Pictures
About the Pictures collection
Pictures capture Australia’s people, environment, history, and culture in ways that words alone cannot. Some images are important for their documentary content, while others are celebrated for their artistic qualities. Our extensive photographic collections are a particular strength. Pictures cover a wide range of materials. Pictures can be anything from a hastily scribbled sketch on a napkin to a photograph of Cathy Freeman or a painting on a gum leaf by A.W Eustace.
In the collection
- Photographs – Capturing the changing times through daguerreotypes, glass plate negatives, vintage black and white prints and digital images
- Artworks – Paintings, drawings, watercolours and prints documenting Australian life
- Illustrations – Early representations of Australia’s flora, fauna and landscapes
- Political and social commentary – Caricatures, cartoons, and images capturing historical moments
Using the Pictures collection
Each collection format has its own methods for accessing and using its items. Please refer to the specific guidelines on Using the Pictures collection.
Ellis Rowan, Banksia serrata L.f., family Proteaceae, 1782, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-138824614
Ellis Rowan, Banksia serrata L.f., family Proteaceae, 1782, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-138824614
Peter Dombrovskis, Morning mist, Rock Island Bend, Franklin River, Tasmania, 1979, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-147241885
Peter Dombrovskis, Morning mist, Rock Island Bend, Franklin River, Tasmania, 1979, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-147241885
John L. Buckland, Pilgrim train E class locomotive 2007 at Campbelltown Station New South Wales, 1937, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-154996700
John L. Buckland, Pilgrim train E class locomotive 2007 at Campbelltown Station New South Wales, 1937, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-154996700
George Raper, [King parrot (Alisterus scapularis)], nla.gov.au/nla.obj-150068793
George Raper, [King parrot (Alisterus scapularis)], nla.gov.au/nla.obj-150068793
Photographs of 20th century Australia and Australians.
Photographic collection of the Tasmanian wilderness.
An ongoing creative project that explores the photographer's Chinese-Australian heritage.
Sketches and watercolours collection of George Penkivil Slade
Series of 74 pen and pencil drawings and watercolours
Ellis Rowan and Australian flora and fauna
Beautiful botanical watercolours painted in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Ducie collection of First Fleet art
Australian flora and fauna water colours by First Fleet artist George Raper (1788).
Cathy Freeman at the Commonwealth Games, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, 1994
Images of protesters taking part in the Women's March4Justice in 2021
Shots of the crowd, performers and activities at the OzAsia Festival in Adelaide in 2021
Selected collections
Ellis Rowan, [Lorikeets (Geoffroyus heteroclitus)], 1917, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-138740512
John L. Buckland, Pilgrim train E class locomotive 2007 at Campbelltown Station New South Wales, 1937, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-154996700
More about the Pictures collection
Ellis Rowan, Rothschild's Bird-of-Paradise, or Rothschild's Astrapia (Astrapia rothschildi), Papua New Guinea, 1917, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-138748166
George Raper, King parrot (Alisterus scapularis), 1788, nla.obj-150068793
