(L-R) The Princess of Wales on the cover of Tatler, Queen Victoria by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, and a detail of Vices Overlook’d in the New Proclamation by James Gillray.
Hannah Uzor/Tatler, Royal Collection Trust / National Portrait Gallery. Montage created with Canva
British monarchs have grappled with issues of representation, accuracy and flattery in portraits since the Middle Ages.
Vincent Namatjira, Western Aranda people, Northern Territory, born Mparntwe (Alice Springs), Northern Territory, 14 June 1983. The Indulkana Tigers, 2014, Indulkana, Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, South Australia synthetic polymer paint on linen 122.0 x 152.0 cm Private Collection © Vincent Namatjira.
Vincent Namatjira, a Western Arrernte artist, is Albert Namatjira’s great-grandson. His genre is portraiture, but with a twist: loaded with satire and post-colonial politics.
Portraits on show at the exhibition, in the centre is Laceta Reid,
painted by Serge Attukwei Clottey.
National Portrait Gallery
The portraits hold up a mirror to a society that has underappreciated the Windrush generation for far too long.
Self-Portrait with Vivex One-Shot Camera by Yevonde (1937).
Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery
Yevonde was a celebrated portraitist, innovative colourist and advocate for women in the profession. In short, a pioneer.
Though Richard Avedon started his career as a fashion photographer, he later became known for his unflinching eye.
Jack Mitchell/Getty Images
In a 1959 essay, Capote noted how Avedon seemed to capture ‘every hard-earned crow’s foot’ in his subjects – perhaps not realizing that he would one day be photographed by that same unvarnished gaze.
No. 470, 17 June 2009, iPad drawing from My Window.
David Hockney / Taschen
How the artist found endless variety in the daily view from his bed, cycling through the seasons with kaleidoscopes of light, colour, texture, form and space.
The author and her family with Santa in 1980.
As a migrant family, participating in this ritual made us feel and appear more Australian, if only to ourselves.
Members of the River City Voices choir perform for a group portrait.
Cherine Fahd, Being Together: Parramatta Yearbook (2021-2022)
Coming together for a portrait creates playful opportunities for social interactions among strangers.
‘Lovers in Arizona (#3),’ 2020.
Luke Gilford
Young queer people growing up in rural areas don’t necessarily need to flee their communities to find safety and acceptance.
Portrait of Betty and Willis Coles by William Bullard from about 1902.
Courtesy of Frank Morrill, Clark University and the Worcester Art Museum
The camera has long been used to defy a media landscape steeped in negative portrayals of Black families.
AAP Image/Joel Carrett
Leak will be the first official portrait painter of a former Prime Minister who has not been an Archibald finalist.
Archibald Prize 2020 finalist Blak Douglas (aka Adam Hill),
Writing in the sand,
synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 250 x 250 cm © the artist.
Photo: AGNSW, Felicity Jenkins Sitter: Dujuan Hoosen - documentary star ('In my blood it runs')
Most years, the Archibald exhibition is worth viewing as an amusing exercise in social history. This year it is worth seeing for the art.