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Charles Summers (1825-1878) was an English born sculptor, who came to Australia in 1852.

2 portraits in the collection

Max Loudon

The Lives of Barry Humphries

Max Loudon was photographic assistant to, and darkroom manager for, Athol Shmith and John Cato before becoming a photographer for Rolling Stone Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Shogun, 2015

by Joshua Morris

Image

William Barak

In their own words

Now we must climb higher, 2014

by Mark Hopper

Image

Slim Dusty and Dame Edna Everage, Carlton Hill Station, WA, 10 July 1993

Rarely Everage

Previous exhibition, 2002

The exhibition begins with Barry's childhood in Camberwell, Melbourne and chronicles his days as a struggling actor in Australia and England, his creation of characters including Barry McKenzie, Dame Edna Everage, Sandy Stone and Sir Les Patterson

Hugh Hamilton

Hugh Hamilton (b. 1957) is a photographer and videographer who works between Sydney and Los Angeles.

1 portrait in the collection

Bruce Weber

Bruce Weber, born 1946, is an internationally renowned American fashion photographer.

1 portrait in the collection

Christopher Morris

Christopher Morris studied photography at Griffith University in Brisbane in the mid 1990s, during which he photographed many of the leading names in contemporary music including U2, Oasis, Pearl Jam, The Sex Pistols and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

1 portrait in the collection

Carol sewing, 2008

by Greg Weight

Image

Bleddyn Butcher

Bleddyn Butcher was born in London and came to Australia when he was six.

5 portraits in the collection

Patrick Olodoodi Tjungurrayi

Patrick Olodoodi Tjungurrayi (c. 1935-2017), Kukatja/Pintupi painter, was born at Yalangerri near Jupiter Well.

1 portrait in the collection

Martin Philbey

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

James Moorhouse

James Moorhouse (1826-1915), Anglican bishop, had an exceptionally distinguished career and publication record before he came from England to Melbourne to succeed Charles Perry.

1 portrait in the collection

Ben Baker

Portrait, pencil on paper

Born in Adelaide and raised in Darwin, Ben Baker currently resides in New York City and works internationally.

1 portrait in the collection

Alex Miller, 1992

Rick Amor

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Karin Catt

Karin Catt grew up in Newcastle, where she began taking photographs of touring bands while a schoolgirl, and also in London and Hong Kong.

9 portraits in the collection

Montalbetti + Campbell

Canadian-born photographic team Denis Montalbetti and Gay Campbell arrived in Australia in 1988.

14 portraits in the collection

Bill Hunter

Bill Hunter (1940-2011), actor, spent five decades on Australian television and cinema screens.

1 portrait in the collection

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu (1970–2017), a man of the Gumatj clan of north east Arnhem Land, was born blind but learned to play guitar, keyboard, drums and didgeridoo as a child.

1 portrait in the collection

Russell Crowe, 2001 (printed 2004)

Karin Catt

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Phillip Noyce AO

Phillip Noyce AO (b. 1950), director, was part of the first student intake at the Australian Film and Television School in 1973.

2 portraits in the collection

Jim Rolon

Portrait, watercolour on paper

New Jersey-born Jim Rolon (b. 1956) began working as a photographer for a family portrait company in his twenties.

6 portraits in the collection

Marion Borgelt, 2001

Cherry Hood

Gift of Marion Borgelt 2022. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Dylan Mooney

Artists and Collectives

Dylan Mooney, a proud Yuwi man from Mackay, Queensland, based in Meanjin/Brisbane, works across painting, printmaking, digital illustration and drawing, visually translating stories of resilience, survival, connection and love.

George Bonnor

George Bonnor (1855–1912), cricketer, made his debut for Australia in the first official Test match between Australia and England, held at The Oval in September 1880.

1 portrait in the collection

Rev. Edward Puckle

The Reverend Edward Puckle (c. 1800-1898), Anglican clergyman, took holy orders in Exeter and officiated in Cornwall before sailing on the Randolph to Canterbury, NZ in 1850.

1 portrait in the collection

Tim Georgeson

Carlo Pellegrini, Vanity Fair Magazine

Tim Georgeson is a Sydney-based photojournalist who has worked since 1997 on documentary projects relating to culture, political and social/environmental issues.

1 portrait in the collection

Australian Cricket (George John Bonnor), 1884

Portrait, chromolithograph on paper

Purchased 2013

Barry Humphries, 1971 (printed 2010)

Bill McAuley

Purchased 2010

Robin Sellick

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Robin Sellick (b. 1967), photographer, is well known for his distinctive portraits of Australian actors, musicians, politicians and athletes.

