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Clifton Pugh AO was one of Australia’s best-known artists of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and one of its leading advocates for the arts.

12 portraits in the collection

Clifton Pugh

In their own words

Recorded 1965

Sketch for portrait of Tom Uren, 1972

Portrait, oil and enamel on hardboard

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Tom Uren's family 2017
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Clifton Pugh painting in the studio, 1974

Fred Williams

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lyn Williams AM 2011
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Eric McIllree, 1971

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Janice McIllree 2012
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Barry Humphries, 1958

Gift of L Gordon Darling AC CMG and Marilyn Darling AC 1998. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

A Portrait (Kate Hattam), 1956

Portrait, oil on board

Purchased 2006

Clyde Cameron, 1974

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Estate of Clyde Cameron 2012

Sir Lindesay Clark, 1973

Gift of Alcoa World Alumina Australia 2005. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

John Olsen, 1971

Portrait, oil on board

Gift of the Bardas families, in memory of Sandra Bardas OAM and David Bardas AO 2024. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Study of Archbishop Daniel Mannix, 1962

Portrait, oil on composition board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Sketch of Clifton Pugh painting John Perceval, 1985

Rick Amor

Portrait, pencil on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2016

Clifton Pugh and John Olsen, Dunmoochin, 1969

Mark Strizic

Portrait, type C photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

David Armstrong, B.A., B. Phil., 1959

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2011

Gift of Jennifer Armstrong 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Painting mates

Michael Desmond discusses Fred Williams' portraits of friends, artist Clifton Pugh, David Aspden and writer Stephen Murray-Smith, and the stylistic connections between his portraits and landscapes.

Clifton Pugh

Australians

Previous exhibition, 2005

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

The Iconoclasts

Now on display in Gallery Three

Previous exhibition, 2020

Australian portraiture of the mid-twentieth century was rich with the influence of European modernism, exemplified by the work of artists including Arthur Boyd, Judy Cassab and Clifton Pugh.

Portrait Allsorts

In Gallery Seven

Offering portraiture in all its flavours: painting, photography, drawing, textiles, printmaking and sculpture, this exhibition is a feast for minds and eyes.

Hal Hattam

Portrait, pencil on paper

Harold 'Hal' Hattam (1913-1994), doctor, artist and art collector, came to Australia from his native Scotland at the age of seven.

1 portrait in the collection

John Perceval, 1985

Rick Amor

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Hal Hattam, 1960

Fred Williams

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Hattam family in memory of Hal and Kate Hattam 2006
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Untitled (portrait of Barbara Blackman), 1976

Charles Blackman OBE

Purchased 2009

Tim Burstall, Andamooka (filming of the Last of the Knucklemen)

Tim Burstall, Andamooka (filming of the Last of the Knucklemen), c. 1979

Rennie Ellis

Portrait, type C photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006

Mark Strizic

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2007

Mark Strizic (1928-2012) was born in Berlin and migrated to Australia via Croatia in 1950.

12 portraits in the collection

Melbourne experience

Diana Warnes explores the lives of Hal and Katherine 'Kate' Hattam through their portraits painted by Fred Williams and Clifton Pugh.

Kate Hattam

Kathleen 'Kate' Hattam (1923–2004), stylesetter and art collector, was born in London and served with the Women’s Royal Air Force during the Second World War, stationed in radar at Beachey Head.

1 portrait in the collection

Barbara Blackman, 2008

Gorgi Dimcevski

Portrait, pencil on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Barbara Blackman 2009

Manning Clark, 1985

Rick Amor

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Barbara Blackman AO

Celebrating 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection

Barbara Blackman AO (b. 1928), writer, poet and arts patron, was only fifteen when the ABC Weekly published one of her poems.

5 portraits in the collection

Of Kings and men

Previous exhibition, 2011

This display celebrates 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection and its role in commissioning portraits of parliamentary and judicial figures in Australia.

Poet of the Fleeting Moment

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2004

Mark Strizic's work crosses a broad spectrum of photographic fields including urban, industrial, commercial, and architectural photography.

Opening of the First Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia by H.R.H. The Duke of Cornwall and York, May 9, 1901, 1903 by Tom Roberts

Empire records

Magazine article by Kylie Scroope, 2011

Celebrates the centenary of the first national art collection, the Historic Memorials Collection, housed at Australia's Parliament House.

Stephen Murray-Smith, 1980

Fred Williams

Previous exhibition, 2004

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lyn Williams AM 2011
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Mark Strizic

A Journey in Photography

This exhibition traces the creative output of nearly 50 years by one of Australia's landmark living photographers.

Andrew Sayers AM

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Andrew Sayers AM (1957–2015) was inaugural Director of the National Portrait Gallery.

1 portrait in the collection

Andrew Sayers, 2012

Mark Mohell

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2013

In and out of focus

Magazine article by Gael Newton, 2017

Gael Newton looks at Australian photography, film and the sixties through the novel lens of Mark Strizic.

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.

Portraits for Posterity

Previous exhibition, 2006

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

Jack Purtell

Portrait, plasticine maquette

Jack Purtell (1921-2017), jockey, had his first ride at the age of fifteen.

1 portrait in the collection

Jack Purtell, n.d.

John Frith

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Frith family 2013

Portrait of a patron

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2007

A new painting by Jiawei Shen captures the vision and resolve of the Gallery's founder, L. Gordon Darling AC CMG.

Gough and John, 1981

Peter van der Veer

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Past directors

History

Directors of the National Portrait Gallery from 1998 to today.

Andrew Sayers AM FAHA

13 October 2015

Archived media releases 2015

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

Sue Ford 1980-2006, 1980-2006 (printed 2013)

Ruth Maddison

Portrait, inkjet print on paper

Purchased 2013

The silent partner

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

One half of the team that was Eltham Films left scarcely a trace in the written historical record, but survives in a vivid portrait.

Rick Amor

21 Portraits

Previous exhibition, 2014

Rick Amor, noblest yet most unaffected of contemporary Australian portraitists, is also a painter of enigmatic, ominous landscapes, seascapes and cityscapes that haunt the viewer like dreams, dimly-recalled.

Giving and getting

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

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

Layla 2020 Veronica Watson, pencil on paper. Layla 2020 Sarah McEwan, fabric, acrylic on MDF. Self portrait 2020 Layla Bacayo, drypoint on paper. Image: Sarah McEwan

Mash-up

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2022

Penelope Grist delves into an insightful portraiture exhibition that asks: How do three artists see the same sitter?

No Laughing Matter

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2002

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

Talking heads

About Face article

In their own words lead researcher Louise Maher on the novel project that lets the Gallery’s portraits speak for themselves.

The news from Washington

Magazine article by Lauretta Morton, 2006

Australia's former Cultural Attache to the USA, Ron Ramsey, describes the mood at the opening week of the revitalised American National Portrait Gallery.

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

Prima facie

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

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

Masters of Fare

Chefs, winemakers, providores

Previous exhibition, 2004

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

Rick Amor: 21 Portraits

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

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

Uncommon Australians

Previous exhibition, 2015

This exhibition showcases portraits acquired through the generosity of the National Portrait Gallery’s Founding Patrons, L Gordon Darling AC CMG and Marilyn Darling AC.

In the galleries

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

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

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.

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.

History

About us

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

Generous Janice

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

Dr Sarah Engledow puts four gifts to the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection in context.

Some prime ministers

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

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

Uncommon Australians