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Martin Sharp (1942-2013), printmaker, painter, cartoonist, designer, songwriter and film-maker, is one of Australia's foremost pop artists.
7 portraits in the collection
Recorded 1970
Recorded 1970
An interview with Australian artist and collector of quirky artefacts, Martin Sharp.
Artists Garry Shead and Martin Sharp recount their friendship and the creation of Martin's portrait.
Purchased 2003
Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Gift of Richard Wherrett 1998. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Martin Sharp fulfils the Pop art idiom of merging art and life.
Raelene Sharp (b. 1957), artist, was born in Melbourne and began her career as a graphic artist in advertising.
2 portraits in the collection
Gift of the artist 2017
Commissioned with funds provided by Nigel Satterley AM and Denise Satterley 2020
Mandy Martin (1952–2021), painter, printmaker and teacher, was born in Adelaide and studied at the South Australian School of Art from 1972 to 1975.
3 portraits in the collection
Sir James Martin (1820-1886) was fourth Chief Justice of New South Wales.
1 portrait in the collection
German-born American photographer Martin Schoeller's first exhibition in Australia presents compelling large-scale portraits. The exhibition explores human identity through photographs of individuals accustomed and unaccustomed to the spotlight.
Gabrielle Martin is a Melbourne artist. She graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne, with a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art (Painting) in 1991 and a Graduate Diploma in Fine Art (Painting) in 1993.
4 portraits in the collection
Martin Philbey (b. 1962) is a Melbourne-based photographer who has amassed an archive of 100,000 images over his twenty-year career.
4 portraits in the collection
Martin King, an artist who specialises in making works on paper, was born in 1957 in Melbourne.
1 portrait in the collection
Purchased 2005
Nicholas-Martin Petit was born in Paris, the son of a fan maker, and learned graphic art in the studio of Jacques Louis David.
9 portraits in the collection
Dr Arthur Martin a’Beckett FRCS (1812-1871) surgeon and New South Wales parliamentarian studied at London University from 1831 before undertaking a residency in Paris, centre for innovation in the practice of hygiene, pathological anatomy and physiopathology.
2 portraits in the collection
Purchased 2005
Purchased 2005
Purchased 2005
Purchased with funds provided by Ruth and Peter McMullin 2013
Purchased 2005
Djon Mundine OAM brings poignant memory and context to Martin van der Wal’s 1986 portrait photographs of storied Aboriginal artists.
Purchased 2005
Purchased 2005
Purchased 2005
Purchased 2005
Gift of Nell Schofield 2020. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Gift of Leo Christie 2003. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Gift of the artist 2006
Gift of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects 2005
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008
Artist Mandy Martin describes the creation of her portrait of Aldo Giurgola, principal architect of Australia's Parliament House.
Commissioned with funds provided by Patrick Corrigan AM 2009
Commissioned with funds provided by Patrick Corrigan AM 2009
Exploring the photographs of Martin Schoeller, Michael Desmond delves into the uneasy pact that exists between celebrity and the camera.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2001
Purchased 2005
Gift of the artist 2005
Purchased 2005
Purchased 2005
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2001
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2001
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2001
Purchased 2011
Gift of the artist 2023. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Elsie Martin 2000
Dr Christopher Chapman discusses the portrait of Australian composer Paul Grabowsky by photographer Martin Philbey.
Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008
Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2009
Purchased 2009
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2013
Purchased 2009
Purchased 2009
Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001
Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001
Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001
Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001
Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001
Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001
Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001
Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001
Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001
Purchased 2009
Purchased 2017
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006
This issue of Portrait Magazine features the Reveries: On Photography and Mortality exhibition, Peter Cosgrove, Martin Sharp, Terence Tao and more.
Purchased with funds provided by Tim Bednall 2021
Robert Whitaker, English photographer, spent three years in Melbourne in the early 1960s, becoming friends with Mirka and Georges Mora, Barry Humphries, Germaine Greer, the Heide crowd and Martin Sharp and Richard Neville.
1 portrait in the collection
Purchased 2003
Sydney-born Richard Walsh (b. 1941) is an Australian publisher, journalist, broadcaster, editor, lecturer and company director.
