Portrait Stories use video, multimedia and sound to present the stories of the artists and subjects in the National Portrait Gallery's collection. This series is produced with funds donated by Tim Fairfax AC.
7 minutes
Fiona Stanley on her career as a paediatric epidemiologist, and working with Aboriginal communities.
6 minutes
Surgeon Fiona Wood on problem solving and saying 'yes'.
6 minutes
Jimmy & Jane Barnes with photographer Jesse Lizotte on collaborating and making their photograph in a bed of roses.
7 minutes
Barry Jones, politician, lawyer and writer.
8 minutes
Jackie French on starting writing at six years old, gardening and truth.
6 minutes
Malcolm McCusker talks with artist Vincent Fantauzzo about starting out as a lawyer and becoming Governor of Western Australia.
6 minutes 30 seconds
Brett Canét-Gibson on making a portrait with Heath Bergersen.
7 minutes
Robert Fielding on capturing the beauty and the essence of his people.
5 minutes 20 seconds
Luke Cornish, aka E.L.K. describes his street art and portraiture
5 minutes 20 seconds
Artist Michael Peck describes the evolution of his painting style and the creation of his striking portrait of Neale Daniher.
6 minutes
Photographer Julian Kingma describes his style of quiet portraiture that captures the spaces in between big gestures.
8 minutes
Patricia and Allissa on making a portrait together.
8 minutes
Rod and Jack on the series of portraits they created together.
5 minutes
Lisa McCune on starting out on stage and acting in Blue Heelers.
6 minutes
Peter Russell-Clarke on colour in painting and cooking.
5 minutes 18 seconds
Sam Jinks on hyper realism and his motivations.
7 minutes 25 seconds
William Yang on his heritage and becoming a photographer in the 70s.
5 minutes 9 seconds
Peace advocate, author, musician and artist Gill Hicks on her portrait by Tony Kearney.
4 minutes 15 seconds
Musician Lindy Morrison on starting out as a drummer, and Jenny Watson's portraits of The Go-Betweens.
5 minutes 23 seconds
Australian photographer, Polly Borland, describes the hectic experience of photographing Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
4 minutes 44 seconds
Greg Weight on working with Jiawei Shen, and starting out as a photographer.
7 minutes 17 seconds
Will and Garrett on creating their costumes and being unconstrained in art and performance.
5 minutes 22 seconds
Ellie Cole on the freedom of the pool and being photographed by Peter Brew-Bevan.
16 minutes 21 seconds
Vincent Fantauzzo on painting his portrait of Hugh Jackman.
5 minutes 37 seconds
Sculptor Peter Schipperheyn talks about working with marble and his portrait of Peter Garrett.
5 minutes 43 seconds
Aviator Gaby Kennard talks about her portrait and what motivated her to fly around the world.
5 minutes
Photographer Bill Henson describes creating his three part portrait of Simone Young.
5 minutes 13 seconds
Australian playwright, David Williamson tells us tales from his career.
5 minutes
Artist Sally Robinson describes her career and the creation of her portrait of Tim Winton.
6 minutes
Filmmaker Ian Darling talks with adventurer Jon Muir about crossing the vast salt lakes of central Australia.
5 minutes 6 seconds
Artist Dadang Christanto discusses his portrait taken by Hari Ho and how it relates to Dadang's sculpture 'Heads from the North'.
4 minutes 28 seconds
Anneliese Seubert describes the evolution of her modelling career, from Canberra schoolgirl to international supermodel.
8 minutes 30 seconds
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Tilman Ruff AO has focused his efforts on the prohibition of nuclear weapons.
4 minutes 37 seconds
Carla discusses her decision, at age six, to become a fashion designer and the subsequent evolution of her career.
9 minutes 19 seconds
Champion track cyclist, Anna Meares, discusses her portrait with artist Narelle Autio.
10 minutes 27 seconds
Tech entrepreneur Tan Le and photographer John Tsiavis.
4 minutes 5 seconds
Businesswoman Catherine Livingstone and artist Mathew Lynn.
6 minutes 36 seconds
Singer, songwriter and actress Jessica Mauboy with artist David Rosetzky.
7 minutes 30 seconds
World champion woodcutter David Foster and artist Jacqui Stockdale.
5 minutes 56 seconds
Professor Michelle Simmons and photographer Selina Ou.
6 minutes 26 seconds
Basketballer Andrew Gaze and photographer George Fetting.
