Search / peter west

John Raphael Smith after Sir Benjamin West

John West (1809–1873), clergyman and newspaper editor, was accepted for service in Van Diemen’s Land by the Colonial Missionary Society in 1838.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Joseph Banks, c. 1788

Portrait, mezzotint on paper

Purchased 2010

Peter Schipperheyn

'A quintessential Australian character'

Portrait, carved marble on travertine marble base

Sculptor Peter Schipperheyn talks about working with marble and his portrait of Peter Garrett.

Bust of Peter Garrett, 1991-2016

Peter Schipperheyn

Gift of the artist 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Reverend John West, Sydney., n.d.

John Cochran

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ted and Gina Gregg 2012

Peter Eve

Previous exhibition, 2009

Peter Eve is a Darwin-based editorial, industrial and commercial photographer.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Sculthorpe

A Celebration

To celebrate Peter Sculthorpe's 80th birthday, the National Portrait Gallery has created a feature exhibition of portraits and associated biographic material drawn from the National Portrait Gallery and the composer’s personal collection.

Peter Brock AM

Peter Brock (1945-2006), a professional racing driver from 1972 to 1997, was undoubtedly Australia's best known and most popular motor sports personality.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Travis AM

Peter Travis AM (1929-2016), ceramic artist, designer and teacher, was born in the beachside Sydney suburb of Manly.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Allen

Peter Allen (1944–1992), singer/songwriter and entertainer, was born Peter Allen Woolnough in Tenterfield, NSW.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter van der Veer

Peter van der Veer, photographer, designer and painter, studied at Prahran College in the 1970s.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter English

Peter English was an RAAF photographer from the early 1950s onward, taking air and ground photographs in Australia and Malaya.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Drewett

Peter G. Drewett is a Grafton craftsman. Drewett grew up in difficult economic circumstances in Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

A man and his music: Peter Weiss and the Australian Chamber Orchestra

Peter Weiss AO

Peter Weiss AO (1935–2020), cultural benefactor, was born into a well-to-do family in Vienna, which they fled in the late 1930s.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Steele

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

Peter O'Shaughnessy OAM

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

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Nicholson

Peter Nicholson (b. 1950), poet and author, grew up in Sydney. He published his first volume of poetry and narrative, A Temporary Grace, in 1991.

3 portraits in the collection

Peter Skrzynecki OAM

Of Polish/Ukrainian descent, Peter Skrzynecki was born in 1945 in Germany and came to Australia with his parents in 1949.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Elliott AM

Peter Elliott AM (1927–2014) was an obstetrician, gynaecologist and gynaecological oncologist as well as a significant art collector and patron.

6 portraits in the collection

Peter Rushforth AO

Peter Rushforth AO (1920-2015), ceramic artist, was born in Sydney and studied art at the Royal Melbourne Technical College after World War 2.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Churcher

Peter Churcher's first qualifications were in music, not art. Travelling through Europe after gaining his Licentiate for Piano Performance from Trinity College, London, he visited a great many galleries and was persuaded to return to his original preoccupation, painting.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Fisher

Peter Fisher has been one of Australia's foremost commercial photographers over the past 25 years.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Carey AO

Peter Carey (b. 1943) is an author whose novels sweep between the fantastic and the realistic, the comic and the tragic, and the present and the past.

3 portraits in the collection

Peter Corris

Peter Corris (1942-2018), author, was educated at Melbourne High School and the University of Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Porter OAM

Peter Porter OAM (1929-2010), poet and critic, moved from Brisbane to London in 1951 at age 22.

2 portraits in the collection

Peter Weir AM

Peter Weir AM (b. 1944) is a film director. Educated at Scots College and the University of Sydney, he worked as a stage hand at Channel 7 and made documentaries for the Commonwealth Film Unit before directing The Cars That Ate Paris in 1974.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Sculthorpe AO OBE

Peter Sculthorpe AO OBE (1929–2014), composer, was born in Launceston and began music lessons around age seven, writing his first compositions by torchlight under the bedclothes at night.

4 portraits in the collection

Peter Schipperheyn

Peter Schipperheyn (b. 1955), Melbourne-based sculptor, is well known for his contemporary marble and bronze sculptures of the human form.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Hall

Peter Hall (1931-1995), architect, completed the Sydney Opera House after the Danish architect Jørn Utzon resigned from the project and left Australia in 1966.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Thomson AO MBE CBE

Peter Thomson AO MBE CBE (1929-2018), professional golfer, began to play the game at the age of 12.

2 portraits in the collection

Peter Dombrovskis

Peter Dombrovskis, photographer and environmental activist, was born of Latvian parents in a refugee camp in Wiesbaden at the end of World War 2.

1 portrait 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

'Come + see the real thing, come + see' Conquistadors parts Hong. Ranger 3: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground'

Peter Garrett AM

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

Peter Wegner

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

7 portraits in the collection

Peter Booth

Peter Booth (b. 1940) grew up in the English steel mill town of Sheffield, bike-riding on the nearby moors.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Goldsworthy AM

Peter Goldsworthy AM (b. 1951), medical doctor and writer, was born in Minlaton, South Australia, and grew up in various country towns as his father, a school teacher, moved for work.

2 portraits in the collection

Peter Porter

Recorded 1970

Peter Sculthorpe

Recorded 1967

My home, 2014

by Peter Blakeman

We are all family, 2016

by Peter McConchie

Gayili Marika - Galupa Safety House, 2016

by Peter McConchie

Anne Hyde, Duchess of York and King James II

Sir Peter Lely

Magazine article by Peter Wilmoth, 2016

Peter Wilmoth, age 12, with copies of Our World 1974 Courtesy of the author

Paper, boy

Peter Wilmoth’s boy-journalist toolkit for antagonising an Australian political giant.

Together We Stand

Peter Rossi

Peter Sculthorpe

'Brings in the sun'

Legendary Australian composer, Peter Sculthorpe, describes the development of his career.

The New Arrivals at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art

Peter Purves Smith

'Use whatever colour you like'

Peter Purves Smith (1912–1949), artist, went to Geelong Grammar with his lifelong friend Russell Drysdale.

2 portraits in the collection

Peter Russell-Clarke

'Not your stereotypical scientist'

Peter Russell-Clarke on colour in painting and cooking.

Professor Peter Doherty

Australian Nobel Prize winner, Professor Peter Doherty, provides some entertaining insights into his career and the science profession.

Peter Brew-Bevan

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

25 portraits in the collection

Peter Thomson, 1970

Ern McQuillan OAM

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

Professor Peter Doherty AC

Professor Peter Doherty (b. 1940), immunologist, shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1996 for his discoveries about how the immune system recognises virus-infected cells.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Russell-Clarke

Peter Russell-Clarke, cook, started his career as a freelance cartoonist, working for advertising agencies in Australia and overseas.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter Elliott, 1964

Portrait, oil on masonite

Gift of Richard Elliott 2016. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Sir Peter Abeles, TNT Ansett, n.d.

Joe Greenberg

Portrait, watercolour, crayon, coloured pencil, fibre-tipped pen and gouache on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001

Peter Russell-Clarke

Recorded 2022

Study for the portrait of Peter Elliott, 1964

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Richard Elliott
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program 2016

Study for portrait of Peter Elliott, 1964

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Richard Elliott 2016
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Study for portrait of Peter Elliott, 1964

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Richard Elliott 2016
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

War hero, 2013

by Peter Brew-Bevan

Study for portrait of Peter Elliott, 1964

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Richard Elliott
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program 2016

Study for the portrait of Peter Elliott, 1964

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Richard Elliott
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program 2016

Mike Smith, 2007 (printed 2013)

Peter Eve

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Eve 2013

Gay Bilson, 2004

Peter Fisher

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on cardboard

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Self portrait, 2004

Peter Russell-Clarke

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Songman, portrait of Kev Carmody, 2006

Courtesy of Kev Carmody, Song Cycles Pty Ltd.

Mem Fox, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by Peronelle Windeyer 2021

Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel

Sir Peter Paul Rubens

Mal Meninga, 2018

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

Test #5 Garrett in landscape: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground'

Test #5 Garrett in landscape: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground', 2001

Portrait, watercolour, gouache, mangrove bark pigment with alum on vellum

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Guy in his studio

Peter Morgan

Portrait of Peter Nicholson, 1995

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Nicholson 2001

Portrait of Peter Nicholson, 1995

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Nicholson 2001

Portrait of Peter Nicholson, 1995

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Nicholson 2001

The Writer, Peter Goldsworthy, 2018

Deidre But-Husaim

Commissioned with funds provided by Jillian Broadbent AC and Dr Helen Nugent AO 2018

Peter Travis, 1971 (printed 2009)

Douglas Thompson

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Study for The Writer, Peter Goldsworthy, 2018

Deidre But-Husaim

Portrait, oil and hand-stitching on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by Jillian Broadbent AC and Dr Helen Nugent AO 2018

A man and his music: Peter Weiss and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, 1995

Kerrie Lester

Gift of Peter Weiss AO 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Peter Brock, 2000-2001

Julie Edgar

Portrait, cast bronze on granite base

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Peter O'Doherty, 2013

by Stuart Spence

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on board

Peter Carey in Kelly country, 2000

Bruce Armstrong

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Peter Allen, 1980

William Yang

Purchased 2003

Peter O'Shaughnessy, 1947

Howard Matthews

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Peter Singer, 2002

Juliet van Otteren

Magazine article by Katherine Russell, 2006

Gift of Mr and Mrs Wilbur van Otteren 2002

Inspiration + Realisation: Peter Wegner

Peter Wegner's approach to portraiture could be considered a visual record of the rapport, the dynamic space between artist and subject.

Peter Sculthorpe, 1977 (printed 2002)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Peter Carey, 1989

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

Peter Carey, 1989 (printed 2002)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Peter Sculthorpe, c. 1969

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1998

Peter Weir, 1974 (printed 2001)

Gordon Glenn

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Peter Thomson, c. 1960

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mary Thomson 2017

Peter Rushforth, 1971 (printed 2009)

Douglas Thompson

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint and permanent marker on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Peter Porter, 2004

Tony Clark

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2004

Peter Hall, n.d.

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen and pen and ink on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mrs Lily Kahan 2017
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Peter Sculthorpe, 1982

Eric Smith

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2004

Dr Peter Farrell, 2001

Salvatore Zofrea OAM

Portrait, bromide fibre print

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Peter Porter, 2009

Norman McBeath

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Norman McBeath 2011

Peter Wright, 1999

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Peter Skrzynecki, 2012

John Slaytor

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2013

Peter Craven, 2015

Jacqueline Mitelman

Portrait

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2015

Peter Corris, 1982 (printed 2011)

Lorrie Graham

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Peter Kingston, 2003

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Peter Brocklehurst, 2005 (printed 2010)

Bill McAuley

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Peter Powditch, 1995

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Peter Garrett, 1999

Karin Catt

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

Peter Garrett, Midnight Oil

Bob King

Father Peter Steele, 2009

Kristin Headlam

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2015

Get Wet series (Peter O'Doherty)

Paul Worstead

Peter Garrett, Midnight Oil

Bob King

Peter Booth 3, September 1978, 1978 (printed 2012)

Robert Rooney

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Pat and Lewis Morley 50 years on, 2008

by Peter Luck

Magazine article by Eric Smith, 2004

Creative space

Eric Smith describes the agony and finally the ecstasy of winning the 1982 Archibald Prize with the portrait of Peter Sculthorpe.

John Marsden, 1998

Gift of the artist 2002

Halo: Clement Meadmore, 2001 (printed 2019)

Peter Hyatt

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2019

Chad (portrait of Chad Morgan), 2013

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2013

Jacques Miller, 2002

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2013
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Neil Murray, 2008

Portrait, pastel and watercolour on paper

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

Ian Thorpe, 2012 (printed 2021)

Portrait, pokerwork on spotted gum

Gift of the artist 2021

Joan Kerr, 2004

Peter Drewett

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of James Semple Kerr 2004

Victor Smorgon, 2000

Gift of the artist 2002

Archie Roach, 2008

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

Don Argus, 2004

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of BHP Billiton 2004
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Sir Gustav Nossal, 1999

Peter Churcher

Magazine article by Peter Jeffrey, 2016

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by Karen McLeod Adair and Anthony Adair 1999

Hottie's Snifter to port

Peter Jeffrey trips the hound nostalgic.

Graham Kennedy, c. 1962 (printed 2000)

Peter English

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Tony Sattler 2016

Professor Peter Doherty, 2001

Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2002

Susie Porter, 2000 (printed 2001)

Purchased 2001

Gough Whitlam, 2005 (printed 2015)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2015

Ellie Cole, 2016 (printed 2021)

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2021

Portrait of Professor Graeme Clark, 2000

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

Julia Gillard, 2013

Gift of the artist 2013

Chris Hemsworth, 2016 (printed 2021)

Gift of the artist 2021

Jack Thompson, 2019 (printed 2021)

Gift of the artist 2021

Leisel Jones, 2015 (printed 2021)

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2021

The Dance - David McAllister, 2016

Commissioned with funds provided by The Stuart Leslie Foundation 2016

Dawn Fraser, 1998 (printed 2001)

Purchased 2001

Naomi Watts, 2003

Gift of the artist 2004

Kerry Stokes, 2014 (printed 2021)

Gift of the artist 2021

Turia Pitt, 2017 (printed 2021)

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2021

Akira Isogawa, 2001

Gift of the artist 2005

Sketchbook journal for the commission portrait

Sketchbook journal for the commission portrait "The Dance - David McAllister", 2016

Portrait, 48 page journal with 25 illustrated pages in pencil, pastel, ink and collage of printed images with masking tape

Commissioned with funds provided by The Stuart Leslie Foundation 2016

Dichotomia, Barry Otto, 2008

Gift of the artist 2010

Kristian Fredrikson, 2000 (printed 2001)

Purchased 2001

Professor Graeme Clark (profile), 2000

Gift of the artist 2002

Professor Graeme Clark, 2000

Gift of the artist 2002

Poets' Portraits

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.

Paul Kelly, 2007

Gift of the artist 2012

Keith Urban, 2007

Purchased 2011

George Gregan, 1999 (printed 2001)

Purchased 2001

General Cosgrove, Dili, East Timor 1999, 2006

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2001

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Andrew Cannon and L. Gordon Darling AC CMG 2006

Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground

Seduce and Destroy

Magda Keaney explores the symbolism in eX de Medici's portrait of Midnight Oil.

