Search / murray walker

Nic Walker spent his early years in Cairo and Beijing with his father Tony Walker, a foreign correspondent.

1 portrait in the collection

Sue Walker

Sue Walker (b. 1936) is a weaver and arts administrator. After studying fine arts in Melbourne she began her professional career as a weaver in London.

1 portrait in the collection

Max Walker

Max Walker AM (1948–2016) was one of a small group of sportsmen to have played both senior VFL/AFL football and Test cricket.

1 portrait in the collection

Don Walker

Don Walker (b. 1951) is considered one of Australia's best songwriters.

1 portrait in the collection

Alex Perry, 2016

by Nic Walker

Theresa Walker

Theresa Walker is acknowledged as Australia’s first female sculptor.

3 portraits in the collection

Adela R. Walker

Adela Russell Walker (1847–1932), the youngest of her parents' thirteen children, was born in Longford and was 22 when she married George Coleridge Nixon, who was the son of Francis Russell Nixon – an amateur artist and Anglican Bishop of Tasmania from 1843 to 1862.

1 portrait in the collection

Anna F. Walker

Anna Frances Walker (1830–1913), botanical artist and collector, was one of the thirteen children of Thomas Walker, a high-ranking colonial public servant, and his wife Anna Elizabeth, the daughter of merchant and landowner John Blaxland.

1 portrait in the collection

Kerry Walker AM

Kerry Walker AM, actor, graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1974 and made her professional stage debut in a melée in Act 1 of Romeo and Juliet with the Australian Ballet.

1 portrait in the collection

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by James Bain AM and Janette Bain 2010

Sue Walker, 1977

Lewis Morley

Gift of the artist 2003. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Don Walker, Songwriter, 2021

Mark Lang

Gift of the artist 2023

Kerry Walker, c. 1979

Stuart Campbell

Portrait, albumen print photograph, carte de visite format on paper on card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Estate of Stuart Campbell 2012

Anna Frances Walker, c. 1865

George Perry

Purchased 2022

Adela Russell Walker, 1864

William P. Dowling

Portrait, albumen print photograph, carte de visite format on paper on card

Purchased 2022

Lloyd Rees, 1973

Robert Walker

Purchased 1999

Sir George Grey, c. 1845

Theresa Walker

Portrait, cast wax

Purchased 1999

Les Murray AO

Leslie Allan ‘Les’ Murray AO (1938-2019) was acknowledged during his lifetime as one of the great poets writing in English.

4 portraits in the collection

Stan Grant and Tracey Holmes

Nic Walker

Portrait, archival pigment print on Canson Edition Etching cotton rag paper

Stan Grant and Tracey Holmes, 2020

Nic Walker

Gift of the artist 2021

Alec Murray

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

Neil Murray

Neil Murray (b. 1956), singer/songwriter, grew up in country Victoria, studied art and became a teacher.

2 portraits in the collection

Murray Godfrey

Mervyn Godfrey OAM (1924-2013), Dean Godfrey (b. 1970), David Godfrey (b.

1 portrait in the collection

Murray Tyrrell AM

Murray Tyrrell AM (1921-2000) was a winemaker. Born in the Hunter Valley, Tyrrell served in the Pacific during World War II and became a cattle trader when he was repatriated.

1 portrait in the collection

Murray Bail

Murray Bail (b. 1941), writer, was born in Adelaide and spent several years in India and England in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

3 portraits in the collection

Binowee, 2010

by Murray Vanderveer

Langscape, 2006

by Murray Vanderveer

Theresa Walker after David D'Angers

Dame Elisabeth Murdoch

'Weaving the Dame'

Portrait story

An interview with Victorian Tapestry Workshop artists Sue Walker and Christopher Pyett.

Mrs Grey, c. 1845

Theresa Walker

Portrait, cast wax

Purchased 1999

Sir John Franklin, c. 1846

Portrait, cast wax

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Study for portrait of Les Murray, 1995

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Gift of the artist 2001

Les Murray, 1995

Portrait, bromide fibre print

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Les Murray, 2003

Norman McBeath

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Norman McBeath 2011

Stephen Murray-Smith

Stephen Murray-Smith (1922-1988), writer and editor, was educated at Geelong Grammar and the University of Melbourne before serving in New Guinea during World War 2.