1 portrait in the collection
Born in Sydney, Garry Shead studied at the National Art School in 1961-2.
4 portraits in the collection
Philippe Mora (b. 1949), filmmaker, artist and writer, is the eldest son of artist Mirka Mora and restauranteur and gallery owner Georges Mora.
1 portrait in the collection
Romaldo Giurgola talks about his portrait and the relationship between architecture and landscape.
Fruitful fusion
In the one hundred years since Federation, Australia has produced twenty-five Prime Ministers of all shapes, shades and sizes
Andrew Cowen on photographing his friend Matthew Martin.
Jon Lewis (1950-2020) was born in Maryland, USA, and came to Australia in 1951.
3 portraits in the collection
Terry Clune (b. 1932), gallerist, established Terry Clune Galleries with Frank MacDonald at 59 McLeay Street Potts Point in 1957.
1 portrait in the collection
Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Greg Weight is a Sydney-based photographer who grew up in Dee Why. He opened his own studio in 1968, taking advertising and magazine photographs and working with the Australian Opera and the Australian Ballet.
113 portraits in the collection
The National Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition is selected from a national field of entries that reflect the distinctive vision of Australia's aspiring and professional portrait photographers and the unique nature of their subjects.
This issue features Martin Schoeller, Bess Norriss Tait, Emanuel Solomon and the sisters of St Joseph, Rennie Ellis and AC/DC, John Brack and more.
George Gittoes AM (b. 1949), artist, photographer and filmmaker, has documented some of the world's most notorious conflicts.
4 portraits in the collection
The eight photographers represent diverse styles, specialities and career paths. Abigail Varney, Peter Brew-Bevan, Martin Philbey, John Tsiavis, Michelle Day, Julian Kingma, and Giovanni Lovisetto.
Alec Murray was a photographer whose Alec Murray's Album: Personalities of Australia was published by Sydney Ure Smith in about 1948.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2009
Gift of Michael Desmond 2012
Gift of Dr Brenda Niall AO 2019. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Gift of the Margaret Olley Art Trust 2002
Brenda Niall AO (b. 1930), writer, academic and reviewer, is one of Australia's foremost biographers.
1 portrait in the collection
Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Sir William John Macleay (1820-1891), pastoralist, politician, collector and promoter of science, had just begun to study medicine in his native Scotland when family circumstances dictated his migration to New South Wales.
1 portrait in the collection
Martin Philbey’s portrait of Dan Sultan.
This exhibition goes behind-the-scenes and into the spotlight with professional photographers and the stars of Australian television, music and comedy. Whether negotiating the logistics of a big publicity shoot or quietly capturing moments on set during filming, the photographers' stories are intriguing and compelling.
Helmut Newton was born and grew up in Berlin, which he fled in 1938 to escape persecution as a Jew.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lucio Galletto OAM 2012
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
Aspects of singer songwriter Paul Kelly’s performance persona are communicated by portraits selected from a range of artists and leading music photographers in this focus exhibition.
Herbert 'Smoky' Dawson MBE (1913-2008), entertainer, began his musical career in 1934 with a series of live broadcasts on Melbourne's Radio 3UZ - the first broadcasts of their kind in Australia.
1 portrait in the collection
Judith Pungarta Inkamala (b. 1947), senior potter, is an Arrernte woman who was born in Hermannsburg, 130 km west of Alice Springs.
3 portraits in the collection
Noah Taylor (b. 1969) left school at 16 to join Melbourne's St Martin's Youth Theatre.
1 portrait in the collection
Frederick Woodhouse Senior, painter, lithographer and engraver, arrived in Melbourne in 1858 in the Parsee to establish himself as a horse portraitist.
1 portrait in the collection
Pat Corrigan's generous gift of 100 photographic portraits by Greg Weight.
The discovery of Dempsey's People, Australian rugby greats, Athol Shmith's progressive pictures, and powerful Indigenous portraits.
Yousuf Karsh - the most famous portrait photographer in the world - has photographed the statesmen, artists, literary and scientific figures who have defined the 20th century and shaped our lives, In this, his 90th year, the National Portrait Gallery is thrilled to present an exhibition of Karsh's photography of 20th century figures.
