McCulloch’s Encyclopedia of Australian Art

McCulloch’s Encyclopedia of Australian Art has been Australia’s leading art reference work on the art of Australia for almost 40 years. This new edition is the first in 12 years and is both a scholarly reference and a book to browse.

The book is a large single volume, printed in full colour throughout with a ribbon marker and slipcase cover. It is packed with more than 1200 pages of up-to-date information including:

• an entirely new section on Australian Aboriginal art with detailed information on artists, community art centres, family groups and regions
• more than 8000 entries of Australian art and artists, art movements, groups, auctions, prizes and awards, exhibitions and galleries
• more than 1500 new entries on contemporary artists
• website links to galleries and other informative sites
• over 100 essays on art styles including colonial, impressionism, modernism, new media, photography, portraiture, street art and many more
• almost 1000 images of Australian art

The Encyclopedia is an essential reference book on Australian art for professionals, art collectors, students and everyone interested in Australian art. For the first time the Encyclopedia contains a separate section about Australian Aboriginal art (link opens in a new browser window to show a sample page). This takes up 187 pages at the front of the book and is illustrated with examples of individual artists' work. The book is available through our online shop.

Sebastian Smee reviewed the book in The Australian newspaper and concluded in the following terms:

"What I particularly like about the new edition are its brilliant colour illustrations (one or two on almost every double page), its fastidious collation of useful information such as website addresses and its general emphasis on artists over other art world players. There are useful sections at the back of the book devoted to auctions, collections, trusts and foundations, exhibitions, public galleries and museums, commercial galleries, prizes, awards and scholarships, schools and universities.

McCulloch's Encyclopedia is a mammoth undertaking and, faults aside, an impressive achievement. If you are interested in Australian art, it is more indispensable than ever."