1 portrait in the collection

Murray Tyrrell, 1978 (printed 2003)

Jon Lewis

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Stephen Murray-Smith

Recorded 1961

Study for portrait of Les Murray, 1995

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Gift of the artist 2001

Neil Murray, Bolac, VIC, 2004

John Elliott

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Murray Bail, c. 1980 (printed 2018)

Jacqueline Mitelman

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Murray Rose, 1956

an unknown artist

Portrait, oil on composition board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Murray Bail, c. 1990

Jinx Nolan

Gift of an anonymous donor 2021

Murray Bail, 1980-1981

Fred Williams

Portrait, pastel and watercolour on paper

Gift of an anonymous donor 1999. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Neil Murray, 2008

Peter Hudson

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2010
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

The Merioola Group, 1940s

Alec Murray

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Stephen Murray-Smith, 1980

Fred Williams

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2011

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

True fella

Michael Desmond profiles the Australian songwriter and performer Neil Murray and his contribution to Australian music.

Poets' Portraits

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

The Portrait Gallery's paintings of two poets, Les Murray and Peter Porter, demonstrate two very different artists' responses to the challenge of representing more than usually sensitive and imaginative men.

Lt. Genrl. the Rt Honble. Sir George Murray G.C.B., G.C.H. &c.

Lt. Genrl. the Rt Honble. Sir George Murray G.C.B., G.C.H. &c., 1838

John Cochran after Sir Thomas Lawrence

Portrait, engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Murray Rose, Jon Henricks and John Devitt

Murray Rose, Jon Henricks and John Devitt, 1955

Ern McQuillan OAM

Murray Fredericks, Lisa Giles

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2004

Matt Moran, 2004

an unknown artist after Thomas Murray

Gift of the artists 2005

William Dampier, c. 1780

Portrait, copper-line engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

Mabel Forrest, 1917

Murray Studio (Brisbane & Gympie)

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2011

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

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.

Thinking about architecture and portraiture

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

Dr Christopher Chapman describes the experimental exhibition Portraits + Architecture

Painting writing

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2007

Dr Sarah Engledow explores the portraits of writers held in the National Portrait Gallery's collection.

The Godfrey family of Melways guides, 2009

Francis Reiss and June Orford, Tim Ainsworth

Archibald McDonald, Henry Samuel Sadd

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

The Catholic Hierarchy of Australia, 1869

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Professor Gilbert Murray, OM, Oxford, c. 1957 (printed 2000)

David Moore

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.

Johnson Pilton Walker

Sydney-based practice Johnson Pilton Walker designed the new National Portrait Gallery building.

Kath Walker (Oodgeroo Noonuccal), 1965

Clif Peir

Portrait, oil on board

Gift of Richard Brian Close, Githabul people, Woodenbong 2000. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

An example of the wheelchairs available at the Gallery

Book a wheelchair or walker

Access

Wheelchairs and walkers are available at no charge. Please ask our friendly staff at the Information Desk or book here online. Wheelchair access is available in our public spaces, with lift access from the underground to the public ground level.

Kath Walker part two

Recorded 1976

Untitled, 2013

by Brett Walker

Finalist, MDPA 2013

Kath Walker part one

Recorded 1976

The spirit walker, 2017

by Alex Ellinghausen

Kath Walker (Oodgeroo Noonuccal) and Lowitja O’Donoghue at the opening of the inaugural National Aboriginal Conference, Canberra

Kath Walker (Oodgeroo Noonuccal) and Lowitja O’Donoghue at the opening of the inaugural National Aboriginal Conference, Canberra, 1978 (printed 2014)

Mervyn Bishop

Purchased 2015

Shane Maloney

Shane Maloney (b. 1953) is the creator of the popular 'Murray Whelan' series of six crime novels, beginning with Stiff (1994) and The Brush-Off (1996) and currently ending at Sucked In (2007).