4 minutes 53 seconds
Photographer Nikki Toole describes the creation of her portrait of Rosie Batty.
10 minutes 52 seconds
The 2015 Australian of the Year talks about grief and searching for recognition of, and action on, domestic violence.
4 minutes 45 seconds
Artistic Director of The Australian Ballet, David McAllister describes the trajectory of his relationship with dance.
3 minutes 36 seconds
Iconic Australian artist Ken Done discusses his life and career as a painter.
4 minutes 34 seconds
Ophthalmic surgeon and former Wallabies Captain, Mark Loane, discusses his sporting and professional career.
4 minutes 35 seconds
Acclaimed Australian author, Christos Tsiolkas describes his childhood and how he came to write.
4 minutes 47 seconds
Australia's 25th Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, discusses her childhood, career paths and her portrait by Michael Zavros.
3 minutes 58 seconds
Astrophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate and Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University, Professor Brian Schmidt chats about his career.
4 minutes 4 seconds
Champion racing driver, Mark Webber, discusses his childhood and racing career.
3 minutes 9 seconds
Artist Kristin Headlam and poet Chris Wallace-Crabbe discuss their art.
3 minutes 37 seconds
Australian photographer, Jacqueline Mitelman, discusses her process for creating portraiture.
4 minutes 44 seconds
Creator of the bionic ear, the Cochlear Implant, Professor Graeme Clark discusses his life and career.
6 minutes 27 seconds
4 minutes
Award-winning Australian architect, Glenn Murcutt describes the philosophy of his architectural practice and his minimalist portrait by Ken Done.
4 minutes and 11 seconds
Australian author David Malouf discusses the creation of his portrait by artist Rick Amor.
2 minutes 41 seconds
Dave Graney and Clare Moore discuss music, photography and bandoleros of meat.
2 minutes 30 seconds
Australian champion cyclist Cadel Evans discusses his career.
3 minutes and 21 seconds
Tim Flannery and artist Robert Hannaford discuss the creation of Tim's portrait.
3 minutes 48 seconds
Shane Gould, Australian champion and Olympic gold medallist talks about her passion for swimming.
3 minutes 25 seconds
Alexandra Roginski explains the history behind the pseudo-science of phrenology.
3 minutes 37 seconds
An interview with Professor of Visual Neuroscience, University of Queensland, Mandyam Srinivasan.
3 minutes
Echoing 19th-century photography, Rod McNicol's portraits give us a chance to look quietly at the human condition.
4 mins
Linda Burney, Brenda Croft and Darrell Sibosado share memories of Michael Riley and his photographic practice.
2 minutes
Twice rebelled against, and twice vindicated, William Bligh occupies an ambivalent space in Australian history. Angus Trumble, former Director of the National Portrait Gallery, explains.
2 minutes
Marilyn Darling talks about the creation of her portrait, and the photographic process.
2 minutes
Gordon Darling talks about how Jiawei Shen came to paint his portrait.
2 minutes
Romaldo Giurgola talks about his portrait and the relationship between architecture and landscape.
3 minutes
David Rosetzky and Cate Blanchett talk about the creation of their video portrait.
3 minutes
Artist Nicholas Harding talks about what was captured in his portrait of Robert Drewe.
3 minutes
Artist Nicholas Harding talks about how he became interested in portraiture, and his motivation in painting Hugo Weaving.
4 minutes 18 seconds
Iconic Australian fashion designer, Akira Isogawa discusses the development of his unique style.
6 minutes
Kate Grenville reads a passage from her novel The secret river and describes its creation.
3 minutes
Betty Churcher discusses her career as the Director of the National Gallery of Australia.
3 minutes
Betty Churcher describes the creation of the portrait of Captain James Cook in the National Portrait Gallery.
3 minutes
Australian writer Kate Grenville discusses her career and portrait by Jenny Sages.
2 minutes
Legendary Australian composer, Peter Sculthorpe, describes the development of his career.
7 minutes
Australian surfing legend Mark Richards describes his professional surfing and surfboard shaping careers.
6 minutes
Regarded as one of the greatest surfers of all time, Tom Carroll describes his career.
12 minutes
Bob Brown discusses the events that occurred during the Franklin River campaign as depicted in his portrait by Harold 'The Kangaroo' Thornton.
13 minutes
Professor David Chalmers explains his interest in philosophy and introduces some of his theories on the conscious mind.