Fiona Lowry is a Sydney-based artist. Having held her first solo exhibition in 2002, she exhibited at Sydney’s Gallery Barry Keldoulis from 2004 to 2010; from 2010 she was also represented by Hugo Michell in Adelaide, and she is currently handled by Martin Browne Contemporary in Sydney.
1 portrait in the collection
Matthew Sleeth began his photographic career with a number of monographs including Roaring Days, The Bank Book and Tour of Duty.
2 portraits in the collection
Jacqui Stockdale (b. 1968) works across theatrical portrait photography, painting, drawing and collage to explore ideas surrounding cultural identity, national history, theatricality, masquerade and folkloric traditions.
1 portrait in the collection
The photographers reveal the technical side of their work and reflect on changes in their profession. Now everyone has a camera in their pocket, is everyone a photographer? What is it like to sustain a career as a photographer in the entertainment industry? How do you work with celebrity subjects, negotiate the complex logistics of big shoots, and create captivating portraits under pressure?
John Frith, cartoonist, was born and schooled in England before coming to Sydney in 1929.
4 portraits in the collection
Purchased 2022
Australian entertainer Jeanne Little OAM (1938–2020) was known for her over-the-top personality and flamboyant outfits, greeting everyone with her catchphrase 'Daaahling'.
1 portrait in the collection
Wenten Rubuntja AM (1923–2005) was an Arrernte law man, committee and board member, artist, historian, storyteller and intermediary.
2 portraits in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009
Thousand mile stare provides a unique portrait of people of rural Australia
William Yang (b. 1943) is a pre-eminent Australian photographer known for an intensely sustained body of work that examines issues of cultural and sexual identity, and which unflinchingly documents the lives of his friends and community and his own lived experience with curiosity, sensitivity and humour.
15 portraits in the collection
Intimate Portraits is an exhibition of paintings, drawings and prints that explore the less public side of portraiture
The Hermannsburg Potters are a collective of highly respected senior women artists of the Western Arrarnta (Arrernte) community.
1 portrait in the collection
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2007
Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Inspiring Australians tell their own stories in a unique new gallery audio tour, developed in collaboration with the National Library of Australia.
Paris based Australian photographer and filmmaker Nathalie Latham has an ongoing interest in the creative achievements of other Australian artists living in various locations around the globe.
Justin O'Brien (1917-1996) was one of the major Australian artists of his generation.
3 portraits in the collection
Purchased 2021
Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
The Gallery would like to acknowledge and thank the people who contributed their time and expertise to participate in the development of this DIAP.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
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
Bungaree (c. 1775–1830), voyager, navigator and diplomat, was among the most significant Sydney-area Indigenous leaders of the early colonial period.
3 portraits in the collection
Lewis Morley has a great eye for a shot and a sharp ear for a pun
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2009
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2010
Father Peter Steele AM (1939-2012), poet and Jesuit Provincial, grew up in Perth, destined from youth for the priesthood.
1 portrait in the collection
Herbert 'Bert' Flugelman, sculptor, painter and lecturer, came to Australia from his native Vienna in 1938, aged fifteen.
1 portrait in the collection
Artist David M Thomas lists some of the ideas and influences behind his video portraits.
Maggie Beer AO (b. 1945) is a cook, restaurateur, businesswoman and media personality.
1 portrait in the collection
Ivan Gaal came to Australia as a refugee from his native Hungary in 1957.
1 portrait in the collection
Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2018
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by the Ross family in memory of Noel and Enid Eliot 2014
Australian photographer Karin Catt has photographed world leaders, a host of rock stars and Oscar-winning compatriots Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, and Cate Blanchett.
Johann Zoffany, painter of portraits and conversation pieces, grew up in the court of the Prince von Thurn und Taxis in Germany, where his father was employed.