1 portrait in the collection

The silent spectre of motion (Le spectre silencieux du movement), 2012

by Bridget Walker

Finalist, iD2012

Men of the Day No. 25 "Baronet or butcher" (Sir Roger Doughty Tichborne), 1871

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Statesmen No. 83 "By birth a man, by inheritance a Marquis and a Governor by his Sovereign's favour, he fills all his positions with credit" (Marquis of Normanby), 1871

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

New South Wales (Earl of Jersey Victor Albert George Child-Villiers)

New South Wales (Earl of Jersey Victor Albert George Child-Villiers), 1890

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

First Conservative Whip (Sir Alexander Fuller-Acland-Hood Bart MP)

First Conservative Whip (Sir Alexander Fuller-Acland-Hood Bart MP), 1903

Julius Mendes Price, Vanity Fair Magazine

Gift of Ronald Walker 2002

Portrait 16

June - August 2005

Magazine

This issue of Portrait Magazine features portraits by Rick Amor, colonial charicatures, Les Murray, Peter Porter, Helen Garner and more.

Portrait 39

March - May 2011

Magazine

This issue features the National Photographic Portrait Prize, Neil Murray, Lee Tulloch on Stuart Campbell, Joseph Banks, Scott Redford and more.

W. A. (Sir John Forrest), 1897

Gift of Ronald A Walker 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

The Australian Commonwealth (Henry Stafford Northcote)

The Australian Commonwealth (Henry Stafford Northcote), 1904

Alick Ritchie, Vanity Fair Magazine

Gift of Ronald A Walker 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Kismet (Mr Oscar Asche), 1912-1913

Gift of Ronald A Walker 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

The Cape High Commissioner (Sir Henry Brougham Loch)

The Cape High Commissioner (Sir Henry Brougham Loch), 1894

Gift of Ronald A Walker 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Peace and War (Mr A. G. Hales), 1908

Gift of Ronald A Walker 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Bob Ellis

Bob Ellis (1942-2016) was a journalist, columnist, screenwriter, film director and playwright.

3 portraits in the collection

Kate Fitzpatrick, 1983

William Yang

Purchased 2003

Warumpi Band

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on cabinet card

The Warumpi Band burst onto the Australian music scene in 1984 with the release of their first album Big Name, No Blankets.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir John Hay, 1887

Freeman Brothers

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

Riverboat Rod & Ruby

James Bugg

Warumpi Band, Sydney Opera House, 1984 (printed 2021)

Purchased 2021

Closer to Heaven, 2013

by Molly Harris

Oodgeroo Noonuccal

Previous exhibition, 2009

Oodgeroo Noonuccal (1920–1993), formerly Kath Walker, was a Quandamooka woman, activist, poet, writer and educator.

5 portraits in the collection

Portraits + Architecture

This exhibition explores creative process and identity.

Joel, Mitchell Queensland, 2014

by Matthew Abbott

Sir John Hay

Sir John Hay (1816-1892), pastoralist and politician, graduated in law in his native Scotland before emigrating to New South Wales with his new wife, Mary, in 1838.

1 portrait in the collection

Redfern, I love you - Alan, 2012

by Ben Lawrence

Mervyn Godfrey OAM

Mervyn Godfrey OAM (1924-2013), Dean Godfrey (b. 1970), David Godfrey (b.

2 portraits in the collection

Dean Godfrey

Mervyn Godfrey OAM (1924-2013), Dean Godfrey (b. 1970), David Godfrey (b.

1 portrait in the collection

David Godfrey

Mervyn Godfrey OAM (1924-2013), Dean Godfrey (b. 1970), David Godfrey (b.

1 portrait in the collection

Currents, 2016

by Natalie Ord

Anthony Browell

Anthony Browell, photographer, was born in England and studied at the Brighton Art College and the Ealing Art School before becoming a freelance photographer.

9 portraits in the collection

The Tangles

Moustaches

According to an 1981 Australian Women’s Weekly profile of fast bowler Dennis Lillee, a moustache was a ‘compulsory’ accessory for sportsmen.

Small Holdings (The Earl Carrington Baron Charles Robert Carrington)

Small Holdings (The Earl Carrington Baron Charles Robert Carrington), 1907

Gift of Ronald Walker 2002

In Conversation with Director, Bree Pickering

Event, Wednesday 22 May

Join Bree Pickering, Director of the National Portrait Gallery in conversation as she reflects on her career, discusses her vision for the Gallery and shares a little bit about her first year as Director of the Gallery.