David Morrison, 2016

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Russell Drysdale and Peter Sculthorpe, Tallow Beach, New South Wales

Russell Drysdale and Peter Sculthorpe, Tallow Beach, New South Wales, 1969 (printed 2000)

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

Jane Campion, 2009

Portrait, gouache on paper

Purchased 2011

Maisie, 1938-1939

Peter Purves Smith

Bequest of Lady Maisie Drysdale 2001

Rock Island Bend. Franklin River, South West Tasmania, 1979 by Peter Dombrovskis

Written in Water

Olegas Truchanas and Peter Dombrovskis, photographers and conservationists, shared a love of photography and exploring wilderness areas of Tasmania.

Rachel Ward and Bryan Brown, 2006 (printed 2020)

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2002

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

A Meeting of Great Minds

The story behind Rick Amor's portrait of Professor Peter Doherty.

Wesley Enoch and David McAllister, 2020

Magazine article by Sam Bowker, 2007

Purchased with funds provided by Alan Dodge AM and Neil Archibald 2021

On active service

The National Portrait Gallery has acquired an evocative depiction of soldier Peter Cosgrove by the Victorian-based painter, printmaker and sculptor Rick Amor.

Professor Peter Karmel, 1996

Robin Wallace-Crabbe, Dianne Fogwell

Portrait, etching

Gift of the artist 2000. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Gough and John, 1981

Peter van der Veer

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

N.T. Ranger Uranium: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground'

N.T. Ranger Uranium: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground', 2001

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground, 2001

Portrait, mangrove bark pigment, watercolour and gouache on vellum

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Head studies: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground'

Head studies: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground', 2001

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Cultural kaleidoscope

The complex connections between four creative Australians; Patrick White, Sidney Nolan, Robert Helpmann and Peter Sculthorpe.

Off grid

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2019

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

M.O. Ranger 3: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground'

M.O. Ranger 3: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground', 2001

Portrait, watercolour, gouache and pencil on paper

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Test #1 Ranger 3 Pit Mine Kakadu, N.T.: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground'

Test #1 Ranger 3 Pit Mine Kakadu, N.T.: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground', 2001

Portrait, mangrove bark pigment on vellum

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground'

Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground', 2001

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Test #4 Broadhead and Wing Pattern: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground'

Test #4 Broadhead and Wing Pattern: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground', 2001

Portrait, watercolour, gouache, mangrove bark dye with alum on vellum

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

'Come + see the real thing, come + see' Conquistadors parts Hong. Ranger 3: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground', 2001

Portrait, mangrove bark pigment and pencil on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Test #2 Ranger 3 Pit Mine Kakadu, N.T.: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground'

Test #2 Ranger 3 Pit Mine Kakadu, N.T.: Preparatory study for 'Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground', 2001

Portrait, mangrove reduced bark dye (no alum) on unsanded vellum

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Creatures of Leisure, 1982

Paul Worstead

Portrait, 5 screenprints on paper

Get Wet Series, 1979

Paul Worstead

Portrait, five screenprints on paper

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Captain James Cook from the original in the Naval Gallery, Greenwich Hospital

Captain James Cook from the original in the Naval Gallery, Greenwich Hospital, c. 1837

William Holl, Peter Jackson, London & Paris after Nathaniel Dance

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2007

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ted and Gina Gregg 2012

Sydney city (Patrick White and Tom Uren, Hiroshima Day demonstration), 1984

The activist A-list

Dr Sarah Engledow examines a number of figures in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery who were pioneers or substantial supporters of the seminal Australian environmental campaigns of the early 1970s and 1980s.

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 New Arrivals at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, 1941

Russell Drysdale

Portrait, pen and pencil on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Bequest of Lady Maisie Drysdale 2001

Peter Dombrovskis, 1996

Liz Dombrovskis

Portrait, duo-tone print on photographic paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Peter Brown

Qiang Zhang

Peter, Silverton, NSW, 2012

by Krystal Seigerman

Peter Hadfield OAM, from the series ‘People’s Park’, 2012

by Mirek Rzadkowski

Our First Lesson

Jimmy Widders Hunt

Peter Robinson, Lingerie Importer, 2006

by Vasili Vasiliadis

Peter Brew-Bevan Portraits

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

John Braine, Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire

John Braine, Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire, 1958 (printed 2000)

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.

Festival opening night dinner with Paul West

25 August 2016

Join the host of River Cottage Australia for a special meal and conversation

The Writer: Peter Goldsworthy, 2018

by Deidre But-Husaim

International News Photos Inc

Commissioned with funds provided by Jillian Broadbent AO and Dr Helen Nugent AO 2018.

Charles Kingsford Smith and crew of the Southern Cross before the east-west crossing of the Atlantic, June 1930

Charles Kingsford Smith and crew of the Southern Cross before the east-west crossing of the Atlantic, June 1930, 1930

Purchased 2019

Reclaimed youth, 2019

Sanjeev Singh

Mal Meninga, 2018

by Peter Hudson

John Noone after William Strutt

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

Opening of the First Legislative Council of Victoria by Governor Charles Joseph LaTrobe at St Patrick's Hall, Bourke Street West, Melbourne November 13th 1851

Opening of the First Legislative Council of Victoria by Governor Charles Joseph LaTrobe at St Patrick's Hall, Bourke Street West, Melbourne November 13th 1851, 1883

Portrait, photolithograph on paper

Purchased 2013

Darren McDonald

Darren McDonald gained his Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting) degree from RMIT in 2000, having completed an associate diploma in painting at the same institution.

1 portrait in the collection

Olegas Truchanas

Olegas Truchanas (1923-1972) was born in 1923 in Siauliai, Lithuania.

1 portrait in the collection

Peter de Waal and Peter Bonsall-Boone, St Kilda, October 1966 Unknown artist

Committed to the cause and each other

Devotion

Love versus the law

Norman and "Peter Ward", c. 1906

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, toned on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Douglas Thompson

Douglas Thompson (b. 1932) was born in Stanthorpe, QLD and served in the RAAF as a photographer and photography teacher between 1950 and 1956.

5 portraits in the collection

Voyage de Découvertes aux Terres Australes folio atlas (second edition)

Bidgee Bidgee

Bidgee Bidgee (c. 1787–c. 1837), a leader of the Burramattagal clan of the Dharug people, joined a number of sealing and whaling voyages to Bass Strait in the early 1800s, and acted as a tracker to an 1816 expedition aimed at quelling attacks against settlers in west and north-west Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Rose Lindsay in garden at Springwood with Peter the fox terrier

Rose Lindsay in garden at Springwood with Peter the fox terrier, c. 1924

Harold Cazneaux

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Russell Drysdale

Sir Russell Drysdale AC (1912-1981), painter, developed eye trouble in 1929, and had to leave boarding school for the first of many eye treatments which left him fearful of total blindness.

6 portraits in the collection

John Young

John Young, mezzotint engraver, studied under Valentine Green then worked with several of the painters who collaborated with Green, notably Benjamin West, John Hoppner and Johann Gerhard Huck.

1 portrait in the collection

2014-15 Acquisition Fund

Kristin Headlam's portrait of Chris Wallace-Crabbe was acquired with the support of the Circle of Friends in 2014.

Ahn & Pete, The Bus Stop Project, 2012

by Simone Darcy

Professor Margaret Seares AO

Margaret Seares AO (b. 1948), chair of the Perth International Arts Festival from 2012 to 2016 and senior deputy vice chancellor at the University of Western Australia from 2004 to 2008, began her academic career specialising in keyboard music of the eighteenth century.

1 portrait in the collection

Lucy, 2006

by Sally McInerney

Kim, 2006

by Lisa Garland

Olegas Truchanas, 1971

Ralph Hope-Johnstone

Purchased 2005

Autumn Dinner 2012 photos

19 April 2012

Your backstage pass to 70s and 80s sounds and scenes

With author and media identity Peter FitzSimons.

Jimmy Barnes at The Coogee Bay Hotel 1984 (detail) Grant Matthews

Pub Rock

Previous exhibition, 2020

Celebrate the people, places and sounds of Australian pub rock and its enduring impact on our nation’s identity.

Edward John Eyre

Portrait, watercolour on paper

Edward John Eyre (1815-1901), explorer and administrator, emigrated to New South Wales from England when he was 17.

3 portraits in the collection

Margaret Seares, 2018

Cherry Hood

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

Ellie Cole

'I always dreamed of being a mermaid'

Ellie Cole on the freedom of the pool and being photographed by Peter Brew-Bevan.

Lucie

Who are you?

The works I chose are Quong Tart by Pamela See, and Monga Khan by Peter Drew.

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

Marjorie Jackson, 1953

Purchased 2011

Thomas Fitzherbert Hawkins, c. 1790

Portrait, oil on cotton laid down on cardboard

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter E.B. Mansell 2018

Portrait 23

March - May 2007

This issue of Portrait Magazine features the Reveries: On Photography and Mortality exhibition, Peter Cosgrove, Martin Sharp, Terence Tao and more.

Portrait 12

June - August 2004

This issue of Portrait Magazine features Peter Brew-Bevan, daguerreotypes, the exhibition Depth of Field, Ern McQuillan's photographs of sportspeople and more.

Portrait 16

June - August 2005

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

Aborigines, the last of the race, Tasmania

Bessy Clark

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Pangernowidedic also known as Bessy Clark (c. 1825-1867) was a woman from the Port Davey district in south west Tasmania, the daughter of Tingernoop and Cordwanene.

2 portraits in the collection

Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V)

Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V), 1901

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on original studio backing card

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Portrait 17

September - November 2005

Portrait, oil on composition board

This issue of Portrait Magazine features conservationists Olegas Truchanas and Peter Dombrovskis, Michael Leunig, legendary photographer Cecil Beaton and more.

Sir Charles Court and Richard Court, 2006-2007

Mary Moore

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2006

Gen

Daniel Sullivan

Portrait 4

June - August 2002

This issue of Portrait Magazine features articles on Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, George Lambert's self-portrait, Professor Peter Doherty, the man behind the Dr. Who theme, and more.

Thomas Phillips

Thomas Phillips was born in Dudley, Warwickshire and initially trained as a glass painter before moving to London, aged 20, with a letter of introduction to the painter Benjamin West.

6 portraits in the collection

Richard Divall OBE in the church mantle of the Order of Malta

Richard Divall OBE in the church mantle of the Order of Malta, 1999

Eric Smith

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Bequest of Richard Divall AO OBE 2017

Lewis Morley

Lewis Morley (1925–2013) established his reputation as one of the key British photographers of the 1960s and is known for his iconic image of a nude Christine Keeler straddling an Arne Jacobsen chair.

50 portraits in the collection

Krystal Seigerman

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.

The photographers

Portrait, cast plaster, painted

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.

E. W. Knox, 1933

Lyndon Dadswell CMG

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter and Susan Dadswell 2015

Sir Samuel Wilson

Portrait, engraving, hand coloured on paper

Sir Samuel Wilson was elected to the British House of Commons in 1886.

1 portrait in the collection

Corroboree, or Dance of the Natives of New South Wales

Corroboree, or Dance of the Natives of New South Wales, 1820

Walter Preston

Purchased 2013

2013-14 Acquisition Fund

This 1910 portrait of Elizabeth Sarah (Lillie) Roberts by Tom Roberts was brought into the Gallery's collection with the assistance of the Acquisition Fund in 2013.

Dean Home

Dean Home was born in Busselton, south-west Western Australia. He obtained a Bachelor of Art Degree from Curtin University in 1981, and a Diploma of Education some years later.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Alexander Fuller-Acland-Hood Bart

Sir Alexander Fuller-Acland-Hood Bart MP (1853-1917) was MP for West Somerset from 1892 to 1911, when he was created Lord St Audries.

1 portrait in the collection

Elizabeth Henrietta Fitzgerald

Elizabeth Henrietta Fitzgerald (née Rouse, 1818–1863) was born at Rouse Hill, New South Wales, the youngest daughter of colonial public servant and landowner Richard Rouse (1774–1852) and his wife Elizabeth (née Adams, 1772–1849), who’d come to Sydney as free settlers in 1801.

1 portrait in the collection

Face the Music

Australia has become recognised for the range and talent of its musicians, composers, conductors and celebrities in general associated with the music industry

Ralph Sutton

Ralph Sutton (1908-1967), Methodist minister, trained in Sydney, was ordained in 1935 and began his career in Mosman Methodist Church.

1 portrait in the collection

Ricardo Frank, 2012

by Graham Caughley

Gav & Ray, 2007

by Richard Walker

Edward John Eyre, Late Governor of Jamaica

Edward John Eyre, Late Governor of Jamaica, 1867

John Brown

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Karen McLeod Adair and Anthony Adair 2003

John Davis

Alan Davies' and Peter Stanbury's The Mechanical Eye in Australia lists Sydney photographer John Davis (life dates unknown) as having a carte-de visite studio on King Street, and as working from addresses on Pitt and George Streets between 1870 and 1873..

1 portrait in the collection

Bodie, 2017

by Brett Canet-Gibson

Francois Peron, Louis de Freycinet, Nicolas-Martin Petit

Voyage de Découvertes aux Terres Australes folio atlas (second edition), 1824

Portrait, leather bound volume containing a double-page map of Australia, seven full-page charts, two double-page views, 27 hand-coloured engraving plates and 31 uncoloured engraving plates

Purchased 2017

Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE

Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE (b. 1931), former sprinter, was Governor of South Australia from 2001 to 2007.

3 portraits in the collection

Icons Syndicate

Lists alphabetically

Guido Maestri

Guido Maestri, born in Mudgee, completed a Bachelor of Fine Art (Hons) in painting at the National Art School, Darlinghurst in 2003.

1 portrait in the collection

Ben McNamara

Vox pops

This is Marissa Gallagher from Kintore, which if you're in Alice Springs, just go west until the WA border, just before that, a traditional area of Pintupi mob.

Elizabeth Henrietta Fitzgerald (née Rouse), c. 1850

Portrait, hand coloured photograph

Gift of Pamela Glasson 2009
Collected by Leila Haigh (nee Rouse)

Gilbert Stuart

Gilbert Stuart was an American painter who arrived in London by way of Scotland in 1775.

