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Christopher Brennan (1870–1932), poet, was born to Irish parents in Sydney.
2 portraits in the collection
Purchased 2014
Gift of Anne and Brennan Keats 2009
Angela Brennan (b. 1960) is a highly regarded contemporary Australian painter and ceramicist.
1 portrait in the collection
Nigel Brennan studied photography at Griffith University and works primarily in photo-documentary.
1 portrait in the collection
Purchased 2008
Gift of the artist 2021. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program.
After almost 12 years, Dr Christopher Chapman departed as Senior Curator in 2019.
Christopher Morris studied photography at Griffith University in Brisbane in the mid 1990s, during which he photographed many of the leading names in contemporary music including U2, Oasis, Pearl Jam, The Sex Pistols and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
1 portrait in the collection
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.
Dr Christopher Chapman, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2019 Prize.
Dr Christopher Chapman, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2010 Prize.
Dr Christopher Chapman, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2018 Prize.
Dr Christopher Chapman, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2009 Prize.
Dr Christopher Chapman, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2015 Prize.
Christopher Chapman immerses himself in Larry Clark’s field of vision.
Christopher Chapman delights in the intimacy of Robert Mapplethorpe's photography
Christopher Chapman looks at influences and insight in the formative years of Arthur Boyd.
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.
Christopher Chapman contemplates the provocative performance art of Chris Burden.
James Holloway describes the first portraits you encounter when entering the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
National Photographic Portrait Prize judge Christopher Chapman connects this year’s entries to iconic contemporary american photographers.
Art by Warwick Baker, Chris Burden, Larry Clark, Rozalind Drummond, Nan Goldin, Robert Mapplethorpe and Collier Schorr explores personal relations, individual expression and fluid identity.
As the subject changes the quality of their attention and mental focus, the portrait transforms, both appearance and sound.
20/20 showcases the dynamic suite of new portraits commissioned to celebrate the National Portrait Gallery’s 20th year. Leaders and individualists invited by the Gallery were matched with unique artists to create distinctive contemporary portraits.
Kate Murphy's video installation shows the artist listening to predictions made by a clairvoyant.
This exhibition explores creative process and identity.
This exhibition celebrates Australians whose unique life experiences symbolise social and cultural forces. Uncompromising individuality defines them. The portraits are drawn from the National Portrait Gallery’s collection of contemporary photography and drawing.
When a portrait communicates determination and individuality as boldly as these do, it has the potential to become an iconic image. For the Gallery’s 20th birthday this display brings together a group contemporary photographic portraits of inspiring women and men.
In its second year at the National Portrait Gallery, and for the first time touring to other venues, the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009 continues to present surprising perspectives on the nature of contemporary portrait photography.
The second instalment of a display featuring bold contemporary portraits drawn from the collection. For the Gallery’s 20th birthday this display brings together a group contemporary photographic portraits of inspiring women and men.
Focussing on the wide-ranging theme of loss and absence, this exhibition provides a moving ‘portrait’ of loss during the First World War on the Australian home front. Powerful symbolic images, including contemporary works, evoke the emotional intensity of loss. All that fall: Sacrifice, life and loss in the First World War is the National Portrait Gallery’s contribution to the Anzac Centenary.
Celebrate the Gallery’s 20th birthday summer with Electric! Portraits that pop! The collection exhibition features a mix of bright, bold and colourful paintings, prints and photographs, and buoyant video portraits.
The National Photographic Portrait Prize is an annual event intended to promote the very best in contemporary photographic portraiture by both professional and aspiring Australian photographers.
When a portrait communicates determination and individuality as boldly as these do, it has the potential to become an iconic image. For the Gallery’s 20th birthday this display brings together a group contemporary photographic portraits of inspiring women and men.
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.
Christopher Chapman reveals the intersection of iconoclastic Japanese figures Yukio Mishima and Tamotsu Yato.
Christopher Chapman ponders our digital identity and selfhood.
Christopher Chapman takes a trip through the doors of perception, arriving at the junction of surrealism and psychoanalysis.
Dr Christopher Chapman NPG Curator of Inner Worlds explains the development of an exhibition that spans from Surrealism to contemporary art.
