In the short period between the late 1960s, when the National Gallery of Australia project received the go-ahead from government, and its opening in 1982 the national collection of art took shape. Twenty years later, this book of essays tells how the various collections which make up the national collection came into being, and the way they continue to evolve.

The authors include the Gallery's three directors and another three, young men when the Gallery opened, who are now gallery directors themselves. Others, close to the circumstances of the beginnings of the collections, provide insightful commentary. The stories included are as varied and full of interest as the collections themselves.