artresearch.com.au is run by Stephen Scheding, a private art researcher and art consultant specialising in Australian art. He has been working in this area for over 30 years and his personal library on Australian art is one of the largest in the country. He is the author of numerous articles on art and is well known for his books which include the best-selling A Small Unsigned Painting. Reviews of his books have included:

(for A Small Unsigned Painting, Vintage/Random House, 1998)
“... an excellent read, a sleuth story that captures the frustrations and joys of research while holding its reader in a state of suspense worthy of the best who-done-it.” (Australian Review of Books )

“... as grippingly as any candidate for the silver dagger award, Scheding ... lays out his clues ... a page-turner of an art book.” (Sydney Morning Herald )

“... probably the best exposition of empirical research methodology I have read for a long time... Anyone seriously wishing to undertake research in objects from the past would be well advised to start with A Small Unsigned Painting and study Scheding’s road map.” (Art & Australia ).

“...quite simply this is one of the most readable accounts of the research process as it is experienced by a seeker after information that I have ever seen... It is revalatory to the beginner and refreshing to the veteran.” (John Levett, The Australian Library Journal ).

(and for The National Picture, Vintage/Random House, 2002)
“... a rollicking read… it is also an excellent record of some serious research into what might be Australia’s most puzzling painting.” (The Bulletin )

‘This book should be read by all aspiring art historians...’ (Andrew Sayers in Art Monthly )

“... this real-life chronical of a researcher’s journey reads like a detective novel...” (Herald Sun )

“Scheding has created a genre that is unique in its conflation of the personal, the academic and the suspenseful... His personality - a mixture of charming eccentricity and hard-headed obstinacy (a must for any good researcher) - is the engine that drives the book and makes it such a good read.’ (Art & Australia )

For various newspaper and other articles about Stephen Scheding please use a Google search.

For articles on Australian artists written by Stephen Scheding please email the author:

James Howe Carse

Winifred Honey

Frank Weitzel

Lloyd Rees

Benjamin Duterrau