Inside the Archive – A Cultural Statement in Portraiture

Collector Editions from the Sellick Archive are more than photographs – they are signed, numbered cultural records of identity, ambition and truth.

Each portrait is produced to museum standards, authenticated for provenance and released in strictly limited runs.

For collectors, they are opportunities to secure a tangible piece of Australian cultural history – works already held in the National Portrait Gallery of Australia, the State Library of South Australia and the National Library of Australia.

Why It Matters to Collectors

These portraits challenged convention, reshaped visual storytelling and helped define how Australia saw itself – and how it might be seen.

With subjects ranging from trailblazers to outsiders, celebrities to political figures, every image carries cultural weight and historical resonance.

A Living Archive

The Sellick Archive spans more than 600 portrait sessions across three decades. Each image forms part of a broader cultural record – one that continues to unfold.

Collector Editions are released sparingly, with only a small number offered every few months. This slow-release model preserves rarity and gives serious collectors the chance to build a curated, long-term collection over time.

About the Artist

Robin Sellick’s portraits have defined Australian image-making for more than 30 years.

In the early 1990s he won every major Australian photography award - twice - before earning a perfect score at the 101st International Exhibition of Professional Photography in Chicago. Grants and accolades soon took him to New York, where he worked alongside Annie Leibovitz, Mark Seliger and Mary Ellen Mark – experiences that shaped his distinctive, narrative-driven approach to portraiture.

His first major book, Facing (Hardie Grant, 2004), was the first of its kind by an Australian photographer – a collection of celebrity portraits drawn from a decade of work – and was launched at the National Portrait Gallery.

Sellick has held more than a dozen solo exhibitions, including a three-year national tour. His shows at Crown Melbourne became the largest major exhibitions of Australian portrait photography outside the National Portrait Gallery, breaking attendance records for two consecutive years. Other notable exhibitions have been staged at the Newcastle Region Art Gallery, the Museum of Australian Photography and the Brisbane Powerhouse.

Back in Australia after New York, Sellick redefined editorial photography. His portraits appeared on the covers of Vogue, Rolling Stone, Marie Claire and Who Weekly, transforming how Australians saw their public figures.

Today, his work is represented in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia, the State Library of South Australia, the National Library of Australia and in significant private collections.

Each print offered here is drawn from that legacy – signed, numbered and produced to museum standard – created with the belief that a portrait should outlast its moment and speak to the identity of a nation.

Explore the Editions

Secure your piece of Australian cultural history.

View Available Works