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The rower Sally Robbins (b. 1981) remains best known for her performance in the Women's Eight final at the 2004 Olympics, during which she appeared to cease rowing 500 metres from the finish line, denying Australia a possible Bronze medal, igniting furious public debate, and earning herself the unshakeable nickname "Lay Down Sally".

2 portraits in the collection

Sally Robinson

Sally Robinson, born in England, studied at the National Art School in Sydney from 1970 to 1973, and in the following year took up a position as designer at the Australian Museum in Sydney.

3 portraits in the collection

Lucy, 2006

by Sally McInerney

Magazine article by Sally Robinson, 2017

The Artist's Mother, 2012 by Sally Robinson

Observation point

Every face is different and every face is fascinating, but I find an elderly one particularly intriguing.

Sally Robinson

'Expect a polite refusal'

Portrait story

Artist Sally Robinson describes her career and the creation of her portrait of Tim Winton.

Tim Winton, 2019

Tim Winton, 2019

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Purchased with funds provided by the Annual Appeal 2020

Sally Robbins

Toni Wilkinson

Sally Robbins, 2005

Toni Wilkinson

Portrait, inkjet print

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

Judy, 2012

by Sally Robinson

Glenn McGrath, 2003

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Gift of the artist 2003

Angry Anderson, 2006

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2010

Script for the series The Artist’s Family

Maria Tumarkin

Joshua Ross

Joshua Ross (b. 1981) excelled at athletics as a child, but didn't take up sprinting in earnest until 2000, inspired by watching the Sydney Olympics on television.

1 portrait 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

Ross Wilson

Ross Wilson (b. 1947), musician and producer, started playing in bands as a schoolboy, fronting the Pink Finks and the Party Machine in the late 1960s.

3 portraits in the collection

Ross Honeysett

Ross Honeysett (b. 1953) is a professional photographer who began his career in London and Paris, shooting for fashion magazines Vogue, Tatler, Glamour and Elle.

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

Ross Edwards

Portrait, oil on composition board

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

1 portrait in the collection

Ian Roberts (after Coypel 1709), 2003

Ross Watson

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

Pigeon coup

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2006

Glenn McGrath makes a strong impact on the English batsmen and the walls of the National Portrait Gallery.

Eagle Ross (Ross Wilson), 2005

Tessa Jones

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2005

Ross Edwards, 2013

Bridget Elliot

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2013
To mark the 70th birthday of composer Ross Edwards (23 December 2013)

The Boss, Ross Wilson, 2009

Chris Budgeon

Portrait, gelatin silver photograph on resin-coated paper

Collection: National Portriat Gallery
Gift of the artist 2011

Joshua Ross, 2006

Sahlan Hayes

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2006

Now Listen...

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2005

Artist Tessa Jones recalls creating her portrait of Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock singer and music producer, Ross Wilson.

David Gulpilil's Hands, 2004

Ross Honeysett

Portrait, photographic print from film on paper

Gift of the artist 2021

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

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

Ross Watson

Portrait, oil on board

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

Noah Taylor, 1994 (printed 2010)

Ross Honeysett

Magazine article by David Sequeira, 2004

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2010

Super League

The portrait of Ian Roberts by Ross Watson.

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

John Cochran after Henry Room

Portrait, engraving on paper

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

Portrait of Mr W.M. Hughes, Prime Minister of Australia

Portrait of Mr W.M. Hughes, Prime Minister of Australia, 1916

J H Barratt & Co Ltd, Stoke-on-Trent

Portrait, photographic image on glazed ceramic tile

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ian Ross 2001

Athletes (Sally Robbins, Cathryn Fitzpatrick, Caroline Pileggi, Lorian Graham, Sharon Anyos), 2005-2006

Toni Wilkinson

Portrait, 5 inkjet prints

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

The Memoirs of George Barrington, 1790

an unknown artist, J Bird & Simmonds

Portrait, octavo in fours, with an engraved frontispiece

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

Good, bad and the ugly

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2007

Michael Desmond explores what makes a portrait subject significant.

Sir Garfield Barwick, 1972

Reg Campbell

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Ross G Barwick and family 2013
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Thinking about architecture and portraiture

Dr Christopher Chapman describes the experimental exhibition Portraits + Architecture

Sally Smart

Artists and Collectives

Based in Naarm/Melbourne, Sally Smart is known nationally and internationally for her large-scale cut-out assemblages, collages, textile works and puppetry.