8 minutes
Artist Rick Amor and author Shane Maloney relate divergent experiences of the creation of Shane's portrait.
12 minutes
Professor Marcia Langton, artist Brook Andrew and printer Trent Walter discuss the creation of Marcia's portrait.
5 minutes
The Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG interviews the artist who painted his portrait, Ralph Heimans.
2 minutes
An interview with Professor Frank Fenner who describes his life and the creation of his portrait.
2 minutes
Australian artist, Nora Heysen, discusses her childhood and the development of her career.
5 minutes
Professor Penny Sackett and artist Andrew Mezei describe the process behind making the portrait.
7 minutes
Professor Penny Sackett, Australian National University and former Chief Scientist for Australia (2008-2011) talks about her life in science.
4 minutes
Artist Andrew Mezei talks about his art practice and the process behind his portrait of Professor Penny Sackett.
2 minutes
Australian Nobel Prize winner, Professor Peter Doherty, provides some entertaining insights into his career and the science profession.
2 minutes
Meredith McKinney, subject of Charles Blackman's 'The Family', recounts memories from her childhood and the creation of the portrait.
2 minutes
Former National Portrait Gallery Director, Andrew Sayers, describes John Brack's portrait of Kym Bonython.
2 minutes
A visual exploration of themes depicted in 'The Jester' by Lionel Lindsay.
2 minutes
An interview with Victorian Tapestry Workshop artists Sue Walker and Christopher Pyett.
2 minutes
Interview with Vali Myers' friend, Dimmi, the lift-attendant at the Nicholas Building in Melbourne.
2 minutes
An exploration of the role of artists such as John Webber who, whilst a member of Cook’s crew over many voyages, created paintings and drawings of the situations and people the explorers encountered.
3 minutes
An interview with Australian astronaut, Dr. Andy Thomas, who describes the experience of space travel.
2 minutes
An interview with iconic Australian artist, Chris O'Doherty (otherwise known as Reg Mombassa)
2 minutes
An interview with the indomitable Joan Croll, subject of John Brack's portrait.
2 minutes
An interview with cartoonist Ron Tandberg about the tradition of caricature.
2 minutes
An interview with Australian artist and collector of quirky artefacts, Martin Sharp.
2 minutes
A portrait story exploring the life of Walter Lindrum, one of the greatest billiard players of all time.
2 minutes
A portrait story describing the amazing life of World War II resistance fighter, Nancy Wake.
2 minutes
An interview with the acclaimed pediatrician Dr. John Yu who describes the process of having his portrait sculpture created by artist Ah Xian.
2 minutes
An interview with former National Portrait Gallery Director, Andrew Sayers, who describes the portrait of Sir Henry Barkly by Thomas Clark.
2 minutes
Hugh Ramsay's letters were written while he was living in Paris to his family back in Australia.
2 minutes
The art and landscape of Albert Namatjira.
2 minutes
An interview with photographer William Yang who recalls his encounters with the author Patrick White.
2 minutes
Artists Garry Shead and Martin Sharp recount their friendship and the creation of Martin's portrait.
2 minutes
A series of excepts from Tim Winton's novel 'The Land's Edge'.
2 minutes
A portrait story that explores the life and times of legendary Australian cricketer Sir Donald Bradman.
2 minutes
An interview with the iconic Australian rocker Chrissy Amphlett.
2 minutes
An interview with photographer Harry Borden about his portrait of Michael Hutchence.
2 minutes
An interview with artist Evert Ploeg about his portrait of the Australian actor Deborah Mailman.
1 minute
An interview with photographer Robin Sellick about his portrait of golfing champion Adam Scott.
2 minutes
An interview with Paul Newton, the creator of the portrait of rugby legend David Campese.
1 minute
An examination of the life and times of George Lambert through the gesture and pose in his self portrait.
2 minutes
An interview with graffiti artist Marc de Jong about the art of Howard Arkley.
2 minutes
Australian entomologist and inventer of the Aerogard insect repellent, Douglas Frew Waterhouse describes the evolution of his career.
2 minutes
Artist Jiawei Shen describes the symbolism in his portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.
2 minutes
Broadway star Miss Hilda Spong was painted by Tom Roberts in 1893.
2 minutes
An exploration of Bee Miles' defining characteristic.
2 minutes
Albert Falzon's photograph of Australian surfer Nat Young captures what it is to be a surfing hero.
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