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Paintings from the Collection
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Paintings from the Collection

Welcome to the audio guide

More than 300 paintings from the Library’s collection are now on permanent display. The selected landscapes and portraits date from the 1790s to today.

Discover the stories behind the paintings in this audio guide. 

Look out for the headphones symbol next to the painting.  Select the painting below to listen.

Floor Plan
1
New Government House
2
View of old Government House, Sydney, NSW as it appeared when vacated by Sir George Gipps in 1845
3
View of Lyons Terrace, Hyde Park, Sydney, NSW
4
Old Government House
5
Woolloomooloo Bay
6
South Head [The Gap]
7
Sydney Cove
8
Sydney Heads
9
Sydney Cove
10
View of the town of Parramatta from May’s Hill
11
A day’s picnic on Clark Island
12
Picnic at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair
13
City and Harbour of Sydney New South Wales from above Vaucluse
14
Government House
15
Old Domain Baths
16
A family group with canoe, possibly near Clovelly House in Watsons Bay
17
Emu Hall, Penrith
18
View of Miller’s Point and Darling Harbour
19
Garden Island from the Domain, June 24th
20
Government House Sydney NSW from the statue of Sir Richard Bourke
21
Old St Phillip’s, Church Hill
22
View in Woolloomooloo Bay ... taken from lower Domain Road
23
Sydney from Woolloomooloo, 1849
24
Woolloomooloo Bay and Grantham
25
Explorers on river bank
26
The Founding of Australia. By Capt Arthur Phillip RN Sydney Cove, Jan 26th 1788
27
Vineyard, Castle Hill
28
Howells’ Mill Parramatta
29
A direct north general view of Sydney Cove…
30
Stephen Butts on a white horse, Macquarie Street, Sydney
31
Pitt Street, Sydney
32
Millers Point from Balmain
33
View from the window
34
George Street, Sydney
35
Marshalling Yards, White Bay
36
Burdekin House, Macquarie Street, Sydney
37
Design for a fresco for the children’s chapel in St James’ Church
38
Anthony Hordern’s fire
39
Old Houses in Wentworth Street
40
The Atlas Works Sydney — making the first locomotive engine
41
Argyle Street looking towards the Observatory Hill
42
Old St Mary’s Cathedral
43
The Sailors Return Hotel
44
5 pm aboard South Steyne
45
The Sussex and the Vicar
46
Clyde Street
47
In Cumberland Street
48
Barangaroo Headland Park from the Stamford on Kent
49
Fairy Bower, Manly
50
Bank of New South Wales Sydney [George Street Sydney]
51
Garden Island
52
United States Military Police encamped at Sydney University
53
Argyle Street and Cut
54
Ferry Lane
55
Palm Beach
56
Macquarie Street, Sydney
57
Oxford Street interior
58
War Memorial
59
Sydney Cove
60
Sydney — Capital New South Wales
61
Wynyard Park during Wynyard Station excavations
62
Barrack Street, Sydney
63
Demolition 76 Pitt Street
64
Wynyard Park & the Old Scots Church during Wynyard Station excavations
65
Picnic at The Rocks
66
View of Sydney Harbour Bridge under construction
67
Sydney Harbour near Watson’s Bay
68
Billy Blue
69
Vaucluse from the hill
70
Government House, Sydney
71
View from Craigend looking over Government House and Domain
72
View north from Craigend looking over Woolloomooloo and Port Jackson
73
Darling Point
74
Parsley Bay
75
Vaucluse
76
Mosman Bay
77
View of part of Woolloomooloo and Mr Barker’s house and mills with Bradleys Point
78
Morning at the Heads of Port Jackson, or the Pilot’s Look-out
79
Fig Tree Bridge, Lane Cove
80
Fort Denison
81
View in Sydney Harbour
82
Sydney Harbour looking west
83
The Boating season, Woolloomooloo Bay
84
Port Jackson from Dawes Point
85
Sydney Harbour looking towards the Heads
86
The Heads of Port Jackson NSW from off the North Head ­— a squall
87
Port Jackson NSW. The Floating Light — (Morning)
