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Marilyn Darling

Marilyn Darling talks about the creation of her portrait, and the photographic process.

Marilyn Rowe, 1981

Gift of the family of Graham Thorley in his memory and in tribute to Marilyn Rowe 2010

Marilyn Darling AC, 2010

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2010

Marilyn Rowe, c. 1975 (printed 2017)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Support Crew

Portraits of philanthropists in the collection honour their contributions to Australia and acknowledge their support of the National Portrait Gallery.

Gordon and Marilyn Darling, 1994

Gift of Francis Reiss 2009

Uncommon Australians

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.

Uncommon Australians

Sarah Engledow writes about Gordon and Marilyn Darling and their support for the National Portrait Gallery throughout its evolution.

Gordon and Marilyn Darling interview

Gordon and Marilyn Darling talk about the origins of the National Portrait Gallery and some of their favourite portraits.

Marilyn, Marlene and Kelvin Kong, c. 2000

Gift of the artist 2004

Dr HV Evatt, Albert Namatjira and Dame Mary Gilmore having a meal, c. 1950s

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2008

Preparatory study for General Eva Burrows AC AO, 2001

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2001

Preparatory study for General Eva Burrows AC AO, 2001

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2001

Preparatory study for General Eva Burrows AC AO, 2001

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2001

Barry Jones, 2020

Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC, Allan Myers AC KC and Maria Myers AC 2022

Uncommon Australians

In 1988 philanthropists Gordon and Marilyn Darling decided to make an Australian portrait gallery a reality, overseeing the development of the 1992 touring exhibition Uncommon Australians.

The spirit of the gift

Former NPG Director, Andrew Sayers celebrates the support given to the Gallery by Gordon and Marilyn Darling.

Honour board

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges and thanks all its supporters.

Sir Albert Victor Jennings, 1984

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2001

L. Gordon Darling AC CMG

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.

Cecil Beaton

Accomplished illustrator, painter, writer and diarist, set designer and one of the most distinguished photographers of the twentieth century, Cecil Beaton is renowned for his portraits of well known faces from the worlds of fashion, literature, and film.

Portrait of Harriet Swan, c. 1842

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG and Marilyn Darling AC 2013

Portrait of Julia Swan, c. 1842

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG and Marilyn Darling AC 2013

Albert Namatjira, 1958

Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC and with the assistance of Philip Bacon Galleries 2000

Foundation members announced

The newly-established National Portrait Gallery Foundation met for its inaugural meeting last Friday 15 May in Canberra.

Reverend William Bedford junior, c. 1846

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

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.

General Eva Burrows AC AO, 2001

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2001

The Quiet Australian

Robert Oatley talks about the repatriation of the John Webber portrait of Captain James Cook.

Dame Elisabeth Murdoch

The story behind the commissioning of the tapesty portrait of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch.

Dr John Yu, 2004

Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2004

David Moore, Max Dupain and John Gollings, 1980

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2001

Professor Mandyam Srinivasan, 2014

Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2014

Portrait of a patron

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

Ian Kiernan, 1996

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2001

Victor and Loti Smorgon, 1995 (printed 2001)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2001

Ron Castan AM QC, 1995

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2001

Jacki Weaver, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2018

Portrait of Deborah Vernon Hackett, c. 1905

Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2005

Catherine Martin, 2001 (printed 2006)

Gift of the artist 2006

Professor Peter Doherty, 2001

Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2002

Self portrait with Bottlebrush, 1991

Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC and the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2021

Dame Mary Gilmore, c. 1938

Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2001

Jacki Weaver, 2018

Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2018

Donald Argus, 1996

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2001

Portrait of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, 2000

Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2000

Dancer

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

Helena Rubinstein in a red brocade Balenciaga gown, 1957

Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC, Tim Fairfax AC and the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2015

Elizabeth Blackburn, 2011

Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2011

Portrait of Heidi Middleton and Sarah-Jane Clarke (Sass & Bide), 2008

Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2008

Marcia Langton, 2009

Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2009

Brian Croser AO, 1998

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2001

Icons Syndicate

My Favourite Australian

My Favourite Australian is a project developed in collaboration with ABC TV and the people of Australia.

L. Ian Roach, 1994

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

Collection in focus: Brook Andrew

Experience the artistic clout of Brook Andrew’s portraits of Marcia Langton AM and Anthony Mundine.

Linde Ivimey

Born: 1965, Sydney
Works: Sydney

Sir William Dargie

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

Barry Humphries, 1958

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

L. Gordon Darling AC CMG, 2006

Purchased with the assistance of funds provided by the Mundango Charitable Trust and Claudia Hyles 2006

All you can eat

In February 2003 the National Portrait Gallery Circle of Friends brought Sir Robert Strong to Australia to present a series of lectures entitled The Artists & The Banquet- A History of Dining, which focused on the links between gardens and table decoration from the Renaissance to the Victorian Era.