Donors

$10,000 - $49,999

Portrait, albumen silver photograph, hand coloured on paper

Sir Edward Eyre Williams, 1872

Thomas Foster Chuck

Gift of Ross and Judy O'Connell 2016

Sir George Grey, Governor of New Zealand

Sir George Grey, Governor of New Zealand, 1861

William-Wolfe Alais

Portrait, engraving on paper

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

Study for portrait of Nicholas Paspaley Jnr

Study for portrait of Nicholas Paspaley Jnr, 2018

Andrew Bonneau

Portrait, pencil and white pastel on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Commissioned with funds provided by Ross Adler AC 2018

Sidney Nolan, 1982

Albert Tucker

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas board

Purchased with funds provided by Ross Adler AC 2022

CO-AP

Based in Sydney, CO-AP endeavour to realise unique outcomes for each project, achieved through a strong and reliable collaborative process.

Gladys Moncrieff, 1920s

Ruskin

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Sally Douglas 2009

Emily Fairfax

Emily Ross (née Fairfax) (1832-1871) was the eldest child of newspaper publisher John Fairfax - who founded the Fairfax news dynasty in Sydney in 1841 - and his wife Sarah.

1 portrait in the collection

2020 Annual Appeal

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

Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker OM

Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker OM GCSI CB MD FRS (1817-1911), botanist, explorer and medical doctor, visited Australia as a member of James Clark Ross's Antarctic expedition of 1839 to 1843.

2 portraits in the collection

Artists and Collectives

Portrait, oil on canvas laid on board

Arts Project Australia, Yarrenyty Arltere Artists, ‘stArts with D’ Performance Ensemble, Abdul Abdullah, Alison Alder, Amrita Hepi, Atong Atem, Christopher Bassi, Kate Beynon, Mia Boe, Baby Guerrilla, Tarryn Gill, Julie Gough, Naomi Hobson, Deborah Kelly, Fiona McMonagle, Angelica Mesiti, Dylan Mooney, Nell, Sally Smart, Vipoo Srivilasa, Latai Taumoepeau and Kaylene Whiskey.

Emily Fairfax, 1870

William Macleod

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of John Fairfax Holdings Ltd 2002
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

Robert Kermode

James Faed, W Wilding after John Watson Gordon

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

1 portrait in the collection

General Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1850 (published)

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

George A. Highland

Australian Athletes in Focus

George A Highland (1874-1954), theatrical producer, grew up in England, where, as a choirboy, he came to the attention of Arthur Sullivan.

1 portrait in the collection

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

Flash

Previous exhibition, 2006

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

Sir Ian McLennan KBE

Sir Ian McLennan KBE (1909-1998) was chairman of BHP from 1971 to 1977.

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.

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.

Garry McDonald AO

Portrait, etching on paper

Norman Gunston (1973-1993) was a fictional television character, conceived by writer Wendy Skelcher and developed by actor Garry McDonald.

1 portrait in the collection

Self portrait, 1894

Livingston Hopkins

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

Stan Coster

Stan Coster (1930-1997) was one of Australian country music's greatest songwriters.

1 portrait in the collection

Sahlan Hayes

Born in the United Kingdom, Sahlan Hayes lived with his family in the USA, New Zealand and the United Kingdom before settling in Australia.

9 portraits in the collection

Annual Appeal

Listed by year

Olive Cotton

Olive Cotton (1911-2003) was one of Australia's pioneering modernist photographers.

2 portraits in the collection

Stan Coster, Manilla, NSW, 1994 (printed 2004)

John Elliott

Nicolas-Martin Petit after Barthélemy Roger

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Y-erran-gou-la-ga, published 1807

Portrait, engraving, hand coloured on paper

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Mike Brown

Mike Brown (1938-1997) artist, was a participant (with Ross Crothall and Colin Lanceley) in the 1962 Annandale Imitation Realists exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art and Design, Melbourne.

1 portrait in the collection

Norman Gunston and Denise Drysdale, 1976 (printed 2010)

Bruce Postle

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

Henry Mundy

Artist Henry Mundy arrived in Van Diemen’s Land in 1831 and took up a position as teacher of drawing, French and music at Ellinthorp Hall, a school near Ross established ‘with a view to the improvement of Young Ladies’.

