Primary contact
Art Gallery Road
Sydney, New South Wales 2000
Identity area
Identifier
daa/621
Authorized form of name
National Art Archive, Sydney
Parallel form(s) of name
Other form(s) of name
- National Art Archive, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Type
- National
Contact area
Steven Miller
Type
Address
Street address
Art Gallery Road
Locality
Sydney
Region
New South Wales
Country name
Postal code
2000
Telephone
04 2096 0020
Fax
library@ag.nsw.gov.au
Note
Description area
History
The Art Gallery of New South Wales began collecting artists' archives from the 1950s. In 2015 these collections, then numbering 220 personal archives of artists along with commercial gallery and art society archives, were launched as 'The National Art Archive' with the purpose of serving the widest possible audience as a centre of excellence for the collection, preservation, documentation, interpretation and display of Australian and international art, and a forum for scholarship, art education and the exchange of ideas. In 2022 these collections were rehoused in beautiful new facilities as part of the major extensions at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
These collections are dedicated to the visual culture of Australia and document art in Australia, rather than the more narrow focus on Australian art.
Geographical and cultural context
Mandates/Sources of authority
Administrative structure
The National Art Archive sits as part of a suite of research facilities at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, which includes the Capon Research Library and a Children's Art Library.
Records management and collecting policies
Governed by a collection management policy ratified by the Board of Trustees of the Art Gallery of NSW: https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/about-us/corporate-information/policy-documents/archives-policy/
Buildings
Collection store and research facilities, included a dedicated Archive Study Room, located in the north building of the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Holdings
- Personal archives of artists (250 collections)
- Commercial galleries archives (40 collections)
- Art societies and business archives (20 collections)
- Photography archives (15 collections)
- Archives of art historians, critics etc (60 collections)
- Australian First Nations and Pacific archives (20 collections)
Finding aids, guides and publications
Available online through the library catalogue: https://agnsw.spydus.com/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/MSGTRN/WPAC/HOME
Access area
Opening times
Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10.30am-4pm; late opening on Wednesdays until 6.30pm.
Closed public holidays.
Access conditions and requirements
24 hours notice normally required for access to archival collections.
Accessibility
Fully accessible.
Services area
Research services
Reproduction services
Public areas
Control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Created 12 July 2023
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Maintenance notes
Access points
Access Points
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (Thematic area)
- Arts and Culture (Thematic area)
- Education (Thematic area)