Visual arts | National Library of Australia (NLA)

Visual arts

Showing 1 - 12 of 43 results
painting of small house in the Australian bush

Atkinson, Robert, 1863-1896. (1889). Sheedy's Castle, Balmoral Beach [picture] / Robt. Atkinson. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-135211215

A Nation Imagined: The artists of the Picturesque Atlas

Module

This resource is aligned with the Australian Curriculum: Visual Arts for Year 9 and 10 students. It adopts an inquiry approach to develop students’ skills as art historians.

Digital Classroom
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
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
Lintel Sculpture above the National Library's main entrance doors

Loui Seselja, Bas relief over the entrance doors of the National Library of Australia, Canberra, 2004, nla.obj-131049918

Artwork in the foyer, exterior and grounds

The National Library has a large collection of sculptures built into and around the building, and beautiful tapestries hanging in our foyer.

Information article
Three colourful tapestry panels depicting Australian landscapes hung in the main reading room

Alice Kettle (b.1961), Australian Landscapes I–IV 2000 ca.1998 ; 4 machine-embroidered tapestries, Main Reading Room

Artwork in the Main Reading Room

The Main Reading Room houses a collection of sculptures and paintings inspired by Indigenous stories of the Australian landscape.

Information article
A tapestry titled 'Finding Kenneth Myer'

John Young, John Dicks, Milena Paplinska, Cheryl Thornton (weavers), Finding Kenneth Myer 2011, wool and cotton; 230 x 302cm, Special Collections Reading Room

Artwork in the Special Collections Reading Room

The Special Collections Reading Room houses art relating to Australian history and culture in the post-colonial era, focusing on modern Australian people and places.

Information article
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
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
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
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
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
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

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