New Acquisitions: from the Department of Photography

This exhibition features a selection of photographs which have been purchased or donated to the National Gallery of Victoria over the past year. The photographs form part of the permanent collection stored at the Gallery and are the basis for the Department’s regularly changing exhibitions, illustrated in publications and used in public programs.

The National Gallery of Victoria was the first Australian Gallery to establish a Department of Photography and from its inception in 1972 it has had a broad collecting policy. In a booklet printed around this time it was stated that ‘photographs by the famous or the unknown from all corners of the world [will be acquired], thus revealing characteristics of individual photographers, national styles and historical progression’. Today the collection numbers over 11,000 and represents many of the major Australian and international photographers from the beginnings of the process in the mid-nineteenth century through to the present day.

The growth of the collection is an on-going process with a diverse range of photographs continually being acquired or donated. The purchase of work by young Victorian-based photographers is made possible through the generous contribution of funds by Hallmark Cards Australia Pty Ltd, New Acquisitions: from the Department of Photography is aimed at keeping the public informed of some of the exciting additions to our already fine collection and it is envisaged that such an exhibition will become an annual event.

Sourced from: Isobel Crombie, New Acquisitions: from the Department of Photography, National Gallery of Victoria, 1989, p.1