Search / robert holmes a court

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

Janet Holmes á Court, 2001 (printed 2011)

Lorrie Graham

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Sir Charles Court and Richard Court, 2006-2007

Mary Moore

Commissioned with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2006

Tracey Holmes

Tracey Holmes (b. 1966), sports broadcaster and journalist, has covered twelve Olympic Games and was the first woman to host an Australian national sports program, Grandstand.

1 portrait in the collection

Rev. Margaret Court AC MBE

The Rev. Margaret Court AC MBE (b. 1942) has won more major tennis championships than any other player, having acquired 62 Grand Slam titles between 1960 and 1975.

1 portrait in the collection

Stan Grant and Tracey Holmes

Nic Walker

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

Stan Grant and Tracey Holmes, 2020

Nic Walker

Gift of the artist 2021

Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong, c. 1971

Ern McQuillan OAM

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Sidney Nolan and Robert Helpmann at Bonython Gallery, Adelaide Arts Festival

Sidney Nolan and Robert Helpmann at Bonython Gallery, Adelaide Arts Festival, c. 1964 (printed 2015)

Robert Dunkarton after Sir Thomas Lawrence

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Robert Earl of Buckinghamshire (Hobart), 1808

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Robert Hunter, July 1978, 1978 (printed 2012)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Robert Dessaix, 1998

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Robert Dessaix 2000
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Robert W. Pohlman

Robert Williams Pohlman (1811–1877), judge, arrived in Melbourne in 1840 and with his brother acquired a sheep station, Darlington (later Glenhope), near Kyneton.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert Grieve

Robert Grieve (1924-2006), painter and printmaker, exhibited in Melbourne in 1948 before leaving for Europe and England, where he studied lithography at the Regent Polytechnic.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert Kermode

'Looking deep within the eye of a person'

Robert Quayle Kermode (1812-1870), politician, was born on the Isle of Man and educated at Castletown.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert Fielding

Portrait story

Robert Fielding on capturing the beauty and the essence of his people.

Robert Oatley AO

1928–2016

The National Portrait Gallery mourns the loss of one our most generous benefactors, Robert Oatley AO.

Robert Hannaford AM

Robert Hannaford AM (b. 1944), a largely self-taught artist, grew up on his family farm near the small South Australian town of Riverton before working as political cartoonist for the Adelaide Advertiser from 1964 to 1967.

6 portraits in the collection

Robert Bénard

Robert Bénard engraved, or directed the engraving of, at least 1800 plates for Diderot's groundbreaking Encyclopédie, published between 1751 and 1772.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert Rooney, self portrait December 1978

Robert Rooney, self portrait December 1978, 1978 (printed 2012)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Robert Rooney

Robert Rooney (1937-2017), painter, conceptual artist and photographer, studied at Swinburne Technical college from 1954 to 1957.

17 portraits in the collection

Robert di Pierdomenico

Robert Di Pierdomenico (b. 1958), the 'Big Dipper', began his career with the Hawthorn Football Club in 1975, but remained obscure until the Grand Final of September 30, 1978, when he gathered 15 kicks, shot out six handpasses and took six marks to be named best on ground.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Robert Gibson

Sir Robert Gibson GBE (1863-1934) trained in design and drafting in Glasgow, where he began work as a designer at an iron company; he soon became manager of its London office.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert Dodd

Robert Dodd, a leading painter of maritime and military subjects, lived and worked in Wapping, London.

2 portraits in the collection

Robert Rosen

Robert Rosen is a portrait photographer who took thousands of snaps of the tawdry Sydney social scene of the 1970s, 80s and 90s.

2 portraits in the collection

Robert Ross

Robert Ross (1792–1862), clergyman, studied medicine in his native Edinburgh before being ordained into the Church of Scotland in 1818.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert T. Carter

Robert Thomas Carter (1843–1917) was a leading Sydney cabinetmaker and furniture warehouseman, and later an antique dealer.

2 portraits in the collection

Robert Whitaker

Robert Whitaker, English photographer, spent three years in Melbourne in the early 1960s, becoming friends with Mirka and Georges Mora, Barry Humphries, Germaine Greer, the Heide crowd and Martin Sharp and Richard Neville.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert Dunkarton

Robert Dunkarton, engraver and portrait painter, served his apprenticeship with mezzotint engraver William Pether.

1 portrait in the collection

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

Robert Hobart

Robert Hobart, fourth Earl of Buckinghamshire (1760–1816), statesman, was a soldier in the war against the American colonies and served as aide-de-camp to several lord lieutenants of Ireland before becoming Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1789 to 1793.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert Forster

Robert Forster wrote The Go-Betweens' first recorded songs, 'Lee Remick' and 'Karen', of which they pressed about 500 copies, distributing them themselves.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert Hunter

Robert Hunter (1947-2014), painter, trained at Preston Technical College and RMIT from 1964 to 1967, and was deeply impressed by the work of American abstractionist Ad Reinhardt in Melbourne in 1967.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert Fielding

Robert Fielding (b. 1969) is a contemporary artist of Pakistani, Afghan, Western Arrente and Yankunytjatjara descent, who lives in Mimili Community in the remote Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands.

24 portraits in the collection

Lord Robert May OM KBE FRS FAA

Robert May, Baron May of Oxford OM AC (1936–2020), physicist, chemical engineer, chemist, ecologist and mathematician, once described himself as a ‘scientist with a short attention span.’ Born and educated in Sydney, where he received his PhD in experimental physics in 1959, he lectured at Harvard, Sydney and Princeton before taking up a joint professorship at Imperial College London and Oxford.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Robert Helpmann CBE

Sir Robert Helpmann CBE (1909–1986) was a dancer, actor and choreographer.

3 portraits in the collection

Sir Robert Menzies KT AK CH LLM QC

Rt Hon. Sir Robert Gordon Menzies KT AK CH PC QC (1894-1978) was Prime Minister of Australia for a record total of 19 years: from 1939 to 1941 and 1949 to 1966.

9 portraits in the collection

Robert Dessaix

Robert Dessaix (b. 1944) is a Hobart–based writer, translator and literary critic.

2 portraits in the collection

Robert McFarlane

Robert McFarlane (1942–2023), photographer, was born in Glenelg, South Australia.

31 portraits in the collection

Robert Drewe

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

Robert Hughes AO

Robert Hughes AO (1938-2012) was the senior art critic for Time magazine and one of Australia’s famous expatriates of the 1960s.

5 portraits in the collection

Robert Klippel AO

Robert Klippel AO (1920–2001) is considered by some to be the most significant sculptor Australia has yet produced.

5 portraits in the collection

Dr Robert (Bob) Edwards AO

Dr Robert (Bob) Edwards AO (1930-2023) made a remarkable contribution to the cultural sector in Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert Jacks AO

Robert Jacks AO (1943–2014) is acknowledged as one of Australia's leading abstract artists.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert Manne AO

Robert Manne (b. 1947), academic and writer, grew up in Melbourne, the child of European Jewish refugees.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert Adamson

Robert Adamson (1943–2022), poet and publisher, divided his childhood between Neutral Bay and the Hawkesbury River, where his grandfather lived.

2 portraits in the collection

Robert Campbell Jnr

Robert Campbell Junior, urban Aboriginal artist, was a Ngaku/Dhunghutti man who grew up in Kempsey, New South Wales.

1 portrait in the collection

Mr Robert Oatley AO

Robert Oatley AO (1928–2016), businessman, was one of Australia’s most successful wine industry figures.

Robert Brown

Robert Brown (1773–1858) is considered ‘the father of Australian botany’.

2 portraits in the collection

Robert Helpmann

Recorded 1964

Robert Adamson

Recorded 1975

Ben, 2015

by Robert Hague

Robert Klippel

Recorded 1965

Robert Fielding

Recorded 2022

Robert Drewe

Recorded 1977

Oliver Cromwell

Robert Walker

Magazine article by Robert Cook, 2018

Snap decisions

NPPP judge Robert Cook provides irreverent insight into this year’s fare, and having to be a bit judgemental.

Self portrait

Sir Robert Ponsonby Staples

Sir Robert Ponsonby Staples, third son of Sir Nathaniel Staples, Bt, was born in Northern Ireland, educated in Belgium, and studied architecture and art in Louvain, Dresden, Paris and London.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert Emerson Curtis

Robert Emerson Curtis (1898-1996) was an illustrator and painter who arrived in Sydney from England in 1924.

2 portraits in the collection

Robert Henderson Croll

Robert Henderson Croll (1869-1947), author, worked as a clerk in the Victorian public service for over 40 years, but is better remembered for his books and journalism.

2 portraits in the collection

Robert O'Hara Burke

Robert O'Hara Burke (1821-1861), explorer, came to Australia in 1853 and joined the Victorian police force.

4 portraits in the collection

Governor Sir Robert Duff with Lady Duff, Lord Hopetoun and Vice-Regal Party

Sir Robert William Duff

Sir Robert William Duff (1835–1895) was governor of New South Wales from May 1893 until March 1895.

2 portraits in the collection

James Robert M. Robertson

James Robert M. Robertson (1844-1932), mining engineer and coal magnate, was the son of a Scottish surgeon and colliery owner, and qualified in medicine himself before opting for a career in mining.

1 portrait in the collection

Robert Hughes, 1996

Rex Dupain

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Robert Hannaford, 2005

R. Ian Lloyd

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of R. Ian Lloyd 2010
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Sir Robert Menzies, c. 1966

Les Tanner

Portrait, cast plaster

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Emeritus Professor Colin A Hughes 2015

Robert Haines, n.d.

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

Guy Stuart, January 1979, 1979 (printed 2012)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Reg Grundy, c. 1988 (printed 2017)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Leo McKern as Dad Rudd, 1994 (printed 2020)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2020

Illuwanti Ken, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Tim Flannery, 2006

Gift of Professor Tim Flannery 2016. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Reg Livermore, Pitt Street, Sydney, 1965 (printed 2020)

Purchased 2020

Princess Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia and Electress Palatine

Robert Peake the Elder

Magazine article by Rebecca Ray, 2022

Unpacked

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

Wylie, 1840-1841

Robert Neill

Portrait, steel engraving with later hand-colouring on paper

Purchased 2018

Tim Flannery by Robert Hannaford

'The space around'

Portrait story

Tim Flannery and artist Robert Hannaford discuss the creation of Tim's portrait.

James Robert Millar Robertson, 1926

W.A. Bowring

Gift of the descendants of James Robert Millar Robertson 2011

Sir Robert Menzies, c. 1952

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen and ink on paper

Gift of Mrs Lily Kahan 2017. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Robert Hughes Black ED BS FRACP

Robert Hughes Black ED MD DTM&H Dip Anth FRACP (1917-1988) was a world authority on malaria and Professor of Tropical Medicine in the Commonwealth Institute of Health, University of Sydney, for twenty years.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Robert Garran, 1922

Bernard Hall

Gift of John Garran 2019. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Robert Kermode, c. 1840

Henry Mundy

Purchased 2008. The original frame for this work was donated to the National Portrait Gallery of Australia by the National Gallery of Victoria 2009.

Captain R.C. Morgan, Missionary ship 'John Williams'

Captain Robert Clark Morgan

Captain Robert Clark Morgan (1798-1864), Christian mariner, whaler and diarist, entered the Royal Navy at the age of eleven, leaving at sixteen for the merchant marine and beginning a career in whaling, a pursuit he relished.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Robert Klippel, 1980

Yvonne Audette AM

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

Robert 'Twogun' Rosen, 1994

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

Robert Klippel, 1979

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Purchased 1998

Robert Klippel, 1993

Portrait, pastel on paper

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

Robert Klippel, c. 1990

Rosemary Madigan

Purchased 2020

Sir Robert Helpmann, c. 1965 (printed 2015)

Jozef Vissel

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Jozef Vissel 2015

Sir Robert May AC KT, 1999

Polly Borland

Portrait, cast bronze medallion on wood plaque

Purchased 2001

Sir Robert Menzies, 1985

Andor Meszaros

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Ray Marginson AM 2001

Robert Klippel, Birchgrove, Sydney, 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

Robert Edwards, 2009

John Elliott

Commissioned with funds provided by Art Exhibitions Australia 2009

Robert Emerson Curtis, 1943

Portrait, oil on masonite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Richard King 2008
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Robert Jacks, 1961-1962

Charina Oeser

Gift of the artist 2021

Robert Hughes, 1962

Purchased 1998

Robert Helpmann, 1969

Portrait, montage of gelatin silver photographs on paper

Purchased 1998

Robert Hughes, 1962

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1998

Robert Drewe (in the swell), 2006

Nicholas Harding

Purchased 2010

"Poet of the Hawkesbury" Robert Adamson, 2012

Geoffrey Dyer

Gift of the artist 2013. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Robert Lowe, Viscount Sherbrooke

Robert Lowe, Viscount Sherbrooke (1811-1892), politician, studied and tutored in law at Oxford before coming to Australia in 1842.

4 portraits in the collection

Robert Menzies, Sydney, 1963 (printed 2000)

Portrait, watercolour and gouache on paper

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.