Karen Quinlan AM

Karen Quinlan AM took up her appointment as Director of the National Portrait Gallery in December 2018. Karen commenced her curatorial career in 1994 at National Gallery of Victoria before becoming Curator of Bendigo Art Gallery in 1996, and the Director of Bendigo Art Gallery from 2000 until 2018. Karen was a Professor of Practice and previously Director of the La Trobe Art Institute La Trobe University, a former Trustee of the State Library of Victoria, Board Member and former Chair of the Public Galleries Association of Victoria.

Sir Donald Bradman, 1990

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2008
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Promise Fulfilled

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

In focus

Brook Andrew, Marcia Langton and Anthony Mundine.

Foundation Members

Chairman Sid Myer AM, Hayley Baillie, Tim Bednall, Jillian Broadbent AC, Patrick Corrigan AM, Marilyn Darling AC, Tim Fairfax AC, Penny Fowler AM, John Liangis, Dr Helen Nugent AC and Nigel Satterley AM.

Australia and the Nobel Prize

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

Jessie Robertson, c. 1849

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG and Marilyn Darling AC 2013

Untitled (preparatory study for sculpture of Dr John Yu), 2003

Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2004

Andrew Sayers, 2012

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

Making Portraits

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

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.

Edward John Eyre, 1867

Presented by Sir Roy Strong and the late Dr Julia Trevelyan Oman in memory of their friendship with Gordon Darling and Marilyn Darling 2006

Rick Amor

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.

Dancer

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

So Fine

This exhibition features new works from ten women artists reinterpreting and reimagining elements of Australian history, enriching the contemporary narrative around Australia’s history and biography, reflecting the tradition of storytelling in our country.

Ms Karen Quinlan appointed to lead the NPGA

The Board of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia is delighted to announce the appointment of Ms Karen Quinlan as its incoming Director.

Icons

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.

For the boys

The photographs from Matthew Sleeth's tour of duty series look more like advertisements than images of war.

Clifton Pugh

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.

Australian Visit

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

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

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

Australian of the Year

The Australian of the Year Awards have often provoked controversy about who is selected and whether their achievements are remarkable.

Sharon Zwi

We were in Gaza shooting a documentary and we had heard about the orphanages and wanted to visit and document some of the children who had lost parents during the wars in Gaza.

History

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

Philanthropic donations enable otherwise unobtainable acquisition

A magnanimous portrait of Helena Rubinstein has been acquired for the National Portrait Gallery’s collection.

The National Portrait Prizes

The National Portrait Gallery today announced finalists for the inaugural Darling Portrait Prize, a national new $75,000 prize for Australian portrait painting, and released selected images from the final prize pool for the popular National Photography Portrait Prize.

Vintage Cassab

The oil portrait of Sir Frank Packer KBE by Judy Cassab was gifted to the National Portrait Gallery in 2006.

Andrew Sayers AM FAHA

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

The God-shaped hole

Exploring the photographs of Martin Schoeller, Michael Desmond delves into the uneasy pact that exists between celebrity and the camera.

Clay, water, fire

Ah Xian's porcelain portrait of paediatrician Dr. John Yu reflects Yu's heritage and interests.

Conflicting images

Michael Desmond reveals the origins of composite portraits and their evolution in the pursuit of the ideal.

Hearts of Darkness

The National Portrait Gallery's acquisition of the portrait of Edward John Eyre by pioneering English photographer Julia Margaret Cameron.

20/20 launch speech

Dr Helen Nugent AO, Chairman, National Portrait Gallery at the opening of 20/20: Celebrating twenty years with twenty new portrait commissions.

Paths to portraiture

The life and art of Australian artist Jenny Sages is on display in the exhibition Paths to Portraiture.

Australians in Hollywood

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

The existential lens

Stephen Zagala discusses Richard Avedon’s work from an Australian perspective.

Portrait Donors

Picture this...

This edited version of a speech by Andrew Sayers examines some of the antecedents of the National Portrait Gallery and set out the ideas behind the modern Gallery and its collection.

Natural born stiller

Penelope Grist speaks to Robert McFarlane about shooting for the stars.

Shiny, happy people

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

The incomparable Beaton

To accompany the exhibition Cecil Beaton: Portraits, held at the NPG in 2005, this article is drawn from Hugo Vickers's authorised biography, Cecil Beaton (1985).

An actress and her fans

Dr. Sarah Engledow discovers the amazing life of Ms. Hilda Spong, little remembered star of the stage, who was captured in a portrait by Tom Roberts.

Naked nostalgia

Penelope Grist reminisces about the halcyon days of a print icon, before the infusion of the internet’s shades of grey.

Study in scarlet

Angus Trumble reflects on the force of nature that was Helena Rubinstein.

You are who?

Joanna Gilmour reflects on merging collections and challenging traditional assumptions around portraiture in WHO ARE YOU.