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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 68

Summer 2022/23

Lucinda, Tram Driver, 2021 Avraham Vofsi
Lucinda, Tram Driver, 2021 Avraham Vofsi
Lucinda, Tram Driver, 2021 Avraham Vofsi

Observation point

by Avraham Vofsi

For me, portraiture is all about connection. If we can connect deeply to another person’s story, it can be a profoundly moving experience.

The Wedding, 2022 Atong Atem
The Wedding, 2022 Atong Atem
The Wedding, 2022 Atong Atem

See through me

by Penelope Grist and Rebecca Ray

Penelope Grist and Rebecca Ray talk to the artists in Portrait23: Identity about transcending modes of portraiture.

Unheroic Materialism: little harmless fragments of memory and association: a portrait of Angus Trumble, 2019 Evert Ploeg
Unheroic Materialism: little harmless fragments of memory and association: a portrait of Angus Trumble, 2019 Evert Ploeg
Unheroic Materialism: little harmless fragments of memory and association: a portrait of Angus Trumble, 2019 Evert Ploeg

The last word

by Dr David Hansen

David Hansen’s tribute to his close friend, prince of words and former National Portrait Gallery director, the late Angus Trumble.

Betty Muffler
Betty Muffler
Betty Muffler

Unpacked

by Rebecca Ray

Rebecca Ray reflects on Robert Fielding’s Mayatjara series, honouring songlines and intergenerational knowedge.

Self portrait, 1980 
Alice Neel
Self portrait, 1980 
Alice Neel
Self portrait, 1980 
Alice Neel

Hard truths

by Jennifer Higgie

Jennifer Higgie reveals how Alice Neel reinvigorated 20th century portraiture with her honest and perceptive depictions of the human experience.

Yanyangkari Roma Butler and Yangi Yangi Fox from Irrunyju (Wingellina), Western Australia, 2017 Rhett Hammerton
Yanyangkari Roma Butler and Yangi Yangi Fox from Irrunyju (Wingellina), Western Australia, 2017 Rhett Hammerton
Yanyangkari Roma Butler and Yangi Yangi Fox from Irrunyju (Wingellina), Western Australia, 2017 Rhett Hammerton

Weaving identity

by Rebecca Ray

Rebecca Ray explores the way identity, belonging and connectedness are translated through materiality in First Nations portraiture.

Une Femme Amoureuse, Self portrait as Mireille Mathieu, 2022 Yvette Coppersmith
Une Femme Amoureuse, Self portrait as Mireille Mathieu, 2022 Yvette Coppersmith
Une Femme Amoureuse, Self portrait as Mireille Mathieu, 2022 Yvette Coppersmith

You, looking at me

by Elspeth Pitt

Elspeth Pitt chats with Archibald Prize-winning artist Yvette Coppersmith about performance, coincidences and the intersection of art and life.

Portrait of Professor Derek Freeman
Portrait of Professor Derek Freeman
Portrait of Professor Derek Freeman

Paper weight

by Joanna Gilmour

Joanna Gilmour delves into a collection display that celebrates the immediacy and potency of drawing as an art form in its own right.

Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman

Portrait story

by Vincent Fantauzzo

Artist Vincent Fantauzzo on dyslexia, connection and virtual sittings with Hugh Jackman.

dumb & dumber from The Imponderable Archive, 2013 Samuel Hodge
dumb & dumber from The Imponderable Archive, 2013 Samuel Hodge
dumb & dumber from The Imponderable Archive, 2013 Samuel Hodge

Everything, everyqueer, all at once

by Bradley Vincent

Bradley Vincent considers Samuel Hodge’s use of the archive to create a queer vernacular of portraiture.

Portrait of a Pioneer , 1917 
Violet Teague
Portrait of a Pioneer , 1917 
Violet Teague
Portrait of a Pioneer , 1917 
Violet Teague

Off her own bat

by Joanna Gilmour

Joanna Gilmour profiles Violet Teague, whose sophisticated works hid her originality and non-conformity in plain sight.

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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.

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