1 portrait in the collection
Adapted from A Tribute to William Dobell an exhibition presented by the Australian National University's Drill Hall Gallery in association with the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation, The National Gallery of Australia, and the Australian War Memorial. Dobell is of course, celebrated for his achievements in portraiture, winning the Archibald prize (1943, 1948 and 1959), the Wynne Prize (1948), and representing Australia at the 1954 Venice Biennale. Curator Mary Eagle concludes her essay in the catalogue of the exhibition thus, "Overall I see a dissonance in Dobell’s art and life
Peter Garrett AM (b. 1953), musician, environmental and social activist, and former politician, is the lead singer of the band Midnight Oil, which originated in Sydney's northern beaches in the mid-1970s.
12 portraits in the collection
Gift of the artist 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
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.
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.
Gift of an anonymous donor 2007
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2001
During his long and distinguished career Max Dupain took thousands of photographs of people
‘The Australian Wonder’, Johnny Day (1856–1885), was an undefeated world-champion juvenile walker.
1 portrait in the collection
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.
Sir John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar (1807-1876), governor of New South Wales from 1861 to 1867, was the son of a director of the East India Co.
1 portrait in the collection
Purchased 2014
Henry (Harry) Edwards (1827–1891), actor and entomologist, arrived in Melbourne in 1853 after a short-lived attempt at studying for a career in law.
1 portrait in the collection
George Henry Johnston OBE (1912-1970), journalist and novelist, grew up in Elsternwick, a working-class suburb of Melbourne.
1 portrait in the collection
Purchased 2023
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 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
Commissioned with funds provided by Ian Darling 2008
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.
Margel Hinder AM (née Harris) (1906-1995), sculptor, trained in Buffalo and Boston in the 1920s.
1 portrait in the collection
This is the first in a series of National Portrait Gallery exhibitions to survey the portraits painted by artists who are not thought of, primarily, as portrait painters
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
The Darling Portrait Prize is a biennial national prize for Australian portrait painting honouring the legacy of Mr L Gordon Darling AC CMG.
In 2006 the National Portrait Gallery acquired a splendid portrait of Victoria's first governor, Lieutenant Governor Charles Joseph La Trobe by Thomas Woolner.
Eric Smith describes the agony and finally the ecstasy of winning the 1982 Archibald Prize with the portrait of Peter Sculthorpe.
Dr Sarah Engledow explores the portrait of Ninette Dutton by Bette Mifsud.
Millicent Fanny Preston Stanley (1883–1955), politician and feminist, was born Millicent Stanley in Sydney in 1883, the daughter of a grocer named Augustine Stanley and his wife Frances (née Preston).
1 portrait 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.
Photographer Polly Borland on capturing Queen Elizabeth II.
Vanity Fair Portraits traces the birth and evolution of photographic portraiture through the archives of Vanity Fair magazine.
John Elliott talks about his photographic portrait practice, including his iconic image of Slim Dusty arm-in-arm with Dame Edna Everage.
It’s a matter beyond dispute that in the entire history of Australian art, it’s Noel McKenna who’s painted the liveliest rendition of the head of a Chihuahua.
Gael Newton delves into the life and art of renowned Australian photographer, Max Dupain.
Press releases and images downloads for media.
Paul Kelly & The Portraits presents a multifaceted image of the performer over the course of his career.
Joanna Gilmour explores the enticing urban shadows cast by artists Martin Lewis and Edward Hopper.
Michael Desmond charts the path of portraiture, arriving at Julian Opie’s digital realm.
Christopher Chapman contemplates the provocative performance art of Chris Burden.
A reflection on the National Portrait Gallery's first four years.
Open Air is an exhibition of portraits of Australians in environments of particular significance to them.
Dr Christopher Chapman, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2010 Prize.
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.
Henri-Cartier-Bresson invented the grammar for photographing life in the 20th century.
Chris O'Doherty, also known as Reg Mombassa, is best-known for his Mambo imagery but he also paints a lot of self portraits.
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.
Kim Sajet reflects on two portraits with a power that extends beyond gallery walls.
Joanna Gilmour explores the life and times of convict-turned-artist William Buelow Gould.
Deborah Hill talks figures with character, as the National Portrait Gallery touring exhibitions program welcomes its millionth visitor.