Sketch for Prime Minister Robert Menzies

Sketch for Prime Minister Robert Menzies, 1960

Sir William Dobell OBE

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 1999

Sir Robert Gibson, 1934

Paul Montford

Portrait, cast bronze on granite base

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of The Australian Industry Group 2012

Robert Hughes - Nothing if not critical, 2001

Bill Leak

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2002

Small Holdings (The Earl Carrington Baron Charles Robert Carrington)

Charles Robert Wynn-Carrington

Charles Robert Wynn-Carrington (1843–1928), 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire, landowner and Liberal politician, was governor of New South Wales in the late 1880s.

2 portraits in the collection

Ming Vase (Sir Robert Menzies), c. 1970

Les Tanner, Gus McLaren

Portrait, glazed ceramic

Purchased 2004

Robert Di Pierdomenico "Dipper", 1986

Rennie Ellis

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006

Robert Menzies, Lancaster House, London, 1956 (printed 2000)

Rt Hon. Sir Robert Menzies, c. 1962

Victor Greenhalgh

Portrait, cast bronze

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Lady Bunting in honour of Sir John Bunting and the Menzies Foundation 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Robert Manne, 2012

Dave Tacon

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Robert Gray, 1978

Christine Godden

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2017

Robert Dessaix, 2004

Julian Kingma

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

Robert Fitzgerald, c. 1860s (printed c. 1890s)

Portrait, albumen silver photograph

Gift in memory of Richard Kelynack Evans 2010. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Robert Carter, c. 1910

William Johnson

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on grey cardboard

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the family of FW Macpherson 2012

Sir Robert Menzies, c. 1963-1964

Portrait, colour process lithograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

Robert Grieve, n.d.

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Mrs Lily Kahan 2006
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Poet Robert Adamson at Parsley Bay, 2008

Portrait, watercolour on card

Purchased 2008

Robert Lowe (Viscount Sherbrooke), n.d.

Sem

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Purchased 2012

Judy Annear, 1980, 1980 (printed 2012)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Kiffy Rubbo 2, 1979, 1979 (printed 2012)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Janine Burke, c. 1980, 1980 (printed 2012)

Portrait, oil on canvas on board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Mary Ware, c. 1854

Robert Dowling

Purchased with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy and Rosalind Blair Murphy 2014

Meredith Rogers, September 1978, 1978 (printed 2012)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Dale Hickey 2, March 1979, 1979 (printed 2012)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Bruce Pollard 2, 1979, 1979 (printed 2012)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Paul Taylor 1, 1984, 1984 (printed 2012)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Gary Catalano 2, 1980, 1980 (printed 2012)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Paul Partos 1, 1980, 1980 (printed 2012)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

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

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

John Nixon 1, January 1979, 1979 (printed 2012)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Greta Scacchi, 1992 (printed 2017)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Marilyn Rowe, c. 1975 (printed 2017)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

John Newcombe, 1976 (printed 2017)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Gordon Chater, c. 1993 (printed 2017)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Esben Storm, 1989 (printed 2017)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Christine Stead, 1976 (printed 2017)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Katharine Brisbane, 1982 (printed 2017)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Moffatt Oxenbould, c. 1997 (printed 2017)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Judy Davis with director John Duigan in 'Winter of our Dreams'

Judy Davis with director John Duigan in 'Winter of our Dreams', 1981 (printed 2017)

Purchased 2017

Imatjala Curley, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Tiger Yaltangki, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Puna Yanima, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Ingrid Treacle, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Rita Rolley, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Maringka Burton, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Kathy Maringka, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Betty Muffler, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Sammy Dodd, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Mary Katatjuku Pan, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Linda Puna, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Hughie Cullinan, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Stanley Douglas, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Litja Brown, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Taylor Cooper, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Alec Baker, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Alexander Maurice Ramsay, 1978

Gift of Janet, Andrew, Kathryn and Eleanor Ramsay, daughters and son of Alexander Maurice Ramsay and Amy Jane Ramsay 2010. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Robyn Archer, 1982

Purchased 2003

Charles Perkins on bus to Tranby Aboriginal College, Glebe

Charles Perkins on bus to Tranby Aboriginal College, Glebe, c. 1964 (printed 2015)

Purchased 1999

Kate Fitzpatrick, 1978 (printed 2017)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Nigel Butterley, Composer, 1977 (printed 2021)

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Purchased with funds provided by Tim Bednall 2021

Senator Bonner, 1990

Robert Campbell Jnr

Purchased with funds provided by Tim Fairfax AC 2008

Charles Perkins on bus to Tranby Aboriginal College, Glebe, c. 1964 (printed 2003)

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2013. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Richard Walsh, Editor OZ magazine at the Hunter Street offices

Richard Walsh, Editor OZ magazine at the Hunter Street offices, c. 1966 (printed 2021)

Magazine article by Yvonne Audette AM, 2005

Purchased with funds provided by Tim Bednall 2021

A bond of friendship

Australia's major abstract painter Yvonne Audette discusses her portrait of sculptor Robert Kippel.

Bob Croll of the AAA Vic., 1916

David Low

Portrait, pencil, pen and ink on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008

Howard Arkley 1, 1980 (printed 2012)

Purchased 2012

Lloyd Rees, 1973

Robert Walker

Portrait, aquatint engraving on paper

Purchased 1999

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

Purchased with funds provided by the Ian Potter Foundation 2008

Nick Enright, c. 1976 (printed 2004)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Barrie Kosky, Sydney Opera House, c. 1997 (printed 2017)

Purchased 2017

Glenn Murcutt, 1980 (printed 2017)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Jeff Carter with his dog Annie Rose at Foxground NSW

Jeff Carter with his dog Annie Rose at Foxground NSW, 2000 (printed 2017)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Bruce Beresford on location, c. 1981 (printed 2004)

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2016

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Anatomist's eye

Robert Hannaford has completed around 400 portraits over the span of his career.

Lowitja O'Donoghue, 2006

Portrait, aquatint on paper

Commissioned with funds donated by BHP Billiton Limited, Rio Tinto Aboriginal Fund, Newmont Australia Limited, Reconciliation Australia, Hon Paul Keating and Hon Fred Chaney 2006

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

Jeremiah Ware, c. 1854

Robert Dowling

Purchased with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy and Rosalind Blair Murphy 2014

Robert (No. 1 of Robert, Lindy, Grant)

An interview with Nicholas Harding

Robert Drewe

Portrait story

Artist Nicholas Harding talks about what was captured in his portrait of Robert Drewe.

Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool

Tom Durkin, The Weekly Times

Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl Liverpool, Lord Hawkesbury (1770–1828), statesman, was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827.

2 portraits in the collection

A County Court Judge "Sober as a Judge" [Judge Pohlman], 1874

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016

Robert Brown, 1850

Thomas Herbert Maguire

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2013

Robert Lowe, Viscount Sherbrooke, 1870

Elliott and Fry

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

June Dally Watkins, c. 1968 (printed 2017)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Professor John Bishop, c. 1963 (printed 2018)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Dame Joan Sutherland, c. 1977

Gift of William Bowmore AO OBE 2003. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Gough Whitlam and Bob Hawke, c. 1976 (printed 2017)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017

Betty Kuntiwa Pumani, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Kunmanara (Ngilan) Dodd, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Yaritji Tjingila Young, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Matjangka Nyukana Norris, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Nyurpaya Kaika Burton OAM, 2021

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Mantuwa Tjungarra George, 2021

Portrait, ambrotype, hand coloured on glass plate with black paint backing

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal for Contemporary Australian Photography 2022

Mr and Mrs R. T. Carter, c. 1863

Milligan Bros (Studio)

Gift of Mr and Mrs James Bain 2000. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

R O'Hara Burke, c. 1861

De Gruchy & Leigh

Purchased 2009

Le Cap.ne Jacques Cook, Membre de la Société Royale des Londres

Le Cap.ne Jacques Cook, Membre de la Société Royale des Londres, c. 1778

Robert Bénard

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on composition board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Gina and Ted Gregg 2010

Robert H. Black MD, c. 1950

Nora Heysen AM

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

Colin Madigan and Robert Hughes, Canberra

Colin Madigan and Robert Hughes, Canberra, 1982 (printed 2000)

Frederick George Reynolds

Robert Henderson Croll, 1927

Portrait, oil on canvas on board

Gift of Grietje Croll in memory of her late husband Robert Devereaux Croll and with the endorsement of his daughter Helen Croll 2013. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Robert O'Hara Burke, c. 1860

Melbourne and Sydney Photographic Co

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Clem Seale and Robert Emerson Curtis, c. 1944

Dario Castellini after Carlo Liverati

Purchased with funds provided by Timothy Fairfax AC 2003

Robert Brown, c. 1835

John Cochran after Henry Room

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

Reverend Robert Ross MD, Sydney, New South Wales, n.d.

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

Norman O'Neill and Bill Lawry coming out to bat for Australia vs South Africa at the Sydney Cricket Ground

Norman O'Neill and Bill Lawry coming out to bat for Australia vs South Africa at the Sydney Cricket Ground, 1964 (printed 2018)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

Sidney Nolan and Patrick White, Adelaide Arts Festival

Sidney Nolan and Patrick White, Adelaide Arts Festival, c. 1964 (printed 2015)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Edward 'Weary' Dunlop, River Kwai, Thailand

Edward 'Weary' Dunlop, River Kwai, Thailand, c. 1987 (printed 2003)

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2002

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2013. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Heart of Darkness

Magda Keaney talks with Bill Leak about his bold new portrait of Robert Hughes in the National Portrait Gallery collection.

Black tie or wombat: How formal should I go?

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2008

Michael Desmond discusses the portrait of Senator Neville Bonner by Robert Campbell Jnr.

Maria Kozic and Philip Brophy 1, 1981, 1981 (printed 2012)

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2007

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Cook in context

Robert Oatley's continuing benefaction has helped the National Portrait Gallery acquire works that add another layer to the story of Captain Cook.

The Quiet Australian

Magazine article by Brian Dale, 2001

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

Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1842

Frederick Bromley after Robert Frain

Daniel Orme after Robert Dighton

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Portrait of Captain John Hunter, 1792

Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Fetteresso (Sir Robert Duff), 1883

Francois Verheyden, Vanity Fair Magazine

Magazine article by Yvonne Audette AM, 2005

Purchased 2015

Meeting by Murder

The story behind two colonial portraits; a lithograph of captain and convict John Knatchbull and newspaper illustration of Robert Lowe, Viscount Sherbrooke.

Captain R.C. Morgan, Missionary ship 'John Williams', n.d.

John Cochran after Henry Room

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2012

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Gina and Ted Gregg 2010

The importance of being bearded

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.

Australia v England, 1887

Goupil & Cie after Sir Robert Ponsonby Staples, George Barrable

Portrait, photogravure on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, 1827

Charles Turner after Sir Thomas Lawrence

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

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

Gift of Ronald Walker 2002

Robert, Lindy, Grant, 1981

Portrait, oil on canvas board (triptych)

Purchased 2002

Charlie (Lord Charles Robert Carrington)

Charlie (Lord Charles Robert Carrington), 1874

Carlo Pellegrini, Vanity Fair Magazine

Carlo Pellegrini, Vanity Fair Magazine

Purchased 2013

Statesmen No. 4 "An enemy to democracy, yet a professor of liberal principles, which tend to democracy; the combination will one day make him Prime Minister of England" (Viscount Robert Lowe), 1869

Portrait, colour lithograph on paper

Gift of Leo Schofield AM 2005

Statesmen, No. 4 "An enemy to democracy, yet a professor liberal principles, which tend to democracy; the combination will one day make him Prime Minister of England" (Viscount Robert Lowe), 1869

Carlo Pellegrini, Vanity Fair Magazine

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2005

Purchased 2013

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.

Baron Ferdinand von Mueller, c. 1890

Charles Troedel after Robert Wendel

Portrait, albumen paper photograph on carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2013

The Burke and Wills Monument, 1869

Thomas Foster Chuck

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2001

Governor Sir Robert Duff with Lady Duff, Lord Hopetoun and Vice-Regal Party, 1893

Kerry & Co

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

Cultural kaleidoscope

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

Rt. Honourable Lord Hawkesbury, 1808

Edward Scriven, J B Ball & J DeCamp after Sir Thomas Lawrence

Henry Samuel Sadd, Fergusson & Mitchell, Melbourne after Thomas Adams Hill

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

Robert O'Hara Burke, Leader of the Victorian Expedition

Robert O'Hara Burke, Leader of the Victorian Expedition, 1860-1861

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2007

Graham Kennedy and the Seekers in Melbourne

Graham Kennedy and the Seekers in Melbourne, c. 1968

Robert Whitaker

Henry Meyer, T Cadell & W Davies after Sir Thomas Lawrence, William Evans

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2007

The Rt Hon. Henry Robert Stewart, Lord Viscount Castlereagh, MRIA & FRS

The Rt Hon. Henry Robert Stewart, Lord Viscount Castlereagh, MRIA & FRS, 1814

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

Stephen and Russell Page, 1993 (printed 2011)

Robert Rosen

Gift of Robert Rosen 2012

Charles Perkins with Eileen Perkins, 1964 (printed 2021)

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2007

Purchased with funds provided by Tim Bednall 2021

Painting writing

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

Fits of delicacy and despair

Henry Mundy's portraits flesh out notions of propriety and good taste in a convict colony.