Jessie Whyte

Jessie Whyte (née Walker, 1779–1864). Born in Berwickshire, Scotland, Jessie married George Whyte (d.

1 portrait in the collection

The Lord Chamberlain (Earl of Hopetoun John Adrian Louis Hope)

The Lord Chamberlain (Earl of Hopetoun John Adrian Louis Hope), 1900

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Statesmen No. 20 "A Returned Colonist" (Rt Hon. Hugh C.E. Childers), 1869

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Australia (The Hon. Alfred Deakin), 1908

Gift of Ronald A Walker 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Bruce Dawe

Bruce Dawe AO (1930-2020), poet and teacher, was born in Fitzroy and worked as a labourer, clerk, sawmill hand, farmhand and postman before joining the RAAF in 1959.

1 portrait in the collection

Sydney (Sir Daniel Cooper), 1882

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Dan (Sir Daniel Cooper), 1890s

Gift of Ronald A Walker 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

a squatter (Sir Samuel Wilson), 1885

Portrait, pastel and chalk on paper laid down on cotton over Cedar strainer

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Jessie Whyte, c. 1840

Thomas Bock

Purchased 2017

Bob Maza

Bob Maza (1939-2000), actor, playwright and activist, was born on Palm Island in North Queensland.

1 portrait in the collection

Phil (Phil May), 1895

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Eddie Mabo

Koiki (Eddie) Mabo (1937-1992) was born and lived in the Torres Strait until 1959 when he moved to the mainland.

1 portrait in the collection

Richard Johnson 23 May 2009 3:07PM

Ingvar Kenne

John Gaden AM

Sir Leslie Ward, Hentschel-Colourtype, Vanity Fair Magazine

John Gaden AM (b. 1941), actor, studied arts and law at the University of Sydney, but when he joined the Sydney University Players, he abandoned his other pursuits for the stage.

1 portrait in the collection

Frank Wootton, c. 1908

Gift of Ronald A Walker 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Fred Williams

Fred Williams OBE, painter and etcher, was one of the most important Australian artists of the twentieth century.

14 portraits in the collection

Police (Lieut Colonel Edmund Yeamans Walcott Henderson)

Police (Lieut Colonel Edmund Yeamans Walcott Henderson), 1875

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Sir Kenneth Gillespie

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

Sydney Ancher, c. 1962

Max Dupain OBE

Gift of Rex Dupain 2003. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Sydney Ancher

Portrait, lithograph on paper

Sydney Ancher (1904-1980), architect, graduated from Sydney Tech College in 1930.

1 portrait in the collection

Nothing black and white about the Greys

It's Complicated

Marriage: a prolonged disaster

Piper, the native who accompanied Major Mitchell in his expedition to the interior of N.S.W.

Piper, the native who accompanied Major Mitchell in his expedition to the interior of N.S.W., 1836

William Fernyhough

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Robert Edwards AO 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

George Rrurrambu Burarrwanga

George Rrurrambu Burarrwanga (1957–2007) was a Yolngu singer, activist and a founding member of the Warumpi Band.

2 portraits in the collection

Peter Hudson

Peter Hudson (b. 1950), is a landscape and portrait painter who lives and works in Maleny, Queensland.

5 portraits in the collection

Dame Roma Mitchell, 1998

Jessica Hromas

Portrait, albumen silver photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Hammond Care Group 1999

First High Court of Australia, c. 1903

an unknown artist

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

International Penny Postage (Mr John Henniker Heaton MP)

International Penny Postage (Mr John Henniker Heaton MP), 1887

Gift of Ronald Walker 2002

Narelle Autio

Pamela Joyce, Australian Tapestry Workshop

Recorded 2018

The Honourable Margaret Lusink AM, 2019

Portrait, wool and cotton tapestry

Gift of The Honourable Margaret Lusink AM 2021

Self portrait, 1846

George French Angas

Portrait, lithograph on paper

Purchased 1999

Hélène Kirsova in Petrouchka, 1936-1937

Max Dupain OBE

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

The crime writer Shane Maloney, 2004

Rick Amor

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2010
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

New South Wales (Earl Beauchamp), 1899

Gift of Ronald A Walker 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Jack Charles, 2011

