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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

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Duty bound

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

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

Lady Eliza Lucy Grey

Biography

Eliza Lucy Spencer (c. 1819-1898) was the daughter of the Government Resident at Albany, who was succeeded by George Grey.

1 portrait in the collection

Mrs Grey, c. 1845

Theresa Walker

Portrait, cast wax

Purchased 1999

Profile of a marriage

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

Dr Sarah Engledow explores the lives of Sir George Grey and his wife Eliza, the subjects of a pair of wax medallions in the National Portrait Gallery's collection.

Nothing black and white about the Greys

It's Complicated

Marriage: a prolonged disaster

William and Martha Mary Robertson and their children [William St Leonards, Eliza, John, William St Leonards on a horse, Beatrice and Ida]

William and Martha Mary Robertson and their children [William St Leonards, Eliza, John, William St Leonards on a horse, Beatrice and Ida], 1860s-1870s

Various

Portrait, eight carte de visites, hand coloured, contained in a red leather presentation case

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

Professor Suzanne Cory AC FAA FRS, 2016

Raelene Sharp

Portrait, oil on linen

Gift of the artist 2017

Professor Suzanne Cory AC FAA FRS

Biography

Suzanne Cory AC (b. 1942) is a molecular biologist whose research has contributed to the understanding of immunology and the development of cancer.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir George Grey, c. 1845

Theresa Walker

Portrait, cast wax

Purchased 1999

Sir Macfarlane Burnet, late 1960s

Louis Kahan AO

Portrait, pen and ink on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1998

Sir Macfarlane Burnet, late 1970s

Louis Kahan AO

Portrait, pen and ink on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1998

Sir Gustav Nossal AC CBE

Biography

Sir Gustav Nossal AC CBE (b. 1931) is an immunologist and medical scientist.

4 portraits in the collection

Sidney Nolan, 1964

Axel Poignant

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Purchased 2003

Sir Colin Syme AK

Biography

Sir Colin Syme AK (1903-1986) was chairman of BHP from 1952 to1971. Born in Perth, he attended Scotch College in Claremont, the universities of Perth and Melbourne and the University of New South Wales before becoming a solicitor in the Melbourne firm of Hedderwick, Fookes and Alston in 1923.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir James McNeill CBE

Biography

Sir James McNeill CBE (1916-1987) was chairman of BHP from 1977 to 1984.

1 portrait in the collection

Nolan Heads

Previous exhibition, 2001

Nolan Heads will focus on the portraiture of one of Australia's most original painters and one of the few to have achieved an international reputation

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa

Theresa Mort

Biography

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

Sir Frank MacFarlane Burnet OM AK KBE

Biography

Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet OM AK KBE (1899–1985), medical scientist, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1960 for his work with Sir Peter Medawar on acquired immunological tolerance, paving the way for successful human organ transplants.

5 portraits in the collection

Sir Macfarlane Burnet, 1968

Mark Strizic

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Purchased with funds provided by Sir Roderick Carnegie 2003

Richard Butler, 1859

Lucy Meadows

Portrait, watercolour and pencil on paper

Purchased 2019

Annie Butler, 1859

Lucy Meadows

Portrait, watercolour and pencil on buff board

Purchased 2019

Jacques Miller AC

Biography

Jacques Miller AC (b. 1931), immunologist, spent his early childhood in Shanghai and Lausanne before coming to Sydney with his parents at the age of ten.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Gustav Nossal, 2004

Dean Home

Portrait, oil on board

Purchased with funds provided by Karen McLeod Adair and Anthony Adair 2004

Bruce Spence

Biography

Bruce Spence (b. 1945), actor, made his film debut in the title role of Tim Burstall's Stork (1971), its title relating neatly, if coincidentally, to his 2.01m frame.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Gustav Nossal, 1979 (printed 1981)

Mark Strizic

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2003

Patrick Ryan

Biography

Patrick Ryan (d. 1990) and Tim Burstall set up Eltham Films in the early 1950s, when the local film industry was moribund.

1 portrait in the collection

Lady Isabella Louisa Parry

Biography

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

Sidney Nolan

Biography

Sir Sidney Nolan AC OM CBE (1917–1992) was one of the most original and inventive Australian artists of the postwar decades, and one of few Australian artists to achieve an international reputation in the twentieth century.

7 portraits in the collection

Jacques Miller, 2012

Dave Tacon

Portrait, type C photograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Dame Jean MacNamara DBE

Biography

Dame Jean Macnamara DBE (1899–1968), medical doctor and scientist, was involved in crucial research into poliomyelitis during the 1920s and 1930s.

1 portrait in the collection

Dame Jean Macnamara, c. 1930

Donovan

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Gift of Merran Samuel (nee Connor) 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Portrait of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, 2000

Australian Tapestry Workshop, Merrill Dumbrell, Christopher Pyett, Normana Wight

Portrait, warp: cotton No.12 seinetwine; weft: wool and cotton

Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2000

Emeritus Professor Derek Denton AC

Biography

Emeritus Professor Derek Denton AC (1924-2022), physiologist, was born in Launceston and graduated in medicine from the University of Melbourne in 1947.

