It is hard to give an exact number of art works, because new works are being acquired all the time and some works (e.g. sketchbooks) are made up of many parts, each of which could be seen as an artwork in itself. However, as a rough figure, 29,000 would be about right.

How are the artworks categorised and divided?

Regarding the types of artworks in our permanent collection, they are divided into various "curatorial areas" (i.e. according to the curators who look after them):

Australian
The Australian collection reflects the evolving cultural traditions of the past two hundred years of European settlement in Australia. The beautiful Old Courts display well-loved icons of Australian art from the late nineteenth century and explore changing perceptions of how Australians viewed their nation and heritage during this period. The Twentieth Century gallery displays works of distinguished artists such as Grace Cossington Smith, Sidney Nolan and Russell Drysdale, representing some of Australia's most inspired artists through paintings, sculptures and works on paper.

Aboriginal
The Yiribana Gallery is dedicated to the permanent display of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and is host to a changing exhibition programme featuring highlights from the permanent collection as well special exhibitions celebrating the diversity of Indigenous art practice in Australia. The concerns of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, ranging from a connection with country to social commentary on Australia's recent history, are expressed in paintings on bark and canvas, as well as prints, photographs, sculptures and installations.

Asian
The Asian collection embraces the great artistic traditions of South, East and Southeast Asia with exemplary examples of painting, sculpture and other media. Strengths of the collection include early Chinese tomb figure art, delicate Japanese screens and fine examples of Indian Buddhist and Hindu sculpture. The collections of more fragile paintings, screens and prints are constantly rotated, and new acquisitions augment the changing displays.

European
The European collection is located on two levels of the Gallery. The Old Courts house European paintings from the fifteenth to the early twentieth century and include a rich collection of Victorian and Edwardian paintings. On Lower Level 2 are substantial holdings of twentieth century British and European works to 1960, showing the impact of Modernism. Significant examples of works by European modern masters include those by Braque, Picasso, Giacometti and Bacon.

Contemporary
The significance of the art of our time is reflected in the Gallery's dynamic collection of recent works by Australian and international artists. The Contemporary collection highlights some of the artistic themes which have been central to art practices of the last two decades and ensures that the spirit of creativity, imagination and innovation which has characterised all art movements through the centuries is presented in the Gallery in its most living, challenging and energetic form. 

Photography
The Photography collection, of which eighty percent is Australian, consists of some 4,000 works from early examples to the most contemporary. The collection holds good examples of European Pictorialist and Modernist works and is best known for its Australian Pictorial photography, photo-documentation from 1930-1970 and the broad range of contemporary photography. 

Prints, Drawings & Watercolours
The Gallery's Prints and Drawings collection consists of approximately 12,000 works on paper from the Australian, European and Asian departments. The collection is representative of a variety of artists, styles and techniques with works ranging from traditional Japanese Ukiyo-e prints to European Old Masters and 19th and 20th century prints and drawings, both Australian and international.

Text from Education Programmes handbook