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In 1976, without having been blooded on the Sydney or Melbourne pub circuit, The Saints recorded a single – ‘(I’m) Stranded’ – earning them the distinction of releasing a punk single before The Sex Pistols did.

Untitled #15 (Kylie Minogue performs at Tour of Duty concert at Dili Stadium, East Timor, 21 December 1999)

Oz Elsewhere

Get me outta here

Stop in all the byways, playin' rock 'n roll

While the blues-inspired hard guitar riffs of Australian pub rock were shaping tastes, a number of artists were developing music primed for success on the international stage.

Guthugga Pipeline, Christmas Show, upstairs, The (old) Griffin Centre, Civic, 22 December 1979. Crowd, L-R : Ben Donaldson, Anne Redmond, Nick Vollis, Esa Makela, Megan Woodrow (Mohawk), Andy Hall (scarf) 'pling

Capital Cool

Archived media releases 2020

Outsiders tend to give Canberra a bad rap: sterile, plagued by politicians, a comatose capital for professionals and academics. Nick Cave once said he didn’t like the city because there were too many punks.

In the mirror: self portrait with Joy Hester

Spring exhibition program

18 August 2020

The following on-line and physical exhibitions are planned to open at the National Portrait Gallery in coming months. For those who can’t travel at present, selected works from all exhibitions will be included online

Announcing... Pub Rock

11 August 2020

Archived media releases 2020

An exhibition that celebrates the people, places and sounds of Australian pub rock and its enduring impact on the nation’s identity, opens at the National Portrait Gallery on 5 September, 2020.

Nick Cave, Susie Bick and Luke Cave, 1998 (printed 2020) Dominique Issermann. Courtesy of the artist © Dominique Issermann

Stepping out

Devotion

Beautiful punk love

Kylie Minogue 1, 2018 (printed 2020)

Nicole Bentley

Portrait, inkjet print on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2020

Kylie Minogue 2, 2018 (printed 2020)

Nicole Bentley

Portrait, inkjet print on paper

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2020

Nick Cave, 2001 (printed 2014)

Ingvar Kenne

Magazine article by Andrew Mayo, 2016

Gift of the artist 2017. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Daniel Johns, Silverchair Melbourne 2007 by Martin Philbey

Rock art

Andrew Mayo talks to three of Australia’s most prominent and prolific music photographers — Martin Philbey, Kane Hibberd and Daniel Boud — about the challenges and inspiration behind their craft.

Uncommon Australians

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Previous exhibition, 2015

This exhibition showcases portraits acquired through the generosity of the National Portrait Gallery’s Founding Patrons, L Gordon Darling AC CMG and Marilyn Darling AC.

Uncommon Australians

The vision of Gordon and Marilyn Darling

Portrait, inkjet print on paper

Sarah Engledow writes about Gordon and Marilyn Darling and their support for the National Portrait Gallery throughout its evolution.

History

About us

How the National Portrait Gallery and its unique collection came to be

Nick Cave by Howard Arkley

Portrait story

An interview with graffiti artist Marc de Jong about the art of Howard Arkley.

Howard Arkley 1, 1980 (printed 2012)

Robert Rooney

Purchased 2012

A serious man

Magazine article by Alistair McGhie, 2010

Alistair McGhie discusses Andrew MacColl's portrait photograph of Australian comedian Mick Molloy.

Untitled #15 (Kylie Minogue performs at Tour of Duty concert at Dili Stadium, East Timor, 21 December 1999), 1999-2000

Matthew Sleeth

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2010. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

Untitled #88 (Captain Brad Kilpatrick and Kylie Minogue, Balibo, East Timor, 20 December 1999)

Untitled #88 (Captain Brad Kilpatrick and Kylie Minogue, Balibo, East Timor, 20 December 1999), 1999

Matthew Sleeth

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2010. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.

In the galleries

Christopher Chapman highlights the inaugural hang of the new National Portrait Gallery building which opened in December 2008.

Winning in technicolor

Magazine article by Alistair McGhie, 2009

Alistair McGhie writes about the portraits of three of Australia's top professional cyclists: Cadel Evans, Stuart O'Grady and Robbie McEwen painted by Matthys Gerber.

Speed demon

Magazine article by Dr Christopher Chapman, 2009

Scott Redford discusses his dynamic portrait commission of motorcycling champion and 2008 Young Australian of the Year Casey Stoner.

An Australian story

Magazine article by The Hon. Dr Kevin Rudd, 2009

In his speech launching the new National Portrait Gallery building on 3 December 2008, then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd set the Gallery in a national and historical context.

Portrait of a patron

Magazine article by Dr Sarah Engledow, 2007

A new painting by Jiawei Shen captures the vision and resolve of the Gallery's founder, L. Gordon Darling AC CMG.