Bob Ansett Robert Ansett

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

Australian-born but schooled in the United States, he returned to Australia in 1965 to start the Budget Rent a Car System.

1 portrait in the collection

Bob Ansett, Budget,

Joe Greenberg

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001

First High Court of Australia, c. 1903

Portrait, albumen silver photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Henry Louis Bertrand, ca. 1865 photographed by the Milligan Brothers. Collection of the State Library of NSW

A passion eating into your vitals

The ‘Mad Dentist of Wynyard Square’ in court, 18 December 1865

The salacious and sordid details of Henry Kinder’s death transfixed Sydneysiders with a case combining murder with seduction, mesmerism, blackmail and poisoning.

Alan Goldberg AO QC

Previous exhibition, 2022

Alan Goldberg AO QC (1940-2016), Federal Court judge, was born into a pioneering Jewish Melbourne family and graduated from the University of Melbourne law school in the early 1960s.

1 portrait in the collection

Mayatjara by Robert Fielding

In Gallery One

The series captures Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Traditional Owners and custodians, respected and significant leaders, advocates and artists within the communities of the APY Lands.

Alan Goldberg, 2014

Jacqueline Mitelman

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

Robert, 2010

by CJ Taylor

Men at Work, The Jam Factory, (Colbee Court) Phillip, ACT

Men at Work, The Jam Factory, (Colbee Court) Phillip, ACT

Men at Work, The Jam Factory, (Colbee Court) Phillip, ACT

Men at Work, The Jam Factory, (Colbee Court) Phillip, ACT

Single parent Robert Smith-Goode, housing commission flats, 2009

by Jenny Hodge

The Demon bowler (Frederick Robert Spofforth)

The Demon bowler (Frederick Robert Spofforth), 1878

Purchased 2002

The Demon bowler (Frederick Robert Spofforth), 1878

Purchased 2015

Grant (No. 3 of Robert, Lindy, Grant)

Betty Churcher AO

Art, love, absurdity and exuberance

(Elizabeth) Betty Churcher AO (1931–2015), gallery director, author, painter and lecturer, was educated in Brisbane before studying at the Royal College of Art in London.

3 portraits in the collection

Richard and Pat

Passion

Partners in sparkle

Paddy Jaminji (Jampin)

Paddy Jaminji (Jampin) (1912-1996), Kija visual artist, spent much of his life in and around his country near Bedford Downs station in WA.

1 portrait in the collection

Rover Thomas

Rover Thomas (1926-1998), Kukatja-Wangkajunga artist, was born in the Great Sandy Desert of Western Australia and worked as a stockman and fencer before losing his employment upon the introduction of equal pay for indigenous workers in 1975.

1 portrait in the collection

Ada Bird Petyarre

Portrait, inkjet print on rag paper

Ada Bird Petyarre (c. 1930–2009), painter and printmaker, was an Anmatyerre woman from the Northern Territory, and one of seven sisters who all became notable artists.

1 portrait in the collection

Paddy Jaminji, 1986

Martin van der Wal

Purchased 2005

Immediately, there was a crackle

It's Complicated

A meeting of minds

Sir William Deane AC KBE KC

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

The Honourable Chief Justice Susan Kiefel AC

The Hon Chief Justice Susan Kiefel AC

The Hon. Chief Justice Susan Kiefel AC (b. 1954) became Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia in 2017 and is the first woman to have held the role.

1 portrait in the collection

The Hon. Susan Crennan AC KC

The Hon. Susan Crennan AC KC (b. 1945) is a leading barrister and former High Court judge.

1 portrait in the collection

John Knatchbull

John Knatchbull (c. 1792-1844), naval captain and convict, served in the British navy before being convicted of stealing and transported to New South Wales.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir William Dobell OBE

Sir William Dobell (1899–1970), painter, studied art and was apprentice to an architect in Sydney before leaving Australia for Europe in 1929.

10 portraits in the collection

Richard Edward O'Connor

Richard Edward O'Connor (1851-1912), barrister and judge, was raised and educated in Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

The Hon. Alex Chernov AC QC, 2019

Anne Middleton

Eddie Mabo

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

1 portrait in the collection

The Honourable Chief Justice Susan Kiefel AC, 2018

Yvonne East

Gift of the artist 2019 acknowledging Herbert Smith Freehills for supporting the creation of the portrait

Lionel Murphy QC

Lionel Murphy QC (1922-1986), High Court judge and Labor politician, grew up in Sydney, studied science and law at Sydney University, was admitted to the Bar in 1947, and became a QC in 1960.

1 portrait in the collection

The Hon. Alex Chernov AC KC, 2019

Anne Middleton

Gift of twenty members of the Victorian Bar 2020

Mary Moore

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

The Hon. Justice Michael Kirby AC CMG

Portrait, single channel moving image, colour, sound, 2 minutes, 47 seconds

The Hon. Justice Michael Kirby AC CMG (b. 1939) was a Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1996 to 2009.

16 portraits in the collection

Sir William Deane 2008, 2008

Merilyn Fairskye

Purchased 2011

Malcolm McCusker AC CVO KC, 2022

Vincent Fantauzzo

Gift of Nigel Satterley AM and Denise Satterley 2022

Radical Restraint
Justice Michael Kirby, 1998

Ralph Heimans AM

Purchased with funds provided by the Basil Bressler Bequest 2001

Stranded under a fire-red sky

Justin McManus

Charles Rodius, Hiberian Printing Office

John Knatchbull, Murderer of Mrs Ellen Jamieson, 1844

Pamela Joyce, Australian Tapestry Workshop

Gift of Leo Schofield AM 2005. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

The Honourable Margaret Lusink AM, 2019

Portrait, wool and cotton tapestry

Gift of The Honourable Margaret Lusink AM 2021

Lindy (No. 2 of Robert, Lindy, Grant)

Portrait of Lady Eyre Williams (Jessie Gibbon)

Lady Jessie Eyre Williams

Jessie, Lady Eyre Williams (neé Gibbon, 1815-1903), colonial spouse, was the daughter of an Aberdeenshire clergyman.

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Lady Eyre Williams (Jessie Gibbon), 1833

Claude-Marie Dubufe

Purchased 2009

Portrait of Susan Crennan, 2017

Lewis Miller

Gift of the Hon. Susan Crennan AC KC 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Location

Plan your visit

We’re on King Edward Terrace in front of the High Court and next to the National Gallery of Australia. We are open every day of the year from 10am to 5pm, except 25 December.

Elizabeth Sarah Ellen Carter

Previous exhibition, 2016

Elizabeth Sarah Ellen Carter (née Hill, 1845-1927) was one of the eight children born to Sydney cabinetmaker and undertaker John Hill jnr and his wife Elizabeth - the step-daughter of ex-convict boatman, John Cadman.

1 portrait in the collection

Tough & Tender

Art by Warwick Baker, Chris Burden, Larry Clark, Rozalind Drummond, Nan Goldin, Robert Mapplethorpe and Collier Schorr explores personal relations, individual expression and fluid identity.

Sir Henry Lee

Anthonis Mor (Antonio Moro)

Gamaliel Butler, c. 1824

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Merv Shearman 2012

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

John Citizen

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 1999

Portrait 54

Spring 2016

Portrait, oil on primed masonite

Explore an Indian treasure trove, photography by Robert McFarlane and Nan Goldin, Michael Taylor's expressionist paintings, the Great War portraits, and more!

Self portrait at 85, 1990

Joshua Smith

Gift of the late May Ralph 2019

All you can eat

Magazine article by Lauren Dalla, 2003

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

Sir Percy Spender, 1981

Alex Kolozsy

Portrait, cold cast bronze

Gift of the artist and the New South Wales division of the Liberal Party of Australia 2004

The Hon. John Howard OM AC

The Hon. John Howard OM AC (b. 1939) was Prime Minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007.

1 portrait in the collection

Douglas Kirkland

Douglas Kirkland, photographer, was born in Canada and started his career on small newspapers there.

1 portrait in the collection

William Hodges

William Hodges (1744-1797) trained from an early age at William Shipley's drawing school at Castle Court in the Strand, and was afterward apprenticed to a landscape painter.

3 portraits in the collection

Sir Edward E. Williams

Sir Edward Eyre Williams (1813–1880), judge and barrister, arrived in Port Phillip in 1842 having been admitted to the Bar in London nine years earlier.

1 portrait in the collection

Bruce Pollard

Previous exhibition, 2007

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

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2007

Photography is the most pervasive and popular medium for portraiture and makes a natural fit with the Gallery, being a natural extension of the Gallery's longstanding commitment to photography as a contemporary portrait medium.

Sir Walter Crocker, 1995

Meredith Russell

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Robert Crocker 2003

Bungaree, late chief of the Broken Bay tribe, Sydney

Bungaree, late chief of the Broken Bay tribe, Sydney, 1836

Gift of Dr Robert Edwards AO 1999. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Peter, Silverton, NSW, 2012

by Krystal Seigerman

The Rt. Hon Sir Edmund Barton GCMG PC KC

Portrait, pastel on paper

Sir Edmund Barton GCMG PC KC (1849-1920), Australia’s first prime minister, was the youngest of nine children of a well-educated woman.

6 portraits in the collection

Portrait of Dame Roma Mitchell, 1940s

Geoffrey Mainwaring

Gift of friends of Dame Roma Mitchell 2018

Portrait 24

June - August 2007

This issue of Portrait Magazine features Robert Hannaford, Walter Lindrum, John Brack, judicial portraits, Vincent Lingiari and more.

She Fell Asleep During the Movie, 2006

by Grant Hawkes

Cullabaa, native of Lake George, Five Islands tribe

Cullabaa, native of Lake George, Five Islands tribe, 1836

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

Bill Worrall, Five Islands tribe, 1836

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

Jemmy, Newcastle tribe, 1836

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

Mary, Botany Bay tribe, 1836

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

Mickie, Lake Macquarie, Newcastle tribe, 1836

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

Glenn Murcutt, 2006

Anthony Browell

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Rosemary and Robert Walsh 2006

Toby, Broken Bay tribe, 1836

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

Tommy, Broken Bay tribe, 1836

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

William Charles Windeyer, c. 1857

Portrait, daguerreotype

Gift of the Windeyer family 2009

Dame Mabel Brookes, c. 1955

Sir William Dargie CBE

In Galleries Seven, Eight and Nine

Gift of Rodney Davidson AO OBE 2014. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Helena Rubinstein in a red brocade Balenciaga gown

Women Make History

Previous exhibition, 2021

Well behaved women seldom make history, as the saying goes, and the National Portrait Gallery, consequently, is full of awesome Australian women who refused to conform to narrow ideas about their place and their worth.

Of Kings and men

Celebrating 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection

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.

The artist and the doctor

Lust

Art, war, scandal

Lowitja O’Donoghue

Recorded 2015

HV (Doc) Evatt, 1935

Arnold Shore

September - November 2002

Gift of Elizabeth Evatt and Penelope Seidler 1998. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Hearts and craft

Passion

The long game

Portrait 5

This issue of Portrait Magazine features Bill Leak's portrait of Robert Hughes, Polly Borland's photographs, Bill Brandt, Andy Thomas, Tracey Moffatt and more.

Edith E. Williams

Edith Ellen Williams (nee Horne, (1851–1885) was the first wife of Hartley Williams (1843–1929), a Victorian Supreme Court judge from 1881 until 1903.

1 portrait in the collection

Grant Matthews

In 1997 Grant Matthews successfully sued Consolidated Press for unauthorised reproduction of one of his photographs.

1 portrait in the collection

Gamaliel Butler

Gamaliel Butler (1783–1852), lawyer and free settler, emigrated to Van Diemen’s Land in 1824 with his wife, Sarah (née Paine, 1787–1870).

2 portraits in the collection

Australia (Sir Edmund Barton), 1902

Previous exhibition, 2000

Gift of Mr Ronald Walker 2001

Sporting Archibald

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

Malcolm J. McCusker AC CVO KC

Previous exhibition, 2008

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

1 portrait in the collection

My Favourite Australian

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

Of Burke, Wills ... and wills

It's Complicated

Infatuation and (ill-fated) exploration

Thomas Forster Knox

The Knox's third son, Thomas Forster Knox (1849-1919) followed his father and older brother into business, and became prominent in the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Reclaimed youth, 2019

Sanjeev Singh

Terry Clune

Terry Clune (b. 1932), gallerist, established Terry Clune Galleries with Frank MacDonald at 59 McLeay Street Potts Point in 1957.

1 portrait in the collection

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

2022 Annual Appeal

In 2022 the Annual Appeal was focussed on Mayatjara by Robert Fielding, a series of 24 photographs of Elders of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara community.

