© National Portrait Gallery 2025
King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
Phone +61 2 6102 7000
ABN: 54 74 277 1196
Hilda Rix Nicholas
Biography
Emily Hilda Rix left Australia in March 1907, having trained for three years at the National Gallery School.
1 portrait in the collection
Self portrait (Hilda in the Chinoise hat), c. 1913
Hilda Rix Nicholas
Portrait, pastel and coloured pencil on paper
Gift of Bronwyn Wright 2013. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Give me five
Magazine article by Karen Quinlan AM, 2021
National Portrait Gallery director Karen Quinlan AM nominates her quintet of favourites from the collection, with early twentieth-century ‘selfies’ filling the roster.
Hilda Spong
Biography
Hilda Spong (1875-1955), actress, came to Australia with her family when she was thirteen.
1 portrait in the collection
Practising the Minuet
'Who was Hilda Spong?'
Portrait story
Broadway star Miss Hilda Spong was painted by Tom Roberts in 1893.
Practising the Minuet (Miss Hilda Spong), 1893
Tom Roberts
Portrait, oil on canvas
Purchased with funds provided by the Ian Potter Foundation 2008
An actress and her fans
Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2008
Dr. Sarah Engledow discovers the amazing life of Ms. Hilda Spong, little remembered star of the stage, who was captured in a portrait by Tom Roberts.
Jimmy Melrose and his mother Hilda Westley, 1934
an unknown artist
Portrait, silver gelatin photograph on paper
Gift of Sally Douglas 2024
William Nicholas
Biography
William Nicholas was born near London and is believed to have trained with English printmaker A.M Huffam.
2 portraits in the collection
Nicholas Paspaley Jnr
Biography
Nicholas Paspaley Jnr AC (b. 1948) is chair of the Paspaley Group of Companies, with interests in pearling, aviation, retail, pastoral holdings and commercial properties in Australia and internationally.
2 portraits in the collection
Nicholas Chevalier
Biography
Nicholas Chevalier (1828-1902) was a Russian-born artist who came to the Victorian goldfields in 1855 and stayed in the colony as a cartoonist for Punch.
1 portrait in the collection
Nicholas Harding
Biography
Nicholas Harding (1956–2022) was one of Australia's most highly regarded artists, known for his portraits and drawings, and his light-filled, vigorously painted images of the bush and the coast.
5 portraits in the collection
Nicholas Hope
Biography
Nicholas Hope (b. 1959), shot to international fame in art movie circles as the star of Bad Boy Bubby, a cult Australian film directed by Rolf de Heer and released in 1994.
1 portrait in the collection
George Nicholas CBE
Biography
George Nicholas CBE (1884-1960), pharmacist and philanthropist, grew up in South Australia and Victoria.
1 portrait in the collection
Nicholas Whitlam
Biography
Nicholas Whitlam is a banker and company director. He has over thirty years experience in all aspects of banking and finance; in recent years he has been active in major corporate re-organizations and reconstructions, in Australia and overseas, and has served as an adviser to Deutsche Bank AG.
1 portrait in the collection
Nicholas Baudin
Biography
Nicolas Thomas Baudin (1754–1803), cartographic surveyor and naturalist, was sent by the French government to survey the coast of Australia in 1800.
1 portrait in the collection