Visual arts | National Library of Australia (NLA)
Search

What can we help you find?

Not sure where to start or need help? Ask a Librarian

Visual arts

Showing 25 - 36 of 46 results
Sort by:
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
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
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
A black and white image of two women. One is seated and the other is standing with her arm around the seated woman.

Students of Taisei Girls High School in Japan c.1944. Photo courtesy of Harue Goto.

Grief in World War II expressed in art and fashion with Dr Tets Kimura

Dr Tets Kimura presented a lecture on his 2023 National Library Fellowship research into how grief was experienced during the Asia-Pacific War in two different nations, Australia and Japan, and how it is identifiable in art and fashion.

Event
Video
A green background with the 2018 Australia Post logo printed on it.

Ian 'Spike' Farrawell, Mail Bag (Plastic - Light Green with metal ringlets at top), Collection of cards documenting Australia Post mail bag designs from between 1986 to 2021, nla.obj-3381748997

Collection of Australia Post mail bag designs

Ian 'Spike' Farrawell recently donated a set of his Australia Post mailbag card designs to the Library.

News article
Special collections reading room Sam Wallman 2023 creative arts fellow
The Pink Bans: Labour union activism and LGBTIQA+ rights

Hear from comics-journalist, cartoonist and 2023 Creative Arts Fellow Sam Wallman about his research at the Library.

Blog
A painted locket portrait of a man in a red military uniform. The locket is resting on some black material.

Nathaniel Plimer, Portrait Miniature of Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Brisbane, c.1800-1810, nla.obj-3180223104

A rare portrait miniature of Sir Thomas Brisbane

The National Library has recently acquired a rare portrait miniature of Sir Thomas Brisbane, the sixth Governor of New South Wales.

News article
Whats On Kate Warren Fellowship presentation_0.jpg

Watch Dr Kate Warren's Fellowship presentation titled 'Cut-out-and-keep: magazines and the popularisation of Australian art in the 1950s and 1960s'.

Q&A with 2022 National Library of Australia Fellow Dr Kate Warren

Kate’s research focused on the role of popular magazines in Australian art history and arts communication in the 1950s and 1960s.


 

Blog
Research program

Need help?

Our librarians are here to guide you.

Ask a librarian