Australian art

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Sydney Long 'The Spirit of the Plains' 1914 Collection of the National Gallery of Australia. Reproduced with the kind permission of the Opthalmic Research Institute of Australia

Sydney Long The Spirit of the Plains 1914 Collection of the National Gallery of Australia. Reproduced with the kind permission of the Opthalmic Research Institute of Australia more detail

The collection of Australian art in the National Gallery of Australia incorporates art made in Australia or about Australian subjects since European settlement in 1788, with the greatest strength in the 20th century. Australian art also includes the art of Australia's Indigenous people. This collection is discussed separately under Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art. The collection encompasses paintings and sculpture, prints and drawings, photographs, the decorative arts, sketchbooks, posters and installation art.

Included are significant works by artists such as Tom Roberts, Charles Conder, Frederick McCubbin and Arthur Streeton, members of what has been widely regarded as the national school of Australian painting, the Australian Impressionists.

Sidney Nolan's paintings – in particular the Ned Kelly series (1945–47) – constitute an important part of the Gallery's representation of the art of postwar Australia. Works by Arthur Boyd – a comprehensive group given by the artist to the Gallery in 1975 – are another great strength of the collection, along with works by Margaret Preston, John Perceval, Albert Tucker and Joy Hester.

The Gallery also holds comprehensive collections of the works of major 20th century photographers such as Harold Cazneaux, Olive Cotton and Max Dupain. Sculpture is also well represented, with major works by artists such as Bertram Mackennal and Robert Klippel.

New acquisition highlights: Australian paintings and sculpture

Related exhibitions

Armidale ‘42: memory and imagination
Arthur Boyd & the exile of imagination
Changing hands: the crafts revival in Australia 1965–1985
Childhoods past
Douglas Annand: the art of life
Everyday Art: Australian Folk Art
John Brack: inside and outside
Federation: Australian Art & society
Grace Cossington Smith: a retrospective exhibition
Grace Crowley
Home sweet home: works from the Peter Fay collection
Imants Tillers: one world many visions
Islands in the sun
James Gleeson: beyond the screen of sight
John Brack: inside and outside
John Glover and the Colonial Picturesque
Joy Hester and friends
Landscapes in sets + series; Australian prints 1960s–1990s
Making pictures
Margaret Preston: Australian printmaker
Modern Australian women
Moist: Australian watercolours
National sculpture prize & exhibition 2005
National sculpture prize & exhibition 2003
National sculpture prize & exhibition 2001
New worlds from old: 19th Century Australian and American landscapes
Out and about: The National Gallery of Australia tours Australia
Painting forever: Tony Tuckson
place made: Australian Print Workshop
Rosalie Gascoigne: material as landscape
Seeing the centre: the art of Albert Namatjira 1902-1959
Stage fright: the art of theatre
Tales of the unexpected: aspects of contemporary Australian art
Techno Craft
The Antipodeans: challenge and response in Australian Art 1955 - 1965
The Edwardians: secrets and desires
The Europeans: emigré artists in Australia 1930–1960
The Moet & Chandon touring exhibition 1999
Transparent things: expressions in glass
The spread of time: the photography of David Moore
Uncommon world: aspects of contemporary Australian Art
William Robinson: a retrospective

Selected publications

all works are National Gallery of Australia publications unless otherwise stated

At home in Australia  Peter Conrad, 2003, National Gallery of Australia, in association with Thames and Hudson
Australian Art in the National gallery of Australia, Anne Gray, editor, National Gallery of Australia 2002
Australian folk and popular art in the Australian National Gallery John McPhee, 1988
Building the collection Pauline Green, editor, 2003
Federation : Australian art and society 1901-2001  John McDonald 2000
Grace Cossington Smith  Deborah Hart, editor 2005
Home sweet home: works from the Peter Fay collection, 2003
Joy Hester and friends Deborah Hart, 2001
National Sculpture Prize and exhibition, 2005, 2005
National Sculpture Prize and exhibition, 2003, 2003
Place made: Australian Print Workshop  Roger Butler and Anne Virgo editors 2004
Read my lips: Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger, Cindy Sherman  Kathryn Weir 1998
Tales of the unexpected: aspects of contemporary Australian art,  Deborah Hart, 2002
The Antipodeans: challenge and response in Australian art 1945-1965, 1999
The Edwardians: secrets and desires  Anne Gray; with essays by Ann Galbally, 2004
The prints of Margaret Preston: a catalogue raisonné Roger Butler, 2005
Uncommon world: aspects of contemporary Australian art 2000

for more National Gallery of Australia publications visit the library catalogue online