What's on

The Portraits

Watch

The Gallery

Governance & Board

Publications

Portrait magazine

Learn

Access

Search the website

close close

What's on The Portraits The Gallery Learn Watch More O

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

Search / helen edwards

show all 188

...

Bungaree, late chief of the Broken Bay tribe, Sydney

Heads of the People

A Portrait of Colonial Australia

Previous exhibition, 2000

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

Boardman, Lake Macquarie tribe, 1836

William Fernyhough

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

Untitled

by Isabelle De Kleine

General content

Residency prize winner, MDPA 2015

Little Darlings Youth Portrait Prize finalists

Little Darlings Youth Portrait Prize 2022

Current exhibition

Little Darlings is for primary and secondary students, with four separate categories across Kindergarten to Year 12. Responding to the theme ‘identity’, students painted, drew, photographed, printed or combined all of these to make their portrait.

Esther Erlich

Biography

Esther Erlich (b. 1955), a Melbourne-based painter, has been exhibiting since the early 1980s, often with the Libby Edwards Galleries in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and the Barry Newton Gallery in Adelaide.

3 portraits in the collection

Pictorial profiles of hearth and home

Nearest & Dearest

Keep it in the family

Mrs Grey, c. 1845

Theresa Walker

Portrait, cast wax

Purchased 1999

Mr Sidney Myer AM appointed inaugural President of the National Portrait Gallery’s Foundation

12 March 2015

Archived media releases 2015

Dr Helen Nugent AO, Chairman, National Portrait Gallery Board announced today the appointment of Mr Sidney Myer AM as the inaugural President of the newly established National Portrait Gallery Foundation.

Foundation members announced

18 May 2015

Archived media releases 2015

The newly-established National Portrait Gallery Foundation met for its inaugural meeting last Friday 15 May in Canberra.

Annual Appeal

Listed by year

Honour board

The National Portrait Gallery's Director, Karen Quinlan, receives Australia Day Honour

26 January 2019

Archived media releases 2019

The newly appointed Director of the National Portrait Gallery Karen Quinlan, was today recognised in the Australia Day Honours list for her significant service to the visual arts and to higher education.

2021 Annual Appeal

Annual Appeal

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

Bridget Elliot

Biography

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

1 portrait in the collection

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

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

William Fernyhough

Portrait, lithograph on paper

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

Karsh

Faces of the Twentieth Century

Previous exhibition, 1998

Yousuf Karsh - the most famous portrait photographer in the world - has photographed the statesmen, artists, literary and scientific figures who have defined the 20th century and shaped our lives, In this, his 90th year, the National Portrait Gallery is thrilled to present an exhibition of Karsh's photography of 20th century figures.

Vlase Zanalis

Biography

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

show all 188

...

© National Portrait Gallery 2022
King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
Phone +61 2 6102 7000
Fax +61 2 6102 7001
ABN: 54 74 277 1196

This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. Copyright in all materials and/or works comprising or contained within this website remains with the National Portrait Gallery and other copyright owners as specified.

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Requests for a reproduction of a work of art or other content can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

The National Portrait Gallery is an Australian Government Agency