New Zealand Portrait Gallery

The New Zealand Portrait Gallery gives us perspectives on ourselves and our place in the world. It is home to a growing collection of portraits. Our exhibitions include painting, sculpture, caricature, photography and new media. These portraits of members of our society spur us into thinking about what it means to be New Zealanders – perhaps even to wonder if there is a character that is particularly our own.

Our aim is to present portraits of our peoples who, from various cultural or political standpoints, have shaped our country’s development or influenced the way we think about ourselves. Our collection is growing as portraits are donated and sponsored.

The New Zealand Portrait Gallery was registered as a charitable Trust in 1990. It was the brainchild of Bill and Judy Williams with the encouragement of the former Prime Minister Sir John Marshall. Their sterling efforts and those of dedicated volunteers have seen the Gallery grow into an institution with its own professional staff, the long leasehold of a heritage building as its Gallery space - Shed 11 – and a strong and effective Board of Trustees.