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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.

Portrait 32

June - August 2009

This issue features Vanity Fair, Nancy Bird Walton, William Barak, Sidney Kidman, Benjamin Duterrau's portraits of the Indigenous peoples of Tasmania, and more.

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

Black and white history

by Michael Desmond

English artist Benjamin Duterrau took up the cause of the Indigenous peoples of Tasmania with his detailed and sympathetic renderings.
Nancy Bird Walton, c. 1938
Nancy Bird Walton, c. 1938
Nancy Bird Walton, c. 1938

The aviatrix

by Joanna Gilmour

Joanna Gilmour explores the extraordinary life of Australian female aviator Nancy Bird Walton AO OBE
Self portrait
Self portrait
Self portrait

Of ice and men

by Joanna Gilmour

Frank Hurley's celebrated images document the heroism and minutiae of Australian exploration in Antarctica.
King Barak, last of the Yarra Tribe, 1899
King Barak, last of the Yarra Tribe, 1899
King Barak, last of the Yarra Tribe, 1899

Barak, respected elder

by Dr Christopher Chapman

Dr Christopher Chapman looks at the life of Wurundjeri elder William Barak through the portrait painted by Victor de Pury in 1899.
Mick Jagger, Madonna and Tony Curtis, 1997
Mick Jagger, Madonna and Tony Curtis, 1997
Mick Jagger, Madonna and Tony Curtis, 1997

The Vanity model

by David Friend

Vanity Fair Editor David Friend describes how the rebirth of the magazine sated our desire for access into the lives of celebrities and set the standard for the new era of portrait photography.
Vanity Fair, April, 2004
Vanity Fair, April, 2004
Vanity Fair, April, 2004

International issue

by Michael Desmond

Michael Desmond looks at the history of the Vanity Fair magazine in conjunction with the exhibition Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008
Six and Out
Six and Out
Six and Out

Jumpstart

by Helena Bezzina

Jessica Herrington won the inaugural National Youth Self Portrait Prize in 2008 with a work about the difficulty we have revealing ourselves in front of the camera.
Sir Sidney Kidman
Sir Sidney Kidman
Sir Sidney Kidman

The fat of the land

by Dr Sarah Engledow

Sir Sidney Kidman (1857-1935) is inscribed in Australian legend as the ‘Cattle King’. 

Related information

Portrait 70
Portrait 70
Portrait 70
Portrait 70

Portrait magazine

Publications

Portrait is the preeminent journal of Australian and international portraiture.

Portrait 33

September - November 2009

This issue features Hermannsburg pottery, Nicole Kidman, Ken Done, Jessie Street, two gladiators, the Portraits+Architecture exhibition and more.

Portrait 31

March - May 2009

This issue features the new National Portrait Gallery building, James Cook and John Banks, Cate Blanchett, Irina Baranova, Annette Kellerman, Shepard Fairey and more.
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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 past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

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