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Alumni

As the longest continuing art school in Australia, the National Art School has a substantial and impressive cohort of alumni who have contributed to the history of Australian art and continue to influence contemporary art practice. Our alumni are represented in the most prestigious collections around the world, from the Tate in the UK and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, MoMA and the Solomon R. Guggenheim in New York, to all Australian state and the national galleries.

Graduates of National Art School who continue to enjoy outstanding success include Fiona Hall AO who represented Australia at the 2015 Venice Biennale of Art, 2012 Archibald Prize winner Tim Storrier and contemporary ceramicist Juz Kitson, who was selected to exhibit in Primavera: Young Australia Artists at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia in 2013.

Below is a sample of some of our most esteemed alumni from the 1920s till the present day.

Have any feedback? Want to submit an exhibition or news for inclusion in our digital promotions? Get in touch.

Check out a selection of alumni, staff and student exhibitions on this month around Australia and the world here.

 

Key Alumni

1920s – Jean Broome, Lyndon Dadswell, Elaine Haxton AM, Frank Hinder, Arthur Murch, Joshua Smith, Barbara Tribe

1930s – Jean Appleton, Max Dupain OBE, AC, James Gleeson, Lorna Nimmo, Rosaleen Norton, Dorothy Thornhill

1940s – Tom Bass, Charles Blackman, John Coburn AO, Kevin Connor, Mollie Douglas, Bert Flugelman AM, Norman Hetherington OAM, Robert Klippel AO, Margaret Olley AC, Elizabeth Rooney, Peter Rushforth AM, Tony Tuckson, Guy Warren AM

1950s – Yvonne Audette, Les Blakebrough AM, Vivienne Binns, Ted Binder, Elisabeth Cummings OAM, Ken Done, Margaret Fink, Michael Johnson, Colin Lanceley, Keith Looby, John Olsen AO OBE, Roslyn Oxley OAM, Robert Owen, Mike Parr, Ann Thomson, Brett Whiteley, Wendy Whiteley OAM, William Wright AM

1960s – Bill Brown, Vivienne Binns OAM, Geoffrey Bardon AM, Richard Goodwin, Ian Howard, Colin Lanceley AO, Janet Mansfield OAM, Alan Oldfield, Peter Powditch AM, Bill Samuels, Ron Robertson-Swann OAM, Martin Sharp, Garry Shead, Tim Storrier AM, Ken Unsworth AM

1970s – Dr Philip Batty, Cressida Campbell, Merilyn Fairskye, Fiona Hall AO, Paul Hopmeier, Jan King, Marie McMahon, Reg Mombassa/Chris O’Doherty, Susan Norrie OAM, Julie Rrap, Michael Snape, Thancoupie AO, Anne Zalhalka

1980s – Fiona Foley, Adrienne Gaha, Peter Godwin, Ildiko Kovacs, Tim Maguire, Idris Murphy, Joan Ross, Louise Tuckwell

1990s – Lucy Culliton, Karla Dickens, Alan Jones, Fiona Lowry, Adam Rish, Luke Sciberras, Craig Waddell

2000s – Mitch Cairns, Jumaadi, Juz Kitson, Alesandro Ljubicic, Guy Maestri, Leslie Rice, Coen Young, Shonah Trescott, Justine Varga

2010–2015 – Sophie Cape, Todd Fuller, Mason Kimber, Michael McIntyre, Lucy O’Doherty, Catherine O’Donnell, Georgia Saxelby, Elyssa Sykes-Smith

2015–2020 – Eliza Gosse, Kirtika Kain, Dani Mackenzie, Ebony Russell, Natasha Walsh

 

VALE

The National Art School has been the training ground for some of Australia’s most significant and respected artists. On this page we recognise and pay homage to our alumni who have passed away recently.

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Thank you to everyone who attended the opening night of the 24th Dobell Drawing Prize and congratulations again to the prize winner NAS alumna Rosemary Lee.

The 24th Dobell Drawing Prize is now open until Saturday 21 June 2025
11am – 5pm Monday to Saturday
NAS Gallery
Free admission, all welcome

Learn more about the exhibition at the link in bio.

View

Apr 11

Open
Thank you to everyone who attended the opening night of the 24th Dobell Drawing Prize and congratulations again to the prize winner NAS alumna Rosemary Lee. The 24th Dobell Drawing Prize is now open until Saturday 21 June 2025 11am – 5pm Monday to Saturday NAS Gallery Free admission, all welcome Learn more about the exhibition at the link in bio.

We are delighted to announce NAS alumna Rosemary Lee as the winner of the 24th Dobell Drawing Prize, Australia’s leading prize for drawing, worth $30,000.

Selected from 56 nationwide finalists, and 965 entries, Rosemary’s work will become part of the National Art School’s significant collection, built over the past 120 years. Rosemary, in her winning work 24-1 (2024), observes tonal and compositional profundity in everyday life.

The judging panel comprising acclaimed First Nations artist Vernon Ah Kee, Paula Latos-Valier AM, Trustee and Art Director of the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation, and Dr Yolunda Hickman, Head of Postgraduate Studies, National Art School, commented of Rosemary’s work: “The decision to award the 24th Dobell Drawing Prize to Rosemary Lee for the work ‘24-1’ was unanimous. We were most impressed by the level of visual intensity the artist has achieved in this work both through its vibrant colour and in the extraordinary detail of the composition. The artwork’s exploration of the urban landscape and gentrification of the Sydney suburbs of Ashfield and Summer Hill, has produced an image capturing a broader sense of transience and the omnipresence of construction sites in our cities today. It questions the cultural and historical value of place, through the lens of the artist’s personal connection.”

