Art in Australia, No. 2, 1917

In 1916, three prominent identities in the Sydney art world - Sydney Ure Smith, Bertram Stevens and Charles Lloyd Jones - got together to publish Australia's first art magazine. Their aim was to make the work of Australian artists known to the Australian public, and, through high quality reproductions, to give an idea of its quality to those who were unable to see the originals. All of the 102 issues of Art in Australia, published between 1916 and 1942 have now been made available, complete with illustrations, on the National Library of Australia's Trove web site. The second issue of the magazine consisted mainly of short biographical sketches of contemporary Australian artists, including Charles Conder, Arthur Streeton and Hans Heysen, illustrated by examples of their work. - Summary by Phil Benson