All the world's a stage

Joan Sutherland, Robert Helpmann and Raigh Roe

The Hon. Dame Roma Mitchell AC DBE CVO QC

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

2 portraits in the collection

The Royal Society medal in commemoration of Captain James Cook

The Royal Society medal in commemoration of Captain James Cook, 1784

Lewis Pingo

Portrait, silver medal

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

Elizabeth Henrietta Fitzgerald (née Rouse), c. 1850

Portrait, hand coloured photograph

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

Justice Robin Millhouse, Maslin Beach, South Australia

Justice Robin Millhouse, Maslin Beach, South Australia, 1992-1993 (printed 2019)

Robin Sellick

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2019

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

Geoffrey R. Robertson AO KC

Geoffrey Roland Robertson AO KC (b. 1946), barrister, academic and defender of human rights, grew up in Sydney, attending Epping Boys' High and then the University of Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Martha Kermode, c. 1840

Henry Mundy

Purchased 2008. The original frame for this work was donated to the National Portrait Gallery of Australia by the National Gallery of Victoria 2009.

Sir John Kerr AK KCMG LSt J PC GCVO QC

Sir John Kerr AK KCMG LSt J PC GCVO QC (1914-1991) was the eighteenth Governor-General of Australia.

3 portraits in the collection

Sir James Dowling

Sir James Dowling (1787-1844), judge, worked as a parliamentary reporter before he was called to the Bar in London in May 1815.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Percy Spender KCVO KBE QC

Sir Percy Spender KCVO KBE QC (1897-1985) was a politician, statesman, diplomat and judge.

3 portraits in the collection

Runners, 2010

by David Kelly

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen on paper

Visiting the gallery

How to get here

Plan your visit

Maps and public transport information for your visit.

'awk' (Bob Hawke), 1972

Frank Hinder

Gift of HOTA (Home of the Arts), Gold Coast 2019 with the encouragement of Patrick Corrigan AM

Heads of the People

A Portrait of Colonial Australia

Previous exhibition, 2000

For Tom Roberts - Australia's best nineteenth-century portrait painter - neither a proto-national portrait gallery nor more popular collections of portrait heads, were sufficient public celebrations for the notables of Australian history

Polly Borland

Australians

Previous exhibition, 2001

Polly Borland: Australians, is an exhibition of 54 new portraits of significant Australians who have made a contribution to British life and who have largely made their home or based their professional life in the UK

Bassano Ltd

The Bassano studios operated from 1850, when photographer Alexander Bassano (1829-1913) opened premises in Regent Street, London.

2 portraits in the collection

Samuel Shelley

Archived media releases 2016

Samuel Shelley entered the Royal Academy Schools as a seventeen year-old in 1774 and exhibited at the Academy regularly from this time until 1804.

2 portraits in the collection

Tough & Tender Media Release

14 July 2016

Photographs from internationally acclaimed artists Robert Mapplethorpe, Larry Clark, Nan Goldin, Collier Schorr and Chris Burden along with contemporary Australian artists, Rozalind Drummond and Warwick Baker will call the National Portrait Gallery home during our extraordinary winter exhibition Tough and Tender.

Tom Glover

English-born Thomas Ellis Glover moved to New Zealand as a child and by his early twenties was working as a cartoonist, court reporter and journalist.

10 portraits in the collection

James McClelland

Jim McClelland (1915-1999) was a lawyer, politician (senator for NSW 1971-1978), judge and columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald (1986).

1 portrait in the collection

Ludwig Becker

Ludwig Becker (1808-1861), was an artist, naturalist and explorer. He was born in Germany and trained as an artist there, and after arriving in Tasmania in 1851 he settled in Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Richard Roxburgh

Richard Roxburgh (b. 1962), actor, completed an economics degree at the Australian National University before gaining a place at NIDA on his second attempt.

2 portraits in the collection

Sir Hartley Williams

Sir Hartley Williams (1843–1929), judge, was the third child and second son of Edward Eyre Williams and his wife, Jessie.

1 portrait in the collection

Candidate for Chelsea (9th Earl of Kintore)

Algernon Hawkins Thomond Keith-Falconer

Algernon Hawkins Thomond Keith-Falconer, 9th Earl of Kintore (1852–1930) was governor of South Australia from 1889 to 1895.

1 portrait in the collection

Edmund Barton, c. 1903

Crown Studios

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

Alice Simpson

Alice Simpson, née Want was one of nine children of Randolph and Harriette Want, who married in Sydney in 1839.

1 portrait in the collection

The Salway family

Dion Georgopoulos

Chefs, winemakers, providores

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.

Gamaliel Butler, c. 1810

Portrait, watercolour on ivory

Purchased 2015

Horatio S. Wills

Horatio Spencer Howe Wills (1811–1861), pastoralist, politician and newspaper proprietor, was born in Sydney, several months after the death of his father, Edward Spencer Wills, a merchant and shipowner who'd arrived in New South Wales under a life sentence for highway robbery in 1799.

2 portraits in the collection

Rob and Kayla, 2012

by Tom Psomotragos

Hon. Alfred Deakin

Alfred Deakin (1856-1919), Australia's second, fifth and seventh Prime Minister, was central to the Federation movement.

1 portrait in the collection

Dr HV Evatt, Albert Namatjira and Dame Mary Gilmore having a meal

Herbert Vere Evatt

Herbert Vere Evatt (1894–1965) was a Labor politician, judge, historian and statesman.

2 portraits in the collection

Portrait 68

Summer 2022/23

Portrait, pencil on paper

Rebecca Ray on Robert Fielding’s Mayatjara series, Jennifer Higgie on Alice Neel, Elspeth Pitt chats with Yvette Coppersmith, Vincent Fantauzzo on virtual sittings with Hugh Jackman and more.

John Kerr, 1976

Frank Hinder

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

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

Magazine article by Kylie Scroope, 2011

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

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

Corporate Characters

Magazine article by Gillian Raymond, 2005

A collection of thirty-seven caricatures by the artist Joe Greenberg capture the heroes and villians of Australian business in the 1980s.

Study for Portrait of W S Robinson, 1952

Sir William Dobell OBE

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2003

Percy Lindsay

Percy Lindsay (1870-1952), artist, was the eldest child of Robert and Jane Lindsay, born, as were his nine siblings, in Creswick, Victoria.

4 portraits in the collection

Joshua Smith

Joshua Smith studied sculpture with Rayner Hoff and took classes in drawing and painting at Julian Ashton's Sydney Art School.

5 portraits in the collection

Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel

Sir Peter Paul Rubens

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2002

Little treasures

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

Tom Hughes AO KC

Hon Thomas Hughes AO KC (b. 1923), lawyer and former politician, was born in Sydney and educated at Riverview before serving in the RAAF during World War 2.

3 portraits in the collection

Tre, Dubbo, 2017

by David Prichard

Australia (The Hon. Alfred Deakin), 1908

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

Portrait 53

Winter 2016

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2003

Experience the art of rock music; attend to the neglected aspects of Lord Kitchener's work; and say farewell to the inimitable Bob Ellis.

In the National Interest

In focussing on the importance of gifts in the building of the collection, prominence must be given to the most spectacular of the National Portrait Gallery's acquisitions; the portrait of Captain James Cook RN by John Webber R.A.

Paul Haefliger, 1974

Judy Cassab AO CBE

Percy Leason's Aboriginal Portraits

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

William Johnson (1873—1948) by Percy Leason

Recognition

Magazine article by Leslie Moran, 2007

Originally conceived as an anthropological record, Percy Leason’s powerful 1934 portraits of Victorian Aboriginal people are today considered to be a highlight of 20th century Australian portraiture

Judicial portraits

Leslie Moran investigates the portraits of judges in the National Portrait Gallery's collection.

Peter Dombrovskis, 1996

Liz Dombrovskis

Portrait, duo-tone print on photographic paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Henry Reynolds

Henry Reynolds (b. 1938), historian, studied at the University of Tasmania before taking up a lectureship at Townsville University College (later James Cook University) in 1965.

1 portrait in the collection

Frank McIlwraith

Frank McIlwraith was the London representative for the Australian periodical Smith's Weekly in the late 1930s.

1 portrait in the collection

Sketch for portrait of Bart Cummings, 1986

Bryan Westwood

Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2010

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2002

Caroline Amelia Elizabeth
of Brunswick, 1804

Around the grounds

Anne Sanders writes about the exhibitions Victoria & Albert: Art & Love on display at the Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace and the retrospective of Sir Thomas Lawrence at the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Grant McLennan

Grant McLennan and Robert Forster both sang and wrote songs for The Go-Betweens, and McLennan wrote one of their greatest, 'Cattle and Cane', recalling the rural Queensland environment of his youth.

1 portrait in the collection

Ada E. Evans

Ada Emily Evans (1872–1947) was the first Australian woman to attain a law degree and the first woman admitted to the Bar in New South Wales.

1 portrait in the collection

Ben Roberts-Smith VC MG

Ben Roberts-Smith VC MG (b. 1978), former Australian Army soldier, is the recipient of the Medal for Gallantry in 2006, the Victoria Cross in 2011 and the Commendation for Distinguished Service in 2013.In 2017, Roberts-Smith’s military service came under scrutiny as a result of an inquiry – commonly known as the Brereton Report – into questions of unlawful conduct on the part of Australian military personnel in Afghanistan.

1 portrait in the collection

Ron Castan AM QC

Previous exhibition, 2002

Ron Castan AM QC (1939–1999), barrister, played a leading role in some of the most significant Australian litigation involving the rights of Indigenous people.

2 portraits in the collection

Contemporary Australian Portraits

Contemporary Australian Portraits is a cross section, a sampling, of some of the present-day directions in Australian portrait practice

Anne Hyde, Duchess of York and King James II

Sir Peter Lely

Shirley Smith AO MBE

Shirley 'Mum Shirl' Smith AO OBE (1921–1998), humanitarian, was a Wiradjuri woman.

1 portrait in the collection

George Rose

George Rose, joint Secretary of the British Treasury at the time of the First Fleet, joined the civil service after leaving the Royal Navy in 1762.

1 portrait in the collection

Boardman, Lake Macquarie tribe, 1836

Portrait, lithographic print on paper

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

Self portrait, Cyprus, 1953

David Potts

Purchased 2001

Polly Borland on Germaine Greer

Recorded 2017

Angus Trumble with Portrait of Sir Joseph Banks by Thomas Phillips

Banksia and grevillea

Portraits can render honour to remarkable men and women, but there are other ways.

POL

Portrait of a Generation

POL was a magazine that ran from 1969 to 1986

Jack Purtell

associated with John Taylor

Jack Purtell (1921-2017), jockey, had his first ride at the age of fifteen.

1 portrait in the collection

William Shakespeare

associated with John Taylor

William Shakespeare

associated with John Taylor

William Shakespeare

Louis Antoine de Bougainville

Louis-Antoine de Bougainville (1729–1811), explorer, was an outstanding soldier, sailor and navigator who was gifted, too, in many intellectual spheres.

2 portraits in the collection

John Newcombe and family, 1973

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

King Charles I

Gerrit van Honthorst

Ben Roberts-Smith, 2017

Julian Kingma

Australian Painters Photographed by R. Ian Lloyd

Commissioned in 2018 with funds raised through the 2020 project

Studio

Previous exhibition, 2007

Studio: Australian Painters Photographed by R

Aubrey Beardsley

Frederick Henry Evans

Portrait, cast bronze, patinated

Bust of Frank McIlwraith, 1937

Barbara Tribe

Gift of the Estate of the late Barbara Tribe 2009

Portraits for Posterity

Previous exhibition, 2006

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.

George Rose, 1811

Giovanni Vendramini, T Cadell & W Davies after William Evans, Sir William Beechey

Portrait, watercolour and pencil on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Richard Butler, 1859

Lucy Meadows

Purchased 2019

Barry Humphries, 1971 (printed 2010)

Bill McAuley

Purchased 2010

Henry Reynolds, 2012

Dave Tacon

Portrait, watercolour and pencil on buff board

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Annie Butler, 1859

Lucy Meadows

Purchased 2019

William Barak at work on the drawing ‘Ceremony’ at Coranderrk

The Reflecting Eye

Portraits of Australian Visual Artists

Touring exhibition, 1996

As the first National Portrait Gallery travelling exhibition, The reflecting eye: portraits of Australian visual artists represents an important milestone in the history of Australia's National Portrait Gallery.

Study for commissioned portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark (profile head study), 2005

Jiawei Shen

Commissioned with funds provided by Mary Isabel Murphy 2005

Rosie Batty AO

Francesco Bartolozzi after John Webber

Rosie Batty AO (b. 1962), campaigner against family violence, became well known to the Australian public in early 2014, when her eleven-year-old son Luke was murdered by his father as she stood waiting to take him home from cricket practice.

1 portrait in the collection

Captain James Cook, engraving after John Webber

Captain James Cook, engraving after John Webber, 1784

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

Dame Roma Mitchell, 1998

Jessica Hromas

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

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

Frances Saville, 1903

Reutlinger Studios

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2007

Sir Francis Forbes KNt

Sir Francis Forbes (1784–1841) was the first chief justice of the New South Wales Supreme Court.

1 portrait in the collection

Australian Tapestry Workshop

Photographic Portraits from 19th Century Australia

The Australian Tapestry Workshop (formerly the Victorian Tapestry Workshop) was established in 1976, following two years of planning and research on the part of its founding patrons, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch and Lady Joyce Delacombe.

2 portraits in the collection

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa

Husbands and Wives

Previous exhibition, 2010

'I have just been to my dressing case to take a peep at you.

Lleyton Hewitt, 1998

Robin Sellick

Gift of the artist 2004

Percy Spence

Percy Spence, born in Balmain, grew up in Fiji and began art classes in Sydney in about 1888.

