017

by Tamara Dean

Yuge, 2019

Kathrin Longhurst

Moonbird boy, 2009

by Matthew Newton

Nancy Bird Walton AO OBE

Ben Hall and his gang outdone, 6 February 1865

Nancy Bird Walton AO OBE (1915–2009), aviatrix, decided she wanted to be a pilot when, at age eight, she saw a plane make an emergency landing on a beach near her home.

2 portraits in the collection

Flying over Indulkana, 2022 Kaylene Whiskey

Super Kaylene Whiskey

Upcoming exhibition

Super Kaylene Whiskey celebrates one of Australia’s leading contemporary artists, proud Yankunytjatjara woman Kaylene Whiskey.

Percy, Reginald, Monty and George Faithfull, undated by Henry Dorner. Image courtesy the National Museum of Australia.

An affray which deserves particular mention

Bushranger Ben Hall and his cronies held around 40 people hostage in a pub north-west of Goulburn, telling their captives ‘don’t be alarmed; we only came here for a bit of fun’.

Justin C. Tjungurrayi

Justin Corby Tjungurrayi (b. 1982) is a Luritja artist who was born in Kintore on the border of the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Kayla, 2017

by Stuart Miller

Portrait, inkjet print on Hanhnemühle paper

Nick Cave, Susie Bick and Luke Cave, 1998 (printed 2020)

Dominique Issermann

Purchased 2022

Lesley Moline

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2022

West Australian-born Lesley Moline (née O’Toole) studied at Perth Technical College before moving to Melbourne in 1933.

1 portrait in the collection

Yanyuwa young men, The Song Peoples Sessions CD Launch Rehearsals, Yanyuwa Country, 2012 Benjamin Warlngundu Ellis

Us being ourselves

Penelope Grist talks to photographer Benjamin Warlngundu Ellis about capturing moments, telling stories and keeping Culture strong.

Russell Drysdale, c. 1949

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Timothy Fairfax AC 2003

Mary Moore

Mary Moore (b. 1957) is a West Australian portrait artist. She began formal art training in Claremont at the age of fifteen, later attending the Western Australian Institute of Technology and Royal College of Art, London.

4 portraits in the collection

Nick Cave, Susie Bick and Luke Cave, 1998 (printed 2020) Dominique Issermann. Courtesy of the artist © Dominique Issermann

Stepping out

Devotion

Beautiful punk love

Portrait 72

Magazine

Thom Roberts reveals the stories behind some of his portraits, Rebecca Harkins-Cross on Carol Jerrems, and Daniel Browning reflects on Tracey Moffatt’s 1986 series Some lads.

Mark Taylor AO

Mark Taylor AO (b. 1964) was captain of the Australian cricket team from 1994 until his retirement from Test cricket in 1999.

1 portrait in the collection

Adut Akech with siblings Kim, Yar, Bior and Alakiir

Adut Akech Bior

Adut Akech Bior (b. 1999), supermodel, was born in South Sudan and spent the first several years of her life in the UN's Kakuma refugee camp in north-west Kenya, after her family fled from civil war.

4 portraits in the collection

John Austin

London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company

John Austin was born and developed his skills as a photographer in England.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Oswald Brierly, c. 1870

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Malcolm J. McCusker AC CVO KC

Barrister and philanthropist Malcolm James McCusker AC CVO KC was born in Subiaco, Western Australia in 1938.

1 portrait in the collection

Johann Zoffany

Johann Zoffany, painter of portraits and conversation pieces, grew up in the court of the Prince von Thurn und Taxis in Germany, where his father was employed.

1 portrait in the collection

Aboriginal couple, Finniss Springs Mission, South Australia

Finniss Springs Community

Finniss Springs is located south of the Oodnadatta Track, 50km west of Marree on Arabana Country, South Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

The Reverend Ralph Sutton, 1935

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on card

Gift of Reverend Ralph Sutton's daughters Arlene Howes and Megan Newman in memory of Ralph Sutton and in tribute to his wife Dorothy Sutton 2011

Captain James King

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

Sir George Grey

Sir George Grey (1812-1898), originally an explorer of the West Australian coast, became Governor of the near- bankrupt colony of South Australia in 1840.

2 portraits in the collection

Neale Daniher AO

Neale Daniher AO, Australian Football player, coach and general manager, was born in West Wyalong, New South Wales in 1961.

1 portrait in the collection

Steve Waugh

Steve Waugh (b. 1965) became captain of the Australian cricket team when Mark Taylor retired in early 1999.

1 portrait in the collection

Elizabeth Jolley AO

Elizabeth Jolley AO (1923-2007) was a West Australian writer. Born in England, she worked as a nurse during the war and after migrating to Western Australia in 1959, when she also worked as a cleaner and saleswoman.

1 portrait in the collection

Western Australia (Sir Frederick Bedford)

Sir Frederick George Denham Bedford GCB GCVO

Sir Frederick George Denham Bedford GCB GCVO (1838–1913) was governor of Western Australia from 1903 to 1909.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir William Windeyer

Sir William Windeyer (1834-1897) was a politician and judge. One of the first undergraduates to study at the University of Sydney, he developed a particular interest in education and the rights of women - he was responsible for the Married Women's Property Act of 1879, and was Founding Chairman of the university's Women's College.

4 portraits in the collection

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Captain Charles Ulm

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith MC AFC

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

Lucio Galletto OAM

Lucio Galletto OAM (birth date undisclosed) was born into a family of farmers and restaurateurs in north-west Italy.

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

Russell Drysdale

Sir Russell Drysdale AC (1912-1981), painter, developed eye trouble in 1929, and had to leave boarding school for the first of many eye treatments which left him fearful of total blindness.

6 portraits in the collection

Betsy Napangardi Lewis

Betsy Napangardi Lewis (c. 1940–2008) was born at Kunajarryi, west of Yuendumu, Northern Territory and became a noted Warlpiri artist across the course of her career.

1 portrait in the collection

Margaret Seares, 2018

by Cherry Hood

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

Judith Pungarta Inkamala

Sir Leslie Ward, Vincent Brooks, Day & Son, Vanity Fair Magazine

Judith Pungarta Inkamala (b. 1947), senior potter, is an Arrernte woman who was born in Hermannsburg, 130 km west of Alice Springs.

