Search / christian waller

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper on card

Christian Waller (née Yandell, 1894–1954), printmaker, muralist and stained-glass artist, was born in Castlemaine, Victoria and commenced studying art at the Castlemaine School of Mines in 1905.

1 portrait in the collection

Christian Waller, c. 1920s

an unknown artist

Gift of an anonymous donor 2022

Napier Waller CMG OBE

Napier Waller CMG OBE (1893–1972), painter, graphic artist, teacher and stained-glass designer, studied art at the National Gallery school in Melbourne and first exhibited at the Victorian Artists' Society in 1915.

1 portrait in the collection

Napier Waller

In their own words

Recorded 1965

Lenny, 2019

Karen Waller

Portrait, pastel on paper

Margaret Anderson, 1942

Napier Waller CMG OBE

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Writing on the Wall, 2019

Dr Christian Thompson AO

Rev. Fred Nile, Festival of Light, Sydney

Fred Nile MLC

The Rev. Fred Nile MLC (b. 1934) Leader of the Christian Democratic Party was born and raised in King's Cross, Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

The Hon Gough Whitlam, Ossie Cruse and Michael Anderson

Ossie Cruse AM MBE

Magazine article by Dr Grace Blakeley-Carroll, 2015

Ossie Cruse AM MBE, Aboriginal Elder and Christian Pastor, has for over 20 years been a prominent campaigner for reconciliation and social justice for Australia's indigenous peoples.

1 portrait in the collection

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

Enigma

Grace Carroll contemplates the curious case of Christian Waller.

The line of fire

Magazine article by Michelle Fracaro, 2005

Michelle Fracaro examines the life of World War II nurse Margaret Anderson, whose portrait by Napier Waller is in the NPG collection.

Bishop Spong, 2006

by Marina Dearnley

John Cochran after Henry Room

Captain R.C. Morgan, Missionary ship 'John Williams'

Captain R.C. Morgan, Missionary ship 'John Williams', n.d.

Portrait, engraving on paper

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

Captain Robert Clark Morgan

Captain Robert Clark Morgan (1798-1864), Christian mariner, whaler and diarist, entered the Royal Navy at the age of eleven, leaving at sixteen for the merchant marine and beginning a career in whaling, a pursuit he relished.

1 portrait in the collection

Leslie Bowles

Leslie Bowles (1885-1954), sculptor, was born in Sydney and began his studies in modelling and woodcarving at the Brisbane Technical College.

1 portrait in the collection

Susie Bick

Susie Bick (b. 1966) was born in Cheshire, England. Discovered at age fourteen, Bick had modelled for album covers for bands including Roxy Music and The Damned, appeared in advertising campaigns for Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent and other fashion houses, and walked the catwalk for Vivienne Westwood and others.

1 portrait in the collection

Noel McGrowdie

Noel 'Digger' McGrowdie (1920-1961), jockey, was born in Brisbane and educated at a Christian Brothers School in Toowoomba before being apprenticed in Brisbane at the age of fourteen.

1 portrait in the collection

B A Santamaria

Bartholomew Augustine Santamaria (1915-1998) was an influential Catholic public intellectual, journalist and strategist.

1 portrait in the collection

Joseph Brown AO OBE

Joseph Brown AO OBE (1918–2009), art collector, art dealer and philanthropist, arrived in Australia with his father and siblings from Poland in 1933; his mother had passed away shortly before their departure.

2 portraits in the collection

Paul Fitzgerald AM

Paul Fitzgerald AM, a Melbourne-based artist, made his career as a professional portraitist.

4 portraits in the collection

Peter Corris

Peter Corris (1942-2018), author, was educated at Melbourne High School and the University of Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Errol Flynn

Errol Flynn (1909-1959), actor, was born in Hobart, where his father was a biology lecturer, and spent his childhood in Tasmania, England and Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Karl Friedrich Abel

Thomas Gainsborough

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Cyril Henschke in his tasting room at Keyneton

Cyril Henschke in his tasting room at Keyneton, 1968

Douglass Baglin

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

B A Santamaria, 1996

Wes Walters

Portrait, oil on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift the Santamaria Family 2014
In loving memory of Catherine who persuaded her father to sit for the portrait and who chose Wes Walters as the artist

Study for commissioned portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark (full-length study)

Study for commissioned portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark (full-length study), 2005

Jiawei Shen

Portrait, oil on canvas

Commissioned with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy 2005

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

Portrait, aquatint engraving on paper

Purchased with funds provided by the Ian Potter Foundation 2008

David Malangi Daymirringu

David Malangi Daymirringu (1927-1999), Manharrngu, bark painter, printer and designer, was born at Mulanga, near the mouth of the Glyde River, just before Christian missionaries arrived on the nearby island of Milingimbi.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Leslie Herron KBE CMG KStJ

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Sir Leslie Herron CMG (1902-1973), Chief Justice of New South Wales, graduated in law from the University of Sydney in 1924.