See Lee’s work alongside the work of the other finalists in the 24th Dobell Drawing Prize, 11 April – 21 June 2025, NAS Gallery
—
Left to right: NAS Director and CEO, Dr Kristen Sharp with artist Rosemary Lee, featuring winning artwork 24–1, 2024, pencil on paper, image courtesy the artist and National Art School Gallery © the artist, photograph: Peter Morgan

View

Apr 10

Open
We are delighted to announce NAS alumna Rosemary Lee as the winner of the 24th Dobell Drawing Prize, Australia’s leading prize for drawing, worth $30,000. Selected from 56 nationwide finalists, and 965 entries, Rosemary’s work will become part of the National Art School’s significant collection, built over the past 120 years. Rosemary, in her winning work 24-1 (2024), observes tonal and compositional profundity in everyday life. The judging panel comprising acclaimed First Nations artist Vernon Ah Kee, Paula Latos-Valier AM, Trustee and Art Director of the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation, and Dr Yolunda Hickman, Head of Postgraduate Studies, National Art School, commented of Rosemary’s work: “The decision to award the 24th Dobell Drawing Prize to Rosemary Lee for the work ‘24-1’ was unanimous. We were most impressed by the level of visual intensity the artist has achieved in this work both through its vibrant colour and in the extraordinary detail of the composition. The artwork’s exploration of the urban landscape and gentrification of the Sydney suburbs of Ashfield and Summer Hill, has produced an image capturing a broader sense of transience and the omnipresence of construction sites in our cities today. It questions the cultural and historical value of place, through the lens of the artist’s personal connection.” See Lee’s work alongside the work of the other finalists in the 24th Dobell Drawing Prize, 11 April – 21 June 2025, NAS Gallery — Left to right: NAS Director and CEO, Dr Kristen Sharp with artist Rosemary Lee, featuring winning artwork 24–1, 2024, pencil on paper, image courtesy the artist and National Art School Gallery © the artist, photograph: Peter Morgan

Introducing the National Art School Short Courses Program from July–December 2025

Whether you’re a beginner, rediscovering a past passion, refining your skills, or considering our Fine Arts degree, the short courses offer a stimulating and rewarding experience for all levels.

Our 2025 program begins in July with Winter School, followed by Term Three, Spring Weekend Workshops in September, and Term Four in October.

Learn more and enrol at the link in bio.

View

Apr 10

Open
Introducing the National Art School Short Courses Program from July–December 2025 Whether you’re a beginner, rediscovering a past passion, refining your skills, or considering our Fine Arts degree, the short courses offer a stimulating and rewarding experience for all levels. Our 2025 program begins in July with Winter School, followed by Term Three, Spring Weekend Workshops in September, and Term Four in October. Learn more and enrol at the link in bio.

Making Sound is a performance event featuring four artists who make devices that make sound, including Gary Warner, Pia van Gelder, Ben Denham and Sean O’Connell, presented following Facture: Drawing Symposium 2025, Saturday 12 April 5-6pm.

Gary Warner creates an improvised soundfield with his ‘aleatoric ensemble’ autonomous sound machines, a collection of modified turntables that spin ad-hoc bric-a-brac assemblages.

Pia van Gelder (pictured) amplifies an electronic circuit as it is built in real-time. Under the moniker of “PvG sans PCB,” in these performances, van Gelder works on a breadboard with electronic components and additional found objects to demonstrate the electronic variabilities produced in the material world.

Ben Denham and Sean O’Connell perform together with handmade synthesizer systems that sense and sonify barometric pressure and the flow of electrons through matter.

Purchase your tickets to the symposium at the link in bio.
—
Pia van Gelder, `sans PCB`, 2021, performance, Collings Creative, image courtesy and © the artist

View

Apr 6

Open
Making Sound is a performance event featuring four artists who make devices that make sound, including Gary Warner, Pia van Gelder, Ben Denham and Sean O’Connell, presented following Facture: Drawing Symposium 2025, Saturday 12 April 5-6pm. Gary Warner creates an improvised soundfield with his ‘aleatoric ensemble’ autonomous sound machines, a collection of modified turntables that spin ad-hoc bric-a-brac assemblages. Pia van Gelder (pictured) amplifies an electronic circuit as it is built in real-time. Under the moniker of “PvG sans PCB,” in these performances, van Gelder works on a breadboard with electronic components and additional found objects to demonstrate the electronic variabilities produced in the material world. Ben Denham and Sean O’Connell perform together with handmade synthesizer systems that sense and sonify barometric pressure and the flow of electrons through matter. Purchase your tickets to the symposium at the link in bio. — Pia van Gelder, 'sans PCB', 2021, performance, Collings Creative, image courtesy and © the artist

Passionate about collections and the arts? Join us as a Digitisation Volunteer!

The National Art School Archive and Collection team is looking for enthusiastic Digitisation Volunteers to help bring our art collection to life! Your work will play a key role in making art and history more accessible—by photographing and recording our collections, enhancing our museum database, and digitising our extensive archive of photographs. Through your efforts, every stored object and artwork in our collection will have a high-quality, searchable digital record for generations to come.

Apply at the link in bio.

View

Apr 2

Open
Passionate about collections and the arts? Join us as a Digitisation Volunteer! The National Art School Archive and Collection team is looking for enthusiastic Digitisation Volunteers to help bring our art collection to life! Your work will play a key role in making art and history more accessible—by photographing and recording our collections, enhancing our museum database, and digitising our extensive archive of photographs. Through your efforts, every stored object and artwork in our collection will have a high-quality, searchable digital record for generations to come. Apply at the link in bio.
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