3 portraits in the collection

Western Australia (Sir Frederick Bedford), 1903

Portrait, chromolithograph on paper

Purchased 2015

Kitty Kantilla and Freda Warlapinni at Milikapiti (Snake Bay)

Kitty Kantilla (Kutuwulumi Purawarrumpatu)

Kitty Kantilla (Kutuwulumi Purawarrumpatu) (c. 1928–2003) was the most acclaimed Tiwi artist of her generation.

1 portrait in the collection

Mr John Eason, 1838

W. B. Gould

Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family 2013

Self portrait as Sarah Wisse, Transported

Margaret Woodward

Portrait, ink and watercolour on paper and acetate

Margaret Woodward (b. 1938), painter, grew up in Sydney where she gained a scholarship to study art at the NAS.

3 portraits in the collection

Mark Taylor, 1999

Bill Leak

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 1999

Susie Porter

Newcastle-born Susie Porter (b. 1971) always knew she wanted to be an actor.

1 portrait in the collection

The Boys Next Door, 1978

Michel Lawrence

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

The New Arrivals at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art

Peter Purves Smith

Peter Purves Smith (1912–1949), artist, went to Geelong Grammar with his lifelong friend Russell Drysdale.

2 portraits in the collection

John Schank

John Schank (1740–1823), naval officer, joined the Royal Navy at age 17, having served in the merchant service as a boy.

1 portrait in the collection

Harry Belafonte

Dorothy Wilding

Charles Joseph La Trobe

Previous exhibition, 2005

Charles Joseph La Trobe (1801-1875), colonial administrator, travelled widely in Europe and America before beginning his colonial career in the West Indies in 1837.

3 portraits in the collection

Polly Borland on Michael Hutchence

In their own words

Recorded 2017

Cecil Beaton

Portraits

Accomplished illustrator, painter, writer and diarist, set designer and one of the most distinguished photographers of the twentieth century, Cecil Beaton is renowned for his portraits of well known faces from the worlds of fashion, literature, and film.

Russell Drysdale, 1960

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2004
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

John Shortland

John Shortland (1739-1803), naval officer, was a member of a family of which six members were associated with the colonisation of Australia and New Zealand.

1 portrait in the collection

Slim Dusty and Dame Edna Everage, Carlton Hill Station, WA, 10 July 1993

Slim Dusty and Dame Edna Everage, Carlton Hill Station, WA, 10 July 1993, 1993

John Elliott

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa

Theresa Mort

Portrait, watercolour and collage on paper

Theresa Shepheard Mort (née Laidley, 1820-1869), colonial spouse, was one of eight children of civil servant James Laidley and his wife Eliza Jane (née Shepheard).

2 portraits in the collection

An evening at Yarra Cottage, Port Stephens

An evening at Yarra Cottage, Port Stephens, 1857

Maria Brownrigg

Purchased 2017

Robert Drewe

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on paper

Robert Drewe (b. 1943), author, grew up in Perth, where he worked as a junior reporter with the West Australian from 1961 to 1964.

1 portrait in the collection

Edward John Eyre, 1867

Julia Margaret Cameron

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

Telphia Joseph

Telphia Joseph, a Wajarri Yamatji woman from Western Australia, is an Associate Lecturer at the University of New South Wales School of Population Health and Community Medicine, where she teaches Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health focus subjects.

1 portrait in the collection

Malcolm Williamson AO CBE

Previous exhibition, 2011

Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson AO CBE (1931–2003), composer, was born in Sydney, and was educated at Barker College, Hornsby, and then at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where he studied piano and French horn as well as composition under Sir Eugene Goossens.

1 portrait in the collection

Indecent exposure

Annette Kellerman

'Diving Venus' and 'the perfect woman' are two of the numerous descriptions applied to Annette Kellerman, who achieved international fame during the early decades of the twentieth century.

Police (Lieut Colonel Edmund Yeamans Walcott Henderson)

Police (Lieut Colonel Edmund Yeamans Walcott Henderson), 1875

Carlo Pellegrini, Vincent Brooks, Day & Son, Vanity Fair Magazine

Portrait, chromolithograph on paper

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Hetti, 1990 (printed 2013)

Michael Riley

Purchased 2013

Portrait of Florence Broadhurst, 1968

Joshua Smith

Purchased 2007

Portrait of Deborah Vernon Hackett, c. 1905

Florence Ada Fuller

Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2005

William Howitt

William Howitt, woodcarver and sculptor, began his career in the UK, decorating ships’ interiors and working on ecclesiastical items.

1 portrait in the collection

Benita Collings

Benita Collings (b. 1940) actor and television personality, is best known as the longest-serving presenter on ABC TV's Play School.

1 portrait in the collection

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

The Legend of Ruby and Archie

Devotion

A bond in song

Tim Storrier

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

4 portraits in the collection

Sir William Charles Windeyer, 1892

Tom Roberts

Gift of the family of Sir Victor and Lady Windeyer 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Justin Tjungurrayi, 2007

Portrait, inkjet print on cotton rag paper

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2020. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Warumpi Band

The Warumpi Band burst onto the Australian music scene in 1984 with the release of their first album Big Name, No Blankets.

2 portraits in the collection

Samantha Cook

Your backstage pass to 70s and 80s sounds and scenes

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

Jimmy Barnes at The Coogee Bay Hotel 1984 (detail) Grant Matthews

Pub Rock

Previous exhibition, 2020

Celebrate the people, places and sounds of Australian pub rock and its enduring impact on our nation’s identity.

Harry Williams

Harry Williams (b. 1951) is a Wiradjuri man and the first Indigenous footballer to represent Australia at international level.

1 portrait in the collection

Darby McCarthy, c. 1969 (printed 2019)

Ern McQuillan OAM

Purchased 2019

Annette Kellerman

Annette Kellerman (1886–1975), champion swimmer and entertainer, was among the early twentieth century's most recognisable women.

2 portraits in the collection

Darrell Sibosado

Darrell Sibosado is a Bard man of the Lombadina Community, in the West Kimberley region of Western Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

George Hoyningen-Huene and Jessie the Barmaid

Jessie Sinden

Portrait drawings from colonial Australia

Jessie Sinden was a barmaid at the Brooklyn Hotel on George Street in Sydney when she was 'discovered' by Baron George Hoyningen-Huene, a high-profile American fashion photographer and Hollywood figure.

1 portrait in the collection

Elegance in exile

Previous exhibition, 2012

Elegance in exile is an exhibition surveying the work of Richard Read senior, Thomas Bock, Thomas Griffiths Wainewright and Charles Rodius: four artists who, though exiled to Australia as convicts, created many of the most significant and elegant portraits of the colonial period.

