Search / graeme murphy

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Graeme Murphy AO (b. 1950), choreographer and dancer, was co-artistic director of the Sydney Dance Company with his wife Janet Vernon AM for three decades.

3 portraits in the collection

Graeme Murphy, 1977 (printed 2002)

Lewis Morley

Gift of the artist 2002. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Mirror Mirror: Graeme Murphy, 2004

Paula Dawson AM

Portrait, holographic print etched on bronze disk on bronze figurine

Purchased with the assistance of funds provided by Ann Lewis AM and the Basil Bressler Bequest 2004

Graeme Murphy, n.d.

Stuart Campbell

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Gift of the Estate of Stuart Campbell 2012

Reflections on a Hologram

Magazine article by Sam Bowker, 2005

Sam Bowker examines Paula Dawson's Mirror, Mirror - a holographic portrait of Graeme Murphy.

The Hon Lionel Murphy, 1978

Judith O'Conal-Prinz

Portrait, oil on board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Lionel Murphy Foundation 2012

John Murphy

John Murphy, engraver, was born in Ireland and appeared as an engraver in London in about 1778.

1 portrait in the collection

Lionel Murphy QC

D F. Murphy after E P. Hardy

Lionel Murphy QC (1922-1986), High Court judge and Labor politician, grew up in Sydney, studied science and law at Sydney University, was admitted to the Bar in 1947, and became a QC in 1960.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir John Franklin, c. 1845

Portrait, engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Graeme Drendel

Graeme Drendel (b. 1953) is a Melbourne-based painter and printmaker.

1 portrait in the collection

Graeme Inson

John Murphy after George Romney

Graeme Inson (1923–2000), artist and teacher, was born in Cootamundra, New South Wales and educated at Canberra Grammar School.

6 portraits in the collection

The Right Honourable Charles Lord Hawkesbury, Chancellor of the Duchy and County Palatine of Lancaster

The Right Honourable Charles Lord Hawkesbury, Chancellor of the Duchy and County Palatine of Lancaster, 1788

Portrait, mezzotint on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

Professor Graeme Clark AO

Graeme M. Clark AO (b. 1935) is Laureate Professor of Otolaryngology at the University of Melbourne and the Director of the Bionic Ear Institute.

3 portraits in the collection

Graeme Clark

In their own words

Recorded 2017

Portrait of Jill, 2021

Graeme Drendel

Portrait, oil on board

Gift of the artist 2023

Ivy Shore, 1961

Portrait, oil on masonite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Harvey and Russell Shore 2014

Portrait of the Gallery

Magazine article by Graeme Dix, 2016

A design diary retrospective.

Max Meldrum, 1951

Portrait, oil on masonite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mrs Shirley Greathead 2009

Professor Graeme Clark

'Scientific creativity'

Portrait story

Creator of the bionic ear, the Cochlear Implant, Professor Graeme Clark discusses his life and career.

Graeme Drendel

Explore The Popular Pet Show

I like talking about Drendel’s pictures as if they expressed dreams of my own.

Graeme Blundell (on bike as Alvin Purple)

Graeme Blundell (on bike as Alvin Purple), c. 1973

Rennie Ellis

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006

Chester Porter QC, 1997

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on board

Gift of Jean Porter and family 2021. Donated through the Australia Government’s Cultural Gifts Program.

Self-portrait in black jumper, 2017 Graeme Drendel

Be frank

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2020

Close encounters are the genesis for Graeme Drendel’s enticing portraiture.

Kevin Weldon, 1978

Gift of Kevin Weldon 2012

Brian Fitzpatrick, 1953

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on masonite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Sheila and David Fitzpatrick in memory of their father 2008

The Hon E.G. Whitlam AC QC, 1980

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on masonite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2002

Portrait of Professor Graeme Clark, 2000

Peter Wegner

Portrait, etching on paper

Gift of the family of Professor Graeme Clark 2001. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Professor Graeme Clark, 2000

Peter Wegner

Gift of the artist 2002

Professor Graeme Clark (profile), 2000

Peter Wegner

Portrait, etching on paper

Gift of the artist 2002

The Catholic Hierarchy of Australia, 1869

Archibald McDonald, Henry Samuel Sadd

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Portrait of Johnson Pilton Walker, Inside the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, 25 Hours 31 minutes, 22-23rd of May 2009

Portrait of Johnson Pilton Walker, Inside the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, 25 Hours 31 minutes, 22-23rd of May 2009, 2009 (printed 2010)

Ingvar Kenne

Portrait, type C photographs on paper

Purchased with funds provided by the Circle of Friends 2009

Kate Murphy

Cry me a future (Dublin)

Previous exhibition, 2009

Kate Murphy's video installation shows the artist listening to predictions made by a clairvoyant.

Graeme Murphy's Swan Lake: Ella Havelka, Beijing

Lisa Tomasetti

Portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark

Tribute: Mary Isabel Murphy

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

Janet Vernon AM

Janet Vernon AM, dancer, met her life and professional partner, Graeme Murphy, at the Australian Ballet School.

1 portrait in the collection

Tokyo, 2010

by Lisa Tomasetti

Not your average teacher’s pet!