Andrew Mayo talks to three of Australia’s most prominent and prolific music photographers — Martin Philbey, Kane Hibberd and Daniel Boud — about the challenges and inspiration behind their craft.
‘Everybody’s lives are built by so many influences, and for me, it is writers, artists and activists who have influenced how I think about the world.’
Commissioned with funds provided by the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2018
Michael Desmond, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2007 Prize.
Michael Desmond profiles a handful of the entrants in first National Photographic Portrait Prize and notes emerging themes and categories.
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.
Death masks, post-mortem drawings and other spooky and disquieting portraits... Come and see how portraits of infamous Australians were used in the 19th century.
The southern winter has arrived. For people in the northern hemisphere (the majority of humanity) the idea of snow and ice, freezing mist and fog in June, potentially continuing through to August and beyond, encapsulates the topsy-turvidom of our southern continent.
Julia Gillard pays poignant tribute to her friend and mentor, the late Joan Kirner, Victoria’s first and only female premier.
Polly Borland talks to Oliver Giles about the celebrity portraits that made her name and why she’s now making more abstract art.
Australian photographer Karin Catt has shot across the spectrum of celebrity, her subjects including rock stars, world leaders and actors.
The exhibition Australians in Hollywood celebrated the achievements of Australians in the highly competitive American film industry.
Louis-Claude Desaulses de Freycinet (1779–1842), hydrographer and cartographer, sailed with Nicolas Baudin on the Expédition aux terres australes, a journey of discovery, commissioned by Napoléon, to the unknown southern coast of New Holland.
1 portrait in the collection
A remarkable undated drawing by Edward Lear (1812–88) blends natural history and whimsy.
Magda Keaney explores the symbolism in eX de Medici's portrait of Midnight Oil.
Roger Neill delves into the life of a lesser-known Australian diva, Frances Alda.
The Glossy 2 exhibition highlights the integral role magazine photography plays in illustrating and shaping our contemporary culture.
Mark Haworth-Booth explains why Bill Brandt is one of the most important British photographers of the Twentieth Century.
The fourth row of paintings interweave Ngarranggarni, memories, relationships and Country.
Emma Batchelor uncovers the compelling contemporary dance made in response to the works in Shakespeare to Winehouse.
In March 2003 Magda Keaney travelled to London to join the photography section of the Victoria & Albert Museum for three months.
Exhibition curator Christine Clark introduces the work by Indonesian artist Agus Suwage created for Beyond the self: Contemporary portraiture from Asia.
Sarah Engledow describes the fall-out once Brett Whiteley stuck Patrick White’s list of his loves and hates onto his great portrait of the writer.
Jose Legaspi was born in 1959 in Manila. He achieved degrees in zoology and biology before turning to fine arts in the mid-1980s.
The wild balancing act of McDonald’s home décor (is that there as a joke? where do I actually sit down? is this ironic or what? what a lovely photo of Darren and Robin in Europe!) is reflected in his own personality.
David Ward writes about the exhibition Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture on display at the National Portrait Gallery, Washington.
Isobel Parker Philip introduces artist Thom Roberts, whose distinctive portraits of people, buildings and personified trains define the world as he experiences it.
David Solkin ponders the provocations and inspirations of the enigmatic Thomas Gainsborough.
Born in 1959, Agus Suwage was educated in the creative hub of Central Java, Yogyakarta before moving west to study graphic design at the Bandung Institute of Technology.
English artist Benjamin Duterrau took up the cause of the Indigenous peoples of Tasmania with his detailed and sympathetic renderings.
June Oscar AO lauds three iconic Aboriginal figures in the Portrait Gallery collection who have inspired and influenced her.
Inga Walton sheds light on a portraiture collection usually only seen by students and teachers at Melbourne University.
Portraits of philanthropists in the collection honour their contributions to Australia and acknowledge their support of the National Portrait Gallery.
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.
Pushpamala N. was born in 1956 in Bangalore. Her early training was in sculpture, but as her practice progressed she brought an early enthusiasm for narrative figuration into her photographic work.
At the end of a summer break one is tempted to say that there is nothing much to report. Isn’t one restful holiday very much like another?
