Sydney’s National Art School (NAS) is the custodian of a rich historical archive brimming with thousands of student artworks across a variety of media, objects, photographs, and documentation related to both the current art school and former gaol site, which are organised across three collection categories.
The Student Collection is the largest, comprising works created on site by NAS students, teaching aids, and plaster casts; The Art Collection consists of a range of artworks by students and teachers in their later careers who are celebrated in the art world; and The Archive Collection boasts over 700 historical items, among them are photographs, gaol plans, manuscripts, film, rare student files, diplomas, catalogues, snapshots of students and staff from the 1920s, and more.
Art Almanac goes behind the scenes with NAS Archivist and Collections Manager, Deborah Beck, to find out how the items are acquired, preserved, and managed, and the ways in which the historically important material is shared with students and the wider-reaching public.

Deborah Beck in the NAS Archives with paintings from the NAS Collection including Untitled (male model), c.1947, by Tony Tuckson. Courtesy National Art School, Sydney
How long have you been working as Archivist and Collections Manager at the National Art School, and what does your role entail?
I set up the archive when I was still working as a drawing lecturer in 2008. There are over 5,000 items in the Archive and Collection [that] have all needed to be accessioned, valued, and documented. I give lectures and tours to students and the public, and interview alumni for our oral history project. I facilitate loans of collection works for exhibitions and publications and work with gallery curators and staff for exhibitions in the NAS Gallery. My main role is to provide access to the collection for students, staff, and the public, and provide information and research materials to our current students.
What is the acquisition process for artworks made by NAS students to become part of the archives?
Artworks are offered to myself or our Collections Curator Sonia Legge. We research the artist, write significance statements, and present the works to our acquisitions committee [who] meet quarterly. All offers of donated works by NAS alumni and staff are considered, as well as items for the NAS Archive. We also accept works under the Cultural Gifts Program [and] have a small fund to purchase artworks from current students at their graduating exhibitions each year, chosen by members of the Acquisition committee using the same criteria as other offers.
How are archival materials managed, preserved, and stored?
We received a generous grant from the Ian Potter Foundation in Melbourne of $200,000 to construct a new dedicated storage area, which opened in 2015. This essential input covered state of the art racks for paintings, new plan drawers, a secure climate-controlled storage area, and a large archives office with shelving for small sculpture and ceramics. There is also a small exhibition and display area on the southern end of the building. Artworks are exhibited in public spaces and offices on site as well. We have a team of volunteers who are photographing and documenting the collection to make it accessible on a public database in the future. Many works were in poor condition; we aim to conserve and frame a number of these each year.

NAS students Georgina Worth and Barbara Romalis,1955. National Art School Collection. Courtesy National Art School, Sydney
In what ways are the collections utilised by NAS, and how are they shared with the public?
On average, in a year, the collection is accessed by approximately 700 students, researchers, and visitors. NAS teachers bring students in for particular projects, and Post-graduate students use the collection to research their theses and projects. We regularly exhibit collection works in our galleries, and loan works from the collection to other institutions for exhibitions and tours.
What do you love most about your involvement with the Collections and working with NAS?
Discoveries of a lost artwork, a missing document, or an alumnus we didn’t know about all make the job rewarding. As a historian I love sharing my knowledge of the site, and as a former student and staff member for twenty-two years, I am aware of its staggering significance in the cultural and social history of Australia. The collection is inextricably linked to the history of NAS, and the story of the school can be told through the items in the collection.
What projects are you working on at the moment?
This is our Centenary year. I am currently writing my fourth book on the history of the site [titled] Captivate: 200 years of Darlinghurst Gaol and the National Art School. I am also one of the curators of a site-wide exhibition of the same name, opening on 22 September this year. The exhibition will showcase the major works in our collection, many of which will be exhibited in the NAS Gallery for the first time.
Kirsty Francis is a Sydney-based arts writer.