Explore the Prout Collection, featuring 2 oil paintings, 41 watercolours, and 38 pencil and wash drawings by John Skinner Prout, created between 1841 and 1848. This collection showcases stunning Tasmanian landscapes, including scenes of Hobart, Mount Wellington, and Port Arthur, alongside views of New South Wales and Victoria. Prout, a self-trained artist who emigrated to Australia in 1840, captured the essence of the Australian landscape, leaving a lasting influence on colonial art.

Ten signed stencil prints by Pablo Picasso. 54 sketchbooks of John Power, a small group of personal papers of Power, and 262 books relating to art and architecture.

The latest buzz at the Library is that 50 new photos of beekeeping in Australia are now available online. 

About 15,000 books and pamphlets. The great strength of the collection is in Pacific voyages and early Australiana with many very rare items. Also manuscripts including papers of Joseph Banks, maps and pictures.

See some of the many talented bird artists from the 19th and 20th centuries in our collection.

The National Library holds a rich and diverse range of library materials on the Pacific region, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

About 5,000 books, pamphlets and periodicals, over 11,000 paintings, drawings and prints, around 800 maps and over 300 manuscripts mostly published 1770–1900. Largely relating to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific including Antarctica.

Discover the legacy of Dame Nellie Melba, one of opera’s greatest voices, through her unique collection. Featuring sheet music, personal letters, and rare items from her iconic career, this collection offers an intimate glimpse into her rise from Australian talent to international soprano. Explore her artistry, personal connections, and lasting impact on the world of opera.

145 original works of Conrad Martens, consisting of four oil paintings, 91 watercolours, and 51 sepia wash, pencil and wash, or pencil drawings, plus a number of his lithographs

Personal papers and legal material that record of one of the most important and controversial legal cases in Australian history and the life of the man who is chiefly associated with the case.

An album with 20 watercolours and 22 individual watercolours by Joseph Lycett. Most of the pieces focus on studies of Aboriginal people and drawings of native plants.

Papers including letters, newspaper cuttings, published caricatures, original cartoons, letters and literary manuscripts, mostly related to Australian and New Zealander writers, journalists, composers and artists.