Rod McNicol

Purchased 2013

Friendship’s rhyme and reason

Nearest & Dearest

Poetic trio

Gordon Darling Hall, National Portrait Gallery

Architecture

About us

Natural light and human proportions – the design by Johnson Pilton Walker

Oodgeroo of the Noonuccal Tribe, 1992 (printed 2009)

George Fetting

Gift of the artist 2010

Jimmy Little, Sydney, 2004

John Elliott

Previous exhibition, 2006

Gift of the artist 2005

Headspace 7

Me and My Place

Headspace 7: Me and My Place, the seventh in the National Portrait Gallery's series of student exhibitions, will be presented at Commonwealth Place. Me and My Place is the curatorial theme for the 2006 exhibition.

Oodgeroo Noonuccal at Moongalba Stradbroke Island (her sitting down place)1982

Oodgeroo Noonuccal at Moongalba Stradbroke Island (her sitting down place)1982, 1982

Gift of the artist 2009

Oodgeroo Noonuccal at Moongalba, 1982

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Purchased 2004

Portrait of Alan Marshall, 1955

Lina Bryans

Portrait, oil on cardboard

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Jimmy Barnes AO

Jimmy Barnes AO (b. 1956), singer/songwriter, is a solo performer and the former lead singer of the quintessential Australian pub band, Cold Chisel.

3 portraits in the collection

Jimmy Little, 2003

Gift of the artist 2005. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Jimmy Little AO

Jimmy Little AO (1937–2012), singer, actor and advocate, was a Yorta Yorta man raised at the Cummerangunja Mission near the Murray River, New South Wales.

3 portraits in the collection

George Burarrwanga, Warumpi Band, 1984 (printed 2021)

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Purchased 2021

Kenneth Gillespie, 2005

Dean Beletich

Purchased 2015

Westralia (Mr Albert Frederick Calvert), 1895

Gift of Ronald Walker 2002

Mr Richard Goldsbrough

Richard Goldsbrough (1821–1886) was a butcher’s son from Shipley, Yorkshire, who became a leading Australian woolbroker.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir William Northam CBE

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

Sir William Northam CBE (1905-1988), yachtsman, won the gold medal in the 5.5 m class event at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, 2000

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

Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2000

Portrait of Professors Margaret Gardner and Glyn Davis

Glyn Davis AC

Professor Glyn Davis AC is Secretary to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

1 portrait in the collection

Australia (Sir Edmund Barton), 1902

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

2012-13 Acquisition Fund

Annual Appeal

The Circle of Friends Acquisition Fund for 2012 was dedicated to purchasing a portrait of David Malouf by Rick Amor.

Bob Ellis, 1999

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Eddie Mabo (after Mike Kelley's 'Booth's Puddle' 1985, from Plato's Cave, Rothko's Chapel, Lincoln's profile) No.3, 1996

John Citizen

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 1999

Piper, the native who accompanied Major Mitchell in his expedition to the interior

Piper, the native who accompanied Major Mitchell in his expedition to the interior, c. 1836

William Fernyhough

Portrait, lithograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

David Naseby

David Naseby (1937–2022) was born in England and studied in the United Kingdom before coming to Australia in 1953.

8 portraits in the collection

Maurice Felton

Magazine article by John Zubrzycki, 2016

Maurice Appleby Felton (1803-1842) arrived in Sydney with his wife and four children in late 1839 as surgeon to the immigrant ship the Royal Admiral.

3 portraits in the collection

Tribute

Bob Ellis

Magazine article, 2016

Bob Ellis (1942–2016) was a journalist, columnist, screenwriter, film director, playwright, speechwriter and critic.

Murray frees himself from straightjacket in public, 1928 by Sam Hood

Risky business

John Zubrzycki lauds the characters of the Australian escapology trade.

Icons Syndicate

Lists alphabetically

Honour board

The Hon. Dame Roma Mitchell AC DBE CVO QC

The Hon. Dame Roma Mitchell AC DBE CVO QC (1913–2000) was the first Australian woman to be a Queen's Counsel, Supreme Court judge, Acting Chief Justice, Deputy University Chancellor, Chancellor and State Governor.