In the video in Tough and tender Chris Burden narrates his performance artworks characterised by focused attention to mind over physical body.
Larry Clark's black-and-white documentary images of young outsiders reveal raw feelings.
This is the first time Collier Schorr's photographs, which explore gender and identity, have been shown in Australia.
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.
Lesley Harding, Curator, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne explores Albert Tucker’s experience of World War II, his interests in the intersection between psychology and creativity, and their influence on his portrait making.
Warwick Baker’s photos of his friends are intimate. They hold a stillness that allows their subjects to be at ease.
Rozalind Drummond’s photographs in the exhibition Tough and tender let us bring our imagination to the act of looking.
The photographs by Nan Goldin in Tough and tender are warm images of heartache and hope.
Dr Christopher Chapman looks at the life of Wurundjeri elder William Barak through the portrait painted by Victor de Pury in 1899.
Christopher Chapman absorbs the gentle touch of Don Bachardy’s portraiture.
Christopher Chapman discusses Rod McNicol's photographic portrait series Newcomers to my village.
Australian photographer Rod McNicol has consistently analysed the passing of time through the evidence of the photographic portrait. At once confronting and tender, McNicol’s portrait photographs are bold and intimate.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006
The National Photographic Portrait Prize 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.
The National Photographic Portrait Prize 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.
American photographer Richard Avedon produced portrait photographs that defined the twentieth century. Developed in partnership with the Richard Avedon Foundation in New York, the first Australian exhibition of Avedon’s bold portraits reveals the glamour and drama of his iconic artistic work.
Christopher Chapman profiles Chris Lilley, actor and creator of Angry Boys.
Christopher Chapman talks with Scott Redford about his character Reinhardt Dammn.
Dr Christopher Chapman explores how we can understand Richard Avedon's photographs.
Dr Christopher Chapman, curator of Inner Worlds: Portraits & Psychology looks at Albert Tucker's Heidelberg military hospital portraits.
Christopher Chapman considers photographer Rozalind Drummond's portrait of author Nam Le.
Christopher Chapman interviews photographer Nikki Toole about her bold and controlled portraits of skateboarders in the exhibition Skater.
James Angus discusses his major sculpture commission Geo Face Distributor with Christopher Chapman.
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.
Swedish-born Australian photographer, Ingvar Kenne, captures both individuality and shared human experience in his ongoing portrait project Citizen.
Anne Sanders and Christopher Chapman bring passionate characterisation to Express Yourself, the Portrait Gallery collection exhibition celebrating iconoclastic Australians.
All that fall: Sacrifice, life and loss in the First World War exhibition co-curators Dr Anne Sanders and Dr Christopher Chapman reflect on the evolution of the Gallery’s Anzac Centenary exhibition.
Dr Chistopher Chapman discusses the portrait of Australian author Christos Tsiolkas taken by John Tsiavis.
A photographic portrait by Kerry Dundas captures the contemplative mind of visionary painter Godfrey Miller.
The photographs in Tough & tender by Rozalind Drummond evoke individual freedom and personal reflection.
The photographs in Tough and tender by Warwick Baker reveal intimate connections and moments of closeness.
I didn’t ever meet the American artist Chris Burden but about 20 years ago I wrote to him. I was after the loan of some photographic prints of his most famous performance: he had arranged for a friend to fire a bullet so it would graze his arm.
Dr Christopher Chapman explores the symbolism in the portrait commission of Marcia Langton by Brook Andrew.
An interview with Victorian Tapestry Workshop artists Sue Walker and Christopher Pyett.
Dr Christopher Chapman examines Scott Redford's photographic portrait of Australian surfer David 'Rasta' Rastovich.
Dr Christopher Chapman discusses the portrait of Australian composer Paul Grabowsky by photographer Martin Philbey.
Inner Worlds features the recently commissioned portrait of world-renowned philosopher of consciousness David Chalmers by Melbourne-based artist Nick Mourtzakis.
Portraits of Australia’s pioneering psychologists and artworks by artists fascinated by the subconscious mind.
A moving portrait of Cate Blanchett unfolds as an inspired pairing of medium and subject.
