Visual arts | National Library of Australia (NLA)

Visual arts

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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
Collection guide
Wilson Collection

Drawings, sketches, plans and photographs of Australian colonial architecture, ancient buildings from China and Greece, furnature designs and sketches for a proposed "ideal city" of Kurrajong.

Collection guide
Collection guide
Yetts Collection

715 Chinese and Japanese books. Most date from the period 19111940, but there are some much earlier works. The main subject areas are Chinese art, epigraphy, archaeology and early history of the Chinese script. Other subjects include classical writings, Buddhism and Taoism, myths and legends.

Collection guide

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