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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

The Gallery’s Acknowledgement of Country, and information on culturally sensitive and restricted content and the use of historic language in the collection can be found here.

Matilda (Ngambri)

2020
Brenda L Croft, Prue Hazelgrove (wet plate collodion process technical assistant) and Richard Crampton (printer)

from the series ‘Naabami (Thou shall/will see): I am/we are Barangaroo’
inkjet print (from original tintype, wet plate collodion process) on paper, edition 4/5 + 3 APs (image: 119.7 cm x 90.9 cm, sheet: 140.3 cm x 99.9 cm, frame: 153.0 cm x 113.0 cm depth 4.2 cm)

Dr Matilda House (b. 1945), is a Ngambri woman who has dedicated her life to the pursuit of social justice for Indigenous people. A tireless supporter of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy since its founding in 1972, she helped found the Aboriginal Legal Service in Queanbeyan in the 1980s and had a key role in establishing the Australian National University's Tjabal Indigenous Higher Education Centre in 1989. On the eve of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations in February 2008, she became the first person to perform the Welcome to Country at the opening of Federal Parliament. Her contribution to her community was recognised by the ANU with the conferral of the Degree of Doctor of the University in 2017.

Gurindji/Malngin/Mudburra artist, scholar and curator Brenda L Croft's portrait is from a series honouring Cammeraygal woman Barangaroo (c. 1750–1791), whose resilience and fiercely held connection to place inspires many contemporary First Nations women. Croft employed the wet plate collodion process for the series because 'it doesn’t hide anything ... It's not about making people look like something that they're not. It’s about showing everything that you've lived through, all that you’ve learnt.'

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020 Finalist

Purchased with funds provided by The Calvert-Jones Foundation 2020
© Brenda L Croft/Copyright Agency, 2024

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. Works of art from the collection are reproduced as per the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). The use of images of works from the collection may be restricted under the Act. Requests for a reproduction of a work of art can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

Artist and subject

Brenda L Croft (age 56 in 2020)

Prue Hazelgrove

Richard Crampton

Dr Matilda House (age 75 in 2020)

Supported by

The Calvert-Jones Foundation (4 portraits supported)

© National Portrait Gallery 2024
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ABN: 54 74 277 1196

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. Copyright in all materials and/or works comprising or contained within this website remains with the National Portrait Gallery and other copyright owners as specified.

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Requests for a reproduction of a work of art or other content can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

The National Portrait Gallery is an Australian Government Agency