A History of Aboriginal Art in the Art Gallery of New South Wales Routledge Research in Art Museums and Exhibitions Series

In this highly original study, Vanessa Russ examines the gradual invention of Aboriginal art within the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

This process occurred as the social histories of Australia expanded and recognised Aboriginal people, through wars and political shifts, and as international organisations began placing pressure on nation states to expand, diversify, and respect multicultural perspectives. This book explores a state art institution as a case study to consider these complex narratives through a single history of Aboriginal art from early colonisation until today.

The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, museum studies, and Indigenous studies.

Introduction 1. "Ghost Habitats": The Dispossession of an Indigenous Nation and the Rise of the British colony in Australia 2. An Early History of Art Gallery of New South Wales – 1871-1940 3. Modernism and An Australian Aboriginal Art Collection – 1940-1971 4. Curatorship in the AGNSW and Australian Aboriginal Art – 1973 to 1990 5. Australian Aboriginal Art – Inside / Out – 1990 to 2020 Conclusion