George Rrurrambu Burarrwanga

George Rrurrambu Burarrwanga (1957–2007) was a Yolngu singer, activist and a founding member of the Warumpi Band.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Henry Wylie Norman

Sir Henry Wylie Norman (1826–1904), governor and army officer, was born in London, the son of a merchant who conducted his business chiefly in India and the Caribbean.

1 portrait in the collection

Robyn Archer, 1982

Robert McFarlane

Purchased 2003

Steven Heathcote AM

Steven Heathcote AM (b. 1964), dancer, is The Australian Ballet's longest-serving principal artist from 1987 to 2007.

1 portrait in the collection

Dennis Lillee AM MBE

Dennis Lillee AM MBE (b. 1949), fast bowler, led Australia's cricketing attack through the 1970s.

1 portrait in the collection

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

Tim Storrier, 1995

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

Thomas Lord

phra ajahn ekaggata fka terry milligan

Thomas Daunt Lord (1783–1865) was the commandant of the convict station on Maria Island from 1825 until 1832.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Benita Collings, 1986

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Tim Winton

Tim Winton (b. 1960) is the author of 29 books, with his work translated into 28 languages.

2 portraits in the collection

Mervyn Bishop

Batchelder & Company Photo

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

6 portraits in the collection

Richard Henry Horne, mid 1860s

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

Janet Holmes a Court AC

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

1 portrait in the collection

Telphia, 1990 (printed 2013)

Michael Riley

Purchased 2013

Major Thomas Lord, c. 1840

Henry Mundy

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Purchased 2015

Christine Manfield, 1997

Selina Snow

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 1999

Darrell, 1990 (printed 2013)

Michael Riley

Francesco Bartolozzi after John Webber

Purchased 2013

Captain James King, engraving after Webber, 1784

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

Sir Sidney Kidman

Sir Sidney Kidman, pastoralist (1857-1935), is Australia's 'cattle king'.

2 portraits in the collection

Robert Drewe (in the swell), 2006

Nicholas Harding

Purchased 2010

Vlase Zanalis

Portrait, oil on masonite

Palassis (Vlase, Vlazio or Vlasio) Zanalis (1902–1973) arrived in Western Australia as a twelve-year-old, accompanied by an uncle, from the Greek island of Kastellorizo in 1914.

1 portrait in the collection

A photographer’s glamorous friends

Nearest & Dearest

Community, arts, activism

The Awakening (Self portrait), 1946

Vlase Zanalis

Purchased 2015

Portrait of Bennilong, a Native of New Holland

Portrait of Bennilong, a Native of New Holland, c. 1810

Portrait, ilfochrome photograph on paper

Purchased 2014

Betty Churcher, 1994

Anne Zahalka

Gift of the artist 2021

Henry Wade, c. 1841

Portrait, oil on paperboard

Gift of the Wade and Hannah families 2013

Adut Akech, 2018 (printed 2020)

Gift of the artist 2020

Nancy Bird Walton - Pioneer, 2003

Danelle Bergstrom

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2004

Sir George Grey, c. 1845

Theresa Walker

Portrait, cast wax

Purchased 1999

The Aboriginal community of Lake Tyers, Gippsland

The Aboriginal community of Lake Tyers, Gippsland, c. 1890

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on paper on card

Purchased 2010

Adut Akech with brother Bior, 2018 (printed 2020)

Gift of the artist 2020

Jarinyanu David Downs

Jarinyanu David Downs (c. 1925–1995), Wangkajunga/Walmajarri painter, printmaker and preacher, lived a traditional life in the Great Sandy Desert of West Australia until he was a young man.

2 portraits in the collection

Adut Akech with siblings Kim, Yar, Bior and Alakiir, 2018 (printed 2020)

Gift of the artist 2020

Adut Akech with baby sister Akoul, 2018 (printed 2020)

Gift of the artist 2020

John Hamilton, 1969

Meg Padgham

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

Edward Riou

The Illustrated London News after Jesse Young

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

2 portraits in the collection

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

Portrait, wood engraving on paper

Purchased 2010

Mr George Watson

George John Watson (1829–1906), racing entrepreneur, was born at Ballydarton in Co.

1 portrait in the collection

Thomas Mackdougall Brisbane

Thomas Mackdougall Brisbane (1773-1860) was born into an aristocratic Scottish family and entered the army at the age of 16.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Oswald Brierly

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

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

Mervyn Bishop

Purchased 2000

Albert Frederick Calvert

Albert Frederick Calvert (1872-1946), author, traveller and mining engineer, first visited Australia in 1890, when he undertook a journey of exploration from Lake Gairdner to the upper Murchison River.

1 portrait in the collection

Agnes Goodsir

Born in Portland in south-west Victoria, Agnes Goodsir (1864–1939) initially painted still life before applying herself to the challenge of portraiture.

1 portrait in the collection

Koko & Kiko (42nd Street Series), 1980 by Larry Clark

Best buds

It’s important to have a best bud when you’re growing up. For many boys the transition from boyhood through adolescence is defined by wanting to fit in.

Brian T. Loton AC

Brian Thorley Loton AC (1929–2022) was chairman of BHP from 1992 to 1997.

2 portraits in the collection

Portrait of Bennilong, Native of New Holland

Portrait of Bennilong, Native of New Holland, c. 1798

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Warumpi Band, Sydney Opera House, 1984 (printed 2021)

Juno Gemes

James Faed, W Wilding after John Watson Gordon

Purchased 2021

General Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1850 (published)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Susie Porter, 2000 (printed 2001)

Peter Brew-Bevan

Purchased 2001

Bob Brown at his home in Liffey, 1988 (printed 2013)

Helga Leunig

Portrait, direct positive colour photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Helga Leunig 2013

Steve Waugh, 2001

Russell Shakespeare

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

Patrick White, Castle Hill, Sydney, 1963 (printed 2000)

David Moore

The series 'David Moore: From Face to Face' was acquired as a gift of the artist and with financial assistance from Timothy Fairfax AC and L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2001

Janet Holmes á Court, 2001 (printed 2011)

Lorrie Graham

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Betsy Napangardi Lewis, 2007

Portrait, inkjet print on cotton rag paper

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2020. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Rarely Everage

The Lives of Barry Humphries

Previous exhibition, 2002

The exhibition begins with Barry's childhood in Camberwell, Melbourne and chronicles his days as a struggling actor in Australia and England, his creation of characters including Barry McKenzie, Dame Edna Everage, Sandy Stone and Sir Les Patterson

Westralia (Mr Albert Frederick Calvert), 1895

Sir Leslie Ward, Vincent Brooks, Day & Son, Vanity Fair Magazine

Portrait, chromolithograph on paper

Gift of Ronald Walker 2002

George Lambert

George Lambert (1873–1930), artist, was born in St Petersburg and lived in Germany and England before coming to Australia with his family at the age of fourteen.

