To celebrate the publication of the latest books in the Artists of the National Library of Australia series, renowned photographic historian Helen Ennis shares the stories of some of her favourite images from these iconic artists.

Join the Friends of the National Library for two 40-minute presentations on each artist, including time for questions. Afternoon tea will be served during the interval between sessions.

Olive Cotton (1911–2003) is one of Australia’s most respected photographers, with a career that spanned over six decades. The Olive Cotton collection at the National Library comprises 58 photographic prints, most of which are silver gelatin, three interviews with Olive Cotton in the oral history collection, and the Papers of Olive Cotton in the manuscripts collection.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Wolfgang Sievers (1913–2007) fled Nazi Germany to make a new home in Australia. Through his striking images of the post-war manufacturing boom, he would go on to become one of the country’s eminent photographers. The Wolfgang Sievers Photographic Archive consists of about 13,700 prints and 51,700 negatives and transparencies, making it one of the largest photographic collections held in the National Library of Australia.

About Helen Ennis

Helen Ennis writes on Australian photography and her latest book, Max Dupain: A Portrait (2024), is her third biography. Helen is Emeritus Professor, Australian National University, where she was Director of the Centre for Art History and Art Theory from 2014 to 2018. She was formerly trained as a curator at the National Gallery of Australia where she headed the Department of Photography from 1985 to 1992 and has worked extensively as a freelance curator, including for the National Library of Australia.

Her numerous publications include Intersections: Photography, history and the National Library of Australia, Reveries: Photography and Mortality, Photography and Australia, and award-winning biographies of Margaret Michaelis and Olive Cotton. Helen is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities and in 2021 was awarded the J Dudley Johnson Medal by the British Royal Photographic Society for her contribution to the history of photography.