88
Government House and Fort Macquarie Sydney NSW from the Botanical Gardens
89
Looking west from the roof, 204 Clarence Street
90
Sydney Harbour
91
Government House
92
Dawes Point showing Sydney Harbour Bridge in the course of construction
93
Sydney NSW from Garden Island. Government House to the left
94
Pyrmont, Barker’s Mills, Sydney
95
Customs House and part of Circular Wharf, Sydney NSW
96
Customs House and Circular Quay, Sydney NSW
97
View of the Heads of Port Jackson NSW looking north from a hill above Vaucluse Bay
98
Residence of the Hon ED Thomson, Sydney, NSW
99
Supreme Court House, Sydney, NSW
100
Port Jackson NSW. View in Double Bay South Side Middle Head in the distance (near sunset)
101
The Harbour, Neutral Bay, Sydney
102
Milsons Point
103
Sydney from Sandy [Rose] Bay
104
The Swimming Enclosure
105
Portrait of Mrs William Paterson
106
Colonel William Paterson
107
Portrait of Governor Philip Gidley King
108
Portrait of Anna Josepha King
109
Phillip Parker King
110
Governor King
111
George William Evans (possibly)
112
Captain Arthur Phillip
113
Phillip Parker King
114
The mock trial
115
Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney
116
Scene inside Newgate Prison
117
Sir Joseph Banks
118
The ‘Vineyard’, Parramatta
119
Sydney from Bell Mount
120
Governor Bourke’s statue, overlooking the Harbour
121
John Macarthur
122
Governor Richard Bourke
123
Midshipman Edward Riou
124
Elizabeth Macarthur
125
Lachlan Macquarie
126
Commander Robert Johnston RN
127
Governor Charles Augustus FitzRoy
128
Captain Patrick Logan
129
Military review, probably in New South Wales
130
Major James Nunn, Australian Mounted Infantry
131
Bush fire [a view at night]
132
The shepherd
133
Gold diggings, Ararat
134
Stoneleigh, Beaufort near Ararat, Victoria
135
The Gold Commissioner’s station at Timbarra, New South Wales
136
A gleam of light
137
Goldminer
138
Mr E Hargraves the gold discoverer of Australia Feb 12th 1851 returning the salute of the gold miners [5th] of the ensuing May 1851
139
Mining camp, possibly Victorian
140
William Romaine Govett
141
William Charles Wentworth
142
Solomon Wiseman
143
Arrival of Burke & Wills at Flinders River 1861
144
Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell
145
Andrew Hamilton Hume
146
The Macdonald River, Wiseman’s Road
147
Residence of George Augustus Robinson, on the Yarra
148
Chief Derah Mat [Derrimut] of Port Philip
149
Captain William Hilton Hovell
150
A mountain inn
151
View of Proposed Town of Adelaide
152
Launceston
153
Hobart Town, taken from the garden where I lived
154
George Augustus Robinson
155
Port Arthur, Tasmania
156
Hobart Town
157
Natives at a corrobory
158
Patterdale landscape, Tasmania
159
Castle Rock, Cape Schanck, Victoria
160
View of Mr Slaney’s House, Norfolk Island, Lat. 29 1 – South Long. 168 East
161
The memory of what has been and never more will be. Harieta, an Arawa chieftainess
162
Landing in Bounty Bay
163
Mr Hapuku
164
The Lady Nelson
165
Portrait of Il Netunno, later Marquis Cornwallis, under sail
166
A group of Australian Aborigines, possibly in Sydney
167
Aboriginal hunting kangaroos
168
Aboriginal hunting
169
Aborigine fishing
170
Aborigine fishing by torchlight
171
Aborigines hunting
172
View of a coastline, possibly the Illawarra
173
Collection Day
174
Gibraltar Rocks, Arthursleigh
175
View of Arthursleigh
176
Sunset in New South Wales
177
Cabbage trees near the Shoalhaven River, New South Wales
178
Unidentified landscape from a drawing by Robert Hoddle
179
View of Murrengenberg Mountain and Bundawang Mountain, from a drawing by Robert Hoddle
180
Jimmy Read of Bowral
181
Stanwell Park
182
Stanwell Park
183
Stockyard, near Jamberoo
184
The South Australian Alps as first seen by Messrs. Hovell and Hume on the 8th November 1824