4 portraits in the collection

Bridget Elliot

Daniel Orme after Robert Dighton

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

1 portrait in the collection

Portrait of Captain John Hunter, 1792

Portrait, stipple engraving on paper

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

National Youth Self Portrait Prize

NYSPP 2008

Previous exhibition, 2008

At the end of 2007 the National Portrait Gallery launched the inaugural National Youth Self Portrait Prize and artists aged between eighteen and twenty-five were invited to submit self portraits using a variety of media including drawing, painting, printmaking and traditional or digital photography.

Tom Carroll

Tom Carroll (b.1961), former professional surfer, made the finals of the 1979 Pipe Masters on his first ever world tour, finishing 24th in the world that same year.

1 portrait in the collection

2012-13 Acquisition Fund

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2006

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

Ready , set... shoot

The exhibition Flash: Australian Athletes in Focus offers various interpretations of sporting men and women by five Australian photographers.

Two grounps of three people standing in a studio with walls and shelves filled with artworks

Arts Project Australia

Artists and Collectives

Arts Project Australia is a creative social enterprise based in Naarm/Melbourne that supports neurodiverse artists, promoting their work and advocating for inclusion within contemporary arts practice.

Sketch for portrait of Tom Uren, 1972

Clifton Pugh AO

Portrait, oil and enamel on hardboard

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Tom Uren's family 2017
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program

JS Study 1, 2014

Jasper Knight

Portrait, enamel and synthetic polymer paint on conservation card

Gift of Ross Steele AM 2021. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Monochromatic Self-Portrait, 2000 by Genevieve Preston

Headspace 1

Previous exhibition, 2000

Headspace showcases portrait art produced by secondary students from Year 7 to Year 12 in Government, Catholic and Independent schools in Canberra and its surrounding regions extending to Wollongong, Deniliquin, Leeton, Crookwell, Bombala, Narooma and Albury

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

Sir Hartley Williams, c. 1871

Johnstone O'Shannessy & Co

Portrait, albumen silver photograph, hand coloured on paper

Gift of Ross and Judy O'Connell 2016

Portrait of Mrs Sarah Fairfax, c. 1864

Edwin Dalton

Portrait, pastel on paper laid on canvas

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

Honour board

Support your Portrait Gallery

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges and thanks all its supporters.

John Clarke

John Clarke (1948-2017), satirist and humourist, moved to Australia in the 1970s from New Zealand, where he had begun performing in university revues and was named Entertainer of the Year in 1976.

3 portraits 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.

Nicholas Paspaley Jnr, 2018

by Andrew Bonneau

Portrait, engraving on paper

Commissioned with funds provided by Ross Adler AC 2018

Portrait of Bennilong, Native of New Holland

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

an unknown artist

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

Portrait Donors

Listed by year

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2020

The long game

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

Portrait of Leslie Walford, 1970s

Vaike Liibus

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Sally Hardy 2019

Cressida Campbell AM

Portrait, pen and ink, brush and ink and pencil on paper

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

2 portraits in the collection

Margel and Tarquin, Canberra, c. 1945

Frank Hinder

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased with funds provided by the Ross family in memory of Noel and Enid Eliot 2014

David McAllister AC

David McAllister AC (b. 1963), dancer and former artistic director of the Australian Ballet, was born in Perth and began studying ballet in the early 1970s.

3 portraits in the collection

Supporters

$5,000 - $9,999

Nicholas Paspaley Jnr, 2018

Andrew Bonneau

Magazine article by Sandra Bruce, 2022

Commissioned with funds provided by Ross Adler AC 2018

People are people

Sandra Bruce chats with seven-time NPPP finalist Chris Budgeon about photography, guitars and representing the human story.

2014-15 Acquisition Fund

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

Cressida Campbell, 2001

Greg Weight

Nicolas-Martin Petit after Barthélemy Roger

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

Cour-rou-bari-gal, 1807

Portrait, engraving, hand coloured on paper

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Frank Hurley OBE

Frank Hurley (1885-1962), photographer, first made his name on Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-14.

2 portraits in the collection

Eric Douglas, c. 1930

Frank Hurley OBE

Gift of Sally Douglas 2009

Self portrait, 1976 (printed 2005)

David Malin

Frederick Bromley after Robert Frain

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2005

Sir Ian McLennan, c. 1978

Bryan Westwood

Portrait, oil on board

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

Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1842

Portrait, lithograph on paper

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2008

Self portrait, 1921

Thea Proctor

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

William John Wills, 2nd in command of the Victorian Expedition

William John Wills, 2nd in command of the Victorian Expedition, 1860-1861

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

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2007

Keith Miller, early 1950s (printed 2008)

Max Dupain OBE

Previous exhibition, 2006

Purchased 2008

Rennie Ellis

Aussies All

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

Thomas Sutcliffe Mort and his wife Theresa

Husbands and Wives

Photographic Portraits from 19th Century Australia

Previous exhibition, 2010

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

Open Air

Portraits in the Landscape

Previous exhibition, 2008

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

Robert O'Hara Burke, Leader of the Victorian Expedition

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

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

Dalton's Royal Photographic Gallery

Purchased with funds provided by Ross A Field 2007

Lucy Escott, c. 1861

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite, hand coloured on card

Purchased 2009

Home is where the art is

Previous exhibition, 2017

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

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.

