Dressed to impress and tailored to turn heads, the suit is ubiquitous in portraiture, used to confer power, achievement and authority. But what else does it say about the subject?
Celebrate the fashion icon in the Gallery’s collection exhibition Power suits: The fit within the frame. In a playful display of more than 100 collection works and select loans, meet significant Australians in their finest from Johnny O’Keefe, Sherbet, Michael Hutchence and Nicole Kidman to influential judges, politicians, entrepreneurs and scientists. Spanning the 1930s to today, the exhibition includes painting, photography and mixed-media by artists such as Judy Cassab, Clifton Pugh and Max Dupain as well as contemporary works by Atong Atem, Romance Was Born and Michael Cook. Unpicking the wardrobe staple, the exhibition explores the evolution of power dressing and how it reflects changing perceptions of status and identity.
Image: Michel Lawrence The Boys Next Door 1978 National Portrait Gallery Collection, Purchased 1999 © Michel Lawrence
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