The Macmillan Brown Library was established in 1935 as a bequest from Professor John Macmillan Brown. Since then, various donations have been made to the Library, mostly of works by artists who have had an association with the University or with the Canterbury region.
A major strength of the Macmillan Brown Library collection is its holdings of artworks relating to the early European settlement of Canterbury. Included in the collection are 155 paintings or drawings, and 5 sketchbooks by the Harper and Acland families, which are mostly pencil sketches and watercolours dating from the 1850s to the 1890s. These works illustrate the history of the Canterbury high country stations including Mt Peel Station.
The Library holds a collection of 75 watercolours and drawings by Ursula Bethell. A talented artist, Bethell is better known as one of the pioneers of modern New Zealand poetry, and was an integral member of the arts community in Canterbury.
A minor strength of the collection is its representation of the work of commercial New Zealand illustrators, including Russell Clark, Alice Mair and Leo Bensemann. The collection includes 182 original drawings by Russell Clark from his NZ Listener series, many of which relate to Aunt Daisy's food column.
There are 70 drawings by Alice Mair, which were used to illustrate the books 'Homes of the Pioneers'. The books featured images of historical homes and buildings from the Canterbury Region.
There is also a large collection of over 100 works by Leo Bensemann, who was a driving force behind the Caxton Press.
The Macmillan Brown Library also houses a large collection of historic New Zealand and European prints, dating from 1665 onwards. Included amongst these are prints by John Webber (1751-1793), Francis Jukes (1746-1812) and John Cleveley the Younger (1747-1786), which all relate to the voyages of Captain Cook in the Resolution.
There are also original works by: