Arkley’s library
These lists provide a comprehensive overview of Arkley’s professional and personal library as it remained at his death in July 1999. Subsequently, a systematic record of his library was compiled, along with the other contents of his studio – including artworks, sketch-books and notebooks (including his “visual diaries”, many crammed with source material).
His library served a variety of different purposes – from a general reference source, to an adjunct to his artistic process. Periodicals and books in his collection were regularly ransacked for source images, and he sometimes added doodles or other types of alteration (shaped pages etc.) to images in them: for comments on this process, see my Carnival in Suburbia (2006), esp.pp.141ff., reproducing examples, including his early sprayed additions to a monograph on Paul Klee, listed here as no.[477].
The exact size of Arkley’s original library is difficult to estimate, since some of this material has since been discarded (particularly periodical issues and a few books that were unmarked and of no apparent interest to him), but it was substantial, amounting to well over 1,000 titles, especially if taking into consideration his large collection of comics (not itemised here).
Some 800 titles are listed here, categorised into manageable groups, with brief comments where appropriate. Slightly less than 50% of this material is held in State Library Victoria’s Howard Arkley Archive [HAA]; some additional books and catalogues have been retained by the artist’s widow, Alison Burton (designated with her initials: AB).
Each item (periodical issue, book/catalogue) is identified by a unique number, indicated in square brackets as [1], [2] etc.
A hash # denotes a title held in the Howard Arkley Archive (State Library Victoria, MS 14217) [HAA numbers specify entries listed in https://findingaids.slv.vic.gov.au/repositories/3/archival_objects/35203, series 10: library]
An asterisk * indicates a title given significant attention by Arkley (tagged pages, images removed, doodles, etc.)
The material is arranged in 10 categories as follows:
- Magazines & Journals – Art/Miscellaneous (Australian & International) [1-230]
- Magazines & Journals – Architectural, House & Garden, etc. [231-304]
- Books etc. – Art & architecture, general, except Australian [305-409]
- Books etc. – International artists (A-Z) [410-537]
- Books etc. – Australian art & architecture, general [538-586]
- Books etc. – Australian artists (A-Z) [587-642]
- Books etc. – Interior Design, Décor, etc. [643-671]
- Books etc. – Miscellaneous (inc.biography, etc.) [672-735]
- Books etc. – “Magic Eye” books [736-744]
- Books etc. – Children’s books (& comics) [745-808]