Arts & literature

Sybil Craig: a life in pictures

Sybil Craig: a life in pictures

March 7, 2018

Arts & literature, Such was life:

Melbourne artist Sybil Craig became one of the first women war artists in Australia. The Library holds Sybil’s archive which contains over 1700 photographs and more than 280 works on paper, many of which are now online.

Ruth Hollick and early Australian fashion photography

Ruth Hollick and early Australian fashion photography

August 30, 2017

Arts & literature, Such was life:

Ruth Hollick is noted for her portraits of children and of Melbourne society’s elite as well as creating some of the earliest known fashion photographs in Australia.

Newly digitised works on paper

Newly digitised works on paper

August 16, 2017

Arts & literature, Such was life:

After ten years, the Library’s Works on Paper project has resulted in the digitisation of more than 11,000 original drawings, prints and watercolours, creating an extraordinary archive of unique Victorian artworks.

The owl and the heiress: The life of one book over six centuries

The owl and the heiress: The life of one book over six centuries

March 29, 2017

Arts & literature, Our stories:

What do Athena’s little owl, an unashamedly unmarried Chicago heiress, and the Heide School of modernist Australian artists have in common? A book in our collection, as it turns out… Recently I… Read More ›

Federici’s ghost

Federici’s ghost

March 7, 2017

Arts & literature, Such was life:

Melbourne’s Princess Theatre has been host to many fine performers over the years, but the most famous performance of all belongs to its ghost, Federici.

WWI posters from the Library’s collection

WWI posters from the Library’s collection

April 21, 2016

Arts & literature, Such was life:

State Library Victoria has a significant collection of British, French and Australian WWI posters. As the war progressed, changes emerge in the content and themes of the images; through recruitment, the symbolism of women and to our heroes on the Front.

Elves and fairies by Ethel Jackson Morris

Elves and fairies by Ethel Jackson Morris

September 12, 2014

Arts & literature, Such was life:

For many months a charming illustration of a fairy child and a kookaburra has graced the walls of the Library’s Cowen Gallery in the exhibition Once upon a time: a… Read More ›

Unexpected sketches

Unexpected sketches

June 28, 2014

Arts & literature, Such was life:

A library patron recently led me to a beautiful book containing sketches by the prison artist William Stanford. The patron had an old newspaper article which mentioned the book, but… Read More ›

Victorian Historical Journal 1911-2012 now online

May 9, 2014

Arts & literature, Such was life:

For over a year, we’ve been providing free access to digitised copies of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria’s magazine for 1911-1954.  Thanks to the Society, we’re now able to make Victorian Historical… Read More ›

Gippsland watercolours

Gippsland watercolours

January 20, 2014

Arts & literature, Such was life:

Daniel Long’s sketchbook dates from 1856 and contains charming watercolours and pencil drawings depicting various locations in Gippsland.