Australian Art Research Collection

The Australian Art Research Collection formerly known as The James Hardie Library of Australian Fine Arts, was donated to State Library of Queensland in 1988 by James Hardie Industries as a bicentennial gift to the nation. The collection has continued to be developed, growing substantially with the aim of being comprehensive until recently. The collection is now developed through selective acquisition, relating to Australian artists and Australian private press publications. The focus today is on exhibition quality items providing exceptional examples of the book as objects.

Features of the collection:

• Bookplates
• Archival and manuscript material related to Australian artists, art societies, art galleries and private presses
• Fine examples of published Australian botanical illustrations
• Original artworks, blocks and plates used to produce illustrations in Australian art books
• Printers' mock-ups and publishers' dummies of Australian art books
• Ephemeral material such as exhibition invitations documenting the details of the careers of Australian artists

Access the Australian Art Research Collection in One Search. State Library invites you to explore books (RBHMON; RBHEC; RBHMONF) in the collection; magazines (RBHSER) and private press (RBHPP; RBHPPB)