17 portraits in the collection

Sir Saul Samuel, c. 1870

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Purchased 2014

Peter Brew-Bevan

Peter Brew-Bevan (b. 1969) is a leading Australian portrait and fashion photographer.

25 portraits in the collection

Julian Kingma

Julian Kingma (b. 1968), photographer, began his career in 1988 as a cadet for the Herald newspaper in Melbourne, and later worked for the Sunday Age as Head Features Photographer.

11 portraits in the collection

Hans Heysen, 1960 (cast 2004)

John Dowie AM

Portrait, cast bronze

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2004

Stuart Spence

Stuart Spence (b. 1960) born in Geelong, Victoria, established his career in Sydney during the 1980s and 1990s, as a magazine photographer specialising in celebrity portraiture.

2 portraits in the collection

Mark Richards

Mark Richards (b. 1957), surfer and surfboard shaper, began his competitive career in 1973, when he came second in the Australian Titles Open division at the age of 16.

1 portrait in the collection

Barry Humphries, 1962

Lewis Morley

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

Dave Tacon

Dave Tacon (b. 1976) is a Shanghai-based photographer, director, producer and writer who specialises in reportage, features and portraiture.

18 portraits in the collection

John Tsiavis

John Tsiavis (b. 1977) is a photographer working across portraiture, entertainment, editorial and advertising projects.

6 portraits in the collection

George Fetting

George Fetting (b. 1964) is a Sydney-based photographer specialising in portrait, travel and editorial work.

8 portraits in the collection

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, 2009

Guido Maestri

Portrait, oil on linen

Gift of the artist 2011. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Angelica Mesiti

Artists and Collectives

Internationally renowned, Paris-based artist Angelica Mesiti creates video installations that are absorbing and profound experiences for audiences.

Helen Garner, 2004

Julian Kingma

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

Lorrie Graham

Portrait, encaustic, oil and pigment on composition board

Lorrie Graham (b. 1954), photojournalist, was given her first camera, a Kodak plastic brownie, at the age of eight.

20 portraits in the collection

True Stories - Helen Garner, 2003

Jenny Sages

Gift of the artist 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Walking in tall grass, Viktor, 2005 by Jan Nelson

Transition

More about In the flesh

We fix adolescence as the time of inner turmoil, private worlds and secret refuges, doubt and imagination, protest and liberation. The human mind and body never really leaves this state of transition.

William H. Bardwell

William H. Bardwell, photographer, worked at various premises in Ballarat from 1858 until 1895.

1 portrait in the collection

Michele Aboud

Michele Aboud, commercial, fashion and portrait photographer, is a graduate of the Photographic College of London and UCLA.

1 portrait in the collection

Hon. Saul Samuel

The Hon Sir Saul Samuel Bart KCMG CB (1820-1900), merchant, politician, company director and landowner, was the first Jewish legislator in New South Wales and the first Jew to become a minister of the Crown.

1 portrait in the collection

Martin Grant, 2004

Julian Kingma

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

Layne Beachley AO

Layne Beachley AO (b. 1972), former surfer and businesswoman, is the world's most successful female professional surfer.

2 portraits in the collection

Alexander Miller

Alex Miller (b. 1936), one of Australia’s most decorated and popular authors, migrated from England to Australia on his own as a sixteen-year-old.

3 portraits in the collection

Thomas Joseph Carr

Thomas Joseph Carr (1839–1917) was the second Catholic archbishop of Melbourne, the successor to James Alipius Goold.

2 portraits in the collection

Helen Garner

Helen Garner (b. 1942), author and journalist, is one of Australia's best-known writers.

8 portraits in the collection

Dave Graney, 1996

Bleddyn Butcher

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

Brian Cadd

Magazine article by Mandy Martin, 2005

Brian Cadd (b. 1946), singer/songwriter, had been a member of 1960s Melbourne band The Groop before forming Axiom, the band for which he wrote the hits 'Arkansas Grass' and 'A Little Ray of Sunshine' at the dawn of the 1970s.

1 portrait in the collection

A Life in Service

Artist Mandy Martin describes the creation of her portrait of Aldo Giurgola, principal architect of Australia's Parliament House.

Gary Heery

Previous exhibition, 2006

Gary Heery, photographer, was born in Sydney, where he studied sociology and psychology at the University of New South Wales.

