Touring exhibition: Capturing Nature

Early photography at the Australian Museum 1857 – 1893

Capturing Nature - Australian Museum Archival Photography
Capturing Nature Australian Museum Archival Photographs
Capturing Nature - Australian Museum Archival Photography
Capturing Nature Australian Museum Archival Photographs
Capturing Nature - Australian Museum Archival Photography

About the exhibition

In Capturing Nature, we travel back to a time when photography was revolutionising science, art and society.

These never-before-seen images dating from 1857 to 1893 have been printed from the Australian Museum’s collection of glass plate negatives and are some of Australia’s earliest natural history photographs. Sitting at the nexus of science and art, they tell both the story of pioneering research as well as the advent of photography in the young colony less than 20 years after the birth of photography in Europe.

With rich, large-format prints, period cameras and related equipment, Capturing Nature brings to life the story of one of humankind’s greatest inventions and a Victorian obsession with immortality.

Exhibition details

Exhibition Specifications: Wall space for up to 65 hung frames, period cameras and related equipment.

Special Requirements: No special environmental conditions are required as the photographs are reproductions.

Accompanying Material Available: Graphics package and video footage.

Touring itinerary

  • 12 November 2019 to 8 March 2020 - Newcastle Museum, Newcastle, New South Wales
  • 27 March to 2 August 2020 – Orange Regional Museum, Orange, New South Wales
  • 8 August to 11 October 2020 - Albury LibraryMuseum, Albury, New South Wales
  • 31 October 2020 to 31 January 2021 – Hurstville Museum and Gallery, Hurstville, New South Wales
  • 14 May to 22 August 2021 – Redcliffe Museum, Redcliffe, Queensland
  • 11 December 2021 to 13 March 2022 - SEEN@Swansea, Swansea Centre, Swansea, New South Wales
  • 4 June to 23 October 2022 – Western Plains Cultural Centre, Dubbo, New South Wales
  • 25 October 2022 to 18 February 2023 - Tweed Regional Museum, Murwillumbah, New South Wales (Lightbox version)
  • 18 November 2022 to 1 April 2023 – Charles Darwin University Art Gallery, Brinkin, Northern Territory
  • 2 September to 26 November 2023 – Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, New South Wales

Make an enquiry

For more information on the Australian Museum touring exhibitions, please contact Louise Teteris, Project Coordinator, Touring Exhibitions.