1 portrait in the collection

Indigo

Matthew Newton

Sir Alexander C. Onslow

Sir Alexander Campbell Onslow (1842-1908), judge, was educated at Cambridge and practised law in England before being appointed attorney general of British Honduras in 1878.

1 portrait in the collection

Walter Preston

Walter Preston, engraver and convict, came to New South Wales aboard the Guildford in 1812.

1 portrait in the collection

Bushwalk

Matthew Abbott

Archived media releases 2016

David McAllister to join National Portrait Gallery collection

26 April 2016

Artistic Director of The Australian Ballet, David McAllister AM will join the Portrait Gallery’s national collection in a newly-commissioned portrait taken by illustrious Australian photographer, Peter Brew-Bevan.

Tokyo, 2010

by Lisa Tomasetti

Portraits & Other Stories

Sam Haskins

Haskins is known for his poetic combinations of images and this exhibition of 'extended' portraits builds on this approach.

The mahi-mahi, 2019

Rob Palmer

2020 Annual Appeal

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

Mortality

More about In the flesh

In Western religious art a Pietà, also called a ‘lamentation’, is an image of the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Christ.

The way out is the way through, 2010

by Richard Martin

Free Range Cousins, 2015

by Jennifer Stocks

Ellie Cole

Recorded 2021

Simon Griffiths

Simon Griffiths has been acclaimed in numerous publications as Australia's leading food and garden photographer.

1 portrait in the collection

Kerry Stokes AC

Kerry Stokes AC (b. 1940), businessman and philanthropist, was born John Patrick Alford in Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Kumantjayi, 2010

by Rhett Hammerton

Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE, 2006

Avril Thomas

Commissioned 2006

John Eason

John Eason (1799–1858) was a shipwright who worked in Van Diemen’s Land during the 1830s, 1840s and 1850s.

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait, 2005

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

Heiress to the Pied Piper, 2019

Caroline Zilinsky

Self portrait, 1999

Portrait, drypoint on paper

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

Preparatory study for Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE

Preparatory study for Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE, 2005

Avril Thomas

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Commissioned 2006

Reading the map

Davina Jogi

The private life of a portrait

Before hand

Previous exhibition, 2020

Revealing the backstories behind the NPG collection, Before hand features interviews with artists and sitters as well as working drawings, scrapbooks, sketches and footage taken in artists’ studios and out on location.

Beauty and strength

Portraits by Michael Riley

Previous exhibition, 2014

Influential Indigenous Australian artist Michael Riley (1960 - 2004) created these portrait photographs between 1984 and 1990 - they stand as an intricately connected group portrait of the vibrant urban-based Indigenous arts community in Sydney's inner-west at a formative moment.

Tim Winton, 2019

Sally Robinson

Bob Ellis

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

3 portraits in the collection

Hon. Sir John Forrest GCMG

Sir John Forrest (1847-1918), explorer and politician, trained as a surveyor and led an 1869 expedition in search of Ludwig Leichhardt.

2 portraits in the collection

Ralph Hope-Johnstone

Ralph Hope-Johnstone was a hydro-electric engineer and photographer who worked with Olegas Truchanas on the campaign to save Lake Pedder in the late 1960s.

1 portrait in the collection

Barry Humphries

Previous exhibition, 2019

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

Eye to eye

Eye to Eye is a summer Portrait Gallery Collection remix arranged by degree of eye contact – from turned away with eyes closed all the way through to right-back-at-you – as we explore artists’ and subjects’ choices around the direction of the gaze.

Lunch at Fran's

Abigail Varney

Portraits from prime time

PROMO

Previous exhibition, 2014

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.

Sir Les Patterson, 1999

Polly Borland

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

William Dampier

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

William Dampier (1651-1715), seafarer and writer, had spent a good deal of time at sea as a buccaneer and merchant sailor before he spent three months in 1688 around King Sound (northern Western Australia) on the Cygnet.

1 portrait in the collection

Tim Winton, 2019

Sally Robinson

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal 2020

Portrait 65

Autumn/Winter 2021

Hugh Ramsay, the fashion of Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson, Peter Wegner's centenarian series, John and Elizabeth Gould's family connections, Karen Quinlan's top five portraits and more.

2012-13 Acquisition Fund

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

Hugo Wolfsohn

Hugo Wolfsohn, a Dunera Boy, was Foundation Professor of Politics at Latrobe University.

2 portraits in the collection

Darby McCarthy OAM

Richard 'Darby' McCarthy OAM (1945–2020), former jockey who rode in three Melbourne Cups and won more than 1000 races, is a proud descendant of the Mithaka and Goongurri people of south-west and central Queensland.

1 portrait in the collection

The girls, 2017

by Tamara Dean

Yuge, 2019

Kathrin Longhurst

Moonbird boy, 2009

by Matthew Newton

Hugh Jackman AC

Hugh Jackman AC (b. 1968) is the ultimate triple threat – actor, singer and dancer.

1 portrait in the collection

A moment, 2016

by Millie Brown

Nancy Bird Walton AO OBE

Ben Hall and his gang outdone, 6 February 1865

Nancy Bird Walton AO OBE (1915–2009), aviatrix, decided she wanted to be a pilot when, at age eight, she saw a plane make an emergency landing on a beach near her home.

2 portraits in the collection

Percy, Reginald, Monty and George Faithfull, undated by Henry Dorner. Image courtesy the National Museum of Australia.

An affray which deserves particular mention

Bushranger Ben Hall and his cronies held around 40 people hostage in a pub north-west of Goulburn, telling their captives ‘don’t be alarmed; we only came here for a bit of fun’.

Justin C. Tjungurrayi

Justin Corby Tjungurrayi (b. 1982) is a Luritja artist who was born in Kintore on the border of the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Kayla, 2017

by Stuart Miller

Previous exhibition, 2015

Life and time

Portraits by Rod McNicol

Australian photographer Rod McNicol has consistently analysed the passing of time through the evidence of the photographic portrait. At once confronting and tender, McNicol’s portrait photographs are bold and intimate.

Nick Cave, Susie Bick and Luke Cave, 1998 (printed 2020)

Dominique Issermann

Portrait, inkjet print on Hanhnemühle paper

Purchased 2022

2015-17 Acquisition Fund

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.

Darling Portrait Prize 2024

Upcoming exhibition

The Darling Portrait Prize is a biennial national prize for Australian portrait painting honouring the legacy of Mr L Gordon Darling AC CMG (1921-2015). The winner receives a cash prize of $75,000.

Lesley Moline

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

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait as Sarah Wisse, Transported

Self portrait as Sarah Wisse, Transported, 1996

Margaret Woodward

Gift of the Karmel family in memory of Lena and Peter Karmel 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

The spirit walker, 2017

by Alex Ellinghausen

Russell Drysdale, c. 1945

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Timothy Fairfax AC 2003

Akira Isogawa

Inside the patterns

Iconic Australian fashion designer, Akira Isogawa discusses the development of his unique style.

Mary Moore

Portraits by Stuart Campbell

Mary Moore (b. 1957) is a West Australian portrait artist. She began formal art training in Claremont at the age of fifteen, later attending the Western Australian Institute of Technology and Royal College of Art, London.

4 portraits in the collection

Between Light and Shadow

Previous exhibition, 2011

The late Australian photographer Stuart Campbell produced superb photographs of Australian actors of stage and screen.

Nick Cave, Susie Bick and Luke Cave, 1998 (printed 2020) Dominique Issermann. Courtesy of the artist © Dominique Issermann

Stepping out

Devotion

Beautiful punk love

Neville Gruzman, 1968

Eric Smith

Portrait, oil on masonite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2007

Mark Taylor AO

Magazine article by Peter Brew-Bevan, 2004

Mark Taylor AO (b. 1964) was captain of the Australian cricket team from 1994 until his retirement from Test cricket in 1999.

1 portrait in the collection

In Sync

Peter Brew-Bevan discusses two experiences where his plans for his portraits produced surprising results.

Adut Akech with siblings Kim, Yar, Bior and Alakiir

Adut Akech Bior

Adut Akech Bior (b. 1999), supermodel, was born in South Sudan and spent the first several years of her life in the UN's Kakuma refugee camp in north-west Kenya, after her family fled from civil war.

4 portraits in the collection

Supporters

$5,000 - $9,999

Australia and the Nobel Prize

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

John Austin

John Austin was born and developed his skills as a photographer in England.

2 portraits in the collection

Malcolm J. McCusker AC CVO KC

Barrister and philanthropist Malcolm James McCusker AC CVO KC was born in Subiaco, Western Australia in 1938.

1 portrait in the collection

Philip Hunter

Previous exhibition, 2013

Philip Hunter (1958-2017), painter, studied art in Melbourne before holding his first solo exhibition there in 1982.

1 portrait in the collection

Paul Kelly and The Portraits

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.

Aboriginal couple, Finniss Springs Mission, South Australia

Finniss Springs Community

Finniss Springs is located south of the Oodnadatta Track, 50km west of Marree on Arabana Country, South Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

The Reverend Ralph Sutton, 1935

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on card

Gift of Reverend Ralph Sutton's daughters Arlene Howes and Megan Newman in memory of Ralph Sutton and in tribute to his wife Dorothy Sutton 2011

Captain James King

James King (c. 1750-1784), naval officer, was born in Lancashire and educated at Clitheroe Grammar School before entering the navy in 1762.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir George Grey

Sir George Grey (1812-1898), originally an explorer of the West Australian coast, became Governor of the near- bankrupt colony of South Australia in 1840.

2 portraits in the collection

Neale Daniher AO

Neale Daniher AO, Australian Football player, coach and general manager, was born in West Wyalong, New South Wales in 1961.

1 portrait in the collection

Steve Waugh

Steve Waugh (b. 1965) became captain of the Australian cricket team when Mark Taylor retired in early 1999.

1 portrait in the collection

Elizabeth Jolley AO

Elizabeth Jolley AO (1923-2007) was a West Australian writer. Born in England, she worked as a nurse during the war and after migrating to Western Australia in 1959, when she also worked as a cleaner and saleswoman.

1 portrait in the collection

Western Australia (Sir Frederick Bedford)

Sir Frederick George Denham Bedford GCB GCVO

Sir Frederick George Denham Bedford GCB GCVO (1838–1913) was governor of Western Australia from 1903 to 1909.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir William Windeyer

Sir William Windeyer (1834-1897) was a politician and judge. One of the first undergraduates to study at the University of Sydney, he developed a particular interest in education and the rights of women - he was responsible for the Married Women's Property Act of 1879, and was Founding Chairman of the university's Women's College.

4 portraits in the collection

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Captain Charles Ulm

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith MC AFC

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith MC AFC (1897- last seen 1935) and Captain Charles Ulm (1898-last seen 1934) together founded Australian National Airlines.

3 portraits in the collection

Lucio Galletto OAM

Lucio Galletto OAM (birth date undisclosed) was born into a family of farmers and restaurateurs in north-west Italy.

1 portrait in the collection

Jessie Whyte

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

1 portrait in the collection

Betsy Napangardi Lewis

Betsy Napangardi Lewis (c. 1940–2008) was born at Kunajarryi, west of Yuendumu, Northern Territory and became a noted Warlpiri artist across the course of her career.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Macfarlane Burnet, late 1960s

Portrait, pen and ink on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1998

Sir Macfarlane Burnet, late 1970s

Portrait, pen and ink on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1998

Margaret Seares, 2018

by Cherry Hood

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

Ross Edwards

Ross Edwards (b. 1943), composer, became determined upon a life of composition as a child.

1 portrait in the collection

Judith Pungarta Inkamala

Sir Leslie Ward, Vanity Fair Magazine

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

Western Australia (Sir Frederick Bedford), 1903

Purchased 2015

Kitty Kantilla and Freda Warlapinni at Milikapiti (Snake Bay)

Kitty Kantilla (Kutuwulumi Purawarrumpatu)

Previous exhibition, 2014

Kitty Kantilla (Kutuwulumi Purawarrumpatu) (c. 1928–2003) was the most acclaimed Tiwi artist of her generation.

1 portrait in the collection

Rick Amor

21 Portraits

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.

Mr John Eason, 1838

W. B. Gould

Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family 2013

Margaret Woodward

Portrait, ink and watercolour on paper and acetate

Margaret Woodward (b. 1938), painter, grew up in Sydney where she gained a scholarship to study art at the NAS.

3 portraits in the collection

Mark Taylor, 1999

Bill Leak

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 1999

Portrait Story

Magazine article by Ellie Cole AM, 2022

For me, swimming was particularly special because it was the only sport that I could participate in as a kid where I could take my prosthetic leg off, jump in the water, and I could be the same as all the other kids.

Susie Porter

Newcastle-born Susie Porter (b. 1971) always knew she wanted to be an actor.

1 portrait in the collection

Richard Tognetti #1510, 2018

by Louise Hearman

Commissioned with funds provided by Peter Weiss AO 2018

The Boys Next Door, 1978

Michel Lawrence

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Philip Hunter, 2004

Julian Kingma

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

Bruce Pollard

Bruce Pollard (b. 1936), gallerist, established the Pinocotheca Gallery in a St Kilda mansion in 1967, and relocated it to an old hat factory in Richmond in 1970.

1 portrait in the collection

Sketch portrait of Sir Alex Onslow, 1896

Tom Roberts

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2006

John Schank

John Schank (1740–1823), naval officer, joined the Royal Navy at age 17, having served in the merchant service as a boy.

1 portrait in the collection

Harry Belafonte

Dorothy Wilding

Beatrix Potter

Delmar Banner

James Heath

James Heath commenced an apprenticeship with an engraver named Joseph Collyer at the age of fourteen.

2 portraits in the collection

Nancy Wake AC

Nancy Wake AC (1912–2011) was one of the most-decorated women of the Second World War.

1 portrait in the collection

Charles Joseph La Trobe

Charles Joseph La Trobe (1801-1875), colonial administrator, travelled widely in Europe and America before beginning his colonial career in the West Indies in 1837.

3 portraits in the collection

Polly Borland on Michael Hutchence

Recorded 2017

Stuart Campbell

Stuart Campbell, born in Ballarat, became interested in photography as a student at Swinburne Technical College in Melbourne.

10 portraits in the collection

Russell Drysdale, 1960

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2004
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Valentine Green

Valentine Green, engraver, spent two years in a solicitor’s office in Evesham before abandoning the law and becoming a pupil of Robert Hancock, an engraver in Worcester.

