Paris to Monaro tells the story of one of the many 20th Century settlers of the Australian Capital Territory and surrounding region, the cosmopolitan...
www.portrait.gov.au
If this venue is missing details or has changed operations, let us know and we will investigate and update the listing.
Please include any website links supporting the requested changes
Even though the National Portrait Gallery is the youngest of Australia’s national cultural institutions, the idea has been around for over a century. In the early 1900s, the painter Tom Roberts was the first to propose that Australia should have a national portrait gallery, but it wasn’t until the 1990s that the possibility began to take shape.The 1992 exhibition ‘Uncommon Australians’ – developed by the Gallery’s founding patrons, Gordon and Marilyn Darling – was shown in Canberra and toured to four state galleries, reigniting the idea of a national portrait gallery.Program Bookings:Ph: (+61 2) 6102 7070E: bookings@npg.gov.auFor the first ten years of the National Portrait Gallery’s life, the spaces of Old Parliament House provided an apt location for the various programs and exhibitions exploring the traditions and currency of portrait practice in Australia.In 1994, under the management of the National Library of Australia, the Gallery’s first exhibition was launched in Old Parliament House. It was a further four years before the appointment of Andrew Sayers as Director signalled the establishment of the National Portrait Gallery as an institution in its own right, with a board, a budget and a brief to develop a collection of portraits reflecting the breadth and energy of Australian culture and endeavour.The opening of displays in the refurbished Parliamentary Library and two adjacent wings of Old Parliament House in 1999 endorsed the Gallery’s status and arrival as an independent institution.The Gallery is open every day from 10am - 5pm except Christmas Day 25 December.
The ambitious portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Australian artist Ralph Heimans is the centrepiece of the exhibition Glorious. Shown for the...
The National Portrait Gallery and Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation present Go Figure! Contemporary Chinese Portraiture to Canberra and Sydney...
Swedish-born Australian photographer Ingvar Kenne has captured individuality and shared human experience in his ongoing portrait project Citizen. This...
The National Portrait Gallery runs a range of talks and workshops throughout the year. Curators, historians and commentators present free lunchtime talks...
A program for children from 3 to 8 to share ideas with family and friends, while playfully exploring portraits through drawing, touching and talking in...
Join April Thompson, National Portrait Gallery intern, in a discussion about portraits by Fred Williams in the Collection.
Draw Weiqi players in a tableau while listening to Chinese music. Also known as Go, Weiqi is an ancient Chinese board game of strategy. All abilities and...
Enjoy the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by expatriate artist Ralph Heimans with Dr Sarah Engledow, Historian, National Portrait Gallery.
Celebrate Children’s Week and the National Year of Reading and listen to stories with a connection to China, read in Mandarin and English and create...
Young children share stories about their favourite portraits.
The lost thing won the 2011 Academy Award for best animated short film. Directed by Sean Tan.
The National Portrait Gallery and Macquarie Group Foundation are calling all creative types aged 18 - 30 to submit a screen-based digital portrait for the...
Dr Christopher Chapman, Senior Curator, National Portrait Gallery, reflects upon the screen-based digital portrait works selected for the inaugural iD...
Join in the celebration of drawing at the Big Draw 2012, a day of action, drawing, music and adventure for all ages and abilities. All materials provided....
Joanna Gilmour, Curator, National Portrait Gallery, discusses the boxing brothers Dave, Clam, Percy, George, Alfred and Russell Sands.
Join Louise Doyle, Director and Sandy Nairne, Director London National Portrait Gallery at the Circle of Friends 2012 Spring Dinner.
The National Botanic Gardens are hosting Breakfast with the Birds, to observe some of Canberra’s amazing birdlife in the beautiful surrounds of the...
China Power is a reflection on modern China by its artists, filmmakers, and curators focussing on China’s burgeoning art scene. Directed by Pia Getty.
Elegance in exile is an exhibition surveying the work of Richard Read senior, Thomas Bock, Thomas Griffiths Wainewright and Charles Rodius: four artists...
Stroll through the galleries with Dr Sarah Engledow, curator, National Portrait Gallery, as she points to the different ways artists render the eyes of...
Take a tour of the Portrait Gallery that highlights the scientists in the Collection.
Maria Ramsden, Associate Registrar, National Portrait Gallery, leads a guided tour through the Gallery’s collection storage areas to view portraits and...
To celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of Patrick White's birth, the Gallery will display eleven works by Brett Whiteley, centred around his...
Dr Christopher Chapman, National Portrait Gallery curator, discusses the ideas behind the shape of the collection display.
Alison Inglis, Assoc Professor, School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne, examines one of Australia’s most intriguing colonial...
Patrick White’s face was one of the most famous in Australia. It puzzled the man and challenged great photographers and painters. In this illustrated...
Joanna Gilmour, curator, National Portrait Gallery, discusses Elegance in exile: portrait drawings from colonial Australia and the significance of drawing...
Take a tour of the collection that looks at portraits of significance to the Reconciliation debate.
Wendy Whiteley discusses the rise and fall of the relationship between Patrick White and Brett Whiteley.
National Portrait Gallery curator Joanna Gilmour presents an introduction to the work of four colonial artists represented in the exhibition Elegance in...
Tour the National Portrait Gallery exploring the collection and the building Daily at 11.30am and 2.30pm
Jim Sharman discusses White as something of a portrait artist himself, creating memorable characters who have entered the public imagination.
National Gallery members are invited to join National Portrait Gallery members for a coach trip to the Art Gallery of New South Wales to view the...
See the best photographic portraits by the best. The annual National Photographic Portrait Prize intends to promote the very best in contemporary...
Nikki Toole has travelled the world to photograph skateboarders. The portraits evoke the solitary mental space experienced while skating. Nineteen...
Any survey of the National Portrait Gallery's collection reveals numerous variations in facial hair fashions. From the be-wigged and clean-shaven gents of...
Since 1993 Brisbane-based artist David M Thomas has investigated self identity through art works that encompass painting, text, audio, video and...
Learn from Australia’s leading portrait artists during a two-hour, practical master class and create your own masterpiece under the guidance of some of...
At what point does an artist’s ‘impression’ of colour, light and form become a work sufficiently finished to show to someone else? At what point does an...
Step into the world of big hats, veils, lace, satin, moustaches, pipes, sunshine and shimmery rain this summer as the National Portrait Gallery presents...
Join us for a tranquil end to our summer show, Impressions: Painting light and life. Take the opportunity to relax and enjoy refreshments accompanied by...
Portraits on Sunday Gallery-based lectures focussing on exhibitions and key works in the collection. Selected Sundays; Talks are free 2.00 - 3.00pm This...
Michael Kelly, artist, leads a painting and drawing excursion in the Canberra hinterland working into the evening to capture the twilight. Refreshments...
View the contemporary exhibition Skater, followed by lunch and a glass of wine whilst you listen to a conversation between the curator Dr Christopher...
This display celebrates 100 years of the Historic Memorials Collection and its role in commissioning portraits of parliamentary and judicial figures in...
A documentary addressing Sir Henry Parkes’ vision to federate the colonies and create one nation. Screening with support from the National Film and Sound...
Work in direct reference to images of a unique skull and follow step by step instructions in the art of drawing the muscles and features of a facial...
Three chefs compete to make the best lamingtons. Gordon Darling Hall Thursday 26 January 10.00am – 12.00pm
Work in pairs on a replica skull building up muscles and skin in clay. The lab is an intensive, hands-on introduction to the human skull, the function and...