The National Gallery of Australia began acquiring
photographic art in 1972, and in 2012 current
holdings are over 25000 works, of which over half
are Australian. This significant print collection is
complemented by the National Gallery of Australia
Research Library’s excellent and extensive catalogue
of photographic literature.
The story of the development of the Gallery’s
photography collection has been told in the Gallery’s
publication Building the collection, released in 2003.
Significant new directions began in 2006 with a
new focus on the representation of the history of
photography in the Asia-Pacific region, announced
in October 2005 by Director Ron Radford in his
A vision for the National Gallery of Australia.
(That document and further information can be
found on the Gallery’s website: nga.gov.au,
see tabs for ‘information’ and ‘collections’.)
Over the years many substantial talks have been
given by staff and guest speakers, and those papers
that were not published are now planned to be
progressively placed on the Gallery’s website.
A number of specific strengths exist in the Gallery’s
collection, including holdings of modernist
photography of the 1920s to 1930s. This paper
addresses background material to the modern
photography collection and has been contributed
by Robert Deane, former Assistant Director
(Administration), currently a volunteer and
Honorary Researcher.
Gael Newton
Senior Curator, Photography
June 2012
The New Photography 1920s–1940s
‘Photography is the art of the revolution’
Robert Deane
Honorary Researcher
Photography, National Gallery of Australia
http://nga.gov.au/Photography/0706.12.Occassional%20paper.pdf