1 portrait in the collection

Study for portrait of Bob Ellis, 1999

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Gift of the artist 2001

Study for portrait of Bob Ellis, 1999

Portrait, charcoal on paper

Gift of the artist 2001

Geoffrey Parsons, 1972

Michael Shannon

Portrait, pastel on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Les Rowe 1998
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

John Shortland

John Shortland (1739-1803), naval officer, was a member of a family of which six members were associated with the colonisation of Australia and New Zealand.

1 portrait in the collection

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

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

John Elliott

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

2021 Annual Appeal

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

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa

Theresa Mort

Portrait, watercolour and collage on paper

Theresa Shepheard Mort (née Laidley, 1820-1869), colonial spouse, was one of eight children of civil servant James Laidley and his wife Eliza Jane (née Shepheard).

2 portraits in the collection

An evening at Yarra Cottage, Port Stephens

An evening at Yarra Cottage, Port Stephens, 1857

Maria Brownrigg

Purchased 2017

Robert Drewe

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on paper

Robert Drewe (b. 1943), author, grew up in Perth, where he worked as a junior reporter with the West Australian from 1961 to 1964.

1 portrait in the collection

Edward John Eyre, 1867

Julia Margaret Cameron

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

Nick Enright AM

Nick Enright (1950-2003), playwright and screenwriter, attended Sydney University and the New York University School of the Arts before establishing himself as a dramatist with plays such as Summer Rain and Mongrels.

2 portraits in the collection

Telphia Joseph

Carlo Pellegrini, Vanity Fair Magazine

Telphia Joseph, a Wajarri Yamatji woman from Western Australia, is an Associate Lecturer at the University of New South Wales School of Population Health and Community Medicine, where she teaches Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health focus subjects.

1 portrait in the collection

Police (Lieut Colonel Edmund Yeamans Walcott Henderson)

Police (Lieut Colonel Edmund Yeamans Walcott Henderson), 1875

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Nigel Boonham

Nigel Boonham is a British sculptor. He studied under John Ravera from 1973-1977 and later worked in the studio of sculptor Oscar Nemon.

1 portrait in the collection

Chris O'Doherty

Chris O’Doherty (b. 1951), also known as Reg Mombassa, is an artist and musician.

2 portraits in the collection

Hetti, 1990 (printed 2013)

Michael Riley

Purchased 2013

Portrait of Florence Broadhurst, 1968

Joshua Smith

Purchased 2007

William Howitt

William Howitt, woodcarver and sculptor, began his career in the UK, decorating ships’ interiors and working on ecclesiastical items.

1 portrait in the collection

Benita Collings

Benita Collings (b. 1940) actor and television personality, is best known as the longest-serving presenter on ABC TV's Play School.

1 portrait in the collection

Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pours soil into the hand of traditional land owner Vincent Lingiari

Vincent Lingiari AM

Vincent Lingiari AM (1919–1988) was an Elder of the Gurindji people of the Northern Territory.

1 portrait in the collection

Allan Lowe

Allan Lowe (1907-2007) is considered to be one of the major ceramic artists of his time particularly in the field of arthenware (lower-fired and more colourful work than stoneware).

1 portrait in the collection

The Legend of Ruby and Archie

Devotion

A bond in song

Tim Storrier

Portrait, pencil with ink wash on paper

Tim Storrier AM (b. 1949), painter, studied at the National Art School from 1967 to 1969.

4 portraits in the collection

Coral Browne, 1975

Don Bachardy

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Sir William Charles Windeyer, 1892

Tom Roberts

Previous exhibition, 1999

Gift of the family of Sir Victor and Lady Windeyer 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Arthur Boyd Portraits

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

Real close

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2012

Peter Ciemitis breached regulations when creating the portrait of the polymath environmental scientist George Seddon.

Lewis Morley

Myself and Eye

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

The inside story

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?

Justin Tjungurrayi, 2007

Portrait, inkjet print on cotton rag paper

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2020. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Horace Keats

Photographed by Nathalie Latham

Horace Keats (1895-1945) came to Australia from his native England in 1915 as accompanist to vaudeville performer Nella Webb.

1 portrait in the collection

Steven Bishop, performer by Nathalie Latham

Australia's Creative Diaspora

Previous exhibition, 2007

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.

Warumpi Band

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

Russell Crowe, 2001 (printed 2004)

Karin Catt

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Samantha Cook

Samantha Cook is a Nyikina woman from the north-west Kimberley region of Western Australia who is based between Los Angeles and Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Harry Williams

Harry Williams (b. 1951) is a Wiradjuri man and the first Indigenous footballer to represent Australia at international level.

1 portrait in the collection

Match made in entertainment heaven

Passion

When the stars align

Darby McCarthy, c. 1969 (printed 2019)

Ern McQuillan OAM

Purchased 2019

Dr Alice M. Moyle, 1998

Chris Gentle

Hermannsburg Potters, Irene Mbitjana Entata, Virginia Mbitjana Rontji, Lindy Panangka Rontji, Rahel Kngwarria Ungwanaka, Rona Panangka Rubuntja, Dawn Ngala Wheeler, Judith Pungarta Inkamala, Anita Ratara Mbitjana, Hayley Panangka Coulthard, Clara Ngala Inkamala

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Carolyn and Peter Lowry 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Potters' Portrait Pot, 2009

Portrait, fired terracotta clay, underglaze

Commissioned 2009

Richard Flanagan

Richard Flanagan (b. 1961) was born in Longford in northern Tasmania, the second youngest of the six children of Archie Flanagan, a primary school principal, and his wife Helen.

1 portrait in the collection

Darrell Sibosado

Darrell Sibosado is a Bard man of the Lombadina Community, in the West Kimberley region of Western Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

George Hoyningen-Huene and Jessie the Barmaid

Jessie Sinden

Jessie Sinden was a barmaid at the Brooklyn Hotel on George Street in Sydney when she was 'discovered' by Baron George Hoyningen-Huene, a high-profile American fashion photographer and Hollywood figure.

1 portrait in the collection

Giving a dam

True south #1

Ensconced and meditative in crisp Tasmania, Joanna Gilmour pays tribute to passionate green advocate and photographer Olegas Truchanas.

Sir Henry Wylie Norman

Sir Henry Wylie Norman (1826–1904), governor and army officer, was born in London, the son of a merchant who conducted his business chiefly in India and the Caribbean.

1 portrait in the collection

David Foster OAM

David Foster OAM (b. 1957), champion axeman, is the most successful competitor in the history of the sport of woodchopping.

1 portrait in the collection

Robyn Archer, 1982

Robert McFarlane

Purchased 2003

Alex Jelinek

Alex Jelinek (1925–2007), architect and designer, graduated from the technical building school of Hradec Králové, near Prague, during World War II.

1 portrait in the collection

Steven Heathcote AM

Steven Heathcote AM (b. 1964), dancer, is The Australian Ballet's longest-serving principal artist from 1987 to 2007.

1 portrait in the collection

Dennis Lillee AM MBE

Dennis Lillee AM MBE (b. 1949), fast bowler, led Australia's cricketing attack through the 1970s.

1 portrait in the collection

Bonita Mabo

Bonita Mabo AO (c. 1943–2018), South Sea Islander reconciliation activist, was the widow of Torres Strait Islander land claimant Eddie Mabo.

1 portrait in the collection

Tim Storrier, 1995

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Thomas Lord

phra ajahn ekaggata fka terry milligan

Thomas Daunt Lord (1783–1865) was the commandant of the convict station on Maria Island from 1825 until 1832.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Benita Collings, 1986

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

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

Anne Boyd AM

Archived media releases 2018

Anne Boyd AM (b. 1946), composer and teacher, was born in Sydney and studied composition with Peter Sculthorpe at the University of Sydney before earning a PhD at the University of York.

1 portrait in the collection

National Portrait Gallery unveils twenty new portrait commissions to celebrate twenty years

18 October 2018

The National Portrait Gallery has unveiled twenty new portrait commissions of Australian leaders and individualists as part of its twentieth birthday celebrations in a new exhibition, 20/20: Celebrating twenty years with twenty new portrait commissions.

Linda Jackson

Linda Mary Jackson (b. 1950) is a fashion designer and artist. Having studied fashion design at Emily McPherson College and photography at Prahran Technical College, she travelled to New Guinea, through Asia and Europe, and worked for Parisian couture house Mia-Vicky.

1 portrait in the collection

Tim Winton

Tim Winton (b. 1960) is the author of 29 books, with his work translated into 28 languages.

2 portraits in the collection

Mervyn Bishop

Mervyn Bishop (b. 1945), a Murri photographer, began a cadetship with the Sydney Morning Herald in 1963.

6 portraits in the collection

Janet Holmes a Court AC

Janet Holmes à Court AC (b. 1943), businesswoman and philanthropist, graduated in science and worked as a teacher before marrying young Perth lawyer Robert Holmes à Court in 1966.

1 portrait in the collection

Telphia, 1990 (printed 2013)

Michael Riley

Sir Leslie Ward, Vanity Fair Magazine

Purchased 2013

H. Searle Professional Champion Sculler of the World (Henry Searle)

H. Searle Professional Champion Sculler of the World (Henry Searle), 1889

Purchased 2014

Angel Street (Adam Cullen), 2010

Darren McDonald

Portrait, oil on linen

Purchased 2012

Douglas Frew Waterhouse

'A bug in the hand'

Australian entomologist and inventer of the Aerogard insect repellent, Douglas Frew Waterhouse describes the evolution of his career.

Major Thomas Lord, c. 1840

Henry Mundy

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Purchased 2015

Christine Manfield, 1997

Selina Snow

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 1999

John Bell AO OBE

John Bell AO OBE (b. 1940), actor and director, is one of Australia's best-known theatre personalities.

3 portraits in the collection

Darrell, 1990 (printed 2013)

Michael Riley

Purchased 2013

Nick Enright, c. 1976 (printed 2004)

Robert McFarlane

Francesco Bartolozzi after John Webber

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Captain James King, engraving after Webber, 1784

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Robert Oatley AO 2007

Sir Sidney Kidman

Sir Sidney Kidman, pastoralist (1857-1935), is Australia's 'cattle king'.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Frank MacFarlane Burnet OM AK KBE

Portraits in the Landscape

Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet OM AK KBE (1899–1985), medical scientist, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1960 for his work with Sir Peter Medawar on acquired immunological tolerance, paving the way for successful human organ transplants.

5 portraits in the collection

Open Air

Previous exhibition, 2008

Open Air is an exhibition of portraits of Australians in environments of particular significance to them.

Robert Drewe (in the swell), 2006

Nicholas Harding

Purchased 2010

Vlase Zanalis

Palassis (Vlase, Vlazio or Vlasio) Zanalis (1902–1973) arrived in Western Australia as a twelve-year-old, accompanied by an uncle, from the Greek island of Kastellorizo in 1914.

1 portrait in the collection

A photographer’s glamorous friends

Nearest & Dearest

Community, arts, activism

Sir Macfarlane Burnet, 1968

Mark Strizic

Purchased with funds provided by Sir Roderick Carnegie 2003

Rachel Roxburgh, 1939

Adelaide Perry

Previous exhibition, 2018

Purchased 2018

Collection: Icons

Volume One

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 Bennilong, a Native of New Holland

Portrait of Bennilong, a Native of New Holland, c. 1810

Portrait, oil on masonite

Purchased 2014

The Awakening (Self portrait), 1946

Vlase Zanalis

Purchased 2015

Betty Churcher, 1994

Anne Zahalka

Portrait, ilfochrome photograph on paper

Gift of the artist 2021

Henry Wade, c. 1841

Portrait, oil on paperboard

Gift of the Wade and Hannah families 2013

Adut Akech, 2018 (printed 2020)

Gift of the artist 2020

Nancy Bird Walton - Pioneer, 2003

Danelle Bergstrom

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2004

Sir George Grey, c. 1845

Theresa Walker

Portrait, cast wax

Purchased 1999

The Aboriginal community of Lake Tyers, Gippsland

The Aboriginal community of Lake Tyers, Gippsland, c. 1890

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on paper on card

Purchased 2010

Billy Cook and Pride of Egypt, 1954

Ern McQuillan OAM

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

Adut Akech with brother Bior, 2018 (printed 2020)

Gift of the artist 2020

Barry Gibb

Barry Gibb (b. 1946) and twins Robin (b. 1949) and Maurice Gibb (1949-2003), were the brothers comprising the band The Bee Gees.

1 portrait in the collection

Jarinyanu David Downs

Jarinyanu David Downs (c. 1925–1995), Wangkajunga/Walmajarri painter, printmaker and preacher, lived a traditional life in the Great Sandy Desert of West Australia until he was a young man.

2 portraits in the collection

Reg Mombassa aka Chris O'Doherty, 1995

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Adut Akech with siblings Kim, Yar, Bior and Alakiir, 2018 (printed 2020)

Gift of the artist 2020

Adut Akech with baby sister Akoul, 2018 (printed 2020)

Gift of the artist 2020

John Hamilton, 1969

Meg Padgham

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of John Hamilton 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

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

Edward Riou

The Illustrated London News after Jesse Young

Edward Riou (1762-1801), naval officer, began his career with the Royal Navy at the age of twelve.

2 portraits in the collection

The Australian exploring expedition travelling through scrub (from the Illustrated London News 1879)

The Australian exploring expedition travelling through scrub (from the Illustrated London News 1879), 1876

Portrait, wood engraving on paper

Purchased 2010

Paul Kelly and The Portraits media information

18 June 2013

Archived media releases 2013

Paul Kelly & The Portraits presents a multifaceted image of the performer over the course of his career.

Mr George Watson

George John Watson (1829–1906), racing entrepreneur, was born at Ballydarton in Co.

1 portrait in the collection

Bridget Elliot

Bridget Elliot (b. 1958), photographer, is acknowledged for her significant portraits of Australian composers and musical performers.

1 portrait in the collection

Thomas Mackdougall Brisbane

Five Years of National Portrait Gallery Commissions

Thomas Mackdougall Brisbane (1773-1860) was born into an aristocratic Scottish family and entered the army at the age of 16.

2 portraits in the collection

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

Geoffrey Shedley

Geoffrey Shedley was a prominent South Australian architect, with a lifelong interest in drawing and sculpture.

