Pictures tell the story of Australian lives, history, culture and events in a unique way and through a certain point of view. They're a vital part of our storytelling tapestry.

Pictures cover a wide range of materials. Pictures can be anything from a hastily scribbled sketch on a napkin to a portrait of Johnny Warankula Tjupurrula. They can be a photograph of Cathy Freeman or a painting on a gum leaf by A. W. Eustace.

About the Pictures collection

The Library collects pictures that document the Australian experience. The Library has a rich and wonderful picture collection with over 1.6 million items. It covers early images of colonial life, through to today's pop culture in digital images.

The Pictures collection includes material in a wide variety of formats which document significant people, places and events in Australian history and society and to some extent, the activities of Australians overseas, especially in Antarctica and Papua New Guinea.

Comprising photographs, prints, drawings, watercolours, cartoons, miniatures, paintings, architectural plans, objects and sculpture, the collection documents the lives of past and present Australians, and the communities and landscapes they inhabit.

People seeking historical images of Australian towns and landscapes, portraits of public figures, images of colonial life, early illustrations of Australian flora and fauna, political cartoons or contemporary photographs of popular culture and current events, will find the collection invaluable.

Pictures are acquired primarily for their documentary value, although the collection contains many great works of art. Our extensive photographic collections date from the invention of photography in the mid-nineteenth century until the present, ranging from early daguerreotypes to contemporary digital images. Twentieth century Australian documentary photography is particularly well represented.

Highlights

Ducie collection of First Fleet art

Australian flora and fauna water colours by First Fleet artist George Raper (1788).

Ellis Rowan and Australian flora and fauna

Beautiful botanical watercolours painted in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Jeff Carter collection

Photographs of 20th century Australia and Australians.

Peter Dombrovskis collection

Photographic collection of the Tasmanian wilderness.

Buckland collection

A collection of photographs, papers and memorabilia relating to railways.

Anna Zhu's Yah Yah, 2008

An ongoing creative project that explores the photographer's Chinese-Australian heritage.

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