Chris Chapman explains how Matthys Gerber bridges the gap between abstraction and portraiture.
Scott Redford discusses his dynamic portrait commission of motorcycling champion and 2008 Young Australian of the Year Casey Stoner.
Two lively portrait photographs reflect the agility of their subjects: world champion Australian sportsmen Lionel Rose and Anthony Mundine.
This display sets two impressive portraits from the collection into direct dialogue: Sam Jinks’ sculptural self portrait and Nick Mourtzakis’ painted portrait of David Chalmers, along with related maquette and sketches.Together they explore physical and psychological manifestations of the strata of self-hood.
Portraits of philanthropists in the collection honour their contributions to Australia and acknowledge their support of the National Portrait Gallery.
Angus and the arbiters talk (photo) shop for the National Photographic Portrait Prize.
Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2000
Christopher Chapman describes the art and life of Australian artist Richard Larter.
Dr Christopher Chapman describes the experimental exhibition Portraits + Architecture
Purchased 2023
Known for his representational painting, Meriam and Yupungathi man Christopher Bassi, based in Meanjin/Brisbane, addresses issues surrounding cultural identity, alternative genealogies and colonial legacies.
Bruce Dawe AO (1930-2020), poet and teacher, was born in Fitzroy and worked as a labourer, clerk, sawmill hand, farmhand and postman before joining the RAAF in 1959.
1 portrait in the collection
Horace Keats (1895-1945) came to Australia from his native England in 1915 as accompanist to vaudeville performer Nella Webb.
1 portrait in the collection
John Le Gay Brereton junior (1871–1933), writer and academic, was born in Sydney, the son of a doctor, also John, who had emigrated to Australia in the late 1850s.
1 portrait in the collection
MDPA judge, Dr Christopher Chapman, Senior Curator, National Portrait Gallery.
Gift of the artist 2013. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Purchased 2018
Fay Zwicky (1933–2017), poet and academic, grew up in a cultivated environment in Brighton, Melbourne, where her European Jewish family had lived for four generations.
1 portrait in the collection
Alfred George Stephens (1865–1933), editor, journalist and publisher, was born and educated in Toowoomba.
1 portrait in the collection
Gift of the artist 2005. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Robert Adamson (1943–2022), poet and publisher, divided his childhood between Neutral Bay and the Hawkesbury River, where his grandfather lived.
2 portraits in the collection
Featuring contributions from Pat Jalland, Raimond Gaita, Lee Grant, Christopher Chapman, and Anne Sanders.
The portrait of Janet and Horace Keats with the spirit of the poet Christopher Brennan is brought to life by artist Dora Toovey.
Draw to the rich textures and melodic improvisations of string duo Tabitha (cello) and Christopher (guitar) from Sonance Strings as they weave a sonic tapestry of contemporary, indie and folk sounds through a mix of originals and covers.
Don Bachardy (b. 1935) is a portraitist who chronicles literary, musical, artistic and film personalities associated with Los Angeles.
3 portraits in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012
Natalie Imbruglia (b.1975) is a singer and songwriter. After leaving school in 1991, Natalie Imbruglia appeared in several television commercials and then joined the television soap Neighbours as the character Beth Brennan.
1 portrait in the collection
National Portrait Gallery Director Angus Trumble invites media to the announcement of the winner and exhibition preview for the 2015 National Photographic Portrait Prize.
Photographs from internationally acclaimed artists Robert Mapplethorpe, Larry Clark, Nan Goldin, Collier Schorr and Chris Burden along with contemporary Australian artists, Rozalind Drummond and Warwick Baker will call the National Portrait Gallery home during our extraordinary winter exhibition Tough and Tender.
Arts Project Australia, Yarrenyty Arltere Artists, ‘stArts with D’ Performance Ensemble, Abdul Abdullah, Alison Alder, Amrita Hepi, Atong Atem, Christopher Bassi, Kate Beynon, Mia Boe, Baby Guerrilla, Tarryn Gill, Julie Gough, Naomi Hobson, Deborah Kelly, Fiona McMonagle, Angelica Mesiti, Dylan Mooney, Nell, Sally Smart, Vipoo Srivilasa, Latai Taumoepeau and Kaylene Whiskey.