1 portrait in the collection

Lewis Morley, 2003

Sage

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2003

Sketch of Clifton Pugh painting John Perceval

Sketch of Clifton Pugh painting John Perceval, 1985

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2016

Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pours soil into the hand of traditional land owner Vincent Lingiari, 1975

Mervyn Bishop

Purchased 2000

Henry Mayer

Henry Mayer (1919-1991) was Professor of Government at Sydney University from the 1960s to 1980s.

2 portraits in the collection

Albert Frederick Calvert

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

Albert Frederick Calvert (1872-1946), author, traveller and mining engineer, first visited Australia in 1890, when he undertook a journey of exploration from Lake Gairdner to the upper Murchison River.

1 portrait in the collection

Spikes: then and now

As part of its ongoing program of commissions of portraits of prominent Australians, the National Portrait Gallery has unveiled a portrait of Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson by South Australian artist Avril Thomas.

Agnes Goodsir

Born in Portland in south-west Victoria, Agnes Goodsir (1864–1939) initially painted still life before applying herself to the challenge of portraiture.

1 portrait in the collection

Edward Knox, c. 1855

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Peter Halliday in memory of Norah Knox 2010

Mr and Mrs Horace Keats in the "Christopher Brennan Cycle", 1945

Dora Toovey

Gift of Anne and Brennan Keats 2009

Koko & Kiko (42nd Street Series), 1980 by Larry Clark

Best buds

It’s important to have a best bud when you’re growing up. For many boys the transition from boyhood through adolescence is defined by wanting to fit in.

Brian T. Loton AC

Portrait, oil and egg tempera on canvas

Brian Thorley Loton AC (1929–2022) was chairman of BHP from 1992 to 1997.

2 portraits in the collection

Portrait of Jill Neville, 1967 (completed 1997)

Reginald Gray

Gift of the artist 2002

Portrait of Bennilong, Native of New Holland

Portrait of Bennilong, Native of New Holland, c. 1798

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

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

Juno Gemes

James Faed, W Wilding after John Watson Gordon

Purchased 2021

General Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1850 (published)

Portrait, mezzotint on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Self portrait with Spots and Veins, 2003

Chris O'Doherty

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Purchased with funds provided by the Circle of Friends 2007

Tamara Tchinarova

Tamara Tchinarova (1919–2017), dancer, was one of the original 'baby ballerinas' of the Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo.

2 portraits in the collection

Bob Brown at his home in Liffey, 1988 (printed 2013)

Helga Leunig

Portrait, direct positive colour photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Helga Leunig 2013

Steve Waugh, 2001

Russell Shakespeare

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

Patrick White, Castle Hill, Sydney, 1963 (printed 2000)

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

Janet Holmes á Court, 2001 (printed 2011)

Lorrie Graham

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Betsy Napangardi Lewis, 2007

Portrait, inkjet print on cotton rag paper

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2020. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

David McAllister

The Lives of Barry Humphries

Recorded 2017

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

James Iyuna, 1986

Martin van der Wal

Portrait, inkjet print on rag paper

Purchased 2005

John Bell, c. 1968

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

John Bell, 1962 (printed 2006)

Jozef Vissel

Portrait, oil and ink on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

Richard Tognetti #1510, 2018

Louise Hearman

Commissioned with funds provided by Peter Weiss AO 2018

Westralia (Mr Albert Frederick Calvert), 1895

Sir Leslie Ward, Vanity Fair Magazine

Gift of Ronald Walker 2002

Duchess of Cornwall and York (later Queen Mary)

Duchess of Cornwall and York (later Queen Mary), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Duchess of Cornwall and York (later Queen Mary), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Duchess of Cornwall and York (later Queen Mary), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V), 1903

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Peter Roberts 2015

George Lambert

George Lambert (1873–1930), artist, was born in St Petersburg and lived in Germany and England before coming to Australia with his family at the age of fourteen.

7 portraits in the collection

Headspace 4

Facing Memory

Facing Memory: Headspace 4 provides us with valuable insights into the thoughts, creative processes and art-making practices of secondary students from Year 7 to Year 12 from sixty-two schools in the Australian Capital Territory, regional New South Wales and Victoria

LeGarde Twins, c. 1966

Jozef Vissel

Previous exhibition, 2008

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2015

My Favourite Australian

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

Jarinyanu Dancing at Broome Festival, 1990

Jarinyanu David Downs

Portrait, natural earth pigments and synthetic polymer paint on linen

Purchased 2017

Lord Kitchener, n.d.

William Howitt

Portrait, carved Jarrah

Purchased 2016

Jim Paterson

Jim Paterson, painter, printmaker and sculptor, was born in Melbourne and completed his diploma in Fine Arts at Prahran Technical College in 1969.

1 portrait in the collection

George Burarrwanga, Warumpi Band, 1984 (printed 2021)

Juno Gemes

Purchased 2021

Daniel Thomas, 1987

Judy Cassab AO CBE

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mr Peter Kampfner 2013
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Hermannsburg Potters

Portrait, linocut on paper

The Hermannsburg Potters are a collective of highly respected senior women artists of the Western Arrarnta (Arrernte) community.

1 portrait in the collection

Figure in a rocky landscape, 1965

Eric Thake

Gift of Professor Peter Van Sommers 2011

Desert Island, 1967

Eric Thake

Portrait, linocut on paper

Gift of Professor Peter Van Sommers 2011

Self portrait among the ant hills, 1950

Eric Thake

Portrait, linocut on paper

Gift of Professor Peter Van Sommers 2011

The Story So Far...

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2002

A reflection on the National Portrait Gallery's first four years.

Jules Poret de Blosseville

Jules Poret de Blosseville (1802-1833), geographer, navigator and explorer, was a junior officer on the Coquille, which, under the command of Louis Isidore Duperrey, conducted a voyage to Oceania and South America between 1822 and 1825.

1 portrait in the collection

Greg Weight

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

Hugh Jackman, 2020

Vincent Fantauzzo

Commissioned with funds provided by the Sid and Fiona Myer Family Foundation and Paul Dainty AM and Donna Dainty 2020

Australians in Hollywood

Although perceived to be a recent phenomenon, the 'Aussie invasion' of Hollywood can actually be traced as far back as the early 1900s

Nude self portrait, 1977

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

Anne Boyd, 1977

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

Ernest Giles

Ernest Giles (1835-1897), explorer, came to Australia at the age of fifteen, settling in Adelaide.

1 portrait in the collection

Julie Edgar

Julie Edgar (b. 1951) is a Melbourne artist who studied at RMIT, Monash University and the University of Melbourne.

3 portraits in the collection

Yellow portrait (portrait of Alex Jelinek), 1955

Lina Bryans

Portrait, oil on plywood

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Paul and James Bryans 2015. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Tom LeGarde

Tom LeGarde (1931–2021) and Ted LeGarde (1931–2018), 'The LeGarde Twins', were early pioneers of country music.

1 portrait in the collection

Geoffrey Rush, 1997

Montalbetti + Campbell

Previous exhibition, 2022

Purchased 1999

National Photographic Portrait Prize 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.

Robyn Archer, 1990

George Gittoes AM

Gift of Robyn Archer AO 2012. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Rose Byrne, 2001 (printed 2004)

Karin Catt

Purchased 2005

The Seekers

Celebrating 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection

Recorded 2013

Of Kings and men

Previous exhibition, 2011

This display celebrates 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection and its role in commissioning portraits of parliamentary and judicial figures in Australia.

Ted LeGarde

Previous exhibition, 2000

Ted LeGarde (1931–2018) and Tom LeGarde (1931–2021), ‘The LeGarde Twins’, were early pioneers of country music.

1 portrait in the collection

Sporting Archibald

Celebrating the focus on sport during 2000, this special exhibition features our national sporting heroes and heroines immortalised on canvas

Sir William Dargie

A Ninetieth Birthday Tribute

Previous exhibition, 2002

As a tribute to Sir William Dargie's singular contribution to Australian art and cultural institutions, and on the occasion of his birthday, The Australian War Memorial, Parliament House and the National Portrait Gallery will mount exhibitions of his work between May and October

Famous

Karin Catt Portraits

Previous exhibition, 2017

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

Nicholas Harding

28 Portraits

Nicholas Harding: 28 portraits features paintings of Robert Drewe, John Bell and Hugo Weaving alongside gorgeously coloured recent oil portraits, delicate gouaches and bold ink and charcoal drawings.

Bob Brown

Bob Brown (b. 1944), environmentalist, doctor and former politician, is an environmental campaigner and former Parliamentary Leader of the Australian Greens.

2 portraits in the collection

Hermannsburg Potters, 1999

Portrait, cast bronze on granite plinth

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Jack Brabham, 2004

Julie Edgar

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2005

Nancy Bird Walton, c. 1973

Judy Cassab AO CBE

Gift of Nancy Bird Walton AO OBE 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Glenn McGrath AM

Glenn McGrath AM (b. 1970), philanthropist and former Test cricketer, is one of international cricket's greatest ever fast bowlers.

1 portrait in the collection

Arianne McNaught

I think the most important thing in capturing candid shots is to never take the photo when people are expecting you to press the shutter. The more poignant moments are not the stock standard images of people looking at the camera smiling but after or before when they are really interacting with each other.

George Hoyningen-Huene and Jessie the Barmaid, 1937

Gift of Danina Dupain Anderson 2021. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Nicholas Paspaley Jnr

Nicholas Paspaley Jnr AC (b. 1948) is chair of the Paspaley Group of Companies, with interests in pearling, aviation, retail, pastoral holdings and commercial properties in Australia and internationally.

2 portraits in the collection

Portrait 63

Winter 2019

Rod McNicol's method and motivation, 19th century Indigenous peoples, Barrie Cassidy on Bob Hawke, five generations of the Kang family from Korea and more.

Home is where the art is

Tedi Bills on how social media in the age of COVID-19 has fanned the flames of our portrait fascination.

David Malouf

Magazine article by Michelle Fracaro, 2004

David Malouf (b.1934), educated at Brisbane Grammar and the University of Queensland, left Australia at the age of 24 and remained abroad for a decade, teaching in England and travelling throughout Europe.

3 portraits in the collection

101 photographic portraits

Pat Corrigan's generous gift of 100 photographic portraits by Greg Weight.

Honour board

Support your Portrait Gallery

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges and thanks all its supporters.

Brian Loton, BHP,

Joe Greenberg

Portrait, watercolour, coloured pencil, crayon, gouache and fibre-tipped pen on paper

Gift of the artist 2001

Judith Inkamala, 1999

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Kenneth Rowell AM

Previous exhibition, 2023

Kenneth Rowell AM (1920–1999), artist and theatre designer, grew up in Melbourne and became intent on a career in the theatre at a young age.

2 portraits in the collection

National Photographic Portrait Prize 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.

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.

What the tree saw: David Foster, 2018

Jacqui Stockdale

Portrait, inkjet print and oil on canvas, mounted with inset axe pendant

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

Neil Murray

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

2 portraits in the collection

Brian Loton, 1996

Brian Dunlop

Chefs, winemakers, providores

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

Masters of Fare

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.

Basil Hetzel AC

Basil Hetzel AC (1922-2017), medical scientist, came to South Australia as a three year old and was educated - like Nobel Prize winners William Lawrence Bragg, Howard Florey and Robin Warren - at St Peter's College and the University of Adelaide.

1 portrait in the collection

Jill Neville

Jill Neville (1932–1997), writer and critic, grew up in Sydney and attended a Blue Mountains boarding school.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Professors Margaret Gardner and Glyn Davis

Portrait of Professors Margaret Gardner and Glyn Davis, 2017

Jacqueline Mitelman

Under the Milky Way tonight

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

The Go-Betweens, London, c.1986 Warwick Orme

Oz Indie

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on resin-coated paper

It was the era of recording your favourite songs directly from the radio; of seeing the latest acts and clips on Countdown; and when the Aussie bands you saw on TV and heard in the charts were the ones you could see live at the pub.

Harry Williams, 2005

Sahlan Hayes

Purchased 2006

Samantha Cook, c. 2000

Penny Tweedie

Portrait, pen and ink, pencil on paper laid on cardboard

Gift of the artist 2004

Self portrait, n.d.

Ada May Plante

Gift of Dr Penny Olsen, Peter Woollard and Artemis Georgiades 2015

Essington Lewis CH

Event, Starts Friday 17 May

Essington Lewis CH (1881-1961) was chairman of BHP from 1950 to 1952, having been the company's chief general manager from 1938 to 1950.

1 portrait in the collection

Tomáš Kantor in Bell Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, 2023

A Performance of Portraiture

Ralph Heimans tour

Join actor Tomáš Kantor for an immersive, theatrical journey through Ralph Heimans: Portraiture. Power. Influence.

2023 Annual Appeal

In 2023 the Annual Appeal was focussed on a work by one of Australia's best loved and most successful portrait painters, Judy Cassab AO CBE, depicting model, entrepreneur and deportment icon, June Dally-Watkins OAM.

Hong Fu

Hong Fu was born in China in 1946 and held his first solo exhibition at the National Art Gallery, Beijing, in 1988.

1 portrait in the collection

Icons

Parliament House

Touring exhibition, 2019

Portrait of Frank Lowy AC, 2014

Paul Newton

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2016
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Dan Sultan, 2011

Martin Philbey

Purchased with funds provided by Ruth and Peter McMullin 2013

Charles Haddon Chambers

Charles Haddon Chambers (1860-1921), playwright and dramatist, grew up in Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Portraits for Posterity

Drawn from some of the many donations made to the Gallery's collection, the exhibition Portraits for Posterity pays homage both to the remarkable (and varied) group of Australians who are portrayed in the portraits and the generosity of the many donors who have presented them to the Gallery.

Nicholas Paspaley Jnr, 2018

Andrew Bonneau

Commissioned with funds provided by Ross Adler AC 2018

Edward Knox Jnr and Thomas Forster Knox.

Edward Knox Jnr and Thomas Forster Knox., c. 1855

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Peter Halliday in memory of Norah Knox 2010

Baron Jacques Hamelin

Baron Jacques Hamelin (1768-1839), French naval officer, began his sailing career at seventeen, making his first long voyage on a merchant marine ship to and from Angola.