7 portraits in the collection

LeGarde Twins, c. 1966

Jozef Vissel

Portrait, natural earth pigments and synthetic polymer paint on linen

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2015

Jarinyanu Dancing at Broome Festival, 1990

Jarinyanu David Downs

Purchased 2017

George Burarrwanga, Warumpi Band, 1984 (printed 2021)

Juno Gemes

Purchased 2021

Hermannsburg Potters

The Hermannsburg Potters are a collective of highly respected senior women artists of the Western Arrarnta (Arrernte) community.

1 portrait in the collection

Jules Poret de Blosseville

Jules Poret de Blosseville (1802-1833), geographer, navigator and explorer, was a junior officer on the Coquille, which, under the command of Louis Isidore Duperrey, conducted a voyage to Oceania and South America between 1822 and 1825.

1 portrait in the collection

Ernest Giles

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

1 portrait in the collection

Tom LeGarde

Tom LeGarde (1931–2021) and Ted LeGarde (1931–2018), 'The LeGarde Twins', were early pioneers of country music.

1 portrait in the collection

Robyn Archer, 1990

George Gittoes AM

Gift of Robyn Archer AO 2012. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Ted LeGarde

Ted LeGarde (1931–2018) and Tom LeGarde (1931–2021), ‘The LeGarde Twins’, were early pioneers of country music.

1 portrait in the collection

Bob Brown

Bob Brown (b. 1944), environmentalist, doctor and former politician, is an environmental campaigner and former Parliamentary Leader of the Australian Greens.

2 portraits in the collection

Hermannsburg Potters, 1999

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

Nancy Bird Walton, c. 1973

Judy Cassab AO CBE

Gift of Nancy Bird Walton AO OBE 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Glenn McGrath AO

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

1 portrait in the collection

George Hoyningen-Huene and Jessie the Barmaid, 1937

Gift of Danina Dupain Anderson 2021. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Nicholas Paspaley Jnr

Portrait, watercolour, coloured pencil, crayon, gouache and fibre-tipped pen on paper

Nicholas Paspaley Jnr AC (b. 1948) is chair of the Paspaley Group of Companies, with interests in pearling, aviation, retail, pastoral holdings and commercial properties in Australia and internationally.

2 portraits in the collection

Brian Loton, BHP,

Joe Greenberg

Gift of the artist 2001

Judith Inkamala, 1999

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

Neil Murray

Neil Murray (b. 1956), singer/songwriter, grew up in country Victoria, studied art and became a teacher.

2 portraits in the collection

Brian Loton, 1996

Brian Dunlop

Under the Milky Way tonight

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

Icons Syndicate

Listed alphabetically

Honour board

The Go-Betweens, London, c.1986 Warwick Orme

Oz Indie

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on resin-coated paper

It was the era of recording your favourite songs directly from the radio; of seeing the latest acts and clips on Countdown; and when the Aussie bands you saw on TV and heard in the charts were the ones you could see live at the pub.

Harry Williams, 2005

Sahlan Hayes

Purchased 2006

Samantha Cook, c. 2000

Penny Tweedie

Gift of the artist 2004

Portrait of Frank Lowy AC, 2014

Paul Newton

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2016
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Charles Haddon Chambers

Charles Haddon Chambers (1860-1921), playwright and dramatist, grew up in Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Nicholas Paspaley Jnr, 2018

Andrew Bonneau

Magazine article by Dr David Hansen, 2022

Commissioned with funds provided by Ross Adler AC 2018

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

The last word

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

Baron Jacques Hamelin

Baron Jacques Hamelin (1768-1839), French naval officer, began his sailing career at seventeen, making his first long voyage on a merchant marine ship to and from Angola.

1 portrait in the collection

Where the wild things are

Portrait, aquatint on paper

Michael Desmond explores the complex portrait of Dr Bob Brown by Harold 'The Kangaroo' Thornton.

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

Part of the crew of His Majesty's Ship Guardian endeavouring to escape in the boats, 1790

Robert Dodd

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Portrait of Captain Edward Riou, 1801

James Heath after Samuel Shelley

Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Geoffrey Dyer

Geoff Dyer (1947-2020) was renowned landscape and portrait painter whose practice depicted Tasmania and its people.

1 portrait in the collection

2014-15 Acquisition Fund

Annual Appeal

Kristin Headlam's portrait of Chris Wallace-Crabbe was acquired with the support of the Circle of Friends in 2014.

Lady Ellen Stirling

Portrait, carte de visite photograph on card

Lady Ellen Stirling (1807-1874) was the third daughter of James Mangles of Woodbridge in Surrey, a Director of the East India Company and later an MP.

1 portrait in the collection

William Robertson and Martha Mary Robertson

William Robertson and Martha Mary Robertson, 1863

William Edward Kilburn

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

Aboriginal couple, Finniss Springs Mission, South Australia, 1959 (printed 2000)

David Moore

Portrait, ink and watercolour on cardboard

Gift of the artist 2001. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
The series 'David Moore: From Face to Face' was acquired as a gift of the artist and with financial assistance from Timothy Fairfax AC and L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2001.

Charles Haddon Chambers, 1921

Ralph Barton

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

One-on-one

Current exhibition

On show in Gallery 3, One-on-one showcases portraits of pairs from the collection from the 1800s to today.

Miriam Hyde AO OBE

Previous exhibition, 2013

Miriam Hyde AO OBE (1913-2005), composer, recitalist, teacher, examiner, poet, lecturer and writer of numerous articles for music journals, studied first with her mother and then with William Silver at the Elder Conservatorium in Adelaide.

1 portrait in the collection

Judy Cassab

The artist's diary

The artist's diary profiles six decades of Cassab's work, from the early portrait commissions of the 1950s to later paintings that have helped confirm her eminent place in the canon of Australian portraiture.

