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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.

Primed

Some Prime Ministers

Previous exhibition
from Saturday 14 September 2019 until Monday 9 March 2020
Bob Hawke, 2012 Luke Cornish. © Luke Cornish

Only seventeen of Australia’s thirty prime ministers to date are represented in the National Portrait Gallery’s collection. Their portraits have been acquired in random order, mostly according to unexpected opportunity. This is the first time in the Gallery’s 20-year history that the esteemed prime ministers’ portraits have been shown as a group. The contrasting sizes, moods and mediums of these portraits, and the different ways they have become available, reflect the exhilarating variety across the collection as a whole.

37 portraits

1 Julia Gillard, 2013 Peter Brew-Bevan. © Peter Brew-Bevan. 2 John Howard and Janette Howard, 2000 Josonia Palaitis. © Josonia Palaitis/Copyright Agency, 2024. 3 Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pours soil into the hand of traditional land owner Vincent Lingiari, 1975 Mervyn Bishop. © National Indigenous Australians Agency. 4 Barton and Watson, 1902 G. H. Dancey. 5 Billy Hughes bottle stopper, 1911-1921 Mashman Bros Ltd. 6 Rt Hon. Sir Robert Menzies, c. 1962 Victor Greenhalgh. © Estate of Victor Greenhalgh.

Related people

Dr Sarah Engledow (curator)

© National Portrait Gallery 2024
King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia

Phone +61 2 6102 7000
ABN: 54 74 277 1196

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 past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

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