Picture the Past

Picture the Past offers a loosely chronological path through time. Each stop on the self-guided tour is marked by a Picture the Past logo. At each point, an information panel reveals a piece of history encapsulated in the works on display.

You can choose to follow the map’s sequenced stops, which meander through the Gallery in much the same way that a historical narrative might shift direction and location. Sometimes you may find yourself backtracking through time, as information in one room might also refer to works in another.

Or you can make your own path, following your interests and instincts and whatever emerges in front of you. After all, as in much of history, decisions often follow circumstance and opportunity rather than plans.

Since 1881, the Art Gallery has gathered works of art that enrich the people of South Australia. Today our collection holds some 48,000 works, spanning more than 2500 years of human creativity.

Art is a witness to its time. Portraits and landscapes, fashion and furniture, sculpture and ceramics all enable us to understand something of the past – about people, places, cultures, beliefs, economies, lifestyles and choices.

Picture the Past highlights just some of the many stories from the past told by art in the Gallery’s collection.