It's Complicated

Love versus art

Akira Isogawa, 2001

Peter Brew-Bevan

Previous exhibition, 2016

Gift of the artist 2005

The Popular Pet Show

This exhibition expresses the joy and warmth that many of us derive from our animal companions, and celebrates their trusting, unpretentious ways, with portraits of Australians and their furry, feathered and fluffy friends.

Akira Isogawa

Akira Isogawa (b. 1964), fashion designer, was born in Kyoto, Japan, and first came to Australia on a working holiday at the age of 21.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Kenneth Gillespie

Support your Portrait Gallery

Sir Kenneth Gillespie (1929–2010), dancer, teacher and founder of the Tasmanian Ballet, left his native Launceston at age sixteen to join the Borovansky Ballet in Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Honour board

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges and thanks all its supporters.

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

Kristian Fredrikson

Kristian Fredrikson (1940–2005) was a designer for opera, drama, ballet, film and television.

1 portrait in the collection

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

Portrait, black pastel on brown paper

Commissioned with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy 2005

Kenneth Gillespie, 2005

Dean Beletich

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Purchased 2015

Steven Heathcote, 2007

Julian Kingma

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on paper

Gift of the artist 2008

Kristian Fredrikson, 2000 (printed 2001)

Peter Brew-Bevan

Purchased 2001

Jeremiah Ware, c. 1854

Robert Dowling

Portrait, oil on board

Purchased with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy and Rosalind Blair Murphy 2014

Mary Ware, c. 1854

Robert Dowling

Portrait, oil on canvas on board

Purchased with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy and Rosalind Blair Murphy 2014

Dame Margaret Scott AC DBE

Dame Margaret Scott AC DBE (1922-2019) ballerina and teacher, was scarred by her education in a Johannesburg convent boarding school and left her home on a Swaziland farm in 1939.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter O'Shaughnessy OAM

Peter O'Shaughnessy (1923-2013), actor and producer, has produced many Australian plays and acted the major Shakespearian tragic roles both in Australia and overseas.

1 portrait in the collection

The 70 year old jetty jumper, 2011

by Alex Frayne

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Martha Mary Robertson, 1866

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

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

Lady Deborah Vernon Hackett

NPPP 2012 learning resource

Lady Deborah Vernon Hackett (1887–1965) was a mining company director and philanthropist.

1 portrait in the collection

Alex Frayne

An interview with the photographer.

Lesley Moline

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

1 portrait in the collection

Peter O'Shaughnessy, 1947

Howard Matthews

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Brooke Lockett, Heidi Martin, Karen Nanasca and Halaina Hills, NYC

Lisa Tomasetti

Hosting a touring exhibition

Portrait 55

Summer 2016-2017

Magazine

Explore convict art, photography by Ruth Hollick and Collier Schorr, an interview with neurosurgeon Charlie Teo, portraiture on money, and more!

Dancer

From letting loose in the loungeroom to enthralling audiences on stage, this exhibition celebrates dance and dancers.

Tom Hughes AO KC

Hon Thomas Hughes AO KC (b. 1923), lawyer and former politician, was born in Sydney and educated at Riverview before serving in the RAAF during World War 2.

3 portraits in the collection

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

Commissioned with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy 2005

Stan Coster

Portrait, oil on cedar panel

Stan Coster (1930-1997) was one of Australian country music's greatest songwriters.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of George Selth Coppin, c. 1895-1899

Tom Roberts

Purchased with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy 2004

Peter Brew-Bevan Portraits

Previous exhibition, 2005

In this exhibition Sydney based photographer Peter Brew-Bevan brings together an intimate collection of works that highlight his passion for the genre of portraiture over the last 10 years

William Robertson and Martha Mary Robertson

A charming prospect

Nearest & Dearest

Family fortunes

Stan Coster, Manilla, NSW, 1994 (printed 2004)

John Elliott

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Bob Barnard AM

Bob Barnard AM (1933-2022), jazz cornettist, grew up in a Melbourne musical family and started on cornet with a local brass band at the age of 12.

1 portrait in the collection

Study for commissioned portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark (profile head study), 2005

Previous exhibition, 2006

Commissioned with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy 2005

Portraits for Posterity

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.

Bruce Spence

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

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

William St Leonards Robertson and the Oxford boat race crew

William St Leonards Robertson and the Oxford boat race crew, early 1880s

Hills & Saunders

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

Dancer

Touring exhibition, 2024

From letting loose in the loungeroom to enthralling audiences on stage, this exhibition celebrates dance and dancers.

2021 Annual Appeal

Annual Appeal

In 2021 the Annual Appeal was focussed on Peter Brew-Bevan's portraits of athletes Turia Pitt, Leisel Jones OAM and Ellie Cole OAM.

Portrait of Deborah Vernon Hackett, c. 1905

Florence Ada Fuller

Portrait, ambrotype, hand coloured

Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2005

William St Leonards Robertson, c. 1865

an unknown artist

Gift of Fiona Turner (née Robertson) and John Robertson 2011. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Annual Appeal

Listed by year

Honour board

Richard Walley, 2015

Dr Julie Dowling

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint and red ochre on canvas

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

Nelson Illingworth

Nelson Illingworth trained in sculpture in England and worked as a modeller at the Royal Doulton potteries for nine years before moving to Australia.