3 portraits in the collection

Charles Tingwell AM

Biography

Charles 'Bud' Tingwell AM (1923-2009), actor, became the youngest radio announcer in Australia when he was employed at Sydney radio station 2CH as a cadet.

1 portrait in the collection

Ian Frazer AC FRS

Biography

Professor Ian Frazer AC (b. 1953), immunologist, is co-inventor of the technology enabling the HPV vaccines – the first cancer vaccine – used worldwide to help prevent cervical cancer.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Gustav Nossal, 1999

Peter Churcher

Portrait, oil on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by Karen McLeod Adair and Anthony Adair 1999

Sidney Nolan, Western Australia, 1962 (printed 2000)

David Moore

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

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.

Lady Primrose Potter AC

Biography

Lady Primrose Potter AC was born in Sydney in 1931 and lives in Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir William Dargie

A Ninetieth Birthday Tribute

Previous exhibition, 2002

As a tribute to Sir William Dargie's singular contribution to Australian art and cultural institutions, and on the occasion of his birthday, The Australian War Memorial, Parliament House and the National Portrait Gallery will mount exhibitions of his work between May and October

Sir Colin Syme, 1970

Judy Cassab AO CBE

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

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

Equation of a life - a portrait of Professor Derek Denton

Equation of a life - a portrait of Professor Derek Denton, 2016

Evert Ploeg

Portrait, oil on linen

Commissioned with the assistance of funds provided by Janet Whiting AM, Philip Lukies and Antonia Syme 2016

Sir Macfarlane Burnet, 1960-1961

Sir William Dargie CBE

Portrait, oil on composition board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Professor Derek Denton, 2009

Janet Dawson

Portrait, pastel on paper

Gift of Professor Derek Denton AC and Dame Margaret Scott AC 2014. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Eva Besen AO

Biography

Eva Besen AO (1928–2021), philanthropist and arts benefactor, founded the Besen Family Foundation with her husband Marc Besen AC.

1 portrait in the collection

Marc Besen AC

Biography

Marcus (Marc) Besen AC (1923–2023), philanthropist and arts benefactor, founded the Besen Family Foundation with his wife Eva Besen AO.

1 portrait in the collection

Tim Burstall

Biography

Tim Burstall (1927-2004) set up Eltham Films in the early 1950s, when the local film industry was moribund.

2 portraits in the collection

Australia and the Nobel Prize

Previous exhibition, 2003

This unique exhibition will give an insight into the private lives, pursuits and work of all the Nobel laureates associated with Australia

Mark Strizic

A Journey in Photography

Previous exhibition, 2004

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

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.

Judy Cassab

The artist's diary

Previous exhibition, 2013

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.

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.

Equation of a life – a portrait of Derek Denton

9 September 2016

Archived media releases 2016

The National Portrait Gallery, has welcomed the newest portrait commission of Emeritus Professor Derek Denton AC by Evert Ploeg.

Portrait of Elizabeth Gould with a raptor, possibly a red-footed falcon (Falco vespertinus), painted in her lifetime Artist unknown

Birds of a feather

Magazine article by Annette Twyman, 2021

Charting a path from cockatiel to finch, Annette Twyman explores her family portraits and stories.

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.

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.

Cultural kaleidoscope

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

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

In the round

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2009

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

The highest honour

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2007

Bringing eminent scientist Frank Fenner and artist Jude Rae together for the National Portrait Gallery commission was like matchmaking.

The Cutmear sisters, Jane and Lucy, c. 1842

A man of superior attainments

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

Joanna Gilmour explores the life of a colonial portrait artist, writer and rogue Thomas Griffiths Wainewright.

The personal and the historical

About Face article

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.

William Charles Wentworth -The Australian Patriot

The Wentworths – Hidden in Plain Sight

Magazine article by Dr Grace Blakeley-Carroll, 2015

Grace Carroll on the gendered world of the Wentworths.

Material culture

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2018

The Rajah Quilt’s narrative promptings are as intriguing as the textile is intricate.

Confessional conversations

The portraiture of Kristin Headlam

Magazine article by Fiona Gruber, 2015

Fiona Gruber investigates the work of Australian painter Kristin Headlam.

You beauty

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

Joanna Gilmour explores the fact and fictions surrounding the legendary life of Irish-born dancer Lola Montez.

First-Class Marksman, 1946 by Sidney Nolan

Money for Myth

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2015

Australian character on the market by Jane Raffan.

The artist and her family, c. 1854 by Martha Berkeley

Presence and absence

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2018

The art of Australia’s colonial women painters affords us an invaluable, alternative perspective on the nascent nation-building project.

Lady Jane Grey, c.1590-1600 (also known as The ‘Streatham’ portrait) Artist unknown

The Royal she

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2019

Traversing paint and pixels, Inga Walton examines portraits of select women in Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits.

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.

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