Charles Summers, late 1860s

Batchelder & Company Photo

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

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

Linda Burney MLA Canturbury and Rick Farley at home, Marrickville

Hon. Linda Jean Burney

The Hon. Linda Jean Burney MP (b. 1957), a Wiradjuri woman, is the first First Nations person elected to the New South Wales parliament, and the first First Nations woman to serve in the federal House of Representatives.

2 portraits in the collection

Robyn Archer AO

Photographic Portraiture in Australia

Robyn Archer AO (b. 1948), performer, writer and director, began singing at four years old.

3 portraits in the collection

Mirror With A Memory

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 Henry Barkly, c. 1863

Portrait, albumen photograph carte de visite on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

William Birdwood KCMG KCSI KCB DSO

William Birdwood KCMG KCSI KCB DSO, 1st Baron Birdwood of Anzac and Totnes (1865-1951) commanded the Australian Corps for much of the First World War.

1 portrait in the collection

John Bulmer

John Bulmer (1833-1913), missionary and clergyman, came to Australia in 1852 and worked as a cabinetmaker in Melbourne for two years before going to the goldfields.

1 portrait in the collection

Wylie

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

James Tylor

James Tylor (b. 1986) is an Australian multi-disciplinary contemporary visual artist.

1 portrait in the collection

Louis Claude de Saulces de Freycinet

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

William Charles Windeyer, c. 1857

Portrait, daguerreotype

Gift of the Windeyer family 2009

Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri AO

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri AO (c. 1932–2002) was a founding member of the artists cooperative established at Papunya in the early 1970s and one of the most renowned practitioners within the Western Desert art movement.

2 portraits in the collection

Tracks in the sand

Dr Sarah Engledow discusses Quentin Jones's photograph of Australian author Tim Winton.

George Hurrell

Magazine article by Gillian Raymond, 2023

George Hurrell, born in Kentucky, began his working life studying painting at the Art Institute of Chicago.

1 portrait in the collection

Kyoto Temple Enlists Android Buddhist Deity to Help People, 23 February 2019 The Asahi Shimbun.

More than human

Gillian Raymond investigates the history of humanoid robots and asks, is this the future of portraiture?

John Vickery

John Vickery (1906-1983), illustrator, designer and painter was the only Australian to be part of the New York School in 1960s which includes painters such as Jackson Pollock, Joan Mitchell and Willem de Kooning.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert Neill

Robert Neill arrived in Van Diemen’s Land from Edinburgh in 1820 with his free-settler parents and two siblings.

1 portrait in the collection

Gordon Darling Hall, National Portrait Gallery

Architecture

About us

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

Dennis Lillee, 1977 (printed 2010)

Bruce Postle

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

Lady Barkly, 1863

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite on card

Purchased 2014

Giving a dam

True south #1

Previous exhibition, 2018

Ensconced and meditative in crisp Tasmania, Joanna Gilmour pays tribute to passionate green advocate and photographer Olegas Truchanas.

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.

Patrick Dodson

Patrick Dodson (b. 1948), Indigenous advocate and senator for Western Australia, is a Yawaru man who was born in Broome but spent most of his childhood and early schooling in the Northern Territory.

1 portrait in the collection

Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt

Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (1813-c. 1848) went to school and university in Germany but the range of his interests was such that he never actually graduated (he was later called Dr Leichhardt in recognition of his broad scholarship).

1 portrait in the collection

John Gould

Magazine article by Tara James, 2024

John Gould (1804–1881) is known as the ‘father of Australian ornithology’ for his Birds of Australia, published in seven volumes between 1840 and 1848.

1 portrait in the collection

Tara Gower and Baden Hitchcock, Chicago, 2019 Lisa Tomasetti

Stillness in movement

Tara James shares the joy of dance and its power to connect in the National Portrait Gallery’s touring exhibition Dancer.

John Sumner AO CBE

Portrait, steel engraving with later hand-colouring on paper

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

2 portraits in the collection

Wylie, 1840-1841

Robert Neill

Purchased 2018

Wayne Blair, 2007 (printed 2014)

Ingvar Kenne

Archived media releases 2015

Gift of the artist 2017. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Richard Walley OAM honoured in new Portrait Gallery commission

2 September 2015

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

Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1842

Frederick Bromley after Robert Frain

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Herbert John Louis Hinkler

Herbert John Louis (Bert) Hinkler (1892-1933), aviator, worked with a photographer and in sugar mills before joining the Queensland Aero club and taking a correspondence course in mechanics.

1 portrait in the collection

Pushpamala N

by Ajay Sinha

Previous exhibition, 2022

Pushpamala N. was born in 1956 in Bangalore. Her early training was in sculpture, but as her practice progressed she brought an early enthusiasm for narrative figuration into her photographic work.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022

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

Patrick White and Manoly Lascaris, 1987

Gift of Danina Dupain Anderson 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Hugh Jackman AC

John Cochran after Sir Thomas Lawrence

Hugh Jackman AC (b. 1968) is the ultimate triple threat – actor, singer and dancer.

1 portrait in the collection

Lt. Genrl. the Rt Honble. Sir George Murray G.C.B., G.C.H. &c.

Lt. Genrl. the Rt Honble. Sir George Murray G.C.B., G.C.H. &c., 1838

Five Years of National Portrait Gallery Commissions

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

David Cossini

Vox pops

Godfrey's amazing man. I've known him for four years now. He has a very tough story.

Making Portraits

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

The selfie stick

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

Last week ABC Television came to interview me about selfie sticks. The story was prompted by the announcement that the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has lately prohibited the use of these inside their galleries. So far as I am aware we have not yet encountered the phenomenon, but no doubt we will before too long.

Rock Island Bend. Franklin River, South West Tasmania, 1979 by Peter Dombrovskis

Written in Water

Olegas Truchanas and Peter Dombrovskis, photographers and conservationists, shared a love of photography and exploring wilderness areas of Tasmania.

Flash

Australian Athletes in Focus

Previous exhibition, 2006

Introduction The National Portrait Gallery’s photographic exhibition Flash: Australian Athletes in Focus explores various interpretations of Australian sporting men and women.

Bathing woman, Bridlington, c.1825 by John Dempsey

Allow me to introduce...

W Sherwin, John Stockdale after Francis Wheatley

These full-length figures in watercolour, gouache and pencil date mostly from the 1820s, and almost all come from the collection of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart.