1 portrait in the collection

Mitch Cairns

Portrait, aquatint on paper

Mitch Cairns (b. 1984), painter and cartoonist, won the 2017 Archibald Prize with a portrait of his partner, artist Agatha Gothe-Snape.

1 portrait in the collection

Part of the crew of His Majesty's Ship Guardian endeavouring to escape in the boats

Part of the crew of His Majesty's Ship Guardian endeavouring to escape in the boats, 1790

Robert Dodd

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Portrait of Captain Edward Riou, 1801

James Heath after Samuel Shelley

Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Drawn from life

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2021

Penelope Grist discovers the rich narratives in Peter Wegner’s series of centenarian portraits.

Martha Knox, c. 1855

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Peter Halliday in memory of Norah Knox 2010

Geoffrey Dyer

Geoff Dyer (1947-2020) was renowned landscape and portrait painter whose practice depicted Tasmania and its people.

1 portrait in the collection

Cressida Campbell AM

Cressida Campbell AM (b. 1960), artist, has worked for decades in a studio at her home in Bronte, Sydney.

2 portraits in the collection

Lady Ellen Stirling

Lady Ellen Stirling (1807-1874) was the third daughter of James Mangles of Woodbridge in Surrey, a Director of the East India Company and later an MP.

1 portrait in the collection

David Malouf, 2012

Commissioned with the assistance of funds provided by the Circle of Friends 2012

Sir William Deane AC KBE KC

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2018

Sir William Deane AC KBE KC (b. 1931), High Court judge, was governor-general of Australia from early 1996 to mid-2001.

1 portrait in the collection

A guy from Paris

Sarah Engledow on a foundational gallery figure who was quick on the draw.

Steve Kilbey, 1981 (printed 2018)

Gary Ede

Purchased with funds provided by Wayne Williams 2018

Portrait of Patricia Piccinini, 2019

Allissa Oughtred

Gift of an anonymous donor 2019

Sigrid Thornton AO

Sigrid Thornton AO (b. 1959), actor, has been a household name since her performance in the box-office hit The Man from Snowy River in 1981.

1 portrait in the collection

Tim Johnson

Tim Johnson, Sydney-based artist, was part of a circle of urban conceptual artists in the 1970s.

4 portraits in the collection

Basil Hetzel, 2007-2008

Mark Kimber

Commissioned with funds provided by Mrs Diana Ramsay AO 2008

Aboriginal couple, Finniss Springs Mission, South Australia, 1959 (printed 2000)

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.

James Oswald Fairfax, c. 1991

Bryan Westwood

Portrait, ink and watercolour on cardboard

Gift of John Fairfax Holdings Ltd 2002. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Charles Haddon Chambers, 1921

Ralph Barton

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Judy Cassab

The artist's diary

Previous exhibition, 2013

The artist's diary profiles six decades of Cassab's work, from the early portrait commissions of the 1950s to later paintings that have helped confirm her eminent place in the canon of Australian portraiture.

John Dease

Conly John Paget Dease (1906-1979), actor and broadcaster, spent thirty years as one of the signature voices of the ‘Golden Age’ of Australian radio.

1 portrait in the collection

Miriam Hyde AO OBE

Miriam Hyde AO OBE (1913-2005), composer, recitalist, teacher, examiner, poet, lecturer and writer of numerous articles for music journals, studied first with her mother and then with William Silver at the Elder Conservatorium in Adelaide.

1 portrait in the collection

The World of Thea Proctor

The World of Thea Proctor is the Portrait Gallery's second major biographical exhibition - that is, the second exhibition to focus exclusively on the life and work of a single individual

David Wenham AM

David Wenham AM (b. 1965), actor, studied drama at the Nepean College of Advanced Education (now the University of Western Sydney), graduating with a BA in Performing Arts in 1987.

1 portrait in the collection

William Bligh

William Bligh (1754-1817), naval officer, was born in Plymouth and first went to sea at around the age of eight.

3 portraits in the collection

James Houston

Scoring first prize in New South Wales for Art in the 1983 HSC was a signal that a talented creative career lay ahead and this has indeed proven the case.

2 portraits in the collection

Linda Burney MLA Canturbury and Rick Farley at home, Marrickville

Hon. Linda Jean Burney

The Hon. Linda Jean Burney MP (b. 1957), a Wiradjuri woman, is the first First Nations person elected to the New South Wales parliament, and the first First Nations woman to serve in the federal House of Representatives.

2 portraits in the collection

Robyn Archer AO

Robyn Archer AO (b. 1948), performer, writer and director, began singing at four years old.

3 portraits in the collection

Australian Visit

Photographic Portraiture in Australia

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.

Mirror With A Memory

Previous exhibition, 2000

This is the first major exhibition to examine photographic portraiture in Australia, from its beginnings in the early 1840s to the present day

Richard Tognetti AO

Richard Tognetti AO (b. 1965), violinist, conductor and composer, trained with William Primrose in Wollongong and Alice Waten in Sydney before undertaking further studies with Igor Ozim in Switzerland.

2 portraits in the collection

Dancer

Touring exhibition, 2024

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

Bob Ellis, 1999

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Self portrait in reflection, 1973

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

Lisa McCune

Recorded 2022

Henry Searle

Henry Searle (1886–1889), a sculler known as the ‘Clarence River Comet’, took up rowing as a boy as a means of getting himself and his siblings to and from school.

1 portrait in the collection

Lady Maisie Drysdale

Lady Maisie Drysdale (1915–2001), children's librarian and artists' muse, developed an interest in art as a child, and attended both the University of Melbourne and George Bell's art school.

1 portrait in the collection

William Birdwood KCMG KCSI KCB DSO

William Birdwood KCMG KCSI KCB DSO, 1st Baron Birdwood of Anzac and Totnes (1865-1951) commanded the Australian Corps for much of the First World War.

1 portrait in the collection

Top of their game

Nobel Laureates

Macfarlane Burnet and Patrick White

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

Wylie

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint, charcoal, pastel and conté on linen

Wylie (c. 1824–unknown) is thought to have been born near King George’s Sound in south-west Western Australia, which would make him a Noongar man.

1 portrait in the collection

Michelle de Kretser, Geography & History

Michelle de Kretser, Geography & History, 2013

Weng-Ho Chong

Gift of Michelle de Kretser 2015. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

The painter transmogrified and Mrs Smith

Eric Smith

Eric Smith (1919-2017), painter, was born in Brunswick, Melbourne, and trained in commercial art at the Brunswick Technical College before serving in the army during World War 2.

6 portraits in the collection

Portrait of Kenneth Rowell, 1967

David Strachan

Gift of Margaret Olley 2002. Transferred from the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

James Tylor

James Tylor (b. 1986) is an Australian multi-disciplinary contemporary visual artist.

1 portrait in the collection

Reinis Zusters

Reinis Zusters studied art briefly in Germany before arriving in Australia as a Latvian refugee in 1950.

2 portraits in the collection

Louis Claude de Saulces de Freycinet

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

William Charles Windeyer, c. 1857

Gift of the Windeyer family 2009

Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri AO

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri AO (c. 1932–2002) was a founding member of the artists cooperative established at Papunya in the early 1970s and one of the most renowned practitioners within the Western Desert art movement.

2 portraits in the collection

Tracks in the sand

Dr Sarah Engledow discusses Quentin Jones's photograph of Australian author Tim Winton.

George Hurrell

Magazine article by Gillian Raymond, 2023

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

1 portrait in the collection

Kyoto Temple Enlists Android Buddhist Deity to Help People, 23 February 2019 The Asahi Shimbun.

More than human

Gillian Raymond investigates the history of humanoid robots and asks, is this the future of portraiture?

John Vickery

Previous exhibition, 2020

John Vickery (1906-1983), illustrator, designer and painter was the only Australian to be part of the New York School in 1960s which includes painters such as Jackson Pollock, Joan Mitchell and Willem de Kooning.

1 portrait in the collection

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020

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.

Dave Tice

Dave Tice (b. 1950) was the lead singer for the trailblazing Australian hard rock band Buffalo.

1 portrait in the collection

Ivy Shore

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

2 portraits in the collection

Donors

$10,000 - $49,999

Tribute

Bob Ellis

Magazine article, 2016

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

Robert Neill

Robert Neill arrived in Van Diemen’s Land from Edinburgh in 1820 with his free-settler parents and two siblings.

1 portrait in the collection

Gordon Darling Hall, National Portrait Gallery

Architecture

About us

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

Dennis Lillee, 1977 (printed 2010)

Bruce Postle

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

Cressida Campbell, 2001

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2005

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Face the music

Drawn from the Gallery's collection, the exhibition Face the Music explores the remarkable talents and achievements of Australian musicians, composers, conductors and celebrities associated with the music industry.

Patrick Dodson

Patrick Dodson (b. 1948), Indigenous advocate and senator for Western Australia, is a Yawaru man who was born in Broome but spent most of his childhood and early schooling in the Northern Territory.

1 portrait in the collection

Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt

Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (1813-c. 1848) went to school and university in Germany but the range of his interests was such that he never actually graduated (he was later called Dr Leichhardt in recognition of his broad scholarship).

1 portrait in the collection

John Gould

Previous exhibition, 2009

John Gould (1804–1881) is known as the ‘father of Australian ornithology’ for his Birds of Australia, published in seven volumes between 1840 and 1848.

1 portrait in the collection

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.

Richard Tognetti, n.d.

Stuart Campbell

Murray Fredericks, Lisa Giles

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

Matt Moran, 2004

Gift of the artists 2005

Dave Tice, 1978 (printed 2018)

Gary Ede

Purchased 2018

John Sumner AO CBE

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

John Sumner AO CBE (1924–2013), described as the 'father of Australian drama', was born in England and trained and worked in repertory theatre there before World War 2.

2 portraits in the collection

General Birdwood, the Idol of Anzac, taking a dip in the sea after a hard days work 1915

In the thick of it

Projecting the splendour of the empire, and the resolve of its subjects, the bust of William Birdwood keeps a stiff upper lip in the National Portrait Gallery.

Wylie, 1840-1841

Robert Neill

Portrait, steel engraving with later hand-colouring on paper

Purchased 2018

Patricia Piccinini

Patricia Piccinini (b. 1965) is an artist best known for her mutant life-like creatures rendered in silicone and her iconic hot-air balloons.

1 portrait in the collection

Annual Appeal

Listed by year

Previous exhibition, 2010

Australian of the Year

Inspiring a Nation

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

Wayne Blair, 2007 (printed 2014)

Ingvar Kenne

Stop in all the byways, playin' rock 'n roll

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

Guthugga Pipeline, Christmas Show, upstairs, The (old) Griffin Centre, Civic, 22 December 1979. Crowd, L-R : Ben Donaldson, Anne Redmond, Nick Vollis, Esa Makela, Megan Woodrow (Mohawk), Andy Hall (scarf) 'pling

Capital Cool

Archived media releases 2015

Outsiders tend to give Canberra a bad rap: sterile, plagued by politicians, a comatose capital for professionals and academics. Nick Cave once said he didn’t like the city because there were too many punks.

Richard Walley OAM honoured in new Portrait Gallery commission

2 September 2015

A new commissioned portrait funded by the Gallery’s Foundation will be launched at Murdoch University in Perth tonight, Wednesday 2 September.

Danila Vassilieff

Frederick Bromley after Robert Frain

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

Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1842

Portrait, mezzotint on paper

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Primed

Some Prime Ministers

Previous exhibition, 2019

Seventeen of Australia’s thirty prime ministers to date are represented in the contrasting sizes, moods and mediums of these portraits.

John Bradfield

Portrait, oil on composition board

John Bradfield (1867-1943), engineer, was a key figure in the development of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and inner city transport network.

1 portrait in the collection

Study of Archbishop Daniel Mannix, 1962

Clifton Pugh AO

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Herbert John Louis Hinkler

Archived media releases 2013

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

Angus Trumble National Portrait Gallery Director

National Portrait Gallery Director announced

20 December 2013

The National Portrait Gallery welcomes Angus Trumble

The Bee Gees

Known as the 'Kings of Disco', The Bee Gees have sold over 120 million records worldwide and are among the highest-selling musical artists in history.

1 portrait in the collection

Patrick White and Manoly Lascaris, 1987

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Gift of Danina Dupain Anderson 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

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.

Clifton Pugh

Australians

John Cochran after Sir Thomas Lawrence

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.

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

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

David Cossini

Vox pops

Godfrey's amazing man. I've known him for four years now. He has a very tough story.

Hilary McPhee AO

Hilary McPhee AO (b. 1941), writer and editor, began her career at Meanjin before starting a small magazine, Theatre.

1 portrait in the collection

The selfie stick

Magazine article by Dr David Hansen, 2022

Last week ABC Television came to interview me about selfie sticks. The story was prompted by the announcement that the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has lately prohibited the use of these inside their galleries. So far as I am aware we have not yet encountered the phenomenon, but no doubt we will before too long.

Unheroic Materialism: little harmless fragments of memory and association: a portrait of Angus Trumble, 2019 Evert Ploeg

The last word

David Hansen’s tribute to his close friend, prince of words and former National Portrait Gallery director, the late Angus Trumble.

David Williamson, 1974 (printed 2001)

Gordon Glenn

Australian Athletes in Focus

Purchased 2001

Flash

Magazine article by Rod Kemp, 2003

Introduction The National Portrait Gallery’s photographic exhibition Flash: Australian Athletes in Focus explores various interpretations of Australian sporting men and women.

A gift for all ages

The then Minister for the Arts and Sport, Rod Kemp, reflects on the value of the Cultural Gifts Program.

Bathing woman, Bridlington, c.1825 by John Dempsey

Allow me to introduce...

Magazine article by David Thomas AM, 2012

These full-length figures in watercolour, gouache and pencil date mostly from the 1820s, and almost all come from the collection of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart.

Video still from Dream Job, 2011 by David M Thomas

My dream job

Artist David M Thomas lists some of the ideas and influences behind his video portraits.

Arthur Phillip Esq., Captain General and Commander in Chief in & over the territory of New South Wales

Arthur Phillip Esq., Captain General and Commander in Chief in & over the territory of New South Wales, 1789

W Sherwin, John Stockdale after Francis Wheatley

Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

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.