An annual event to extend traditional notions of portraiture and foster emerging artists with an interest in contemporary technology.
The National Portrait Gallery has unveiled a focus exhibition of captivating portraits by renowned artist Arthur Boyd, titled Mysterious eyes: Arthur Boyd portraits from 1945.
Focusing on the wide-ranging themes of loss and absence, All that fall: Sacrifice, life and loss in the First World War creates a moving portrait of mourning and sacrifice as experienced on the Australian home front during the First World War.
The inaugural iD Digital Portraiture Award is an annual event intended to extend traditional notions of portraiture and reflects the National Portrait Gallery’s commitment to fostering emerging artists between the ages of 18 and 30 years old with an interest in contemporary technology.
Lady Hay, née Chalmers (c. 1806-1892) was reported at the time of her death to have been about ten years older than Hay.
1 portrait in the collection
The winners of the Macquarie Digital Portraiture Awards will be announced tomorrow morning at 10.00am at the National Portrait Gallery.
This 1910 portrait of Elizabeth Sarah (Lillie) Roberts by Tom Roberts was brought into the Gallery's collection with the assistance of the Acquisition Fund in 2013.
Browse the history of the National Photographic Portrait Prize, Cayce Zavaglia's embroidered portraiture, and modern wedding photography!
The Circle of Friends Acquisition Fund for 2012 was dedicated to purchasing a portrait of David Malouf by Rick Amor.
The National Portrait Gallery is thrilled to announce that the People’s Choice award for this year’s National Photographic Portrait Prize goes to Natalie Grono from Byron Bay for her photograph Feather and the Goddess Pool 2014.
doppelgänger is the second in a series of virtual exhibitions held by the National Portrait Gallery that explore contemporary notions of portraiture in the online environment.
Images for media use will be available from 8 March 2018.
Kristin Headlam's portrait of Chris Wallace-Crabbe was acquired with the support of the Circle of Friends in 2014.
Delve into the lives, loves and labour of the world’s most prominent portrait galleries in this international conversation series.
From an outstanding field of more than 3,000 entries, culminating in a shortlist of 39 exceptional finalists, the Winner and Highly Commended entries for this year’s National Photographic Portrait Prize have been named.
Christopher Chapman previews the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009.
The National Portrait Gallery would like to congratulate the forty finalists for the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2019.
Press releases and images downloads for media.
Peter Allen (1944–1992), singer/songwriter and entertainer, was born Peter Allen Woolnough in Tenterfield, NSW.
1 portrait in the collection
Just now we pause to mark the centenary of ANZAC, the day when, together with British, other imperial and allied forces, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed at Gallipoli at the start of the ill-starred Dardanelles campaign.
The story behind the commissioning of the tapesty portrait of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch.
Christopher Chapman examines the battle of glamour vs. grunge which played out in the fashion and advertising of the 1990s.
Dr Christopher Chapman, curator and judge of the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009 contextualises the themes of the exhibition.
National Photographic Portrait Prize 2019, the iconoclastic Japanese figures Yukio Mishima and Tamotsu Yato, Angélica Dass’ Humanæ project and more.
Purchased 2003
Marilyn Rowe AM OBE (b. 1946), former prima ballerina, was the first graduate of The Australian Ballet School to become its director.
2 portraits in the collection
Leanne Benjamin AM OBE (b. 1964) was Principal Dancer with the Royal Ballet between 1993 and 2013.
1 portrait in the collection
Purchased with funds provided by Timothy Fairfax AC 2003
Ben Mendelsohn (b. 1969), actor, spent much of his early childhood abroad as his father, a leading medical researcher, worked in Europe and the USA.
2 portraits in the collection
From 2015 to 2017 the Acquisition Fund was focussed on Reg Richardson AM by Mitch Cairns, a finalist in the Archibald Prize 2014, and a great example of minimalist portraiture.
The National Portrait Gallery’s National Photographic Portrait Prize 2015 will close Monday 8 June 2015, this is the last week to visit the exhibition in Canberra and vote for your favourite portrait in the People’s Choice.