Arthur Phillip Esq., Captain General and Commander in Chief in & over the territory of New South Wales

Arthur Phillip Esq., Captain General and Commander in Chief in & over the territory of New South Wales, 1789

Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

Wayne Blair

Wayne Blair (b. 1971), director, actor and writer, became interested in acting and dance while a high school student in Rockhampton in the 1980s.

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait as Sarah Wisse, Transported, 1996

Margaret Woodward

Photographic Portraits from 19th Century Australia

Gift of the Karmel family in memory of Lena and Peter Karmel 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Husbands and Wives

Previous exhibition, 2010

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

Ellen Stirling, c. 1828

Thomas Phillips

Purchased with funds provided by the Ian Potter Foundation 2008

Sylvia Breamer

Significant Australian Women 1913–2013

Sylvia Bremer (also Breamer) (1897–1943), actor, was born in Double Bay, Sydney, in June 1897 into a British-Australian naval family.

2 portraits in the collection

First Ladies

Previous exhibition, 2013

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

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.

Harry Kewell, 2011

Julian Kingma

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Sylvia Breamer, c. 1920

Witzel Studios

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Sylvia Breamer, c. 1917-1919

A bushranger meets his maker, 6 January 1826

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

The consolations of religion

Self Portraits in Australia

James McCabe provides proof that hanging wasn’t necessarily a fate reserved for the perpetrators of murder and other deeds of darkest hue.

To Look Within

Previous exhibition, 2004

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

Open Air

Portraits in the Landscape

Previous exhibition, 2008

Open Air is an exhibition of portraits of Australians in environments of particular significance to them.

Soffritto di Lucio, 2009

Garry Shead, Adrienne Levenson

Portrait, oil on linen

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lucio Galletto OAM 2012
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Australian Visit

Previous exhibition, 2006

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

Admiral Bligh, 1801

John Chapman

Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

Purchased 2010

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.

About the exhibition

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

Portraits from the Sigg collection, from 1979 to the present including painting, sculpture, photography, video and installation.

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.

Go Figure!

Magazine article by Claire Roberts, 2013

Claire Roberts interviews Swiss art collector Uli Sigg.

Duty bound

Previous exhibition, 2023

Joanna Gilmour explores the life of colonial women Lady Ellen Stirling, Eliza Darling, Lady Eliza Arthur, Elizabeth Macquarie and Lady Jane Franklin.

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.

Little treasures

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2002

The acquisition of the ivory miniatures of Mortimer and Mrs Lewis.

Go Figure! Contemporary Chinese Portraiture

12 July 2012

Previous media releases

Exhibited simultaneously at the two locations, Go Figure! is drawn from the Sigg Collection, the largest and most significant collection of contemporary Chinese art anywhere in the world.

Robert O'Hara Burke, c. 1860

Melbourne and Sydney Photographic Co

Magazine article by Ben Quilty, 2010

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Zhang Xiaogang

Featured Artists

Born 1958, Kunming, Yunnan Province. Lives and works in Beijing.

Observation point

The Australian painter Ben Quilty discusses his approach to portraiture.

Stephanie Alexander AO

Stephanie Alexander AO (b. 1940), cook, restaurateur, food writer and philanthropist, has been a major influence on Australian food and culinary culture for 50 years.

1 portrait in the collection

Queen Victoria

Portrait, oil and polymer vinyl paint on canvas

Last Sunday I had the privilege of appearing at the Canberra Writers’ Festival in conversation with Julia Baird. The subject of our session was Julia’s recent biography, Victoria the Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman who Ruled an Empire.

Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, 2002

Tim Johnson

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2002

2020 Annual Appeal

Annual Appeal

In 2020 the Annual Appeal was focussed on Sally Robinson's remarkable portrait of author Tim Winton.

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.

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.

Not perspiring, but glowing.

The cultural history of radiance.

Angus Trumble explores the creative manifestations of radiance.

Agus Suwage

by Enin Supriyanto

Born in 1959, Agus Suwage was educated in the creative hub of Central Java, Yogyakarta before moving west to study graphic design at the Bandung Institute of Technology.

Portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark

Tribute: Mary Isabel Murphy

Magazine article by Tamsin Hong, 2016

The Chairman, Board, Director and all the staff of the National Portrait Gallery mourn the loss of our Benefactor, Mary Isabel Murphy.

Rev. Victor B. Walls and Mrs. Walls, Trinidad, B.W.I., c.1930

The first nurse

Tamsin Hong recounts the tale of Marion Smith, the only known Australian Indigenous servicewoman of World War One.

Trumble and Borthwick families (Mum front right, Angus smallest), ca. 1968

Humdinger

Magazine article by Sandy Nairne, 2006

At a meeting by teleconference of the National Portrait Gallery Foundation last week, I found myself reporting that our forthcoming exhibition So Fine is going to be “a humdinger,” whereupon Tim Fairfax chuckled and said that he hadn’t heard that expression for years.

Why do painted portraits still matter?

Lecture by Sandy Nairne, Director, National Portrait Gallery, London, given at the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra on 28 April 2006.

Marianne Egan

Mary Anne Egan (also Marianne or Marian, née Cheers, 1818–1857), was born in Sydney, the daughter of ex-convicts.

1 portrait in the collection

Barry Humphries

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

Lady Isabella Louisa Parry

Explore The Popular Pet Show

Isabella Louisa Parry (née Stanley, 1801–1839), amateur artist, community worker and collector, was the daughter of Sir John Stanley, first Baron Stanley of Alderley, a Whig politician and member of the Royal Society.

1 portrait in the collection

Davida Allen

Going around a gallery with a child, we point to a painting of a dog and brightly ask ‘What’s that?’ If they don’t say ‘A dog’, we tell them that’s what it is. We don’t say it’s a shape inscribed by an artist that’s popularly understood to signify a dog. That’d only serve to foster a smarty-pants.

Nicholas Paspaley Jnr, 2018

by Andrew Bonneau

Magazine article by Kwon Hyeeun, 2019

Commissioned with funds provided by Ross Adler AC 2018

Portrait of Kang Sehwang, 1783 by Yi Myeonggi

The artist, the scholar and the gentleman

Kwon Hyeeun introduces Korean portraits of Kang Sehwang, and five generations of the Kang family.

Sir Les Patterson, 1999

Polly Borland

Magazine article by Louise Cummins, 2022

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Unpacked

Louise Cummins reveals the rich symbolism in Michael Peck’s photorealistic portrait of AFL legend and MND ambassador Neale Daniher.