1 portrait in the collection

Noel McGrowdie, 1957 (printed 2003)

Ern McQuillan OAM

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Rev. Fred Nile, Festival of Light, Sydney, 1981

John Williams

Portrait, montage of gelatin silver photographs

Purchased 1999

Admiral Bligh, 1801

John Chapman

Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

Purchased 2010

Leanne Benjamin, 1999 (printed 2022)

Polly Borland

Portrait, type C photograph on paper

Purchased 2022

Ryan Presley: Paradise won

Current exhibition

Marri Ngarr artist Ryan Presley's site-specific commission Paradise won is prominently positioned at the Gallery’s entrance. This ambitious new work invites conversations about the ongoing legacies of colonisation and celebrates First Nations survival and autonomy.

Jarinyanu David Downs, 1986

Martin van der Wal

Portrait, inkjet print on rag paper

Purchased 2005

David Malangi Daymirringu, 1986

Martin van der Wal

Portrait, inkjet print on rag paper

Purchased 2005

Sir Leslie Herron, 1969

Esme Bell

Portrait, oil on masonite

Gift of Susan Crawford OAM 2016

Hon. Chris Watson

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on cabinet card

John Christian Watson, known as Chris Watson (1867-1941), Australia’s third Prime Minister, was born in Valparaiso, Chile, grew up in New Zealand and left school at 10 years of age to work on railway construction projects.

1 portrait in the collection

Bessie Lee, c. 1890

Yeoman & Co, Melbourne

Purchased 2017

The Awakening (Self portrait), 1946

Vlase Zanalis

Portrait, oil on masonite

Purchased 2015

Jarinyanu David Downs

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on studio mount

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

Mary Windeyer, c. 1891

Freeman Brothers

Gift of J.B. Windeyer 2018

Dominique Issermann

Portrait, glass plate negative

Dominique Issermann (b. 1946), a fashion, advertising and portrait photographer known for her striking black and white images, was born in Paris and became interested in photography as a teenager.

1 portrait in the collection

Mary Windeyer on the verandah at Tomago, NSW

Mary Windeyer on the verandah at Tomago, NSW, c. 1880s

an unknown artist

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Windeyer family 2012

Peter Steele

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

1 portrait in the collection

Dr Julie Dowling

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint and red ochre on canvas

Julie Dowling, an artist of Badimaya, Irish and Scottish Catholic heritage, was born in Subiaco, Western Australia and grew up in nearby urban and semi-rural areas.

2 portraits in the collection

Richard Walley, 2015

Dr Julie Dowling

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

Jarinyanu Dancing at Broome Festival, 1990

Jarinyanu David Downs

Portrait, natural earth pigments and synthetic polymer paint on linen

Purchased 2017

The Parlour

General content

The Victorian era has been described as one wherein death was a part of everyday experience. People died at home having been nursed in their final illnesses by family members.

Mary Windeyer, 1850s

an unknown artist

Portrait, watercolour and gouache on ivory

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

Barton and Watson, 1902

G. H. Dancey

Portrait, pen and ink on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Mary Windeyer

Portrait, oil and gold leaf on cedar panel

Mary Windeyer (née Bolton, 1837-1912), women's rights campaigner, was one of the nine children of Robert Thorley Bolton, a clergyman who emigrated to New South Wales in 1839.

3 portraits in the collection

Acacius (Stigmata) - Tony Carden, 1991

AñA Wojak

Gift of Lesley Saddington 2015

Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois, Governor of South Australia

Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois, Governor of South Australia, 1881

Solomon Studios

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on cabinet card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Headspace 3

Being Me

Previous exhibition, 2002

The self-portrait enables students to explore emerging and changing aspects of their own identity, their sense of self, their place in the world, their experience of being human

William Bligh

Previous exhibition, 2020

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

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.

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

Gordon Powell AM KCSJ

Gordon Powell AM KCSJ (1911-2005) Presbyterian minister, broadcaster and writer, is regarded as one of the most influential Australian Presbyterians.

1 portrait in the collection

Mary Elizabeth Maud Chomley OBE

Archived media releases 2015

Mary Elizabeth Maud Chomley OBE (1872–1960) has been described as the 'divine angel of mercy' for Australian prisoners of war during the First World War.

1 portrait in the collection

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.

Arianne McNaught

Finalist interviews

I think the most important thing in capturing candid shots is to never take the photo when people are expecting you to press the shutter. The more poignant moments are not the stock standard images of people looking at the camera smiling but after or before when they are really interacting with each other.