Nici Cumpston immerses herself in the collective vision of the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020.
Penelope Grist, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2020 Prize.
An extensive selection of portraits by John Brack were on display at the National Portrait Gallery in late 2007.
Penelope Grist charts an immersive path through Stuart Spence’s photography.
Angus Trumble salutes the glorious portraiture of Sir Thomas Lawrence.
A design diary retrospective.
Sarah Engledow casts a judicious eye over portraits in the Victorian Bar’s Peter O’Callaghan QC Portrait Gallery.
Jude Rae contemplates the portrait commission.
John Zubrzycki meets Australian paint pioneer Jim Cobb.
Dr Anne Sanders previews the works in the new focus exhibition Paul Kelly and The Portraits.
NPPP judge Robert Cook provides irreverent insight into this year’s fare, and having to be a bit judgemental.
Jenny Gall delves into Starstruck to celebrate some of Australian cinema’s iconic women.
Anne Sanders imbibes Tony Bilson’s gastronomic revolution.
Angus and the arbiters talk (photo) shop for the National Photographic Portrait Prize.
Krysia Kitch reviews black chronicles at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Christopher Chapman absorbs the gentle touch of Don Bachardy’s portraiture.
Jennifer Higgie reveals how Alice Neel reinvigorated 20th century portraiture with her honest and perceptive depictions of the human experience.
Robyn's parents had two terriers, Wuff and Snuff. In spite of Snuff’s ominous name and a couple of close shaves – once, he jumped out of a moving car, and another time, on a long road trip, he was accidentally left behind at a petrol station – he outlived Wuff.
Gael Newton looks at Australian photography, film and the sixties through the novel lens of Mark Strizic.
Joanna Gilmour travels through time to explore the National Portrait Gallery London’s masterpieces in Shakespeare to Winehouse.
Joanna Gilmour describes how colonial portraitists found the perfect market among social status seeking Sydneysiders.
Emma Kindred examines fashion as a representation of self and social ritual in 19th-century portraiture.
Vanity Fair Editor David Friend describes how the rebirth of the magazine sated our desire for access into the lives of celebrities and set the standard for the new era of portrait photography.
Tom Fryer surveys the twentieth-century architectural project, and finds representation and the portrait were integral elements.
Australian character on the market by Jane Raffan.
The London-born son of an American painter, Augustus Earle ended up in Australia by accident in January 1825.
The complex connections between four creative Australians; Patrick White, Sidney Nolan, Robert Helpmann and Peter Sculthorpe.
Joanna Gilmour describes some of the stories of the individuals and incidents that define French exploration of Australia and the Pacific.
Dempsey’s People curator David Hansen chronicles a research tale replete with serendipity, adventure and Tasmanian tigers.
Books seldom make me angry but this one did. At first, I was powerfully struck by the uncanny parallels that existed between the Mellons of Pittsburgh and the Thyssens of the Ruhr through the same period, essentially the last quarter of the nineteenth century.
Dr Sarah Engledow explores the portraits of writers held in the National Portrait Gallery's collection.
How seven portraits within Bare reveal in a public portrait parts of the body and elements of life usually located in the private sphere.
It may seem an odd thing to do at one’s leisure on a beautiful tropical island, but I spent much of my midwinter break a few weeks ago re-reading Bleak House.
John Singer Sargent: a painter at the vanguard of contemporary movements in music, literature and theatre.
Representations of the inhabitants of the new world expose the complexities of the colonisers' intentions.
Sarah Engledow lauds the very civil service of Dame Helen Blaxland.
Joanna Gilmour reflects on merging collections and challenging traditional assumptions around portraiture in WHO ARE YOU.
Dr Anne Sanders NPG Curatorial Researcher investigated the lives of the pioneering psychologists whose portraits are featured in Inner Worlds.
Sarah Engledow bristles at the biographers’ neglect of Kitchener’s antipodean intervention.
Curator, Penny Grist, reveals how this exhibition came to be
Dr Sarah Engledow, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2014 Prize.
Sarah Engledow looks at three decades of Nicholas Harding's portraiture.