The Companion is the ultimate record of the National Portrait Gallery's outstanding collection, serving the collection's purpose  to assist Australian's to understand their identity, history, culture, creativity, and diversity. The Companion is a fine object, a good read, a reference work, and appealing to all. More than just an anthology of significant faces, The Companion is a detailed, lively compendium documenting the history of portraiture and the various ways formal or informal, public or private, doting or irreverent in which the genre has been explored in Australia. Works of art from recent years include portraits in new media: Warwick Thornton's 2013 portrait of musician Paul Kelly, and David Rosetzky's video depiction of actor Cate Blanchett. There are so many more ... reflecting, reminding, inspiring Australians.