3 portraits in the collection

Peter Wegner

Peter Wegner first participated in a group exhibition in 1977, when he had had no art training.

7 portraits in the collection

Portrait 64

Summer 2019/20

Magazine

Marian Anderson, emerging photographer Charles Dennington, piscatorial portraits, and the poignant path of photographer Polixeni Papapetrou and more.

Akira Isogawa, 2003 (printed 2005)

Ingvar Kenne

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

Ivy Shore

Ivy Shore (1915–1999), painter, was born in Melbourne, daughter of a South Australian suffragette, Elka, and engineer John Williams.

2 portraits in the collection

Donors

$10,000 - $49,999

Honour board

Portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, 2005

Commissioned with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy 2005

Sketch of Clifton Pugh painting John Perceval

Clifton Pugh AO

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2009

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.

11 portraits in the collection

In the round

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

Ben Quilty

Ben Quilty (b. 1973), painter, gained bachelor’s degrees in painting and visual communication at Sydney College of the Arts and the University of Western Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Graham Kennedy and the Seekers in Melbourne

Graham Kennedy AO

Archived media releases 2015

Graham Kennedy AO (1934-2005), entertainer, began his career in Melbourne radio in 1949.

2 portraits 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.

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.

Monochromatic Self-Portrait, 2000 by Genevieve Preston

Headspace 1

Previous exhibition, 2000

Headspace showcases portrait art produced by secondary students from Year 7 to Year 12 in Government, Catholic and Independent schools in Canberra and its surrounding regions extending to Wollongong, Deniliquin, Leeton, Crookwell, Bombala, Narooma and Albury

Hon Tom Hughes KC, 2001

Archived media releases 2016

Commissioned with funds provided by Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull 2003

Pets of all types take over the National Portrait Gallery

3 November 2016

It is not every day that a national gallery turns its walls over to the animal companions that bring unconditional love and joy to their owners but this summer we have opened the doors to 15 contemporary artists with very different ways of depicting our furry, feathered and scaled pets.

James McClelland, 1946

Nancy Borlase AM

Portrait, oil on composition board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Gillian Appleton (McClelland) 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

William Barak at work on the drawing ‘Ceremony’ at Coranderrk

William Barak at work on the drawing ‘Ceremony’ at Coranderrk, 1902

Johannes Heyer

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, sepia toned on paper

Purchased with the assistance of funds provided by the Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Society 2000

Bungaree, late chief of the Broken Bay tribe, Sydney

Heads of the People

A Portrait of Colonial Australia

Previous exhibition, 2000

For Tom Roberts - Australia's best nineteenth-century portrait painter - neither a proto-national portrait gallery nor more popular collections of portrait heads, were sufficient public celebrations for the notables of Australian history

200 Years of Portraiture

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

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

Giving and getting

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.

William Robertson and Martha Mary Robertson, 1863

William Edward Kilburn

Portrait, carte de visite photograph on card

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

2020 Annual Appeal

Annual Appeal

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

William St. Leonards Robertson, c. 1869

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite

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

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.

King Barak, last of the Yarra Tribe, 1899

Barak, respected elder

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

Dr Christopher Chapman looks at the life of Wurundjeri elder William Barak through the portrait painted by Victor de Pury in 1899.

Making Portraits

Five Years of National Portrait Gallery Commissions

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

2022 Annual Appeal

Annual Appeal

In 2022 the Annual Appeal was focussed on Mayatjara by Robert Fielding, a series of 24 photographs of Elders of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara community.

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.

Time and light

In Gallery Seven

Previous exhibition, 2023

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.

Lyndall Hobbs and Marilyn at the Come as your favourite blonde party, Blitz Club, London, 1979 Robert Rosen

Shiny, happy people

Magazine article by Glynis Jones, 2022

Glynis Jones on the Powerhouse’s retrospective of one of Australia’s foremost fashion reportage and social photographers.

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.

Trevor Jamieson, 2016 by Brett Canet-Gibson

The more things change...

NPPP 2017 exhibition essay

General content

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

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.

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.

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Honour board

Penny Fowler AM, John Barrington AM, Heidi Victoria, Elizabeth Dibbs, Tom Mosby, Hayley Baillie, Hugo Michell, Elizabeth Pakchung, Valerie Tam

The Board

Governance & Board

The Board oversees the Gallery's strategic directions, objectives and governance.

The Multifarious Career of George Selth Coppin

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2004

George Selth Coppin (1819-1906) comedian, impresario and entrepreneur, was a driving force of the early Australian theatre.

Thinking about architecture and portraiture

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

Dr Christopher Chapman describes the experimental exhibition Portraits + Architecture

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.

Staying home

True south #2

Magazine article by Judith Pugh, 2005

Joanna Gilmour brings a mindful Douglas Mawson’s perspective to bear on the concept of isolation.

A sketch for some portraits

Judith Pugh reflects on Clifton Pugh's approach to portrait making.

Christmas Island