Moira Madden, later Moira Hallenstein, Arthur Challen, 1937.

Moira Frances Madden (1915–73) was the grand-daughter of Sir John Madden, chief justice of Victoria. This painting was completed the year before Moira's marriage to Albert Hallenstein, a brother of the artist Lina Bryans. The artist, Arthur Challen, was a jack of all trades, working as a successful cartoonist, caricaturist, violinist and conductor.

Head of the Mitta Mitta, eagle's view of the mountains, Eugène von Guérard, 1879.

This painting, depicting the head of the Mitta Mitta River near Omeo, looks towards Mount Wills, named after the explorer William Wills of the ill-fated Victorian Exploring Expedition. The Austrian-born painter Eugène von Guérard, who was in Australia between 1852 and 1881, is considered one of the most important landscape painters of the 19th century.

Collins Street, rainy weather, Ugo Catani, c 1886.

The statue of the explorers Robert Burke and William Wills by Charles Summers is the focus of this atmospheric work by Ugo Catani. The statue originally stood on the corner of Collins and Russell Streets before moving to Spring Street in 1886. It now stands on the corner of Swanston and Collins Streets.

Main Street, Daylesford, J Tensfeld, 1862.

This painting of Vincent Street, Daylesford, depicts typical small-town activities, including women walking with parasols, and wagons hauling goods. Tensfeld has exaggerated the street's width and the scale of the buildings, particularly the steeply pitched roof and verandah of the merchants Buttner & Hallenstein.

Government residence, Melbourne 1837, Joseph Panton, 1880.

The house of William Lonsdale, the district's first police magistrate, is depicted in this painting. The tall figure to the left is William Buckley, who lived with Aboriginal people for over 30 years. The woman in the foreground feeding chickens is Lonsdale's wife, Martha.

Phyl Waterhouse, Charles Bush, 1958.

Charles Bush painted this picture of his wife, who was also an artist, and subsequently entered it into the Archibald Prize for portraiture in 1958. After travelling and studying extensively throughout Europe in the early 1950s they returned to Melbourne, where Phyl opened the Leveson Street Gallery in 1962.

Self-portrait with cave paintings, Percival Leason, c 1957.

This painting shows the artist, Percival Leason, standing beside models of prehistoric animals that were made to illustrate lectures on his 'dead model' theory. The theory claimed that prehistoric artists could not have based their cave paintings of animals on living specimens but must have instead viewed carcasses from an elevated vantage point.

Robert Hoddle Dec 1845 near source of Yarra Yarra River, Starvation Creek, Henry England, 1860.

In the summer of 1844–45 the surveyor Robert Hoddle visited the junction of the Yarra River and a tributary that Hoddle called Starvation Creek because of the lack of feed for his stock. The artist, Henry England, has depicted the survey party at camp in the heavy forest of the Upper Yarra Ranges. Hoddle is shown seated on a rock.

Bourke Street east, George Pownall, c 1912.

This view of Bourke Street looks east toward Elizabeth Street. The buildings on the right are the Metropole Hotel and Arcade, which have since been replaced by the Commonwealth Bank building on the corner of Elizabeth Street.

Port Liardet 1, Jan Senbergs, 1981.

The Port Melbourne depicted in this painting has changed dramatically in the 30 years since it was painted. Jan Senbergs used the naive watercolour paintings of Wilbraham Liardet (1799–1878) to help shape his own paintings of contemporary Melbourne.

Yarra Bank meeting, Patrick Harford, 1923.

A trade union meeting on the banks of the Yarra River provided the impetus for this modernist painting. Fred Riley, a trade unionist and parliamentarian, addresses the crowd. Christian Jollie Smith, a solicitor and member of the Communist Party of Australia’s provisional executive, stands behind him.

Old Princes Bridge & St Paul's by moonlight, Ludwig Becker, 1857.

In this view of Swanston Street from the second Princes Bridge you can see the original St Paul's Church and adjacent school, the spire of the first Scots' Church and the original town hall. The second bridge was erected in 1850 and then demolished in 1884 to make way for the construction of the present bridge.