1 portrait in the collection

Yami Lester speaks at Uluru Handback Ceremony

Yami Lester OAM

Portrait, plasticine maquette

A Yankunytjatjara man, Yami Lester OAM (1941–2017) was born at Walyatjata in the north of South Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Jack Purtell, n.d.

John Frith

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Frith family 2013

Ralph Heimans AM

Sydney-based painter Ralph Heimans AM (b. 1970) is one of the world's foremost contemporary portraitists, having created a body of work that has expanded and redefined the possibilities of what is sometimes perceived as an inflexibly traditional genre.

19 portraits in the collection

Ginger Riley at the Limmen River, Northern Territory

Ginger Riley at the Limmen River, Northern Territory, 1992 (printed 2013)

Helga Leunig

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Gift of Helga Leunig 2013

Ron Castan AM QC, 1995

Kate Gollings

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

Georgie Swift

John Noone after William Strutt

Georgie Swift (1920-2008), journalist, publicist and chatelaine, was born Georgette Marie Hiro Matsui to a French-born mother and Japanese father in Sydney after the First World War.

1 portrait in the collection

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

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

Jenny Munro

Jenny Munro (b. 1956) is a Wiradjuri elder and prominent activist for Aboriginal rights and sovereignty.

1 portrait in the collection

John Olsen AO CBE

John Olsen AO OBE (1928–2023), painter, was one of the major figures in 20th-century Australian art.

7 portraits in the collection

Barry Humphries, 1962

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

Portrait 59

Autumn 2018

Portrait, photo screenprint with ballpoint pen framing lines on paper

NPG Washington director Kim Sajet on the Obama portraits, Sarah Ball’s Immigrants, judging the NPPP, Frances Hodgkins, and Picnic at Hanging Rock.

Self portrait, c. 1982

Bea Maddock AM

Gift of David Archer 2016

Lewis Morley

Myself and Eye

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

John and Lottie’s wedding, early 1970s Unknown artist

Shifting the definition

Nearest & Dearest

Defiant commitment

Maide Hann

Maide Hann (1924–2012) was the leading photographic model in Australia for several years after the Second World War.

2 portraits in the collection

Gough Whitlam, n.d.

Portrait, fibre-tipped pen on paper

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

Sir Edgar Barton ‘EB’ Coles

Sir Edgar Barton ‘EB’ Coles (1899-1981) was the longest-serving chief executive of the Coles retail group.

2 portraits in the collection

Evonne Goolagong, 1973

Ern McQuillan OAM

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2004

Sir Hartley Williams, c. 1871

Portrait, albumen silver photograph, hand coloured on paper

Gift of Ross and Judy O'Connell 2016

Edith Ellen Williams, c. 1871

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Portrait, albumen silver photograph, hand coloured on paper

Gift of Ross and Judy O'Connell 2016

Andrew Maccoll

Andrew Maccoll (b. 1978) is a photographer and creative director. Born into an artistic family (his father is a press photographer and his mother a documentary producer) he worked as a darkroom printing assistant while studying for his degree in Visual Arts in Photography at Queensland College of Art, Griffith University.

3 portraits in the collection

Ross Watson

Ross Watson specialises in interpolating representations of lithe semi-naked men into copies of paintings by masters such as Vermeer, Ter Borsch, David and Bronzino.

2 portraits in the collection

Shahleena Musk

Shahleena Musk is Larrakia lawyer from Darwin. She was the first Aboriginal person to graduate from the Northern Territory University (now Charles Darwin University) and to be admitted to the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory.

1 portrait in the collection

Thomas Mackdougall Brisbane

Batchelder & Company Photo

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

Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, c. 1870

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by Graham Smith 2009

Turia Pitt

Turia Pitt (b. 1987), author, businesswoman, motivational speaker and athlete, grew up in Ulladulla, New South Wales and studied engineering and science at the University of NSW, graduating in 2010.

1 portrait in the collection

Mum Shirl (Mrs Shirley Smith), 1988

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

James Gillray

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

James Gillray, caricaturist and printmaker, was born in Chelsea and learned the art of engraving as a youth in London.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir James Gobbo, 1983

Paul Fitzgerald AM

Gift of Mercy Health and Aged Care 2006

The Right Honourable Charles Lord Hawkesbury, Chancellor of the Duchy and County Palatine of Lancaster

Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool

Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool (1729–1808), statesman, was educated at Oxford and entered parliament in 1761.

1 portrait in the collection

Chester Porter QC

From the age of thirteen Chester Porter QC (1926–2021) knew he wanted to be a barrister.

1 portrait in the collection

The Possibilities of Portraiture

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on board

What does 'portraiture mean at the end of the 20th century? At the outset of building a national portrait collection it seems an appropriate question to investigate.

Chester Porter QC, 1997

Graeme Inson

Gift of Jean Porter and family 2021. Donated through the Australia Government’s Cultural Gifts Program.

Shahleena Musk, c. 2000

Penny Tweedie

Gift of the artist 2004

Rosie Batty, 2017

Nikki Toole

Commissioned with funds provided by the Circle of Friends 2017

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

Bart Cummings AM

James Bartholomew (Bart) Cummings OAM (1927-2015) was Australia's most successful thoroughbred racehorse trainer.

1 portrait in the collection

John Shirlow, c. 1937

Julian Smith

James Faed, W Wilding after John Watson Gordon

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

General Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1850 (published)

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

William Dobell, 1943

Gift of Danina Anderson, daughter of Max Dupain 2017.
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Walter Preston

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

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

1 portrait in the collection

Gough and John, 1981

Peter van der Veer

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

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

Portrait, cast plaster, painted

Portrait, daguerreotype

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

The Federal Leader Edmund Barton, c. 1900

Nelson Illingworth

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family 2012

Valentine Green

Significant Australian Women 1913–2013

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

First Ladies

Previous exhibition, 2013

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

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.

William Dobell, 1942

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Richard King 2008
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

The Merioola Group, 1940s

Alec Murray

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

Max Dupain

The Vintage Years

During his long and distinguished career Max Dupain took thousands of photographs of people

Martha Knox, c. 1855

Portrait, daguerreotype

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

Lan Wang, Xini, Jiawei Shen and Billy, 2010

John Murphy after George Romney

Purchased 2012

The Right Honourable Charles Lord Hawkesbury, Chancellor of the Duchy and County Palatine of Lancaster, 1788

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

phra ajahn ekaggata fka terry milligan

Previous exhibition, 2019

Former photographer phra ajahn ekaggata (formally known as terry milligan), was born in San Francisco and lived in various locations in the USA and Australia before discovering the small town of Braidwood, near Canberra.

7 portraits in the collection

Primed

Some Prime Ministers

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

Dancer

Touring exhibition, 2024

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

Julian Burnside AO KC

Julian Burnside AO (b. 1949), barrister, grew up in Melbourne, attending Melbourne Grammar and studying economics and law at Monash in the late 1960s.

1 portrait in the collection

Lleyton Hewitt AM

At twenty years old, Lleyton Hewitt AM (b. 1981) was the youngest male tennis player ever to be ranked world number one.

1 portrait in the collection

William John Wills, c. 1861

De Gruchy & Leigh

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2009

Turia Pitt, 2017 (printed 2021)

Peter Brew-Bevan

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

H. Walter Barnett

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2011

H. Walter Barnett (1862-1934) was a leading portrait photographer of the late Victorian, Edwardian and interwar periods.

12 portraits in the collection

The more things change

National Photographic Portrait Prize curator, Sarah Engledow, finds reward in a difficult task and ultimately uncovers the essence of portraiture.

William Wilberforce

Sir Thomas Lawrence

Anna Pavlova, 1926

Harold Cazneaux

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2015

David Potts reflected in a magazine page

David Potts reflected in a magazine page, c. 1949 (printed 2000)

John Flaus

John Flaus (b. 1934) is an Australian broadcaster, actor, script editor and lecturer, known for Mary and Max (2009), Trust Frank (2020) and Tracks (2013).

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Cecil Colville

Sir Cecil Colville (1891-1984), medical practitioner, was the first president of the Australian Medical Association.

1 portrait in the collection

Ken Rosewall AM MBE

Ken Rosewall AM MBE (b. 1934), champion tennis player, won the Australian Open in 1953 and again nineteen years later in 1972 (he remains both the youngest, and oldest, person to win the title).

1 portrait in the collection

Tony Bilson OAM

Tony Bilson, OAM (1944-2020), chef, grew up in Melbourne and was educated at Melbourne Grammar school before opening his first restaurant, La Pomme d'Or, in Camberwell in 1971.

1 portrait in the collection

Barton and Watson, 1902

G. H. Dancey

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

John Howard and Janette Howard, 2000

Josonia Palaitis

Commissioned with funds provided by the Founding Patron, L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2000

Edward Telford Simpson

Edward Telford Simpson (1889-1965), Alice's grandson, was born the only son of Edward Percy Simpson and his wife Anne.

1 portrait in the collection

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

Ernie Dingo

Ernie Dingo AM (b. 1956), television presenter and actor, is a Yamatji man.

1 portrait in the collection

Evonne Goolagong (Cawley) AC MBE

Archived media releases 2021

Evonne Goolagong Cawley AC MBE (b. 1951), Wiradjuri tennis champion, was the number one women's tennis player in the world in 1971 and 1976.

3 portraits in the collection

Australian Love Stories

4 January 2021

A major new exhibition celebrating love in all its guises. Opening 20 March 2021.

Johann Zoffany

Previous exhibition, 2006

Johann Zoffany, painter of portraits and conversation pieces, grew up in the court of the Prince von Thurn und Taxis in Germany, where his father was employed.

1 portrait in the collection

Rennie Ellis

Aussies All

Rennie Ellis: Aussies All is a celebration of the life and work of the late Australian photographer Rennie Ellis.

Two gentlemen celebrating a birthday (Frank Watters and Geoffrey Legge), 1974

Bob Jenyns

Portrait, painted wood, denim, wool, plastic and candles

Gift of Frank Watters OAM 2018. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

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

Yvonne East

Yvonne East was born in Meningie in regional South Australia and studied art at the University of South Australia, Adelaide, and the University of New South Wales, Sydney.

1 portrait in the collection

Julia Matthews

Julia Matthews (1842-1876), actress and singer, came to Australia as a girl with her parents, and made her debut at Sydney's Royal Victoria Theatre in 1854, aged twelve.

1 portrait in the collection

George Richmond

George Richmond, son of the miniature painter Thomas Richmond, grew up in London, took early artistic instruction from his father and enrolled in the Royal Academy Schools in 1824.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir Ivor Hele

Sir Ivor Hele (1912–1993) was born in Adelaide and studied art at Prince Alfred College and the South Australian School of Arts and, later, in Paris and Munich.

3 portraits in the collection

Bill Leak

Bill Leak (1956-2017), portrait painter and caricaturist, trained at the Julian Ashton art school in the mid-1970s, and began his career painting landscapes.

7 portraits in the collection

Ginger Riley

Ginger Riley Munduwalawala (c. 1937-2002), stockman and artist, was born in south-eastern Arnhem Land, in the coastal salt-water country of the Mara people.

1 portrait in the collection

David Roberts

Melbourne-based photographer David Roberts was born in Forest City, Iowa, and graduated from Iowa State University with an honours degree in philosophy.

4 portraits in the collection

Jan Senbergs AM

Portrait, oil and egg tempera on canvas

Jan Senbergs AM (1939-2024) came to Australia from Latvia in 1950. He studied at the Melbourne School of Printing and Graphic Arts, where he was influenced by Leonard French.

2 portraits in the collection

Portrait of Jill Neville, 1967 (completed 1997)

Reginald Gray

Gift of the artist 2002

The Death of Captain Cook, 1784

Francesco Bartolozzi, William Byrne after John Webber

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

Rosemary Madigan, 1992

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

Bangarra brothers: songman, storyteller, dancer

Passion

Creative kin

Jon Lewis

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

Jon Lewis (1950-2020) was born in Maryland, USA, and came to Australia in 1951.

3 portraits in the collection

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

Prima facie

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

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

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

Portrait, bromide print on photographic paper

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

Sir John Cornforth, 1993 (printed 2003)

Nick Sinclair

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2004

The Dissecting Room

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

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

Harold Holt, 1969

Victor Greenhalgh

Portrait, cast bronze on granite base

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Paul and Wendy Greenhalgh 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Bob Hawke, 2012

Luke Cornish

Portrait, hand-cut acetate stencil, aerosol enamel on canvas

Purchased 2013

Inspiration + Realisation: Peter Wegner

Magazine article by Katherine Russell, 2006

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

Julian Kingma

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

11 portraits in the collection

Sir Thomas Lawrence

Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) was one of the leading portrait painters of the Georgian era.

8 portraits in the collection

Portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark

Tribute: Mary Isabel Murphy

Previous exhibition, 2011

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

Indecent exposure

Annette Kellerman

'Diving Venus' and 'the perfect woman' are two of the numerous descriptions applied to Annette Kellerman, who achieved international fame during the early decades of the twentieth century.

Sir Charles Lloyd Jones

Sir Charles Lloyd Jones (1878-1958), merchant and arts patron, grew up in Sydney, where he studied at Julian Ashton's art school in 1895.