1 portrait in the collection

Famous

Karin Catt Portraits

Australian photographer Karin Catt has photographed world leaders, a host of rock stars and Oscar-winning compatriots Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, and Cate Blanchett.

Alex Miller, 1992

Rick Amor

Portrait, pencil on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Rev. William Singleton

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

Nick Cave and Rowland S. Howard (of The Birthday Party)

Nick Cave and Rowland S. Howard (of The Birthday Party), 1983

Bleddyn Butcher

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

Paul Grabowsky, 2009

Martin Philbey

Commissioned with funds provided by Patrick Corrigan AM 2009

Paul Grabowsky, 2009

Martin Philbey

Commissioned with funds provided by Patrick Corrigan AM 2009

David Dridan OAM

David Dridan (b. 1932), artist, studied at the South Australian School of Art and later at East Sydney Technical College.

1 portrait in the collection

Danila Vassilieff

Danila Vassilieff, born in Russia, arrived in Australia in the early 1920s having served in a Cossack cavalry regiment, been captured by Communist forces and escaped via Persia and India to China.

1 portrait in the collection

Barry Humphries, 1958

Clifton Pugh AO

Portrait, oil on canvas

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

Nick Cave, 1994

Bleddyn Butcher

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

Self portrait, 2002

Barry Humphries

Portrait, oil on canvas

Gift of the Margaret Olley Art Trust 2003

Mark Richards, 1976

John Witzig

Purchased 2007

David Collins

David Collins (1756–1810), lieutenant-governor, began his career in the British Navy, rising to the rank of captain before being returning to dry land and being placed on half-pay in late 1783.

1 portrait in the collection

George Hurrell

George Hurrell, born in Kentucky, began his working life studying painting at the Art Institute of Chicago.

1 portrait in the collection

Arthur Phillip

Previous exhibition, 1999

Arthur Phillip (1738–1814), first governor of New South Wales, began his career while a boy in London.

2 portraits in the collection

Glossy - Faces Magazines Now

Magazines are the portrait galleries of the 90s... Glossy is about magazines. The exhibition presents the work of eight photographers, Australian by birth or long-term residency, who are producing portraits for publication in magazines around the world.

Gordon Darling Hall, National Portrait Gallery

Architecture

About us

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

Portrait of David Dridan, 1992

Brian Dunlop

Portrait, oil on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of David Dridan OAM 2017

La Milo in Lady Godiva procession, Coventry, 1907

Pansy Montague

Portrait, inkjet print on paper

Pansy Montague, ‘La Milo’ (c. 1885-unknown) appeared as a chorus girl and actress in Melbourne from about 1898, and in 1901 understudied Nellie Stewart in Sydney.

10 portraits in the collection

Steve Irwin, 2005

Robin Sellick

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

Prince William of Wales, by Mario Testino, 2003 publ. September 2003.
Credit: Mario Testino

Vanity Fair Portraits

Photographs 1913-2008

Previous exhibition, 2009

Vanity Fair Portraits traces the birth and evolution of photographic portraiture through the archives of Vanity Fair magazine.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022

Previous exhibition, 2022

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.

R. M. Williams AO CMG

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

Noel Fraser Hickey

Noel Fraser Hickey (1921–2010) was born in Kensington, in Sydney, New South Wales, a stone's throw from the Royal Randwick Racecourse.

1 portrait in the collection

Herbert John Louis Hinkler

Portrait, lithograph on paper

Herbert John Louis (Bert) Hinkler (1892-1933), aviator, worked with a photographer and in sugar mills before joining the Queensland Aero club and taking a correspondence course in mechanics.

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait, 1921

Thea Proctor

Purchased with funds provided by the Ross family in memory of Noel and Enid Eliot 2013

Archie Roach AC

Archie Roach AC (1956–2022), singer/songwriter and storyteller, has been described as the voice of the Stolen Generations.

2 portraits in the collection

Archie Roach, 1992 (printed 2010)

Bill McAuley

Previous exhibition, 2003

Purchased 2010

Lewis Morley

Myself and Eye

Lewis Morley has a great eye for a shot and a sharp ear for a pun

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

Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground

Protest!

How can we dance when our earth is turning?

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.

Sylvia Breamer

Sylvia Bremer (also Breamer) (1897–1943), actor, was born in Double Bay, Sydney, in June 1897 into a British-Australian naval family.