2 portraits in the collection

Mal Meninga, 2018

by Peter Hudson

Commissioned with funds provided by Maliganis Edwards Johnson and Alan Dodge AM 2018

Rev. William Singleton

Sends a permanent shiver down my spine

The Reverend William Singleton (c. 1804-1875), Anglican clergyman, graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 1826 and was ordained in the city’s Christ Church Cathedral in 1841.

1 portrait in the collection

Oz Punk

In 1976, without having been blooded on the Sydney or Melbourne pub circuit, The Saints recorded a single – ‘(I’m) Stranded’ – earning them the distinction of releasing a punk single before The Sex Pistols did.

Sir James Martin

Sir James Martin (1820-1886) was fourth Chief Justice of New South Wales.

1 portrait in the collection

Johnny Day

‘The Australian Wonder’, Johnny Day (1856–1885), was an undefeated world-champion juvenile walker.

1 portrait in the collection

Jack Charles

Jack Charles (1943–2022) was a revered Wiradjuri, Boon Warrung, Dja Dja Wurrung, Woiwurrung and Yorta Yorta Elder, activist, actor, musician and artist.

1 portrait in the collection

The Aboriginal community of Lake Tyers, Gippsland

John Bulmer

John Bulmer (1833-1913), missionary and clergyman, came to Australia in 1852 and worked as a cabinetmaker in Melbourne for two years before going to the goldfields.

1 portrait in the collection

All the world's a stage

Portrait, albumen photograph carte de visite

Joan Sutherland, Robert Helpmann and Raigh Roe

Master Johnny Day, Australian Champion Pedestrian, c. 1866

an unknown artist

Purchased 2014

John Piper

Piper (life dates unknown), also known as John Piper, was a Wiradjuri man who acted as a guide to Thomas Mitchell’s surveying expedition along the Murray and Darling Rivers into present-day Victoria in 1836.

2 portraits in the collection

Tom Roberts

Tom Roberts (1856–1931), artist, came to Australia from England at the age of 13, but returned eight years later to study art in London.

9 portraits in the collection

R. M. Williams AO CMG

Magazine article by Diana O'Neil, 2016

RM (Reginald Murray) Williams AO CBE (1908-2003), saddlery, boot and clothing manufacturer, miner and author, moved to Adelaide from his birthplace near the Flinders Rangers when he was 10.

1 portrait in the collection

Bree Pickering in front of Mikala Dwyer, Chromakinda, 2022, installation view, Murray Art Museum Albury

Bree Pickering appointed Director of the National Portrait Gallery

7 February 2023

Media

The Board of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia announced the appointment of Bree Pickering to the role of Director.

Of jumpers and river gums, red

Diana O’Neil on Noel Counihan’s vivid 1971 portrait of Alan Marshall.

To Look Within

Self Portraits in Australia

Previous exhibition, 2004

This exhibition is the first comprehensive survey of self-portraits in Australia, from the colonial period to the present

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.

Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground

Protest!

How can we dance when our earth is turning?

A Portrait of Colonial Australia

Rock’s raw potency made it the ideal medium for fomenting protest. The 1970s, 80s and onwards saw calls for social and environmental justice ring out through song.

Bungaree, late chief of the Broken Bay tribe, Sydney

Heads of the People

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

Animation 1 from the series Hereinbefore, 2012 by Laura Moore

iD Digital Portraiture Award winner announced

2 August 2012

Archived media releases 2012

The inaugural winner of the $10,000 iD Digital Portraiture Award was announced this morning at the National Portrait Gallery.

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Honour board

Studio portrait of servicewoman Lance Corporal Kathleen Jean Mary (Kath) Walker, c.1942

Past present

Magazine article by Krysia Kitch, 2016

Krysia Kitch celebrates Oodgeroo Noonuccal.

Michael Kimmelman

Magazine article by Pamela Gray, 2002

Michael Kimmelman, Chief Art Critic of The New York Times and author of Portraits: Talking with Artists at the Met, the Modern, the Louvre and Elsewhere, presented the National Portrait Gallery Third Anniversary Lecture on 2 March 2002. He was generously brought to Australia by the Gordon Darling Foundation and Qantas.