Australian Visit

Previous exhibition, 2006

The exhibition will include works of art from the NPG Canberra's permanent collection with some inward loans and aims to highlight the achievements of notable Australians.

Nick Cave, 1973 (printed 1991)

Ashley Mackevicius

Magazine article by Christine Clark, 2005

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2006

Face the music

Drawn from the Gallery's collection, the exhibition Face the Music explores the remarkable talents and achievements of Australian musicians, composers, conductors and celebrities associated with the music industry.

Guy Pearce, 2000 (printed 2004)

Karin Catt

Five Years of National Portrait Gallery Commissions

Purchased 2005

Making Portraits

Previous exhibition, 2004

The considered matching of artist to subject has produced an amazing collection of unique and original works in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery

Proof

Portraits from The Movement 1978-2003

Previous exhibition, 2003

Portraits from The Movement is the first comprehensive survey of photographs from the Juno Gemes archive, which has supported the Aboriginal struggle for justice in Australia from 1978 to the present day.

Golden Jubilee

Magazine article by Magda Keaney, 2002

Polly Borland's photograph of The Queen was commissioned by Buckingham Palace as part of a series of high profile celebrations to mark the Golden Jubilee.

On commission

Magazine article by Andrew Sayers AM, 2002

Former NPG Director Andrew Sayers discusses the art of commissioning portraits.

The Story So Far...

Magazine article by Simon Elliott, 2002

A reflection on the National Portrait Gallery's first four years.

Nick Cave and Rowland S. Howard (of The Birthday Party)

Nick Cave and Rowland S. Howard (of The Birthday Party), 1983

Bleddyn Butcher

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

Dave Graney, 1996

Bleddyn Butcher

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

Nick Cave, 1994

Bleddyn Butcher

Portrait, oil on canvas board (triptych)

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2002

Robert, Lindy, Grant, 1981

Jenny Watson

Purchased 2002

Grant (No. 3 of Robert, Lindy, Grant)

Jenny Watson

Image

Kylie Minogue, 1999

Polly Borland

Previous exhibition, 1999

Purchased 2000

Glossy - Faces Magazines Now

Magazines are the portrait galleries of the 90s... Glossy is about magazines. The exhibition presents the work of eight photographers, Australian by birth or long-term residency, who are producing portraits for publication in magazines around the world.

The Boys Next Door, 1978

Michel Lawrence

Portrait, synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Nick Cave, 1999

Howard Arkley

Commissioned with funds provided by L Gordon Darling AC CMG 1999

Michael Hutchence, 1997

Harry Borden

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999

Howard Arkley

Howard Arkley (1951-1999) was born, died, and spent the majority of his life in Melbourne, where he studied at Prahran CAE and Melbourne State College between 1969 and 1973.

3 portraits in the collection

Nick Cave AO

Nick Cave AO (b. 1957), singer, songwriter and author, was born in Warracknabeal, Victoria, and educated at Caulfield Grammar School, where he formed his first band, The Boys Next Door.

7 portraits in the collection

Nathan Kelly

Nathan Kelly (b. 1976), photographer, studied fine arts at the Sydney College of the Arts at the University of Sydney before being named as one of Australia’s top 30 photography graduates by Australian Commercial Photography magazine.

3 portraits in the collection

Jimmy Little AO

Jimmy Little AO (1937–2012), singer, actor and advocate, was a Yorta Yorta man raised at the Cummerangunja Mission near the Murray River, New South Wales.

3 portraits in the collection

Kylie Minogue AO OBE

Kylie Minogue AO OBE (b. 1968), the 'Princess of Pop', is Australia's most successful female recording artist of all time, selling more than 80 million albums worldwide, and the first woman to have a UK number one album across five consecutive decades.

5 portraits in the collection

Bleddyn Butcher

Bleddyn Butcher was born in London and came to Australia when he was six.

5 portraits in the collection

Grant McLennan

Grant McLennan and Robert Forster both sang and wrote songs for The Go-Betweens, and McLennan wrote one of their greatest, 'Cattle and Cane', recalling the rural Queensland environment of his youth.

1 portrait in the collection

Martin Philbey

Martin Philbey (b. 1962) is a Melbourne-based photographer who has amassed an archive of 100,000 images over his twenty-year career.

4 portraits in the collection

Andrew Maccoll

Andrew Maccoll (b. 1978) is a photographer and creative director. Born into an artistic family (his father is a press photographer and his mother a documentary producer) he worked as a darkroom printing assistant while studying for his degree in Visual Arts in Photography at Queensland College of Art, Griffith University.

3 portraits in the collection

John Hillcoat

John Hillcoat (b. 1960), filmmaker, was born in Brisbane and grew up in Canada, the USA and Europe.

1 portrait in the collection

Susie Bick