Visual arts | National Library of Australia (NLA)

Visual arts

Showing 37 - 48 of 54 results
Two handmade concertina style books laid out side by side
Concertina Book Workshop with Sharon Peoples

Join artist Sharon Peoples, with the Friends of the National Library, for a concertina book workshop for adults.

Event
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
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
1904 camera

Harold Cazneaux's first camera, 1904, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-141166704

Harold Cazneaux (1878–1953) was perhaps Australia's best-known photographer of the early twentieth century. He purchased this camera in 1904, shortly after moving from Adelaide to Sydney, and made photographs of Sydney's streets and waterways.

In 1909 he became the first Australian photographer to exhibit his works in a solo show.

Cazneaux was a master of the pictorialist style of photography, using soft focus to capture scenes that were - and remain - familiar to many Australians in a new light. He was able to find a timeless, extraordinary beauty in the everyday.

Cazneaux collection

A large collection of glass negatives, papers and photographs dating mostly from 1904 to 1940 depicting many aspects of Australian life and architecture.

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
Collection guide
Bronwyn Thomas Collection

Extensive personal papers and about 200 books and serials mostly relating to Chinese art but also including some works on Chinese history, language and literature and reprints of early travels. 

Collection guide
Luke Cornish also known as E.L.K.

Luke Cornish (E.L.K.)

Book Launch: The stencil art of Luke Cornish

We had a special conversation with artist Luke Cornish, celebrating the bold, intricate, and politically charged stencil work of ELK.

Event
Video
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
On the left, a book cover with a light grey background, a painting of an older man, paint splatters, and text reading 'Tom McIlroy',' Blue Poles' and 'Jackson Pollock, Gough Whitlam and the painting that changed a nation'
Book launch: Blue Poles by Tom McIlroy

Journalist Tom McIlroy discussed his book 'Blue Poles'.

Event
Video
A black and white image of two women sitting on concrete steps, one holding woodworking tools, the other painting at an easel and holding a parasol
Book launch - Double Act: Eirene Mort and Nora Kate Weston

Dr Sylvia Martin, in conversation with Frank Bongiorno, launches her new book about prominent Australian artists Eirene Mort and Nora Kate Weston, and their incredible 60-year creative partnership.

Event
Collection guide
Blackman Collection

Oral history recordings by Barbara Blackman, mostly of Australian painters, sculptors, potters and others concerned with the visual arts.

Collection guide
Portrait of Nora Heysen sitting at a desk and painting

Harold Cazneaux, Portrait of Nora Heysen at work,1939, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-145509450 

Australian artists in the Second World War

Explore 2 different examples of artistic responses to the Second World War. 

Blog

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