1 portrait in the collection

Nora Heysen with her dog sitting outside her home, Hunters Hill, Sydney

Nora Heysen AM

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2007

Nora Heysen, AM (1911-2003), fourth child of South Australian landscape painter Sir Hans Heysen, grew up in Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills.

9 portraits in the collection

Two painters

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

Cate Blanchett and Ernie Dingo, 1994

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph, selenium toned on paper

Purchased 2004

Omai

Omai (Mai) (c. 1750-1778), the first Polynesian to visit Britain, was a young man of middling social standing who volunteered to sail from Huahine to England with Captain Furneaux on the Adventure (the ship accompanying James Cook's Resolution on Cook's second voyage of discovery (1772-1775).

2 portraits in the collection

A Tribute to William Dobell

Adapted from A Tribute to William Dobell an exhibition presented by the Australian National University's Drill Hall Gallery in association with the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation, The National Gallery of Australia, and the Australian War Memorial. Dobell is of course, celebrated for his achievements in portraiture, winning the Archibald prize (1943, 1948 and 1959), the Wynne Prize (1948), and representing Australia at the 1954 Venice Biennale. Curator Mary Eagle concludes her essay in the catalogue of the exhibition thus, "Overall I see a dissonance in Dobell’s art and life

Sketch of Clifton Pugh painting John Perceval

Clifton Pugh AO

Francesco Bartolozzi after John Webber

Clifton Pugh AO was one of Australia’s best-known artists of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and one of its leading advocates for the arts.

11 portraits in the collection

Captain James King, engraving after Webber

Captain James King, engraving after Webber, 1784

Magazine article by Celina Fox, 2006

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

Portrait of an English Woman c. 1532-5 (detail)

A new perspective

An exhibition devoted to Hans Holbein's English commissions shows the portraitist bringing across the Channel new technical developments in art - with a dazzling facility.

John Olsen - En plein air, 1996

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

William Dobell, Potts Point, Sydney, 1960 (printed 2000)

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2008

Pat and Richard Larter, Luddenham, 1970s

Pin-ups

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

Sir Joseph Banks, 1811

William Daniell after George Dance

Portrait, soft ground etching on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2014

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

Richard Tognetti, n.d.

Stuart Campbell

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

Portrait of Captain James Cook RN, 1782

John Webber

Purchased by the Commonwealth Government with the generous assistance of Robert Oatley AO and John Schaeffer AO 2000

Jan Senbergs, 2015

Jacqueline Mitelman

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

Painter John Brack with Professor Alex Mitchell and Sir Garfield Barwick

The Rt. Hon Sir Garfield Barwick AK GCMG QC

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2010

The Rt Hon Sir Garfield Barwick AK GCMG QC (1903–1997) was Chief Justice of Australia from 27 April 1964 to 11 February 1981 – the longest serving Chief Justice of Australia.

2 portraits in the collection

Poison pen

Michael Desmond examines the career of the eighteenth-century suspected poisoner and portrait artist Thomas Griffiths Wainewright.

Omai, A Native of Ulaietea, 1774

Francesco Bartolozzi after Nathaniel Dance

Previous exhibition, 2023

Purchased with funds provided by Robert Oatley AO 2007

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.

Jan Senbergs, 1976

Keith Looby

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Padraic McGuinness 2001
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Patrick Ryan

Support your Portrait Gallery

Patrick Ryan (d. 1990) and Tim Burstall set up Eltham Films in the early 1950s, when the local film industry was moribund.

1 portrait in the collection

Honour board

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges and thanks all its supporters.

Kenneth Rowell AM

Portrait, white on blue Jasper Ware in oval shaped wood and gilt frame

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

Jasperware medallion of Captain James Cook

Jasperware medallion of Captain James Cook, 1779

Wedgwood and Bentley

Purchased with funds provided by Robert Oatley AO 2007

Louis Kahan AO

Louis Kahan (1905-2002) was born in Vienna, Austria to Jewish parents.

63 portraits in the collection

George Pell AC

George Pell AC (1941–2023), former Roman Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney, was born and educated in Ballarat, Victoria.

1 portrait in the collection

Barry Humphries, 1958

Clifton Pugh AO

Portrait, oil on masonite

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

Lady [Hannah] Lloyd Jones, 1970

Judy Cassab AO CBE

Gift of Charles E. Lloyd Jones and Kim Lloyd Jones 2019. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Herbert Benjamin George Larkin CBE

Herbert Benjamin George Larkin CBE (c. 1871- 1944), shipping administrator, came to Australia from England and joined the office of the Australian Steam Navigation Company.

1 portrait in the collection

Arthur Boyd, 1962

Axel Poignant

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Mary Chomley, 1909

Violet Teague

Purchased with the assistance of funds provided by Jillian Broadbent AC 2021

Visiting the National Portrait Gallery

Visual Stories

Access support for a general visit to the Gallery.

Dame Elizabeth Couchman, n.d.

Aileen Dent

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Susan Webster, step-granddaughter of Dame Elizabeth Couchman, 2015

Michael Johnson, McMahon's Point, Sydney

Michael Johnson, McMahon's Point, Sydney, 1969 (printed 2000)

Michael Johnson, McMahon's Point, Sydney, 1969 (printed 2000)

Michael Johnson, McMahon's Point, Sydney, 1969 (printed 2000)

Michael Johnson, McMahon's Point, Sydney, 1969 (printed 2000)

Michael Johnson, McMahon's Point, Sydney, 1969 (printed 2000)

Michael Johnson, McMahon's Point, Sydney, 1969 (printed 2000)

Bea Maddock AM

Bea Maddock AM (1934–2016) studied at the Hobart Technical College in the early 1950s before travelling to London, where she attended the Slade School from 1959 to 1961.

2 portraits in the collection

Margaret Dodd, 2002

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

Lady [Hannah] Lloyd Jones OBE

Hannah Benyon Lloyd Jones OBE (1901–1982) was the third wife of Sir Charles Lloyd Jones, the chairman of David Jones from 1920 until his death in 1958.

3 portraits in the collection

Punch, wife of Cullabaa, Broken Bay tribe

Punch, wife of Cullabaa, Broken Bay tribe, 1836

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

Sir Clive McPherson

Sir Clive McPherson (1884-1958), pastoralist and businessman, was the son of a bank manager, and his mother was a pianist who came from a pastoral family.

1 portrait in the collection

Rosemary Madigan

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2010

Rosemary Madigan (1926–2019) was one of Australia's most respected sculptors.

3 portraits in the collection

Undercurrent

Dr Sarah Engledow writes about the portraiture of Australian artist Nicholas Harding.

Australian of the Year

Inspiring a Nation

Previous exhibition, 2010

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

President Johnson and Prime Minister Holt at Canberra Airport

President Johnson and Prime Minister Holt at Canberra Airport, 1966 (printed 2000)

Cardinal George Pell, 2007 (printed 2012)

David Roberts

Portrait, oil on masonite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2012

Senator Nancy Buttfield, 1958

Sir Ivor Hele

Gift of Senator Dame Nancy Buttfield DBE 2003. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Dame Joan Sutherland OM AC DBE

Previous exhibition, 2005

Dame Joan Sutherland OM AC DBE (1926–2010) was one of the world's greatest operatic divas.

3 portraits in the collection

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.

Rod Laver,

Ern McQuillan OAM

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2003

Dame Nancy Buttfield DBE

Henry Samuel Sadd after Freeman Brothers

Dame Nancy Buttfield DBE (1912–2005) was the first South Australian woman member of Federal Parliament.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir James Martin, c. 1880s

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2009

Jon Lewis, 1990 (printed 2002)

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

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.

La Milo in Lady Godiva procession, Coventry, 1907

Pansy Montague

Previous exhibition, 2017

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

10 portraits in the collection

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.

Gooseberry, widow of King Bungaree, 1836

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

Mary Windeyer

Mary Windeyer (née Bolton, 1837-1912), women's rights campaigner, was one of the nine children of Robert Thorley Bolton, a clergyman who emigrated to New South Wales in 1839.

3 portraits in the collection

Michael Zavros

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2016

Michael Zavros (b. 1974) graduated from Queensland College of Art with a Bachelor of Visual Arts in 1996.

2 portraits in the collection

Apollo's breath

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

2012-13 Acquisition Fund

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

Ali Cobby Eckermann and Lionel Fogarty at the Hawkesbury River

Ali Cobby Eckermann and Lionel Fogarty at the Hawkesbury River, 2014

Purchased 2015

Hon. Gough Whitlam AC QC

Edward Gough Whitlam AC QC (1916-2014) was prime minister from the end of 1972 to the end of 1975.

12 portraits in the collection

Charles Troedel

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on masonite

Charles Troedel (1835-1906), born in Hamburg, was working in Norway when he was headhunted by AW Schuhkrafft, a Melbourne printer who seeking European craftsmen.

1 portrait in the collection

The Hon E.G. Whitlam AC QC, 1980

Graeme Inson

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2002

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.

Ali Cobby Eckermann

Ali Cobby Eckermann (b. 1963), Yankunytjatjara/Kothaka author and poet, was born in Adelaide.

1 portrait in the collection

The Pavlova

Archived media releases 2018

It is a painful truth, but one which must be faced up to, that the pavlova, that iconic Australian dessert, a staple since the 1930s, was actually invented in New Zealand.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018 winner announced

23 March 2018

Finalists have been eagerly awaiting the announcement of the Winner and Highly Commended for the National Photographic Portrait Prize since December. It is our pleasure to announce the Winner for 2018 is Lee Grant for her portrait titled Charlie and Highly Commended has been awarded to Filomena Rizzo for her portrait titled My Olivia.

William Westall

William Westall (1781-1850), grew up in London and was taught to draw by his elder half-brother Richard, who was drawing master to Princess Victoria.

1 portrait in the collection

Arthur Boyd Portraits

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2006

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

Adam Scott: at Sanctuary Cove Golf Course

Celebrities on the field

Robin Sellick's portraits of Australian sportspeople include Harry Kewell, Adam Scott, Shane Warne, Mark Webber and John Newcombe.

Self Portrait (Textanude) by Arlene TextaQueen

Animated

Self Portraits Online

Previous exhibition, 2008

Animated is the National Portrait Gallery's first online exhibition.

Juno Gemes

Photographer and social justice activist Juno Gemes (b. 1944) has spent much of her long career documenting the lives and struggles of First Nations people.

38 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.

Beyond the bow tie

Nathan Faiman delves into the rich life story and legacy of Alan Goldberg.

Dame Elizabeth Couchman DBE

Dame Elizabeth Couchman DBE (1876–1982), political activist, grew up in in Geelong and gained a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Australia.

1 portrait in the collection

Joan Sutherland, n.d. (printed 1992)

Magazine article by Lauren Dalla, 2005

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

Alienation

More about In the flesh

Segregated from their fellow humans in cellophane prisons, reference points are removed, so it is not certain whether these naked figures could be unwrapped, are about to be subsumed, or will forever be suspended in a plastic stasis.

A Pioneering Life

During her time in Australian politics, Dame Nancy Buttfield was an impressive advocate for equality for women and was responsible for ending the marriage bar for women in the Public Service.

2014-15 Acquisition Fund

Portraits in the Landscape

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

Open Air

Previous exhibition, 2008

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

Ivy Shore

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

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

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.

Oz Punk

Sends a permanent shiver down my spine

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

Thomas Griffiths Wainewright

Thomas Griffiths Wainewright (1794-1847) is one of the most intriguing and talented figures in colonial Australian art.

4 portraits in the collection

Wendy Sharpe, 2000

Portrait, albumen silver photograph

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

The First Ministry under Responsible Government in New South Wales

The First Ministry under Responsible Government in New South Wales, 1856

Freeman Brothers

Purchased with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 2009

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2009

Previous exhibition, 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.

Prison photograph of Ned Kelly c.1873, image courtesy National Museum of Australia.

The outlaws coolly disported themselves

Ned Kelly & co at Euroa, 9 and 10 December 1878

'Each man arrayed himself in a new rig from head to foot, and even such luxuries as soaps and perfumery were not despised'

Shane Warne, 2006

Robin Sellick

Purchased 2006

Miss Frances Samuel, 1840

Maurice Felton

Purchased 2011

Discussion between Bob Hawke and Yunupingu, Burunga Festival, Northern Territory

Discussion between Bob Hawke and Yunupingu, Burunga Festival, Northern Territory, 1988 (printed 2015)

Sue Ford

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

Purchased 2015

South-bound and down

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

William Strutt

William Strutt arrived in Melbourne in 1850 having undertaken his training in art in Paris in the late 1830s.

1 portrait in the collection

Sir James Martin

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

1 portrait in the collection

Hon Tom Hughes KC, 2001

Jiawei Shen

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

Commissioned with funds provided by Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull 2003

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.

Wendy Sharpe

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2007

Wendy Sharpe undertook art studies in Sydney between 1978 and 1984 and held her first solo exhibition at the Nicholson Street Gallery in 1985.

3 portraits in the collection

Portrait of a patron

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

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.

Alex Frayne

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2003

An interview with the photographer.

