National Library of Australia

The National Library Pictures Collection contains art works and photographs that document Australian history and society, including many portraits of Australians of national significance. Although most images relate to Australia, art works and photographs connected with Papua New Guinea, Antarctica and the Pacific are also held. The images range from the late eighteenth century to the present day in coverage.

The Pictures Collection includes some 45,000 paintings and 600,000 photographs. Over 90,000 items are available online for research and study purposes. More online images are added regularly.

At present the online collection includes:

  • All oil paintings of the 18th and 19th centuries held by the Library.
  • Selected watercolours from major artists of colonial Australia including William Westall, Augustus Earle, S. T. Gill, John Glover, Joseph Lycett, Conrad Martens, Eugene von Guerard and William Strutt and late 19th and early 20th century artists such as Ellis Rowan and Adam Forster.
  • Selected photographs from the Harold Cazneaux, Frank Hurley, Tilba Tilba and Gundagai collections.
  • Selected photographs by late 20th century photographers including John Meredith, Greg Weight, Olive Cotton, Trisha Dixon and Wolfgang Sievers.

Direct access to digitised items from the National Library's Pictures Collection is available through the Pictures Catalogue.

For more information about images in the Pictures Collection, contact:

Pictures Branch
National Library of Australia
CANBERRA ACT 2600 Australia
phone +61 (0)2 6262 1370
fax +61 (0)2 6273 5763
email pictorial@nla.gov.au
web http://www.nla.gov.au/pict/

Portrait of Stevie Wright, London, 1975; Gary Ede; National Library of AustraliaGary Ede
Portrait of Stevie Wright,
London, 1975
National Library of Australia