This edition of the Art Bulletin of Victoria 37 encompasses essays discussing works from a variety of areas of the NGV’s collection:

Ann Galbally and Robyn Sloggett investigate John Peter Russell’s Dr Will Maloney, the man behind the portrait and the technical details of Russell’s painting style; Dagmar Eichberger conducts an in-depth essay on the Halle Relic Book, a reliquary collection of the sixteenth century, comparing the printed woodcut version with its rarer, illuminated sister; Geoffrey Edwards provides some notes on nineteenth century Venetian glass, its history and accession into the National Gallery of Victoria’s collection; and Isobel Crombie delves into the private world of French photographic erotica in the mid-1800s.

We are also proud to include in our recent acquisitions Jacob Jordaen’s mythical Mercury and Argus painting, Pablo Picasso’s iconic Portrait of a young lady linocut, and Emily Kam Kngwarray’s contemporary masterpiece Big yam Dreaming.

We trust you will enjoy the articles and appreciate the breadth and depth of the contributors’ research and scholarship in this edition.