2015-17 Acquisition Fund

Dalton's Royal Photographic Gallery

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.

Henry Squires, c. 1861

Portrait, albumen silver carte de visite, hand coloured on card

Purchased 2009

Celebrity cutpurse

Magazine article by Dr Grace Blakeley-Carroll, 2010

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

First Ladies

Significant Australian Women 1913–2013

Previous exhibition, 2013

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

Glamour vs grunge

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2010

Christopher Chapman examines the battle of glamour vs. grunge which played out in the fashion and advertising of the 1990s.

Announcing... Portrait23: Identity

15 November 2022

Media

In this major new exhibition marking the National Portrait Gallery’s third decade, 23 Australian artists and collectives have been invited to create portraits without constraints or boundaries.

Sideshow Alley

Infamy, the macabre & the portrait

Previous exhibition, 2015

Death masks, post-mortem drawings and other spooky and disquieting portraits... Come and see how portraits of infamous Australians were used in the 19th century.

National Portrait Gallery and Access2Arts staff presenting on audio description at the Australian Museums and Galleries Association National Conference

Our achievements to date

Disability Inclusion Action Plan 2023–25

During the period 2018–20, the Gallery implemented our first Access Action Plan.

The National Portrait Prizes

29 January 2020

Archived media releases 2020

The National Portrait Gallery today announced finalists for the inaugural Darling Portrait Prize, a national new $75,000 prize for Australian portrait painting, and released selected images from the final prize pool for the popular National Photography Portrait Prize.

To Look Within

Self Portraits in Australia

Previous exhibition, 2004

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

2023 Annual Appeal

Previous exhibition, 2019

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

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.

Cover, first minute book of the Tasmanian Society of Natural History

Embrace your inner nerd

Magazine article by Penelope Grist and Rebecca Ray, 2022

The southern winter has arrived. For people in the northern hemisphere (the majority of humanity) the idea of snow and ice, freezing mist and fog in June, potentially continuing through to August and beyond, encapsulates the topsy-turvidom of our southern continent.

See through me

Penelope Grist and Rebecca Ray talk to the artists in Portrait23: Identity about transcending modes of portraiture.

Fits of delicacy and despair

Magazine article by Joanna Gilmour, 2009

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

The highest honour

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2007

Bringing eminent scientist Frank Fenner and artist Jude Rae together for the National Portrait Gallery commission was like matchmaking.

Portrait of Truganini, daughter of the Chief of Bruny Island, Van Diemens Land, c. 1835

Black and white history

Magazine article by Michael Desmond, 2009

English artist Benjamin Duterrau took up the cause of the Indigenous peoples of Tasmania with his detailed and sympathetic renderings.

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

Cool cool world

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2022

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

Karl Robert, Count Nesselrode, 1818 by Sir Thomas Lawrence

The Lawrence lustre

Magazine article by Angus Trumble, 2019

Angus Trumble salutes the glorious portraiture of Sir Thomas Lawrence.

Christmas Island

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2019

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.

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.

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.

The play’s the thing

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2006

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

Aussies all

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

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.

Some women you may not know

Alison Alder

‘Everybody’s lives are built by so many influences, and for me, it is writers, artists and activists who have influenced how I think about the world.’

Give me five

Magazine article by Karen Quinlan AM, 2021

National Portrait Gallery director Karen Quinlan AM nominates her quintet of favourites from the collection, with early twentieth-century ‘selfies’ filling the roster.

The Conciliation, 1840 by Benjamin Duterrau

The art of conciliation

Magazine article by Gareth Knapman, 2017

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

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

Lovingly observed

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2009

Sarah Engledow previews the beguiling summer exhibition, Idle hours.

20/20 launch speech

Magazine article by Penelope Grist, 2015

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

Getting bare

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

Some prime ministers

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

Nicholas Harding: 28 Portraits

Exhibition essay