Wayne Blair

Portrait, oil on composition board

Wayne Blair (b. 1971), director, actor and writer, became interested in acting and dance while a high school student in Rockhampton in the 1980s.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Macfarlane Burnet, 1960-1961

Sir William Dargie CBE

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Ellen Stirling, c. 1828

Thomas Phillips

Purchased with funds provided by the Ian Potter Foundation 2008

Sylvia Breamer

Previous exhibition, 2004

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

Mark Strizic

A Journey in Photography

This exhibition traces the creative output of nearly 50 years by one of Australia's landmark living photographers.

First Ladies

Significant Australian Women 1913–2013

Previous exhibition, 2013

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

Glossy 2

Faces, Magazines, Now

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.

Harry Kewell, 2011

Julian Kingma

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Brett Whiteley - portrait 1, 1975

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Sylvia Breamer, c. 1920

Witzel Studios

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Sylvia Breamer, c. 1917-1919

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2015

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Self Portrait with Stetson, 2011 by Darren McDonald

Painting them gently

Penny Grist on motivation, method and melancholy in the portraiture of Darren McDonald.

The consolations of religion

A bushranger meets his maker, 6 January 1826

James McCabe provides proof that hanging wasn’t necessarily a fate reserved for the perpetrators of murder and other deeds of darkest hue.

Graeme Murphy, n.d.

Stuart Campbell

Garry Shead and Adrienne Levenson

Gift of the Estate of Stuart Campbell 2012

Soffritto di Lucio, 2009

Portrait, oil on linen

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lucio Galletto OAM 2012
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Barry Gibb, 1970-1971

Rennie Ellis

Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Admiral Bligh, 1801

John Chapman

Purchased 2010

About the exhibition

Previous exhibition, 2023

Portraits from the Sigg collection, from 1979 to the present including painting, sculpture, photography, video and installation.

Time and light

In Gallery Seven

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.

Go Figure!

Magazine article by Claire Roberts, 2013

Claire Roberts interviews Swiss art collector Uli Sigg.

Shakespeare to Winehouse: Icons from the National Portrait Gallery, London

Announcing Shakespeare to Winehouse

24 November 2021

Archived media releases 2021

More than eighty treasures from the National Portrait Gallery London will travel to Canberra for a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from March 2022.

Hide/Seek

Magazine article by David Ward, 2010

David Ward writes about the exhibition Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture on display at the National Portrait Gallery, Washington.

Little treasures

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2002

The acquisition of the ivory miniatures of Mortimer and Mrs Lewis.

Protest!

How can we dance when our earth is turning?

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2006

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.

Portraits and other stories

As the National Portrait Gallery opens its exhibition of portrait and figurative work by veteran photographer Sam Haskins, the artist reflects on the highlights of his fifty-year career so far.

Go Figure! Contemporary Chinese Portraiture

12 July 2012

Previous media releases

Exhibited simultaneously at the two locations, Go Figure! is drawn from the Sigg Collection, the largest and most significant collection of contemporary Chinese art anywhere in the world.

Robert O'Hara Burke, c. 1860

Melbourne and Sydney Photographic Co

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Australians in Hollywood

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2003

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

Zhang Xiaogang

Featured Artists

Born 1958, Kunming, Yunnan Province. Lives and works in Beijing.

Observation point

Magazine article by Ben Quilty, 2010

The Australian painter Ben Quilty discusses his approach to portraiture.

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Angus and the late Peter C. Trumble, 1965, still then a firm advocate of the detachable collar.

Dementia and the arts

Portrait, oil and polymer vinyl paint on canvas

That principle of equity of access has ever since been a noble aspiration for all public art museums, as it is for us here at the National Portrait Gallery.

Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, 2002

Tim Johnson

Commissioned with funds from the Basil Bressler Bequest 2002

Twenty new portraits marking Portrait Gallery’s twentieth birthday

21 August 2018

Archived media releases 2018

To celebrate the National Portrait Gallery’s twentieth anniversary as an institution, twenty portraits of outstanding Australian individuals have been commissioned for the permanent collection. This is the largest undertaking for the Gallery’s commissioning program in its twenty-year existence.

Adrian Rawlins

Adrian Rawlins (1939-2001), poet, performer and promoter, grew up in a Jewish household in Caulfield and St Kilda.

1 portrait in the collection

Myles Nelson

The cultural history of radiance.

It was definitely a candid encounter as was the expression on the face. It was constructed insofar as the image was deliberately taken from a distance so as to minimize intrusion and to magnify the effect of the image.

Not perspiring, but glowing.

Angus Trumble explores the creative manifestations of radiance.

Agus Suwage

by Enin Supriyanto

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.

Portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark

Tribute: Mary Isabel Murphy

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

Marion Borgelt

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

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

Sideshow Alley

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.

Jenny Kee AO

Jenny Kee AO (b. 1947) is a fashion designer and an Australian style icon.

1 portrait in the collection

Trumble and Borthwick families (Mum front right, Angus smallest), ca. 1968

Humdinger

At a meeting by teleconference of the National Portrait Gallery Foundation last week, I found myself reporting that our forthcoming exhibition So Fine is going to be “a humdinger,” whereupon Tim Fairfax chuckled and said that he hadn’t heard that expression for years.

The eye and the heart

Nici Cumpston immerses herself in the collective vision of the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020.

Marianne Egan

Mary Anne Egan (also Marianne or Marian, née Cheers, 1818–1857), was born in Sydney, the daughter of ex-convicts.

1 portrait in the collection

Lady Isabella Louisa Parry

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

Isabella Louisa Parry (née Stanley, 1801–1839), amateur artist, community worker and collector, was the daughter of Sir John Stanley, first Baron Stanley of Alderley, a Whig politician and member of the Royal Society.

1 portrait in the collection

The spirit of the gift

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

Davida Allen

Going around a gallery with a child, we point to a painting of a dog and brightly ask ‘What’s that?’ If they don’t say ‘A dog’, we tell them that’s what it is. We don’t say it’s a shape inscribed by an artist that’s popularly understood to signify a dog. That’d only serve to foster a smarty-pants.

Nicholas Paspaley Jnr, 2018

by Andrew Bonneau

Magazine article by Kwon Hyeeun, 2019

Commissioned with funds provided by Ross Adler AC 2018

Portrait of Kang Sehwang, 1783 by Yi Myeonggi

The artist, the scholar and the gentleman

Kwon Hyeeun introduces Korean portraits of Kang Sehwang, and five generations of the Kang family.

Unpacked

Magazine article by Louise Cummins, 2022

Louise Cummins reveals the rich symbolism in Michael Peck’s photorealistic portrait of AFL legend and MND ambassador Neale Daniher.

Dr Brown and Green Old Time Waltz, 1983

Harold Thornton

Magazine article by Rebecca Ray, 2022

Gift of the Estate of Harold Thornton 2009

Unpacked

Rebecca Ray reflects on Robert Fielding’s Mayatjara series, honouring songlines and intergenerational knowedge.

The Mutineers turning Lieut Bligh and part of the Officers and Crew adrift from His Majesty's Ship the Bounty

The Mutineers turning Lieut Bligh and part of the Officers and Crew adrift from His Majesty's Ship the Bounty, 1790

Robert Dodd

Portrait, aquatint engraving on paper

Purchased with funds provided by the Ian Potter Foundation 2008

Pat and Richard Larter, Luddenham, 1970s

Pin-ups

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2008

Christopher Chapman describes the art and life of Australian artist Richard Larter.

How to be a boy

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2011

Christopher Chapman profiles Chris Lilley, actor and creator of Angry Boys.

Karl Robert, Count Nesselrode, 1818 by Sir Thomas Lawrence

The Lawrence lustre

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2019

Angus Trumble salutes the glorious portraiture of Sir Thomas Lawrence.

The long game

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2020

Penelope Grist spends some quality time with the Portrait Gallery’s summer collection exhibition, Eye to Eye.

Insightful

Magazine article by Robert McFarlane, 2004

Henri-Cartier-Bresson invented the grammar for photographing life in the 20th century.

Capturing the Mouse

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2004

Nancy Wake AC (b. 1912), one of the most decorated women of World War 2, earned the name the 'White Mouse' for her maddening ability to evade the Gestapo.

Unboxed

Magazine article by Sandra Bruce, 2022

Sandra Bruce explores a new acquisition that has within it a story of interconnectivities in the Australian art world.

The aviatrix

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

Joanna Gilmour explores the extraordinary life of Australian female aviator Nancy Bird Walton AO OBE

Miscellaneous obsessions

Magazine article by William Yang, 2022

William Yang shares the stories behind his autobiographical self portraits that celebrate his cultural heritage and identity.

Untitled (girl on chair with red shoes) by Violet Frisby

Finding Mrs Frisby

Magazine article by Robyn Sweaney, 2016

Robyn Sweaney's quiet Violet obsession.

Catholic clergymen from the Diocese of Adelaide

Catholic clergymen from the Diocese of Adelaide, c. 1862

Stephen Edward Nixon

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Purchased 2018

Star signs

Magazine article by Barry York, 2018

Barry York charts the course from childhood request to autographed celebrity portrait anthology.

Trevor Jamieson, 2016 by Brett Canet-Gibson

The more things change...

NPPP 2017 exhibition essay

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

What the tree saw: David Foster, 2018

by Jacqui Stockdale

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

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

Suave

Charles Haddon Chambers the Australian-born playboy playwright settled permanently in London in 1880 but never lost his Australian stance when satirising the English.

Australian visit in Denmark

Magazine article by Mette Skougaard, 2006

In April 2006 the National Portrait Gallery showcased Australian portraits at the Fredenksborg Castle in Denmark.

Private practice

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

David Smith portrayed Dr Henry Crock without the accoutrements of an orthopaedic surgeon, adding to the National Portrait Gallery's collection of eminent Australian medical practitioners.

Thomas Mathewson (inset) and his studio on Queen Street, c. 1908 by Thomas Mathewson & Co

Northern exposure

Magazine article by Phil Manning, 2017

Phil Manning celebrates a century of Brisbane photographic portraiture.

Equation of a life - a portrait of Professor Derek Denton

Equation of a life – a portrait of Derek Denton

9 September 2016

Archived media releases 2016

The National Portrait Gallery, has welcomed the newest portrait commission of Emeritus Professor Derek Denton AC by Evert Ploeg.

True fella

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2011

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

Through blue eyes

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

Works by Arthur Boyd and Sidney Nolan bring the desert, the misty seashore and the hot Monaro plains to exhibition Open Air: Portraits in the landscape.

John McRae

NPPP 2012 learning resource

An interview with the photographer.

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

Foundation Members

Foundation

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

Of human clay

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2009

The first collaborative commission has arrived. It's a self portrait, it's ceramic and it's from Hermannsburg.

One and all

Magazine article by Niamh MacNally, 2007

The current exhibition of portraits at the National Gallery of Ireland Print Gallery investigates just how paper-thin ideas of likeness are.

The line of fire

Magazine article by Michelle Fracaro, 2005

Michelle Fracaro examines the life of World War II nurse Margaret Anderson, whose portrait by Napier Waller is in the NPG collection.

Chet Baker, singer, New York City, January 16, 1986 by Richard Avedon

The existential lens

Magazine article by Stephen Zagala, 2013

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

Swimming every day

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2015

National Photographic Portrait Prize judge Christopher Chapman connects this year’s entries to iconic contemporary american photographers.

The Right Honourable Sir Ninian Stephen KGAK GCMG GCVO KBE QC, 2006 by Rick Amor

Prima facie

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

Sarah Engledow casts a judicious eye over portraits in the Victorian Bar’s Peter O’Callaghan QC Portrait Gallery.

Sharon Zwi

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

Seeing stars

Celebrating Science Week

NPPP 2015 exhibition essay

It has been suggested that Sir Thomas Brisbane’s interest in the New South Wales governorship was as attributable to his passion for astronomy as to the desirability of the position as a prestigious career move.

Swimming every day

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2017

Dr Christopher Chapman, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2015 Prize.

20 20

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

Portrait of William Manning, c.1821 by Henry Bone

Of beef in burgundy

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2017

Angus Trumble reveals the complex technical mastery behind a striking recent acquisition, Henry Bone’s enamel portrait of William Manning.

Benny (42nd Street Series), 1979–80 by Larry Clark

City boys

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2016

Christopher Chapman immerses himself in Larry Clark’s field of vision.

The play’s the thing

Penelope Grist charts an immersive path through Stuart Spence’s photography.

The Good Doctor

Magazine article by Rebecca Ray, 2022

Dr Sarah Engledow describes the achievements of internationally renowned burns and trauma surgeon Professor Fiona Wood.

Beau Dean Riley Smith, Wiradjuri and Gamilaraay nations, Bennelong, 2017

Space in between

Rebecca Ray goes backstage with Bangarra’s Head of Design and photographer Jacob Nash.

Pre-Raphaelite Profile

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

In 2006 the National Portrait Gallery acquired a splendid portrait of Victoria's first governor, Lieutenant Governor Charles Joseph La Trobe by Thomas Woolner.

Mental as everything

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2006

Chris O'Doherty, also known as Reg Mombassa, is best-known for his Mambo imagery but he also paints a lot of self portraits.

Pop poet

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2013

Dr Anne Sanders previews the works in the new focus exhibition Paul Kelly and The Portraits.

The Coronation Theatre, Westminster Abbey: A Portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 2012

Imagination

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2013

Dr Sarah Engledow tells the story of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee portrait by Australian artist Ralph Heimans.

James Baldwin, writer, Harlem, New York 1945 by Richard Avedon

The Avedon effect

Dr Christopher Chapman explores how we can understand Richard Avedon's photographs.

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.

Friends and Acquaintances

Dr. Sarah Engledow discusses a collection of drawings and prints by the Victorian artist Rick Amor acquired in 2005.

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

Portraiture in a Bleak House

Magazine article by Kylie Scroope, 2011

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.

Opening of the First Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia by H.R.H. The Duke of Cornwall and York, May 9, 1901, 1903 by Tom Roberts

Empire records

Celebrates the centenary of the first national art collection, the Historic Memorials Collection, housed at Australia's Parliament House.

20/20 launch speech

Magazine article by Sandy Nairne, 2006

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

Why do painted portraits still matter?

Lecture by Sandy Nairne, Director, National Portrait Gallery, London, given at the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra on 28 April 2006.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2023

Learning resources

We encourage you to look, to feel, to think, to question and most importantly, to identify and connect.

