William Dobell Study for “self portrait” (circa 1965) 19.0 x 28.1 pencil drawing Presented by the Art Gallery and Conservatorium Committee 1972
Adelaide Ironside Self portrait (1855) 36.8 x 26.2 pencil, wash and crayon on grey paper presented by the family of Mr Carl Russell Furner 1970
Australian Drawing
The collection includes some notable nineteenth-century drawings, such as Adelaide Ironside’s Self portrait 1855, but the bulk of quality holdings of works on paper are from the twentieth century, with particular emphasis on drawings produced in the period since the establishment of the Gallery in 1957. From 1900 onwards, the collection is of such depth that in 1984 and 2005 the Gallery was able to mount survey exhibitions of drawing in Australia with major representation by most significant twentieth-century Australian artists along with prime examples by many contemporary practitioners.