185
Port Macquarie, NSW
186
Northern entrance to Burrangalong Cavern (Abercrombie Caves), near Bathurst, New South Wales
187
Interior of Burrangalong Cavern (Abercrombie Caves), near Bathurst, New South Wales
188
Neighbourhood Watch
189
Corroboree at Newcastle
190
Ford on the Lower Hunter
191
St Thomas’s Church, Port Macquarie
192
Port Macquarie
193
Mount King George from the Bathurst Road
194
Port Macquarie
195
The road to Bathurst
196
One of the NSW Aborigines befriended by Governor Macquarie
197
Henry Cox’s place, Broombee, Mudgee, New South Wales
198
Girl on a bike, Cudal, near Orange, New South Wales
199
Maria Little
200
View at Burrundulla, farm of George Cox, Mudgee, New South Wales
201
View of Tenterfield
202
Edward DS Ogilvie
203
The squatter, Dr R B Kelley
204
David Scott Mitchell
205
Dr James Mitchell
206
In the reading room
207
Sydney Public Library
208
Self-portrait
209
Child in carrying cloak
210
Lieutenant JJ Peters, late 28th Regiment
211
Dame Mary Gilmore
212
AB Paterson, 'Banjo'
213
Conrad Martens
214
Fancy self-portrait
215
Bernhardt Otto Holtermann
216
Caroline Chisholm
217
Sarah Osborne
218
Henry Smithers Hayes of the Brisbane [Steam] Mill, Parramatta Road
219
Self-portrait
220
Patrick White
221
Self-portrait
222
Conrad Martens
223
Dr JJ Streeter
224
Hal Porter
225
Rosa Campbell Praed
226
James Dunlop
227
Self-portrait
228
Benjamin Boyd
229
Pixie O’Harris
230
Gayfield Shaw
231
Mrs Tryphena A Dibbs
232
Mrs WA Holman
233
Beryl Whiteley
234
Domesticity
235
Frances Cory (Mrs Edward Gostwyck)
236
Jean Sandro Russell
237
Al fresco
238
Gladys (Mrs John) Moore
239
Margaret Coen
240
Ure Smith’s flat
241
Self-portrait
242
Florence Rodway
243
Self-portrait
244
Mr Hans Heysen
245
Portrait of Nancy May Kilgour
246
Dorothy in a lime jacket
247
A Man with a Rabbit
248
Portrait of Jack Kilgour sketching a model
249
The convex mirror
250
Faith Bandler
251
Portrait of a woman
252
Millicent Preston-Stanley
253
Rod Quinn
254
Margaret Fink
255
Stuart Campbell Esq.
256
Percy Reginald Stephensen
257
Randolph Hughes Esq.
258
Elizabeth Riddell with black cat
259
Self-portrait
260
Douglas Stewart
261
Winter self-portrait
262
Brush scene, Brisbane Water
263
Victoria 1st
264
Mrs F O’Brien
265
Kangaroo dog owned by Mr Dunn of Castlereagh Street, Sydney
266
Kangaroo dog owned by Mr Dunn of Castlereagh Street, Sydney
267
Male and female red kangaroos in a Liverpool Plains landscape
268
Race horse and jockey
269
Captain Frederick John Butts and a fellow officer of the 77th (East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot, Hyde Park, Sydney
270
Plover (Age 5)
271
Old Jorrocks (Age 16)  
272
Robertson Royal Menagerie – 9 Strand
273
View of Bungarribee NSW
274
Alexander Macleay
275
Elizabeth Macleay
276
View above Rose Bay
277
Portrait of Emily Macpherson
278
Portrait of Isabel Macpherson
279
Thomas Chapman & Master Robert Cooper Tertius
280
Margaret Moore Smail
281
Alexander Smail  
282
Anna Elizabeth Walker
283
Harriott Blaxland
284
John Marquett Blaxland
285
Jane Elizabeth Blaxland
286
Quong Tart
287
Ancestral portrait of Quong Tart's mother
288
Christina Sinclair
289
Emma, Harriet, and Fanny Samuell
290
Alexander Sinclair
291
Thomas Watson 
292
James Sinclair
293
Hannah Watson
294
Harriet King, née Lethbridge
295
Sarah Cobcroft
296
Portrait of John Larking Scarvell
297
Portrait of Sarah Scarvell (née Redmond)
298
John Redmond Barnes Scarvell
299
Sarah Scarvell
300
Elizabeth Mary Scarvell
301
Ann Piper and her children
302
Captain John Piper
303
Horses and cattle with Aboriginal station hand, Wellwood Farm, Orange, New South Wales
304
Kirribilli Point
305
The Town Band
306
Panoramic view of Sydney Harbour and the city skyline
307
South Head
308
Hazy Morning