Sir William Dargie CBE

Sir William Dargie, painter and eight times winner of the Archibald Prize for portraiture, died in Melbourne on July 26, 2003, aged 91.

Nick Cave, 1994

Bleddyn Butcher

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

Glossy - Faces Magazines Now

Previous exhibition, 2006

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

Australian Visit

The exhibition will include works of art from the NPG Canberra's permanent collection with some inward loans and aims to highlight the achievements of notable Australians.

Maurice Ashkanasy CMG QC

Maurice Ashkanasy (1901-1971) was a barrister and Jewish community leader whose family came to Australia from London when he was 9 years old.

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait, 2002

Barry Humphries

Previous exhibition, 2018

Gift of the Margaret Olley Art Trust 2003

National Photographic Portrait Prize 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.

Donald Friend

Donald Friend (1915-1989), painter, writer and diarist, studied at the RAS and Dattilo-Rubbo’s school in Sydney before spending 1935 and 1936 at the Westminster School in London.

2 portraits in the collection

George Hurrell

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

1 portrait in the collection

Dr B Marika AO

Dr B Marika AO (1954–2021), Yolgnu leader, printmaker, arts administrator, environmentalist and cultural activist, was a member of the renowned Marika family of artists and activists.

2 portraits in the collection

Malcolm Williamson AO CBE

Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson AO CBE (1931–2003), composer, was born in Sydney, and was educated at Barker College, Hornsby, and then at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where he studied piano and French horn as well as composition under Sir Eugene Goossens.

1 portrait in the collection

James McClelland, 1946

Nancy Borlase AM

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2019

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Gillian Appleton (McClelland) 1999
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Karl Robert, Count Nesselrode, 1818 by Sir Thomas Lawrence

The Lawrence lustre

Angus Trumble salutes the glorious portraiture of Sir Thomas Lawrence.

Self portrait, 1934

Nora Heysen AM

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2015

Purchased 1999

Country man

Angus Trumble’s tribute to the late Right Honourable Malcolm Fraser.

William Baker Ashton

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2016

William Baker Ashton (1800-1854) was the first governor of Adelaide Gaol.

1 portrait in the collection

Australia’s great internationalists

Penelope Grist explores the United Nations stories in the Gallery’s collection.

Making Portraits

Five Years of National Portrait Gallery Commissions

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

George Mealmaker

George Mealmaker (1768–1808), convict and activist, became involved in radical politics in his native Dundee in the 1780s.

1 portrait in the collection

Mary Elizabeth Maud Chomley OBE

Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

Mary Elizabeth Maud Chomley OBE (1872–1960) has been described as the 'divine angel of mercy' for Australian prisoners of war during the First World War.

1 portrait in the collection

Admiral Bligh, 1801

John Chapman

Purchased 2010

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

Donald Friend, 1987

Portrait, ink and charcoal on paper

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

Donald Friend at Owl Creek, 1983

Lawrence Daws

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

The National Portrait Gallery building in twilight

On a human scale

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2006

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

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

Untitled #21/09 (after Ricci, 1700; featuring Matthew Mitcham), 2009

Ross Watson

Portrait, albumen silver photograph on paper

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

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

Sir Charles Lloyd Jones, 1951

Sir William Dobell OBE

Gift of the Simpson family in memory of Caroline Simpson OAM 2008. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Edmond John Hogan

Edmond John (Ned) Hogan (1883-1964), farmer and premier, left school early and engaged in road-making, timber-cutting, farm-labouring and rabbiting in addition to farm chores at home.

1 portrait in the collection

Ethel Marian (Maie) Casey AC

Ethel Marian (Maie) Casey AC, Baroness Casey (1892-1983), chatelaine, artist, pilot and author, was born in Melbourne, the daughter of the Surgeon General, Sir Charles Ryan.

1 portrait in the collection

Violet Teague

Previous exhibition, 2005

Violet Teague (1872–1951) was among Edwardian Australia's most fashionable and assured portraitists, although the art historical establishment was slow to acknowledge it.

2 portraits in the collection

Clifton Pugh

Australians

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.

Home and away

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

Sir William Dobell painted the portraits of Sir Charles Lloyd Jones and Sir Hudson Fysh, who did much to promote the image of Australia in this country and abroad.

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

Paper, boy

Magazine article by Peter Wilmoth, 2016

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

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020

Previous exhibition, 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.

Indexing, the art of

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

Elizabeth Lewis

Mortimer Lewis (1796–1879), surveyor and architect, and his wife Elizabeth (née Clements, c.

1 portrait in the collection

Mortimer Lewis

Portrait, carte de visite photograph

Mortimer Lewis (1796–1879), surveyor and architect, and his wife Elizabeth (née Clements, c.

1 portrait in the collection

Sarah and Ann Jacob, c. 1866

Townsend Duryea

Purchased 2018

Prime Ministers

On the day before the Hon. E. G. Whitlam, AC, QC, died last month, at the great age of 98, there were seven former prime ministers of Australia still living, plus the incumbent Mr. Abbott – eight in all.

Nicholas Harding

Magazine article by Dr Grace Blakeley-Carroll, 2010

Nicholas Harding (1956–2022) was one of Australia's most highly regarded artists, known for his portraits and drawings, and his light-filled, vigorously painted images of the bush and the coast.

5 portraits in the collection

Celebrity cutpurse

Grace Carroll discusses the portrait of the late-eighteenth century gentleman pickpocket George Barrington.

Bob Jenyns

Self Portraits in Australia

Robert ‘Bob’ Jenyns (1944-2015) grew up in Victoria and gained his diploma in art from the Caulfield Institute of Technology in 1964.

1 portrait in the collection

To Look Within

Previous exhibition, 2004

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

Richard Tognetti #1510, 2018

by Louise Hearman

Magazine article by Katherine Russell, 2007

Commissioned with funds provided by Peter Weiss AO 2018

Be bold

The name of Florence Broadhurst, one of Australia’s most significant wallpaper and textile designers, is now firmly cemented in the canon of Australian art and design.

Mrs Elizabeth Lewis, c. 1830

Portrait, watercolour on ivory

Gift of Leo Schofield AM 2002. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground

Protest!

How can we dance when our earth is turning?

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

Brenton McGeachie

An interview with the photographer.

William P. Dowling

Portrait, albumen silver photograph carte de visite on card

William Paul Dowling (1824–1877) is thought to have studied art in his native Dublin before settling in London, where he worked as a draughtsman while trying to establish himself as a portraitist.

1 portrait in the collection

Julia Matthews, c. 1862

Davies & Co

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010

Edward Riou

Magazine article by Pamela Gray, 2002

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

2 portraits in the collection

Michael Kimmelman

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

The considered life

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2010

Andrew Sayers asks whether a portrait can truly be the examination of a life.

Venetia, Lady Digby, circa 1633-1634 by Sir Anthony van Dyck

Love in the extreme

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2020

Joanna Gilmour reveals love’s more intense manifestations in the tale of Lord Kenelm and Venetia Digby.

Paper weight

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

Joanna Gilmour delves into a collection display that celebrates the immediacy and potency of drawing as an art form in its own right.

Soffritto di Lucio, 2009

Garry Shead and Adrienne Levenson

Magazine article by Kwon Hyeeun, 2019

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

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.

History

About us

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

Mexico from the Palace painted by ‘Maximilian Emperor'

Empirical art

Several years ago I came across this curious painting on the racks in a distant, dusty corner of the store room in the basement of the Johannesburg Art Gallery in South Africa. Since then the mystery surrounding it has never been far from my mind.

Tim Burstall

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2006

Tim Burstall (1927-2004) set up Eltham Films in the early 1950s, when the local film industry was moribund.

2 portraits in the collection

Giving and getting

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

Dr Brown and Green Old Time Waltz, 1983

Harold Thornton

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite

Gift of the Estate of Harold Thornton 2009

William Francis King, 'The Flying Pieman'

William Francis King, 'The Flying Pieman', c. 1869

John Davis

Gift of the family of FW Macpherson 2010

Andrew Gaze, 2018

by George Fetting

Hosting a touring exhibition

Commissioned with funds provided by Trent Birkett 2018

Dancer

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

2015-17 Acquisition Fund

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

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.

Martha Mary Robertson, 1866

Portrait, albumen photograph on carte de visite

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Malcolm Robertson in memory of William Thomas Robertson 2018
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Director John Duigan and actor Judy Davis on the set of ‘Winter of our Dreams’, Sydney, 1981 by Robert McFarlane

Natural born stiller

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2016

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

Relaxed mornings

Visual Stories

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

George Brown

George Brown (1835-1917), clergyman, established numerous Methodist missions in the Pacific from the late 1880s.

1 portrait in the collection

Mary, Queen of Scots by unknown artist, National Portrait Gallery of London

Portrait dendrochronology

Angus's latest Trumbology is accompanied by the following caveat: 'This one is reeeeeeally geeky.'

Risk Assessment for groups of students

For your peace of mind

School visit information

Find out about our environment, security checks, potential hazards and more.

Cocky McGrath

Portrait, albumen paper carte de visite

The long life and few words of a vice-regal cockatoo

William Robertson, 1866

Thomas Adams Hill

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Malcolm Robertson in memory of William Thomas Robertson 2018
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

The Story So Far...

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2002

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

Jeffrey Smart AO

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2011

Jeffrey Smart (1921–2013) was an iconic realist painter, acclaimed for his urban and industrial landscapes which form one of the most original and recognisable bodies of work in the canon of Australian art.

6 portraits in the collection

The numbers man

Dr. Sarah Engledow tells the story of Australia's first Federal statistician, Sir George Knibbs.

Vlase Zanalis

Magazine article by Jude Rae, 2016

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

Ms Anna Burke MP, Speaker of the House of Representatives 2015 by Jude Rae

Hired guns, bounty hunters and horse whisperers

Jude Rae contemplates the portrait commission.

Arianne McNaught

Finalist interviews

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.

Material culture

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2018

The Rajah Quilt’s narrative promptings are as intriguing as the textile is intricate.

In the galleries

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

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

How to be a boy

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2011

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

Selected images

Take a peek at a selection of the portraits you can see in the exhibition.

2021 Annual Appeal

Magazine article by Kim Sajet, 2018

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

The Obama effect

Kim Sajet reflects on two portraits with a power that extends beyond gallery walls.

Welcome home, Captain Bligh

27 March 2015

Archived media releases 2015

The National Portrait Gallery will, next Tuesday, unveil an exciting new acquisition of irrefutable importance to all Australians. Portrait of William Bligh, in master’s uniform c. 1776, attributed to John Webber, is one of the earliest portraits of the contentious, historical figure, and extends the Gallery’s remarkable collection of early colonial portraits.

Icons and imagery

Magazine article by Alison Weir, 2011

Alison Weir explores the National Portrait Gallery, London and the BP Portrait Award to find what makes a good painted portrait - past and present.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2018

8 March 2018

Archived media releases 2018

Images for media use will be available from 8 March 2018.

With a Little Help from my Friends

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2004

The story behind the acquisition of the portrait of Danish architect Jørn Utzon.

Gordon Darling Hall, National Portrait Gallery

Architecture

About us

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

Miles from nowhere, 2008 (printed 2014) from the Games of consequence series 2008 Polixeni Papapetrou

Mother’s muse

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2020

Inga Walton traces the poignant path of photographer Polixeni Papapetrou, revealed in the NGV’s summer retrospective.

Bob Hawke

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2011

Robert James Lee (Bob) Hawke (1929-2019) moved with his family from South Australia to Perth in 1939.

9 portraits in the collection

Staffordshire bull terrier belonging to the Rev. John Gower, 1851

Essential portraiture

Michael Desmond in conversation with University of Houston professor of philosophy Cynthia Freeland.

Sketches and sermons

Magazine article by Jessica Smith, 2009

Jessica Smith looks at the 'fetching' portrait of Tasmania's first Anglican Bishop, Francis Russell Nixon by George Richmond

"Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?", 1956

Pop goes the preconception

Magazine article by Paul Moorhouse, 2007

A National Portrait Gallery, London exhibition redefines portraiture, shifting the focus towards a new perspective on Pop Art.

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

Great Scots

Magazine article by Diana O'Neil, 2017

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

Virtually yours

Magazine article by Gillian Raymond, 2022

Gill Raymond on creating thought-provoking, interactive content to connect to our online community through portraiture.

L. Gordon Darling AC CMG

31 August 2015

Archived media releases 2015

The Chairman, Board, Director and all the Staff of the National Portrait Gallery mourn the loss of our Founding Patron, who died peacefully in Melbourne this morning. He was 94.

The 1850s to the 1880s

Mo and beard timeline

The restrained and cultivated facial hair fashions evident through the first decades of the 1800s were on the wane by the middle of the century, when hirsute faces became mainstream.

Insightful

Magazine article by Robert McFarlane, 2004

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

Painter John Brack with Professor Alex Mitchell and Sir Garfield Barwick, c. 1977

Jozef Vissel

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2016

Gift of the Jozef Vissel 2015

The 1950s to the present day

Mo and beard timeline

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

Dr Edward MacMahon, 1959 by William Dobell

Bill and Ted's excellent portrait.

Sarah Engledow on Messrs Dobell and MacMahon and the art of friendship.