Our only concern is the void, 2013 by Nik Lee, video: 12 minutes

Macquarie Digital Portraiture Award media information

28 August 2013

Archived media releases 2013

The National Portrait Gallery recently announced the finalists for the Macquarie Digital Portraiture Award 2013.

The National Portrait Gallery building in twilight

On a human scale

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2006

The design concepts behind the new National Portrait Gallery building in Canberra.

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

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.

Dorothy Gordon OBE

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Dorothy Gordon (Jenner) OBE, ‘Andrea’ (1891-1985), actress, dressmaker, stuntwoman, journalist, radio broadcaster and charity fundraiser, grew up on a property near Narrabri and attended boarding school in Sydney before gaining a part as a chorus girl in Girl in a Train in Melbourne in 1912.

2 portraits in the collection

Charles Blondin, 1874

Timothy Noble

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Visiting at a quiet time

Visual Stories

Access support for visitors with sensory sensitivities or autism.

Exhibition opening speech

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Leo Schofield introduces the exhibition, Masters of fare: chefs, winemakers, providores.

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.

Is the truth of portraiture vested exclusively in likeness?

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

Curator Michael Desmond introduces the exhibition Truth and Likeness, an investigation of the importance of likeness to portraiture.

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa

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.

Icons

Parliament House

Touring exhibition, 2019

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.

Portrait of Professors Margaret Gardner and Glyn Davis, 2017

Jacqueline Mitelman

Five Years of National Portrait Gallery Commissions

Commissioned with funds provided by Jim and Barbara Higgins, Sir Roderick Carnegie AC, Rupert Myer AO and Annabel Myer, Louise and Martyn Myer Foundation, Peter and Ruth McMullin, Diana Carlton, Professor Derek Denton AC, Harold Mitchell AC, Peter Jopling AM KC, Andrew and Liz Mackenzie, Patricia Patten, Tamie Fraser AO, Bruce Parncutt and Robin Campbell, Lauraine Diggins, Steven Skala AO and Lousje Skala 2017

Making Portraits

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

Krystal Seigerman

Finalist interviews

The photograph was a brief, candid moment, which unfolded into a portrait. Peter and I were in Silverton, NSW, chatting as our students explored the town. The weak afternoon light suddenly became dramatic and defined, so I asked Peter if I could take his portrait.

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.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018

Previous exhibition, 2018

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.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2023

Previous exhibition, 2023

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.

Stevie

Magazine article by Gregory McBean, 2005

Gregory McBean writes about photographing recent ARIA Hall of Fame inductee, singer Stevie Wright.

L. Gordon Darling AC CMG

31 August 2015

Archived media releases 2015

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.

Vincent Brady leading anti Bicentenary Protest, Brisbane, 1987 Michael Aird

Activating the space

Magazine article by Sandra Phillips, 2020

Sandra Phillips on portraits of Indigenous activism from Cairns Art Gallery’s 2019 Queen’s Land Blak Portraiture exhibition.

Extremely generous and incredibly close

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2010

Michael Desmond examines the daguerreotype portraits created by American artist Chuck Close.

The 1950s to the present day

Mo and beard timeline

Certain European leaders (needless to name) had the effect of making certain styles of facial hair decidedly undesirable in the years immediately after World War 2.

Jim Cobb at Chroma factory Mt Kuring-gai, NSW, 2017 by Mark Mohell

The alchemist’s profile

Magazine article by John Zubrzycki, 2017

John Zubrzycki meets Australian paint pioneer Jim Cobb.

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.

Relaxed mornings

Visual Stories

Access support for a visiting the Gallery before the general 10:00am opening time.

On the road again

Magazine article by Dr Deborah Hill, 2017

Deborah Hill talks figures with character, as the National Portrait Gallery touring exhibitions program welcomes its millionth visitor.

Hot Scots

Magazine article by Christopher Baker, 2013

James Holloway describes the first portraits you encounter when entering the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

Sideshow Alley

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

Previous exhibition, 2015

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.

Anthony Anderton

NPPP 2012 learning resource

An interview with the photographer.

Bon Scott & Angus Young, Atlanta, Georgia

No shirt, no service

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

Bon Scott and Angus Young photographed by Rennie Ellis are part of a display celebrating summer and images of the shirtless male.

Costantini's convictions

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2017

Jo Gilmour uncovers endearing authenticity in the art of a twice-transported Tasmanian.