2 portraits in the collection

Richard Pratt, 2003 (printed 2011)

Lorrie Graham

Portrait, inkjet print on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Olivia Newton-John, 1978 (printed 2017)

Gary Heery

Purchased 2017

Harry Kewell, 2011

Julian Kingma

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Sylvia Breamer, c. 1920

Witzel Studios

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Sylvia Breamer, c. 1917-1919

an unknown artist

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Archie Roach, 2008

Peter Hudson

Gift of the artist 2010. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

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.

Marion Borgelt

Previous exhibition, 2010

Marion Borgelt (b. 1954) grew up on a farm in the Wimmera district in western Victoria and attained her Diploma in Fine Art, majoring in painting, from the South Australian School of Art in 1976.

1 portrait in the collection

Jenny Sages

Paths to Portraiture

The exhibition Sages examines the process of portrait making through four large-scale portraits of women by Jenny Sages, paired with intimate preparatory drawings.

Frank Lowy, 1998 (printed 2011)

Lorrie Graham

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Centenary of ANZAC

The Yarra Boot Trunk Tragedy, 12 January 1899

Just now we pause to mark the centenary of ANZAC, the day when, together with British, other imperial and allied forces, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed at Gallipoli at the start of the ill-starred Dardanelles campaign.

Olga Radalyski prison records, on loan from the Public Record Office of Victoria.

The sensational denouement of the case

The cultural history of radiance.

The 'Yarra Boot Trunk Tragedy' unfolded a week before Christmas 1898, when some neighbourhood boys noticed a wooden box floating in the river at Richmond.

Not perspiring, but glowing.

Angus Trumble explores the creative manifestations of radiance.

Barry Humphries

Portrait, cast plaster, painted

Barry Humphries AO CBE (1934–2023), actor, writer and artist, was the world's all-time most successful solo theatrical performer.

12 portraits in the collection

Trucaninny [Trukanini], wife of Woureddy [Wurati]

Trucaninny [Trukanini], wife of Woureddy [Wurati], 1836

Benjamin Law

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Clifton Pugh

Australians

Previous exhibition, 2005

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.

Skyhooks (Red Symons, Bob Starkie, Shirley Strachan, Greg Macainsh, Freddie Strauks) in Parker’s studio, Fitzroy, 1975 David Parker

Cool cool world

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2022

Penelope Grist unpacks photographs by David Parker, who captured the phenomenal emergence of the 1970s and 80s Melbourne music scene.

Jacki Weaver, 2018

by John Tsiavis

Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2018

Sir Les Patterson, 1999

Polly Borland

Previous exhibition, 2009

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009

In its second year at the National Portrait Gallery, and for the first time touring to other venues, the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009 continues to present surprising perspectives on the nature of contemporary portrait photography.

Crikey!

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

Robin Sellick captured a rare moment of quietude from the late conservation star Steve Irwin.

Angkor Wat

Nothing quite prepares the first-time visitor to Cambodia for the scale and grandeur of the monuments of the ancient Khmer civilisation of Angkor.

Tan Le, 2018

by John Tsiavis

Previous exhibition, 2006

Commissioned with funds provided by the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation 2018

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.

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.

Hottie's Snifter to port

Magazine article by Peter Jeffrey, 2016

Peter Jeffrey trips the hound nostalgic.

9 lives of Karin Catt

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2006

Australian photographer Karin Catt has shot across the spectrum of celebrity, her subjects including rock stars, world leaders and actors.

No Laughing Matter

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2002

The biographical exhibition of Barry Humphries was the first display of its kind at the National Portrait Gallery.

The God-shaped hole

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2010

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

Anangu landscape learning

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2016

Angus' initial perception of Uluru shifts, as he comes to see it as central to the entire order of Anangu life.

Apollo's breath

Christopher Chapman delights in the intimacy of Robert Mapplethorpe's photography

Everybody's heard about the bird

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

Two professionals; Australian surfer Layne Beachley and photographer Petrina Hicks, combine their strengths to achieve a remarkable portrait.

Painting mates

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2011

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.

S Teddy D

by Elly Kent

Artist essays

S Teddy D was born in Padang, Sumatra in 1970, and studied painting at the Institut Seni Indonesia (Indonesian Institute of Art) in Yogyakarta.

Mick Jagger, Madonna and Tony Curtis, 1997

The Vanity model

Magazine article by David Friend, 2009

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.

Oz and beyond

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2007

Martin Sharp fulfils the Pop art idiom of merging art and life.

