Historical exterior view of Clark's Assembly Hall on Elizabeth Street in 1848

In 1875 the Gallery's art collection was housed for the first time in Clark's New Assembly Hall on Elizabeth Street. This image shows the exterior of the Old Assembly Hall in 1848, as engraved on copper-plate by Joseph Fowles. Fowles' original publication was released in facsimile in 1962 by the publishing house Ure Smith Pty Ltd, from where this image was taken. Although this image has often been reproduced to illustrate the building in which the Gallery's collection was first housed, Clark’s Assembly Hall was replaced by Clark’s New Assembly Hall, circa 1857, on what is later identified as the site of the Royal Society Building, 5 Elizabeth Street.