Anne-Louise Lambert as Miranda Courtesy Picnic Productions

Rock star

Magazine article by Jennifer Coombes, 2018

Jennifer Coombes explores the lush images of Picnic at Hanging Rock, featuring Anne-Louise Lambert’s Miranda, the face of the film.

Self-portrait with guardian spirits, 2009-2010 Kate Beynon

Kate Beynon’s transcultural life and art

Phoebe Lupton profiles artist Kate Beynon, whose contemplative self portrait features in Archie 100: A Century of the Archibald Prize.

Sydney Cove medallion, 1789 by Josiah Wedgwood

The medallion

In recent years I have become fascinated by the so-called Sydney Cove Medallion (1789), a work of art that bridges the 10,000-mile gap between the newly established penal settlement at Port Jackson and the beating heart of Enlightenment England.

Rick Amor: 21 Portraits

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2011

Sarah Engledow chronicles Rick Amor's work and accomplishments in this extensive essay in conjunction with the exhibition Rick Amor: 21 Portraits.

Man of the year

Exhibition curator Christine Clark introduces the work by Indonesian artist Agus Suwage created for Beyond the self: Contemporary portraiture from Asia.

In the mirror: self portrait with Joy Hester

Spring exhibition program

18 August 2020

Archived media releases 2020

The following on-line and physical exhibitions are planned to open at the National Portrait Gallery in coming months. For those who can’t travel at present, selected works from all exhibitions will be included online

Getting a head

Magazine article by Alexandra Roginski, 2015

Alexandra Roginski gets a feel for phrenology’s fundamentals.

Four from the 30s

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

Australia's tradition of sculpted portraits stretches back to the early decades of the nineteenth century and continues to sustain a group of dedicated sculptors.

Herra Pahlasari

by Aminudin TH Siregar

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2009

At the time of Herra Pahlasari’s birth in 1978, her academic parents were living in Canberra.

My Favourite Australian

The Australian public was invited in 2008 to vote for their favourite Australian. After the votes were tallied an exhibition of the top-ten Popular Australians and the top-twenty unsung heroes was displayed at the National Portrait Gallery.

Selfhood transcended

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders and Dr Christopher Chapman, 2018

Anne Sanders and Christopher Chapman bring passionate characterisation to Express Yourself, the Portrait Gallery collection exhibition celebrating iconoclastic Australians.

Splendid, many-splendoured

Magazine article by Sandra Bruce, 2021

Sandra Bruce gazes on love and the portrait through Australian Love Stories’ multi-faceted prism.

Thua Tich, South Vietnam, 1969-06 by Christopher Bellis

The jungle look

Magazine article by David Gist, 2019

David Gist steps beyond the public relations veneer of Australia’s official Vietnam War portrait photographs.

Where the wild things are

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2009

Michael Desmond explores the complex portrait of Dr Bob Brown by Harold 'The Kangaroo' Thornton.

Two pair

Magazine article by Dr Jacqui Strecker, 2008

Stuttgart's Art Museum is showing Otto Dix portraits alongside artists from Lucas Cranach to Andy Warhol.

Anna Culliton

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2017

Anna Culliton never had a colouring-in book when she was little. Her parents –Tony, a filmmaker, and Stephanie, a painter – wouldn’t let her have one. Instead, they insisted on her drawing her own pictures to colour-in.

Louise Lovely feeding gulls in a park, 1969 Unknown photographer

Jewelled nights

Anne Sanders celebrates the cinematic union of two pioneering australian women.

Giving and getting

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

The exhibition Portraits for Posterity celebrates gifts to the Gallery, of purchases made with donated funds, and testifies to the generosity and community spirit of Australians.

The Changing Face of the Scientist

Magazine article by Elizabeth Finlay, 2003

Scientists tend to conjure up images of men in white coats in labs but this is just one stereotype in an evolving history of how we have perceived scientists, and how their profession has been understood over the years.

Heartfelt

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

The portrait of Janet and Horace Keats with the spirit of the poet Christopher Brennan is brought to life by artist Dora Toovey.

Nusra Latif Qureshi

by Hammad Nasar

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2016

Nusra Latif Qureshi was born in Pakistan in 1973 and originally trained in the traditional art of Mughal miniature (musaviri) paintings.

Cachasunghia, Osage Warrior 1804–06 by Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin

Political profiles

Joanna Gilmour examines the prolific output of Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin, and discovers the risk of taking a portrait at face value.

The Philosophy of Teapots and Ducks

Magazine article by Gillian Raymond, 2005

Cartoonist Michael Leunig's insights into the human condition and current affairs have become famous Australia-wide.

The Saint and the merchant

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

Emanuel Solomon gave shelter to the Sisters of St Joseph upon the excommunication of St Mary MacKillop.

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

The catechist and the cricketer

Magazine article by Stephen Valambras Graham, 2021

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

International issue

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2009

Michael Desmond looks at the history of the Vanity Fair magazine in conjunction with the exhibition Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008

Expect the unexpected

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

Joanna Gilmour revels in accidental artist Charles Rodius’ nineteenth century renderings of Indigenous peoples.

Robyn Sweaney

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

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.

Uncommon Australians

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2007

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

Two painters

Chris Chapman explains how Matthys Gerber bridges the gap between abstraction and portraiture.

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, 1885-86 by
John Singer Sargent

A feast of friends

Magazine article by Richard Ormond, 2015

John Singer Sargent: a painter at the vanguard of contemporary movements in music, literature and theatre.

Alexander Pearce
executed for murder
July 19th 1824

Public hanging

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2008

As a convict Thomas Bock was required to sketch executed murders for science; as a free man, fashionable society portraits.

Lauded legacy

Magazine article by Karl James, 2015

Karl James gives short shrift to doubts about the profile of General Sir John Monash.

My father-in-law watering his garden, 1986 by Davida Allen

Lovingly observed

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

Sarah Engledow previews the beguiling summer exhibition, Idle hours.

Depth of Field

Magazine article by Lauren Dalla, 2004

The exhibition Depth of Field displays a selection of portrait photographs that reflect the strength and diversity of Australian achievement.

The story of us

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2022

Gallery directors Karen Quinlan and Tony Ellwood talk to Penelope Grist about the NPG and NGV collaborative exhibition, Who Are You: Australian Portraiture.

Self Portrait, Stuart Campbell by Stuart Campbell

The essence of you

Magazine article by Lee Tulloch, 2011

Lee Tulloch remembers her great friend NIDA-trained actor turned photographer Stuart Campbell.

Waterfall in Australia, c. 1830 by Augustus Earle

Augustus serendipitous

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2016

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

Virginia Woolf, 1902 George Charles Beresford

Love my way

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2022

Inga Walton delves into the bohemian group of artists and writers who used each other as muses and transformed British culture.

Nikhil Chopra

by Rattanamol Johal

Magazine article by Karen Quinlan AM, 2019

Nikhil Chopra was born in 1974, in Calcutta. His first degree was in commerce, but in 1997 he took up fine art studies, eventually gaining a Masters in Fine Art from Ohio State University, United States.

Girl with Cigarette, c. 1925 by Agnes Goodsir

Agnes enigma

Karen Quinlan considers the case of Agnes Goodsir, whose low profile in Australia belies her overseas acclaim.

The boy, the bed and the gun

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2016

Christopher Chapman contemplates the provocative performance art of Chris Burden.

Oz and beyond

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2007

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

Mural of Italian/Roman actress Anna Magnani (1908–1973) with face mask, April 2020 Unknown artist

Of plague and portraits

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

Corinna Cullen on the symbolic power of pandemic-related imagery over the ages.

South-bound and down

Joanna Gilmour recounts the story of ill-fated sea voyages in the early stages of the Antipodean colony.

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.

The stately lotus

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 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.

Duty bound

Joanna Gilmour explores the life of colonial women Lady Ellen Stirling, Eliza Darling, Lady Eliza Arthur, Elizabeth Macquarie and Lady Jane Franklin.

Portrait of the Gallery

Magazine article by Graeme Dix, 2016

A design diary retrospective.

Nicholas Harding: 28 Portraits

Exhibition essay

Magazine article by Jessica Bolton, 2017

Sarah Engledow looks at three decades of Nicholas Harding's portraiture.

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.

Through thick and thin

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2017

Sarah Engledow likes the manifold mediums of Nicholas Harding’s portraiture.

Studio portrait of Lord Kitchener, British Secretary of State for War, 1914 by J Russell & Sons

All the way with K of K

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2016

Sarah Engledow bristles at the biographers’ neglect of Kitchener’s antipodean intervention.

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.

Diamond Doll

Magazine article by Karen Vickery, 2016

Karen Vickery delights in a thespian thread of the Australian yarn.

Sandor Ferenczis 50th birthday dinner, Budapest, 1923

Less than six degrees of separation

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2011

Anne Sanders finds connections in Inner Worlds between Hungarian expatriates and the development of psychoanalysis in Australia.

Picture this...

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

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

Dupain detective

Magazine article by Johanna McMahon, 2019

Johanna McMahon revels in history and mystery in pursuit of a suite of unknown portrait subjects.

Missionary positions

Magazine article by Stella Ramage, 2016

Stella Ramage on Father McHardy’s Bougainville portraiture.

The Window Seat, 1907 by Frances Hodgkins

Kiwi magpie

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2018

Penelope Grist finds inspiration in pioneering New Zealand artist, Frances Hodgkins.

Some prime ministers

Magazine article by Roger Benjamin, 2015

Sarah Engledow explores the history of the prime ministers and artists featured in the exhibition.

Fugue in Yellow

Roger Benjamin explores the intriguing union of Lina Bryans and Alex Jelinek.

Of ice and men

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

Frank Hurley's celebrated images document the heroism and minutiae of Australian exploration in Antarctica.

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.

Eating the seasons

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2019

Anne Sanders imbibes Tony Bilson’s gastronomic revolution.

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.

Anangu landscape learning

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2023

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

Illuminating history

Joanna Gilmour reflects on 25 years of collecting at the National Portrait Gallery.

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.

Their brilliant careers

Magazine article by Jenny Gall, 2017

Jenny Gall delves into Starstruck to celebrate some of Australian cinema’s iconic women.

Christmas Island

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

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.

William Shakespeare, c. 1600-1610 associated with John Taylor

Take thy face hence

Joanna Gilmour travels through time to explore the National Portrait Gallery London’s masterpieces in Shakespeare to Winehouse.

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.

High & Bligh

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

Joanna Gilmour explores the 1790 portrait of William Bligh by Robert Dodd.

Albert Jonas and John Xiniwe of The African Choir, 1891 London Stereoscopic Co.

Back in black

Magazine article by Krysia Kitch, 2017

Krysia Kitch reviews black chronicles at the National Portrait Gallery, London.

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.

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

Risky business

Magazine article by John Zubrzycki, 2016

John Zubrzycki lauds the characters of the Australian escapology trade.

In a good paddock

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2011

Celebrating a new painted portrait of Joseph Banks, Sarah Engledow spins a yarn of the naturalist, the first kangaroo in France and Don, a Spanish ram.

The life of Bryant

Magazine article by Tenille Hands, 2018

Tenille Hands explores a portrait prize gifted to the National Screen and Sound Archive.

Unbuttoning uniforms

Magazine article by Sharon Peoples, 2017

Sharon Peoples contemplates costumes and the construction of identity.

Hard truths

Magazine article by Jennifer Higgie, 2022

Jennifer Higgie reveals how Alice Neel reinvigorated 20th century portraiture with her honest and perceptive depictions of the human experience.

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

Shiny, happy people

Magazine article by Glynis Jones, 2022

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

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.

Louis XVI giving final instructions to the Comte de La Perouse, c. 1785

Sea legged frogs

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2011

Joanna Gilmour describes some of the stories of the individuals and incidents that define French exploration of Australia and the Pacific.

The Dissecting Room

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

Joanna Gilmour accounts for Australia’s deliciously ghoulish nineteenth century criminal portraiture.

The Art Lovers - Megan, 2013 by Gary Grealy

Everybody, look serious

NPPP 2014 exhibition essay

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

Fiona McMonagle

Magazine article by Tom Fryer, 2021

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.

Face House – Kyoto, Japan Architect: Kazumasa Yamashita

Alter ego

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

Beguiling impressions

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2012

Sarah Engledow is seduced by the portraits and the connections between the artists and their subjects in the exhibition Impressions: Painting light and life.

Earth to earth

Magazine article by Aimee Board, 2018

Dr Sarah Engledow discusses the recent gift of works by David Campbell.

Flesh, figure and rock

Aimee Board traces Judy Cassab’s path to the Australian outback, arriving at the junction of inspiration and abstraction.

Flash mob

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

Sarah Engledow trains her exacting lens on the nine photographs from 20/20.

History

About us

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

Eileen Dunne in The Hospital for Sick Children, 1940

The incomparable Beaton

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

Woman with Fair Hair and Pink Cardigan, 1949 by John Perceval.

The family scene

Magazine article, 2016

Traudi Allen discovers sensitivity, humour and fine draughtsmanship in the portraiture of John Perceval.

Patrick White at Centennial Park, 1979–1980

Listomania

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

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.

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

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.

Seeing stars

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

Joanna Gilmour explores photographic depictions of Aboriginal sportsmen including Lionel Rose, Dave Sands, Jerry Jerome and Douglas Nicholls.

A sketch for some portraits

Magazine article by Judith Pugh, 2005

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

A real Pratt

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

The death of a gentlewoman is shrouded in mystery, a well-liked governor finds love after sorrow, and two upright men become entangled in the historical record.

Untitled #21/09 (after Ricci, 1700; featuring Matthew Mitcham)

Getting bare

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2015

How seven portraits within Bare reveal in a public portrait parts of the body and elements of life usually located in the private sphere.

The shipwright's arms

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

Joanna Gilmour explores the life and times of convict-turned-artist William Buelow Gould.

Generous Janice

Dr Sarah Engledow puts four gifts to the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection in context.

The personal and the historical

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

Where do we draw a line between the personal and the historical? Although she died in Melbourne in 1975, when I was not quite eleven years old, I have the vividest memories of my maternal grandmother Helen Borthwick.

You are who?

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

Inner Worlds and psychoanalysis

Lecture, 4 June 2011

Inner Worlds evokes a broad view of psychology as a discipline. However, the specific interests of the practitioners whose portraits are included in the exhibition incorporate specialist areas including psychoanalysis.

The art of Inner Worlds

Lecture, 7 May 2011