Kylie Tennant, early 1980s (printed 2018)

Jacqueline Mitelman

Portrait, inkjet print on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

The Reverend Ralph Sutton, 1935

Max Dupain OBE

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

Sir William F. Jervois

Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois (1821-1897), governor, attended the Royal Military Academy before being commissioned to the Royal Engineers in 1839.

1 portrait in the collection

David Unaipon

David Unaipon (1872-1967) writer, public speaker and inventor, was a Ngarrindjeri man, fourth of nine children of the evangelist James Ngunaitponi and his wife Nymbulda, both of whom were Yaraldi speakers.

1 portrait in the collection

Betsy (Bessie) Lee

Betsy (Bessie) Lee Cowie (1860–1950), 'Australia's Temperance Queen', spent the early part of her life in Daylesford, Victoria, one of the five children of Henry Vickery, a butcher and miner, and his wife Emma.

1 portrait in the collection

Archbishop Michael Kelly

Previous exhibition, 2023

Michael Kelly (1850-1940), Roman Catholic archbishop, was born and educated in Ireland before proceeding to the Irish College in Rome.

1 portrait in the collection

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.

First Ladies

Significant Australian Women 1913–2013

Previous exhibition, 2013

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

High & Bligh

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

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

Miss Robertson of Colac (Dolly), 1885-86

Brothers on farms

Magazine article by Malcolm Robertson, 2011

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

Sophisticated and glamorous

Magazine article by Amanda Rowell, 2015

Michael Riley’s early portraits by Amanda Rowell.

Vlase Zanalis

Magazine article by Mette Skougaard and Thomas Lyngby, 2018

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

HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, 2006 Ralph Heimans AM

Dane reign

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

Promise Fulfilled

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

The life and achievements of Sir Edward Holden, who is represented in the portrait collection by a bust created by Leslie Bowles.

Australians in Hollywood

Previous exhibition, 2003

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

All dressed up

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2013

Jane Raffan asks do clothes make the portrait, and can the same work with a new title fetch a better price?

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa

Husbands and Wives

Photographic Portraits from 19th Century Australia

Previous exhibition, 2010

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

Mrs NR Mackintosh (Anne) by Ruth Hollick

Natural, artistic and unselfconscious

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2016

Angus Trumble gazes at the once bright star of photographer Ruth Hollick.

Nannultera, a young cricketer of the Natives' Training Institution, Poonindie , 1854 John Michael Crossland

The catechist and the cricketer

Magazine article by Stephen Valambras Graham, 2021

Stephen Valambras Graham traverses the intriguing socio-political terrain behind two iconic First Nations portraits of the 1850s.

Arianne McNaught

NPPP 2012 learning resource

An interview with the photographer.

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.

Australian Princess

Magazine article by Katherine Russell, 2005

The full-length portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark by artist Jiawei Shen, has become a destination piece for visitors.

Eko Nugroho

by Adeline Ooi

Artist essays

Born and raised in Yogyakarta, Eko Nugroho (b. 1977) entered the art scene at the height of Reformasi.

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.

200 Years of Portraiture

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

To celebrate his family bicentenary, Malcolm Robertson looks at the portraiture legacy left by his ancestors.

In the galleries

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

Michael Wardell – Country of birth: Ireland 2014 by Jacques van der Merwe

Look who's coming to dinner

Magazine article by Michael Wardell, 2016

Michael Wardell’s personal insight into Jacques van der Merwe’s New Arrivals.

To arrive at hope

NPPP 2020 exhibition essay

General content

Penelope Grist, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2020 Prize.

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

Of plague and portraits

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2015

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

Stigma stigmata

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

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

The cost of living luxuriously

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2003

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

Australians in Hollywood

The exhibition Australians in Hollywood celebrated the achievements of Australians in the highly competitive American film industry.

Missionary positions

Magazine article by Stella Ramage, 2016

Stella Ramage on Father McHardy’s Bougainville portraiture.

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.

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

Great Scots

Magazine article by Diana O'Neil, 2017

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

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

The 'I' in Indigenous art

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2013

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

Earth to earth

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

Dr Sarah Engledow discusses the recent gift of works by David Campbell.

The personal and the historical

Magazine article by Meredith Hughes, 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 art of multiplicity

Meredith Hughes explores a key Portrait Gallery work, emerging into the infinite iterations of identity.

Asiel Timor Dei, ca. 1728 by a master of Calamarca

The Viceroyalty of New Spain

Explore The Popular Pet Show

European painters always enjoyed a good deal of latitude in the representation of angels, those asexual, bodiless, celestial regiments of God, so long as they were young and beautiful.

Noel McKenna

It’s a matter beyond dispute that in the entire history of Australian art, it’s Noel McKenna who’s painted the liveliest rendition of the head of a Chihuahua.

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.

An evening at Yarra Cottage, Port Stephens

Maria Caroline Brownrigg