Visual arts

Showing 1 - 12 of 42 results
Watercolour of a bay with a sailboat in the foreground and a large white building in the background overlooking the bay

William Westall, Drawings, 1801, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-138873713

Westall Collection

139 pencil drawings and watercolour paintings produced by Westall, all but 2 from the voyage of HMS Investigator (1801-03).  Capturing landscapes, coastal profiles, and Indigenous peoples, these works offer a vivid, accurate record of early Australian encounters. As one of the first professional artists to visit Australia, Westall’s collection is a significant historical and cultural treasure.

Collection guide
Cover of a pamphlet with illustrations

Australian Journalist & John Skinner Prout, The emigrant in Australia, or, Gleanings from the gold-fields, 1852, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-111497902

Prout Collection

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.

Collection guide
A rock sculpture with 2 figures

Yves Coffin, Coffin collection of photographs of Bali, Cham, Javanese, Khmer and Thai art, architecture and sculpture, (196?), nla.gov.au/nla.obj-140366892

Coffin Collection

Featuring over 4,700 photographs of ancient art and architecture across Southeast Asia is the Coffin Collection. Captured between 1955 and 1972 by Yves Coffin, this collection highlights Khmer monuments at Angkor, Cham sculptures, and Thai temples, alongside the art of Java and Bali. A valuable visual record of Southeast Asia's rich cultural heritage.

Collection guide
On the left is the front cover of the book 'Max Dupain: A Portrait'. On the right is a photo of a woman with short hair, wearing a black tutrtle-neck top and standing in front of a yellow background.
Book launch: Max Dupain: A Portrait by Helen Ennis

Helen Ennis and journalist Alex Sloan discussed Ennis's latest book, Max Dupain: A Portrait.

Event
Video
Illustration of different types of birds, including a cockatoo and kingfisher, sitting on branches

Ellis Rowan & Geo. Murray & Co., Australian birds, c. 1890, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-136190048

Paradise of birds

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

Blog
A large book sitting propped open on a red piece of material. The left hand page shows text that reads '1. Exhibit me' and the right hand page shows a stamped black ink image.

Wendy Muche, Meatshop [detail], 1984, nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2866647. Photograph courtesy of Dr Caren Florance.

Strange pages: Investigating artists' books with Dr Caren Florance

Dr Caren Florance presented a lecture on her 2024 National Library Fellowship research into artists' books (books made by artists as art).

Event
Video
A beach on an overcast day with a stream of sunlight and water crashing on rocks. 4 people on the beach in 2 groups with 3 small boats in the background.

Conrad Martens, View nr Charmouth, Dorset, 1825, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-134391843

Martens Collection

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

Collection guide
A group of approximately 20 men cheering and drinking whilst watching a boxing match. One boxer is in a blue shirt and one in a red shirt. A dog is in the foreground laying on the floor.

Samuel Thomas Gill, McLaren's boxing saloon, Main Road, Ballarat, 1854, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-134360337

Gill Collection

95 watercolours and about 80 wash, sepia wash or pencil drawings plus a large number of lithographs and chromolithographs engraved by S.T. Gill, as well as wood engravings, lithographs and photolithographs based on his paintings and sketches.

Collection guide
An illustrated book cover with 3 kangaroos and 3 emus in the foreground surrounded by native flora, with a lake and trees in the background

 Joseph Lycett, Views in Australia, or, New South Wales & Van Diemen's Land delineated, in fifty views with descriptive letter press, dedicated by permission to the Right Honble. Earl Bathurst, 1824, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1022559244

Lycett Collection

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.

Collection guide
First Australians
A painting of an Indian bullock cart being drawn by two white oxen with large, curved horns. A man dressed in red sits on the front of the cart guiding the oxen, while another man in traditional attire is seated comfortably under a domed canopy in the back of the cart. The backdrop features a muted evening sky with distant mountains, adding to the serene and regal atmosphere of the scene.

 Augustus Earle, A bullock hackery or cow coach of India, 1829, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-134513680

Earle Collection

168 original paintings and drawings by Augustus Earle.

Collection guide
A calm river snakes into the distance, with green grass on one side and trees on the other

George French Angas (artist) and James William Giles (lithographer), The River Murray, near Lake Alexandrina, 1847, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-135637342

Angas Collection

Paintings, drawings, sketchbooks and manuscripts by George French Angas.

Collection guide
Blue velvet structural artwork on a white pedestal in the Library foyer
Canberra Art Biennial on display at the Library

For the next 4 weeks, the Library is one of 20 locations hosting contemporary mixed media artworks as part of the Canberra Art Biennial.

News article

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