Dr Brown and Green Old Time Waltz, 1983

Harold Thornton

Magazine article by Rebecca Ray, 2022

Gift of the Estate of Harold Thornton 2009

Unpacked

Rebecca Ray reflects on Robert Fielding’s Mayatjara series, honouring songlines and intergenerational knowedge.

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

The Mutineers turning Lieut Bligh and part of the Officers and Crew adrift from His Majesty's Ship the Bounty, 1790

Robert Dodd, B B. Evans

Portrait, aquatint engraving on paper

Purchased with funds provided by the Ian Potter Foundation 2008

Pat and Richard Larter, Luddenham, 1970s

Pin-ups

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2008

Christopher Chapman describes the art and life of Australian artist Richard Larter.

Richard Flanagan

Magazine article by Robert McFarlane, 2004

Richard Flanagan (b. 1961) was born in Longford in northern Tasmania, the second youngest of the six children of Archie Flanagan, a primary school principal, and his wife Helen.

1 portrait in the collection

Insightful

Henri-Cartier-Bresson invented the grammar for photographing life in the 20th century.

The aviatrix

Magazine article by Barry York, 2018

Joanna Gilmour explores the extraordinary life of Australian female aviator Nancy Bird Walton AO OBE

Star signs

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

Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE

Spikes: then and now

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

As part of its ongoing program of commissions of portraits of prominent Australians, the National Portrait Gallery has unveiled a portrait of Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson by South Australian artist Avril Thomas.

General Birdwood, the Idol of Anzac, taking a dip in the sea after a hard days work 1915

In the thick of it

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

Projecting the splendour of the empire, and the resolve of its subjects, the bust of William Birdwood keeps a stiff upper lip in the National Portrait Gallery.

Suave

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

Charles Haddon Chambers the Australian-born playboy playwright settled permanently in London in 1880 but never lost his Australian stance when satirising the English.

In a good paddock

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2011

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.

Of human clay

Magazine article by Niamh MacNally, 2007

The first collaborative commission has arrived. It's a self portrait, it's ceramic and it's from Hermannsburg.

One and all

The current exhibition of portraits at the National Gallery of Ireland Print Gallery investigates just how paper-thin ideas of likeness are.

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.

Chet Baker, singer, New York City, January 16, 1986 by Richard Avedon

The existential lens

Magazine article by Stephen Zagala, 2013

Stephen Zagala discusses Richard Avedon’s work from an Australian perspective.

Swimming every day

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2015

National Photographic Portrait Prize judge Christopher Chapman connects this year’s entries to iconic contemporary american photographers.

School portraits

Inga Walton sheds light on a portraiture collection usually only seen by students and teachers at Melbourne University.

Seeing stars

Celebrating Science Week

NPPP 2015 exhibition essay

It has been suggested that Sir Thomas Brisbane’s interest in the New South Wales governorship was as attributable to his passion for astronomy as to the desirability of the position as a prestigious career move.

Swimming every day

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2017

Dr Christopher Chapman, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2015 Prize.

Chairman Sid Myer AM, Deputy Chair Hayley Baillie, Tim Bednall, Jillian Broadbent AC, Patrick Corrigan AM, Marilyn Darling AC, Tim Fairfax AC, Sam Meers AO, John Liangis, Dr Helen Nugent AC, Nigel Satterley AM and Susan Armitage

Foundation Members

Foundation

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

Portrait of William Manning, c.1821 by Henry Bone

Of beef in burgundy

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

A guy from Paris

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2018

Sarah Engledow on a foundational gallery figure who was quick on the draw.

Benny (42nd Street Series), 1979–80 by Larry Clark

City boys

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2016

Christopher Chapman immerses himself in Larry Clark’s field of vision.

History

About us

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

Beau Dean Riley Smith, Wiradjuri and Gamilaraay nations, Bennelong, 2017

Space in between

Magazine article by Rebecca Ray, 2022

Rebecca Ray goes backstage with Bangarra’s Head of Design and photographer Jacob Nash.

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.

James Baldwin, writer, Harlem, New York 1945 by Richard Avedon

The Avedon effect

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2013

Dr Christopher Chapman explores how we can understand Richard Avedon's photographs.

Real close

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2012

Peter Ciemitis breached regulations when creating the portrait of the polymath environmental scientist George Seddon.

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.

In profile

Polly Borland

Magazine article by Oliver Giles, 2023

Polly Borland talks to Oliver Giles about the celebrity portraits that made her name and why she’s now making more abstract art.

Self-portrait with guardian spirits, 2009-2010 Kate Beynon

Kate Beynon’s transcultural life and art

Phoebe Lupton profiles artist Kate Beynon, whose contemplative self portrait features in Archie 100: A Century of the Archibald Prize.

Sydney Cove medallion, 1789 by Josiah Wedgwood

The medallion

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2011

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.

Man of the year

Exhibition curator Christine Clark introduces the work by Indonesian artist Agus Suwage created for Beyond the self: Contemporary portraiture from Asia.

Herra Pahlasari

by Aminudin TH Siregar

Magazine article by Sandra Bruce, 2021

At the time of Herra Pahlasari’s birth in 1978, her academic parents were living in Canberra.

Splendid, many-splendoured

Sandra Bruce gazes on love and the portrait through Australian Love Stories’ multi-faceted prism.

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

Portraiture in a Bleak House

Magazine article by Dr Jacqui Strecker, 2008

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.

Two pair

Stuttgart's Art Museum is showing Otto Dix portraits alongside artists from Lucas Cranach to Andy Warhol.

Louise Lovely feeding gulls in a park, 1969 Unknown photographer

Jewelled nights

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2017

Anne Sanders celebrates the cinematic union of two pioneering australian women.

Nusra Latif Qureshi

by Hammad Nasar

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2016

Nusra Latif Qureshi was born in Pakistan in 1973 and originally trained in the traditional art of Mughal miniature (musaviri) paintings.

Cachasunghia, Osage Warrior 1804–06 by Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin

Political profiles

Joanna Gilmour examines the prolific output of Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin, and discovers the risk of taking a portrait at face value.

The Philosophy of Teapots and Ducks

Magazine article by Gillian Raymond, 2005

Cartoonist Michael Leunig's insights into the human condition and current affairs have become famous Australia-wide.

The Saint and the merchant

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

Emanuel Solomon gave shelter to the Sisters of St Joseph upon the excommunication of St Mary MacKillop.

