The National Portrait Gallery is calling on family history enthusiasts and amateur historians to help reveal more about Dempsey’s People.
After almost 20 years of research, curator Dr David Hansen has identified 25 of the subjects, but is keen to find more information on the characters in Dempsey’s eclectic folio.
‘The folk in Dempsey’s portraits are from a largely marginalised group in the history of art. They are the urban poor of the early 19th century, representatives of the most numerous class of this country’s early settlers, both convict and immigrant. They are ancestors of many contemporary Anglo-Celtic Australians,’ said Dr Hansen.
‘While we have been able to identify some of the subjects, I am eager to hear from the people of Australia to assist us in filling in gaps in the information we do have, and possibly identifying some of the unknown subjects. If you are interested in becoming a ‘citizen historian’, the portraits are all on display at the Gallery until October, or can be viewed online.’
If you have a family connection to any of the 52 individuals, let us know by sharing your story on social media and tagging @PortraitAu, or send an email to info@npg.gov.au.
Dempsey’s people: a folio of British street portraits 1824–1844 is the first exhibition to showcase the compelling watercolour images of English street people made by the itinerant English painter John Dempsey throughout the first half of the nineteenth century.
Visit us, learn with us, support us or work with us! Here’s a range of information about planning your visit, our history and more!
We depend on your support to keep creating our programs, exhibitions, publications and building the amazing portrait collection!
