Sir William Dixson Research Library
1959
Accessible by appointment
The Sir William Dixson Research Library acknowledges the Library's debt to Sir William Dixson, one its greatest benefactors. During his lifetime Dixson presented an unrivalled collection of historical pictures to the Library. Dixson also donated the Chaucer windows, the bronze doors and various other objects to the Library. On his death in 1952, he bequeathed over 20,000 books, manuscripts, paintings, maps, tokens, coins and medals: this collection is now known as the Dixson Library. He also left funds to support additions to the collection and publications of facsimiles of key historical manuscripts. This private room is dedicated to showcasing a selection of books and paintings from the Dixson collection, and is used as a space to conduct viewings of the Library‘s other rare books and special collections.
The ornate bookcase that lines the far wall from floor to ceiling once stood in Sir William’s home. The heavy blackwood shelves opposite and the long tables in the centre of the room are from the 1942 refurbishment of the Library. Dixson’s library clock, chair, easel, desk, candelabrum and selected paintings by artists such as Conrad Martens and Eugene von Guérard are also displayed in the room.
A matter of special attention
Sir William Dixson was early to recognise the opportunity in collecting pictures, and became the largest collector of Australian imagery of his time. Like Mitchell, Dixson wished to share his treasures with the public, but unlike Mitchell, he believed artworks should be a part of that treasure:
When I learned that the terms of Mr. D.S. Mitchell’s will did not permit the trustees to spend any part of the endowment’s income on pictures … I decided to pay special attention to them.1
Writing to the Library in 1919, Dixson offered his extensive collection of pictures, which included portraits of Cook, Governor Phillip and Mrs Phillip, as well as Governor Macquarie:
Dear Sir,
As you are no doubt aware I have a number of valuable pictures packed away as I have no room to display them. Most of them are of historical value, apart from any artistic merit, and it would be a good thing if they were placed where those interested could see them. I understand that it is intended to proceed with the Library building in Macquarie Street, and that a pictures gallery is part of the scheme.2
Five years later, however, Dixson was still yet to receive a response. He decided to make a more generous offer to the trustees that included more pictures and literary material, in return for a dedicated space to house the material. In 1924 the NSW Parliament voted £50,000 to build the Dixson Wing, which included two galleries and stack areas.
Footnotes
1. D Jones, A Source of Inspiration and Delight, 1988, p 72
2. Letter to principal librarian William Ifould, 1919
Sir William Dixson: the collector
Sir William Dixson was
an avid collector of items relating to European expeditions and settlement in
Australia, as well as the Asia/Pacific region. His collection spanned various
mediums including paintings, drawings, prints, books, maps, letters,
broadsides, coins and medals. Dixson was particularly interested in items that in
some way captured or conveyed a person’s inner thoughts and ideas, as well as
reflecting aspects of their public and private lives. He was also particularly
interested in objects that documented the initial observations of newly
encountered lands and people.
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