Louise Whelan

Finalist interviews

I met Kaloti Parmjit the day I took the photo. I first visited the Sikh temple in the suburb of Glenwood to take photos as part of a social documentary project I'm undertaking for the State Library of NSW.

Eating the seasons

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2019

Anne Sanders imbibes Tony Bilson’s gastronomic revolution.

Life class

Magazine article by Leonie Hellmers, 2004

Barbara Blackman reflects on her experiences as a life model.

dumb & dumber from The Imponderable Archive, 2013 Samuel Hodge

Everything, everyqueer, all at once

Magazine article by Bradley Vincent, 2022

Bradley Vincent considers Samuel Hodge’s use of the archive to create a queer vernacular of portraiture.

Exposed: Voyeurism Surveillance and the camera since 1870

Magazine article by Sandra Phillips, 2010

The Tate/SFMOMA exhibition Exposed examined the role of photography in voyeurism and how it challenges ideas of privacy and propriety.

Indexing, the art of

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2011

The first index I created was for my first book, and, to my astonishment, that was almost twenty-five years ago.

More cash than dash

Joanna Gilmour describes how colonial portraitists found the perfect market among social status seeking Sydneysiders.

Writing on the Wall, 2019 Dr Christian Thompson AO

To arrive at hope

NPPP 2020 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2016

Penelope Grist, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2020 Prize.

Waterfall in Australia, c. 1830 by Augustus Earle

Augustus serendipitous

The London-born son of an American painter, Augustus Earle ended up in Australia by accident in January 1825.

Christmas Island

Magazine article by Stephen Valambras Graham, 2021

This is my last Trumbology before, in a little more than a week from now, I pass to my successor Karen Quinlan the precious baton of the Directorship of the National Portrait Gallery.

Nannultera, a young cricketer of the Natives' Training Institution, Poonindie , 1854 John Michael Crossland

The catechist and the cricketer

Stephen Valambras Graham traverses the intriguing socio-political terrain behind two iconic First Nations portraits of the 1850s.

Queen Alexandra and Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia, Hvidore, circa 1908 by Mary Steen

The cost of living luxuriously

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

In 1904, the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia purchased as a gift for her sister, Queen Alexandra, a fan composed of two-color gold, guilloché enamel, mother-of-pearl, blond tortoiseshell, gold sequins, silk, cabochon rubies, and rose diamonds from the House of Fabergé in Saint Petersburg.

In the galleries

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

Trevor Jamieson, 2016 by Brett Canet-Gibson

The more things change...

NPPP 2017 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Jessica Bolton, 2017

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

Mia Wasikowska as Robyn Davidson at Hamelin Pool, 2013 by Matt Nettheim

Hump days

Jessica Bolton navigates the parallel tracks documenting Robyn Davidson’s astonishing journey.

Off grid

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2019

Aimee Board ventures within and beyond to consider two remarkable new Gallery acquisitions.

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.

Revd Dr Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch, c.1795 by Sir Henry Raeburn

Great Scots

Magazine article by Diana O'Neil, 2017

Diana O’Neil samples the tartan treats on offer in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

Getting a head

Magazine article by Alexandra Roginski, 2015

Alexandra Roginski gets a feel for phrenology’s fundamentals.

A spectral sentience

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2019

Aimee Board reveals method, motivation and mortality in the portraiture of Rod McNicol.

History

About us

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

Helen Blaxland judging flower arrangements, c. 1940s photographer unknown

Petal to the mettle

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

Sarah Engledow lauds the very civil service of Dame Helen Blaxland.

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.

The Art Lovers - Megan, 2013 by Gary Grealy

Everybody, look serious

NPPP 2014 exhibition essay

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Dr Sarah Engledow, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2014 Prize.

Uncommon Australians

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

Forest Creek, Mount Alexander Diggings, 1852 by S. T. Gill

The Rothschilds, the Montefiores, and the Victorian Gold Rush

Some years ago my colleague Andrea Wolk Rager and I spent several days in the darkened basement of a Rothschild Bank, inspecting every one of the nearly 700 autochromes created immediately before World War I by the youthful Lionel de Rothschild.

Rick Amor: 21 Portraits