International issue

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

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

Expect the unexpected

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

Stand Proud

Magazine article by Anne O'Hehir, 2023

Anne O’Hehir chats with artist Kim Leutwyler about courage, community and the ethics of looking.

Two painters

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2007

Chris Chapman explains how Matthys Gerber bridges the gap between abstraction and portraiture.

Portraits and other stories

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2006

As the National Portrait Gallery opens its exhibition of portrait and figurative work by veteran photographer Sam Haskins, the artist reflects on the highlights of his fifty-year career so far.

Alexander Pearce
executed for murder
July 19th 1824

Public hanging

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2008

As a convict Thomas Bock was required to sketch executed murders for science; as a free man, fashionable society portraits.

Waterfall in Australia, c. 1830 by Augustus Earle

Augustus serendipitous

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2016

The London-born son of an American painter, Augustus Earle ended up in Australia by accident in January 1825.

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.

Fits of delicacy and despair

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

Nikhil Chopra

by Rattanamol Johal

Magazine article by Karen Quinlan AM, 2019

Nikhil Chopra was born in 1974, in Calcutta. His first degree was in commerce, but in 1997 he took up fine art studies, eventually gaining a Masters in Fine Art from Ohio State University, United States.

Girl with Cigarette, c. 1925 by Agnes Goodsir

Agnes enigma

Karen Quinlan considers the case of Agnes Goodsir, whose low profile in Australia belies her overseas acclaim.

The eye and the heart

Nici Cumpston immerses herself in the collective vision of the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020.

Mural of Italian/Roman actress Anna Magnani (1908–1973) with face mask, April 2020 Unknown artist

Of plague and portraits

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

Corinna Cullen on the symbolic power of pandemic-related imagery over the ages.

South-bound and down

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

Cover, first minute book of the Tasmanian Society of Natural History

Embrace your inner nerd

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2019

The southern winter has arrived. For people in the northern hemisphere (the majority of humanity) the idea of snow and ice, freezing mist and fog in June, potentially continuing through to August and beyond, encapsulates the topsy-turvidom of our southern continent.

Karl Robert, Count Nesselrode, 1818 by Sir Thomas Lawrence

The Lawrence lustre

Angus Trumble salutes the glorious portraiture of Sir Thomas Lawrence.

The stately lotus

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

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

Cultural kaleidoscope

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

Portrait of the Gallery

Magazine article by Graeme Dix, 2016

A design diary retrospective.

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.

Untitled (girl on chair with red shoes) by Violet Frisby

Finding Mrs Frisby

Magazine article by Robyn Sweaney, 2016

Robyn Sweaney's quiet Violet obsession.

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.

Diamond Doll

Magazine article by Karen Vickery, 2016

Karen Vickery delights in a thespian thread of the Australian yarn.

Dupain detective

Magazine article by Johanna McMahon, 2019

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

Missionary positions

Magazine article by Stella Ramage, 2016

Stella Ramage on Father McHardy’s Bougainville portraiture.

The Window Seat, 1907 by Frances Hodgkins

Kiwi magpie

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2018

Penelope Grist finds inspiration in pioneering New Zealand artist, Frances Hodgkins.

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.

Of ice and men

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

Frank Hurley's celebrated images document the heroism and minutiae of Australian exploration in Antarctica.

Helen Blaxland judging flower arrangements, c. 1940s photographer unknown

Petal to the mettle

Sarah Engledow lauds the very civil service of Dame Helen Blaxland.

Eating the seasons

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2019

Anne Sanders imbibes Tony Bilson’s gastronomic revolution.

Shall I raise my eyebrows and gasp? (Alex), 2011 by TextaQueen

Pen power

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2015

Politics and personae in the portraiture of TextaQueen by Jane Raffan.

Anangu landscape learning

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2023

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

Illuminating history

Joanna Gilmour reflects on 25 years of collecting at the National Portrait Gallery.

The importance of being bearded

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2012

Joanna Gilmour discovers that the beards of the ill-fated explorers Burke and Wills were as epic as their expedition to traverse Australia from south to north.

High & Bligh

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

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

Murray frees himself from straightjacket in public, 1928 by Sam Hood

Risky business

Magazine article by John Zubrzycki, 2016

John Zubrzycki lauds the characters of the Australian escapology trade.

Friends and Acquaintances

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

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

Getting a head

Magazine article by Alexandra Roginski, 2015

Alexandra Roginski gets a feel for phrenology’s fundamentals.

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.

The Dissecting Room

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

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

Fiona McMonagle

Explore The Popular Pet Show

Fiona aims to create a dangerous situation with a flood of water on the paper, forcing each work to the point where it can fail, and then rescuing it.

Flash mob

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

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

Anna Culliton

Explore The Popular Pet Show

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.

Through blue eyes

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

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

Patrick White at Centennial Park, 1979–1980

Listomania

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

Sarah Engledow describes the fall-out once Brett Whiteley stuck Patrick White’s list of his loves and hates onto his great portrait of the writer.

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

A feast of friends

Magazine article by Richard Ormond, 2015

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

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

Queen of cartes

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

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

The Art Lovers - Megan, 2013 by Gary Grealy

Everybody, look serious

NPPP 2014 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

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

A real Pratt

The death of a gentlewoman is shrouded in mystery, a well-liked governor finds love after sorrow, and two upright men become entangled in the historical record.

The shipwright's arms

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

Joanna Gilmour explores the life and times of convict-turned-artist William Buelow Gould.

Trevor Jamieson, 2016 by Brett Canet-Gibson

The more things change...

NPPP 2017 exhibition essay

Dr Sarah Engledow, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2017 Prize.

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.

The personal and the historical

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

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

The Right Honourable Sir Ninian Stephen KGAK GCMG GCVO KBE QC, 2006 by Rick Amor

Prima facie

Sarah Engledow casts a judicious eye over portraits in the Victorian Bar’s Peter O’Callaghan QC Portrait Gallery.

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.

Uncommon Australians

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

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

Inner Worlds and psychoanalysis

Lecture, 4 June 2011

Inner Worlds evokes a broad view of psychology as a discipline. However, the specific interests of the practitioners whose portraits are included in the exhibition incorporate specialist areas including psychoanalysis.

Rick Amor: 21 Portraits

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

Some prime ministers

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

Nicholas Harding: 28 Portraits

Exhibition essay