Themes and variations (Annelies) A13, 1946

Listening to form

Magazine article by Jane Kinsman, 2007

National Gallery of Australia curator Jane Kinsman discusses the portraiture of Henri Matisse.

Mugshots

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

A toast to the acquisition of an unconventional new portrait of former Prime Minister, Stanley Melbourne Bruce.

Portrait of Thea Proctor, 1905 by George Lambert

The real Thea

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

Long after the portraitist became indifferent to her, and died, a beguiling portrait hung over its subject.

Movement is my radar

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2015

Michael Desmond charts the path of portraiture, arriving at Julian Opie’s digital realm.

The stately lotus

Magazine article by The Hon. Dr Kevin Rudd, 2009

I spent much of my summer holiday at D’Omah, on the outskirts of Yogyakarta. Lotus and waterlilies sprout in extraordinary profusion in artful ponds amid palms and deep scarlet ginger flowers.

An Australian story

In his speech launching the new National Portrait Gallery building on 3 December 2008, then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd set the Gallery in a national and historical context.

Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil de Cavagnial, Marquis de Vaudreuil, ca.1753-55

Canadian identities

Magazine article by Lilly Koltun, 2004

An exploration of national identity in the Canadian context drawn from the symposium Face to Face at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in 2004.

Private virtues public lives

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

Family affections are preserved in a fine selection of intimate portraits.

Reflections on portraiture

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2004

An extract from the 2004 Nuala O'Flaaherty Memorial Lecture at the Queen Victoria Musuem and Art Gallery in Launceston in which Andrew Sayers reflects on the unique qualities of a portrait gallery.

The Conciliation, 1840 by Benjamin Duterrau

The art of conciliation

Magazine article by Gareth Knapman, 2017

Gareth Knapman explores the politics and opportunism behind the portraits of Tasmania’s Black War.

Daniel Johns, Silverchair Melbourne 2007 by Martin Philbey

Rock art

Magazine article by Andrew Mayo, 2016

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.

20 20

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2017

Sarah Engledow picks some favourites from a decade of the National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Shall I raise my eyebrows and gasp? (Alex), 2011 by TextaQueen

Pen power

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2015

Politics and personae in the portraiture of TextaQueen by Jane Raffan.

The importance of being bearded

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2012

Joanna Gilmour discovers that the beards of the ill-fated explorers Burke and Wills were as epic as their expedition to traverse Australia from south to north.

Unbuttoning uniforms

Magazine article by Sharon Peoples, 2017

Sharon Peoples contemplates costumes and the construction of identity.

A potpourri of portraits

Magazine article by Natalie Wilson, 2023

Archie 100 curator (and detective) Natalie Wilson’s nationwide search for Archibald portraits unearthed the fascinating stories behind some long-lost treasures.

Face House – Kyoto, Japan Architect: Kazumasa Yamashita

Alter ego

Magazine article by Tom Fryer, 2021

Tom Fryer surveys the twentieth-century architectural project, and finds representation and the portrait were integral elements.

Fiona McMonagle

Explore The Popular Pet Show

Fiona aims to create a dangerous situation with a flood of water on the paper, forcing each work to the point where it can fail, and then rescuing it.

The Long Awaited, 2008 by Patricia Piccinini

In the flesh

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2015

An exhibition of humanness in ten themes by Penelope Grist.

Portfolio of 54 portraits compiled by Queen Victoria, 1859–1861 by John Jabez Edwin Mayall, Camille Silvy, Frances Day and William Bambridge

Queen of cartes

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

Joanna Gilmour discusses the role of the carte de visite in portraiture’s democratisation, and its harnessing by Victoria, the world’s first media monarch.

Sunset in the drawing room at Chesney Wold by Hablot Knight Brown

Portraiture in a Bleak House

NPPP 2017 exhibition essay

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.

Trevor Jamieson, 2016 by Brett Canet-Gibson

The more things change...

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

Group photograph taken at the coronation of King George VI including Queen Elizabeth II, Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Queen Mother, 12 May 1937 by Hay Wrightson

Poise and Carats

NPPP 2014 exhibition essay

I keep going back to Cartier: The Exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia next door, and, within the exhibition, to Princess Marie Louise’s diamond, pearl and sapphire Indian tiara (1923), surely one of the most superb head ornaments ever conceived.

The Art Lovers - Megan, 2013 by Gary Grealy

Everybody, look serious

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

The art of Inner Worlds

Lecture, 7 May 2011