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
The National Portrait Gallery have selected the finalists for the Macquarie Digital Portraiture Award 2015.
The Portrait Gallery is calling for contributions to support in the acquisition of superb portraits for the national collection.
Want to read and hear about a portrait without having to lean in?
Explore the beauty and symbolism of flowers in this weird and wonderful floral extravaganza that showcases more than 50 portraits from the collection, new acquisitions and selected loans.
Long after the portraitist became indifferent to her, and died, a beguiling portrait hung over its subject.
Following the success of Glossy: Faces, Magazines, Now in 1999 the National Portrait Gallery again highlights the huge array of contemporary portraiture in the pages of magazines.
The inaugural winner of the $10,000 iD Digital Portraiture Award was announced this morning at the National Portrait Gallery.
Press releases for media.
Comments from our judges and information about entering the 2017 Prize.
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
The National Portrait Gallery recently announced the finalists for the Macquarie Digital Portraiture Award 2013.
Gillian Raymond describes the National Portrait Gallery's second virtual exhibition doppelgänger.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2016
Dissections, showcases the hyper-realist sculptural self-portrait of artist Sam Jinks, Divide, alongside the painted portrait of philosopher David Chalmers by Nick Mourtzakis, which was commissioned by the Gallery in 2011.
Born in 1943 in Simla, Vivan Sundaram’s long career has given him opportunities to work in a range of mediums – painting, installation, assemblage, photography, digital media and film.
Purchased 2018
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.
The Chairman, Board, Director and all the Staff of the National Portrait Gallery mourn the loss of our Founding Patron, who died peacefully in Melbourne this morning. He was 94.
Finalists have been eagerly awaiting the announcement of the Winner and Highly Commended for the National Photographic Portrait Prize since December. It is our pleasure to announce the Winner for 2018 is Lee Grant for her portrait titled Charlie and Highly Commended has been awarded to Filomena Rizzo for her portrait titled My Olivia.
In this major new exhibition marking the National Portrait Gallery’s third decade, 23 Australian artists and collectives have been invited to create portraits without constraints or boundaries.
Christopher Chapman highlights the inaugural hang of the new National Portrait Gallery building which opened in December 2008.
The Glossy 2 exhibition highlights the integral role magazine photography plays in illustrating and shaping our contemporary culture.
Dr Sarah Engledow, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2011 Prize.
Sarah Engledow reflects on the shared life and writing of Dorothy Porter and Andrea Goldsmith.
NPPP judge Robert Cook provides irreverent insight into this year’s fare, and having to be a bit judgemental.
Penelope Grist and Rebecca Ray talk to the artists in Portrait23: Identity about transcending modes of portraiture.
A collection of thirty-seven caricatures by the artist Joe Greenberg capture the heroes and villians of Australian business in the 1980s.
Cate Blanchett and the art of acting in Rosetzky’s digital portrait.
In their own words lead researcher Louise Maher on the novel project that lets the Gallery’s portraits speak for themselves.
2019 National Photographic Portrait Prize judge Anne O’Hehir looks beneath the surface of this year’s entries.
Stephen Zagala discusses Richard Avedon’s work from an Australian perspective.
David Gist steps beyond the public relations veneer of Australia’s official Vietnam War portrait photographs.
Sarah Engledow picks some favourites from a decade of the National Photographic Portrait Prize.
Diana O’Neil samples the tartan treats on offer in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
Dr Anne Sanders NPG Curatorial Researcher investigated the lives of the pioneering psychologists whose portraits are featured in Inner Worlds.
Inga Walton delves into the bohemian group of artists and writers who used each other as muses and transformed British culture.
Dr Helen Nugent AO, Chairman, National Portrait Gallery at the opening of 20/20: Celebrating twenty years with twenty new portrait commissions.
How seven portraits within Bare reveal in a public portrait parts of the body and elements of life usually located in the private sphere.
Dr Sarah Engledow, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2017 Prize.
One half of the team that was Eltham Films left scarcely a trace in the written historical record, but survives in a vivid portrait.
Curator, Penny Grist, reveals how this exhibition came to be