Tower Hill, Victoria, Daniel Clarke, 1867.

Deforestation was occurring rapidly when this painting was created in 1867. By 1892, when Tower Hill was declared a national park, the islands were almost bare of vegetation. Daniel Clarke also shows empathy with the local Aboriginal people, two of whom are depicted in the foreground, overwhelmed by the environmental destruction.

Adrian Lawlor with manuscript, Lina Bryans, 1965.

Adrian Lawlor was an author, poet, artist and critic. The artist Lina Bryans met Lawlor when she painted at Lawlor's home in Warrandyte, Broom Warren, with fellow artists William Frater and Alan Sumner.

Old Studley Park Mental Home – doctor's residence, Richard McCann, c 1927.

The Yarra Bend Asylum was established in 1848 and closed in 1925 when the Yarra Bend Trust took over management of the area. Many of the structures were demolished to make way for parks, sporting fields and, later, the Eastern Freeway. The doctor's residence was demolished at about the time this painting was made.

Wirth's Park c 1938, Mary Stevenson, 1938.

This circus is depicted as being devoid of the glamour and excitement usually associated with such an event. At the time the painting was made, Wirth's Park took up most of the site now occupied by the National Gallery and Victorian Arts Centre.

Peter Purves Smith, Archibald Douglas Colquhoun, c 1946.

Peter Purves Smith was a surrealist painter whose work is represented in many Australian art gallery collections, as well as in the Museum of Modern Art, New York. After fighting in World War II, Peter became ill and was invalided back to Melbourne, where he died. His wife, who later married Russell Drysdale, commissioned this portrait after his death.

Corner, Smith & Gertrude, Mike Brown (Michael Challis), 1984.

Depicting a well-known corner in Melbourne’s inner suburbs, this painting shows that little has changed during the ensuing years. Before moving to Melbourne in 1981, the artist, Mike Brown, was arrested for showing 'obscene works' in an exhibition and sentenced to three months hard labour, a conviction he successfully overturned.

William Buckley, unknown artist, c 1890–1910.

Escaped convict William Buckley lived with the Wathaurong Aboriginal people for 32 years until he walked into the camp of John Batman, who was exploring the area. Buckley left with Batman and lived in Melbourne where he worked as a labourer, and as an interpreter and mediator between the Europeans and Aborigines.

The mystic mill, Henry Rielly, 1872.

Henry Rielly’s allegorical painting is set in the Yarra Valley and accurately portrays the Yarra River flats. The scene possibly symbolises the change of seasons from winter to spring, or the medieval story of the Mill of Youth.

Natives discovering the body of William John Wills, the explorer, at Coopers Creek, June 1861, Eugene Scott, c 1862.

After returning from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the abandoned base camp, William Wills, John King and Robert Burke found themselves with limited food. The local Aborigines offered the starving and malnourished explorers food, but Burke refused their help and he and Wills eventually starved to death.

Portrait of Jessie Traill, Dora Wilson, c 1935.

Artists Jessie Traill and Dora Wilson shared a studio in Collins Street, Melbourne. Their long friendship began while studying at the National Gallery Art School. Jessie worked primarily in the medium of printmaking, while Dora specialised in painting.

Melbourne from the Botanic Gardens, Henry Gritten, 1867.

A burgeoning Melbourne is depicted from the Botanic Gardens, near the present-day intersection of Clowes and Anderson Streets, South Yarra. Ferdinand von Mueller’s renowned garden design can be seen in this painting. A botanist and environmentalist, von Mueller was director of the gardens from 1857 to 1873.

Portland showing the ship ‘Frances Henty’, Thomas Robertson, 1858.

The Henty family prospered through farming and trade after settling in Portland Bay in 1834. The ship depicted in this picture, the Frances Henty, was named after patriarch Thomas Henty’s wife. The vessel carried passengers, gold and wool between London and Victoria until at least 1869. To the right of the Frances Henty is a smaller coastal trader Lady Bird which was also owned by the Hentys.