Reflections on castles

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2004

Andrew Sayers describes the unique characteristics of the international band of portrait galleries.

Portrait of Captain Edward Riou, 1801

James Heath after Samuel Shelley

Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2011

High & Bligh

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2008

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

John McRae

Magazine article by Katherine Russell, 2005

An interview with the photographer.

Australian Princess

The full-length portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark by artist Jiawei Shen, has become a destination piece for visitors.

Lady Jane Grey, c.1590-1600 (also known as The ‘Streatham’ portrait) Artist unknown

The Royal she

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2019

Traversing paint and pixels, Inga Walton examines portraits of select women in Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits.

Alternative virtue

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

Joanna Gilmour presents John Kay’s portraits of a more infamous side of Edinburgh.

Practising the Minuet (Miss Hilda Spong)

An actress and her fans

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

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

Hot Scots

Magazine article by Christopher Baker, 2013

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

Private virtues public lives

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

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

Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, 1824 by James Thomson

Audacity, audacity, audacity

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2006

Angus delves into the biographies of two ambitious characters; Sir Stamford Raffles and Sir John Pope-Hennessy.

Aussies all

The exhibition Aussies all features the ecclectic portrait photography of Rennie Ellis which captures Australian life during the 70s and 80s.

NPPP 2009 exhibition essay

Dr Christopher Chapman, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2009 Prize.

An evening at Yarra Cottage, Port Stephens

Maria Caroline Brownrigg

Magazine article by Karen Vickery, 2015

At first glance, this small watercolour group portrait of her two sons and four daughters by Maria Caroline Brownrigg (d. 1880) may seem prosaic, even hesitant

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Honour board

The portrait writ large

Karen Vickery on Chang the Chinese giant in Australia.

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.

Commander Skyring, Gang-gang cockatoo by Leila Jeffreys

A real tweet

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2016

Sarah Engledow plays wingman to Leila Jeffreys.

The shipwright's arms

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2013

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

Glossy too

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2005

The Glossy 2 exhibition highlights the integral role magazine photography plays in illustrating and shaping our contemporary culture.

Hottie's Snifter to port

Magazine article by Peter Jeffrey, 2016

Peter Jeffrey trips the hound nostalgic.

A guy from Paris

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2018

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

Some prime ministers

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2016

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

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

City boys

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

Through thick and thin

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2017

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

Emblems of beauty

Magazine article by Keith Christiansen, 2012

Keith Christiansen introduces the exhibition The Renaissance Portrait from Donatello to Bellini on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

The personal and the historical

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

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 beauty

Joanna Gilmour explores the fact and fictions surrounding the legendary life of Irish-born dancer Lola Montez.

In the round

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2009

Andrew Sayers outlines the highlights of the National Portrait Gallery's display of portrait sculpture.

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.

You are who?

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

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

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

The Rothschilds, the Montefiores, and the Victorian Gold Rush

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2020

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

Self-portrait in black jumper, 2017 Graeme Drendel

Be frank

Close encounters are the genesis for Graeme Drendel’s enticing portraiture.

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.

Uncommon Australians

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Magazine article by Sandra Phillips, 2010

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

Exposed: Voyeurism Surveillance and the camera since 1870

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

Blue Mountain, Owner, Trainer, Jockey, James Scobie

Sure thing

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2009

Blue Mountain, Owner, Trainer, Jockey, James Scobie 1887 by Frederick Woodhouse Snr. is a portrait of James Scobie, well known jockey and eminent horse trainer.

Showing character

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2016

Joanna Gilmour on Tom Durkin playing with Melbourne's manhood.

Annual Appeal

Listed by year

Honour board

Have you forgotten yet? 2014 by Lee Grant

All that fall

Magazine article by Raimond Gaita, 2015

Raimond Gaita comments on war and truth in the context of the First World War.

Sir Thomas Gore-Browne, 1864

J Walch & Sons

Portrait, tinted lithograph on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2018

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.

Full time

Magazine article by Alistair McGhie, 2017

Alistair McGhie reminisces about three Australian rugby greats commissioned for the Portrait Gallery collection by Patrick Corrigan AM.

200 Years of Portraiture

To celebrate his family bicentenary, Malcolm Robertson looks at the portraiture legacy left by his ancestors.

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

Portraiture in a Bleak House

Magazine article by Dr David Hansen, 2017

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.

Mary (or Diana) Croker, mat woman, Colchester, 1823 by John Dempsey

Unknown drawer

Dempsey’s People curator David Hansen chronicles a research tale replete with serendipity, adventure and Tasmanian tigers.

Mugshots

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

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

Judy Davis and Sam Neill in ‘My Brilliant Career’, 1979 David Kynoch

Moving still

Magazine article by Anne O'Hehir, 2022

Anne O’Hehir on the seductive power of the film still to reflect and shape ourselves and our cultural landscape.

Unbuttoning uniforms

Magazine article by Sharon Peoples, 2017

Sharon Peoples contemplates costumes and the construction of identity.

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

Activating the space

Magazine article by Sandra Phillips, 2020

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

Me Myself I

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2001

Andrew Sayers explores the self-portraits created by Australian artist Sidney Nolan.

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.

Desperately seeking Sonia

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2015

Esther Erlich’s portrait of Lady McMahon.

Arianne McNaught

An interview with the photographer.

Untitled, Conductors, Tramways series, 1990 © Matt Nettheim

Back track

Magazine article by Malcolm Robertson, 2011

Penelope Grist finds photographer Matt Nettheim re-visiting a formative and fulfilling career tram stop.

Miss Robertson of Colac (Dolly), 1885-86

Brothers on farms

Malcolm Robertson tells the family history of one of Australia's earliest patrons of the arts, his Scottish born great great great grandfather, William Robertson.

Bloodlines

Magazine article by Michelle Fracaro, 2004

Michelle Fracaro describes Lionel Lindsay's woodcut The Jester (self-portrait).

Vanity fair

Magazine article by Ashleigh Wadman, 2012

Ashleigh Wadman rediscovers the Australian characters represented with a kindly touch by the British portrait artist Leslie Ward for the society magazine Vanity Fair.

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

The cost of living luxuriously

Magazine article by Gael Newton, 2003

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

Vintage Max

Gael Newton delves into the life and art of renowned Australian photographer, Max Dupain.

Washington preview

Magazine article by Lauretta Morton, 2005

Ron Ramsey, former Director of Cultural Relations at the Embassy of Australia interviewed NPG Washington Director, Marc Pachter, about their building renovations.

Of jumpers and river gums, red

Magazine article by Diana O'Neil, 2016

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

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

More than human

Magazine article by Gillian Raymond, 2023

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

More cash than dash

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2011

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

Talking heads

In their own words lead researcher Louise Maher on the novel project that lets the Gallery’s portraits speak for themselves.

Christmas Island

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.

Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza and David R. L. Litchfield at Villa Favorita, Lugano, Switzerland, 1989 © Nicola Graydo

The Thyssen Art Macabre

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2006

Books seldom make me angry but this one did. At first, I was powerfully struck by the uncanny parallels that existed between the Mellons of Pittsburgh and the Thyssens of the Ruhr through the same period, essentially the last quarter of the nineteenth century.

Hyperversity

Dr Sarah Engledow writes about the larger-than-life Australian performance artist, Leigh Bowery.

The news from Washington

Magazine article by Lauretta Morton, 2006

Australia's former Cultural Attache to the USA, Ron Ramsey, describes the mood at the opening week of the revitalised American National Portrait Gallery.

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

Written in Water

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

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

Melbourne experience

Magazine article by Diana Warnes, 2007

Diana Warnes explores the lives of Hal and Katherine 'Kate' Hattam through their portraits painted by Fred Williams and Clifton Pugh.

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.

Good, bad and the ugly

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2007

Michael Desmond explores what makes a portrait subject significant.

Seduce, Amuse, Entertain

NPPP 2007 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2007

Michael Desmond, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2007 Prize.

Seduce Amuse Entertain

Michael Desmond profiles a handful of the entrants in first National Photographic Portrait Prize and notes emerging themes and categories.

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

Of plague and portraits

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

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

Poise and Carats

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2010

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

Finest quality

Joanna Gilmour explores the life of Chinese-Australian businessman and philanthropist Quong Tart.

Technical terminology

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2010

Michael Desmond introduces some of the ideas behind the exhibition Present Tense: An imagined grammar of portraiture in the digital age.

Worth her salt

Magazine article by Dr Grace Blakeley-Carroll, 2015

Jerrold Nathan's portrait of Jessie Street shows the elegant side of a many-faceted lady.

William Charles Wentworth -The Australian Patriot

The Wentworths – Hidden in Plain Sight

Grace Carroll on the gendered world of the Wentworths.

Amy Johnson wearing a woollen suit from the collection of flight clothes designed by Madame Schiaparelli for her solo flight from London to Cape Town, 1938 unknown photographer

Air wear

Magazine article by Esther Agostino, 2015

Aviation carried women’s roles in society to greater heights – fashion followed suit.

The play’s the thing

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

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

Generous Janice

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

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.

An Australian story

Magazine article by The Hon. Dr Kevin Rudd, 2009

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

Anangu landscape learning

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008

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

The bright-eyed Mariner

A new colonial portrait brings a zealous captain near.

Christian Waller with Baldur, Undine and Siren at Fairy Hills, 1932 by Napier Waller

Enigma

Magazine article by Dr Grace Blakeley-Carroll, 2015

Grace Carroll contemplates the curious case of Christian Waller.

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.

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.

Rethinking foundational histories

Magazine article by Kate Fullagar, 2019

A focus on Indigenous-European relationships underpins Facing New Worlds. By Kate Fullagar.

Naked ambition

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2013

Joanna Gilmour dives into the life of Australian swimming legend Annette Kellerman.

All dressed up

Jane Raffan asks do clothes make the portrait, and can the same work with a new title fetch a better price?

First-Class Marksman, 1946 by Sidney Nolan

Money for Myth

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2015

Australian character on the market by Jane Raffan.

Self-portrait in white jacket , 1901-02 Hugh Ramsay

Wunderkind lost

Magazine article by Inga Walton, 2021

Inga Walton on the brief but brilliant life of Hugh Ramsay.

Less than six degrees of separation

Lecture, 28 May 2011

Magazine article by Roger Benjamin, 2015

Dr Anne Sanders NPG Curatorial Researcher investigated the lives of the pioneering psychologists whose portraits are featured in Inner Worlds.

Yellow portrait (portrait of Alex Jelinek)

Fugue in Yellow

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

Kristin Headlam

Explore The Popular Pet Show

Basil grew into a speckled beauty – a long-legged leaper and an exceptionally vocal dog, with a great register of sounds, ascending in shock value from a whimper to a growl to a bark to a yelp that’s a violation of the ears.

Of ice and men

Magazine article by Alexandra Roginski, 2019

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

Madame Sibly, Phrenologist and Mesmerist

Sibly irresistible

Alexandra Roginski reveals a forceful feminist figure in the colonial period’s slippery science, phrenology.

Nicholas Harding: 28 Portraits

Exhibition essay

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

The Bare story

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2013

Curator, Penny Grist, reveals how this exhibition came to be

‘Untitled’ - Yellow Kangaroo Paw, 2008 by Christian Thompson

The 'I' in Indigenous art

Jane Raffan examines unique styles of Indigenous portraiture that challenge traditional Western concepts of the artform.

Face House – Kyoto, Japan Architect: Kazumasa Yamashita

Alter ego

Magazine article by Tom Fryer, 2021

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

Earth to earth

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

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

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

The activist A-list

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2007

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.

Big bouquet of Blackmans

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2013

Dr. Sarah Engledow explores the context surrounding Charles Blackman's portrait of Judith Wright, Jack McKinney and their daughter Meredith.

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

Queen of cartes

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2019

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

Omai, Sir Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander, 1775-76

First encounters

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2011

Representations of the inhabitants of the new world expose the complexities of the colonisers' intentions.

Getting a head

Magazine article by Alexandra Roginski, 2015

Alexandra Roginski gets a feel for phrenology’s fundamentals.

Eileen Dunne in The Hospital for Sick Children, 1940

The incomparable Beaton

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2005

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).

NPPP 2016 exhibition essay

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2016

Penny Grist, National Photographic Portrait Prize judge and curator, introduces the 2016 Prize.

Waterfall in Australia, c. 1830 by Augustus Earle

Augustus serendipitous

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

Sarah Bernhardt, 1876 by Georges Clairin

Demimonde liaisons

Magazine article by Jane Raffan, 2017

Jane Raffan feasts on modernity’s entrée in the Belle Époque theatre of the demimonde.

Portrait of a Pioneer , 1917
Violet Teague

Off her own bat

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2022

Joanna Gilmour profiles Violet Teague, whose sophisticated works hid her originality and non-conformity in plain sight.

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.

Secure the shadow ere the substance fade

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2015

The tragic tale of Tom Wills, the ‘inventor’ of Australian Rules Football.

Thrown together

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

Shipmates for years, James Cook and Joseph Banks each kept a journal but neither man shed light on their relationship.

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.

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

Petal to the mettle

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

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

The silent partner

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2015

One half of the team that was Eltham Films left scarcely a trace in the written historical record, but survives in a vivid portrait.

Rick Amor: 21 Portraits