Pictorialism to Modernism
Australian Photographers from the 20th Century

NOTE: Linked large images in this collection have now been archived. If you would like to view images other than those thumbnailed here please contact us email.

Max Dupain (1911-1992)
Born in Sydney, Dupain was apprenticed to Cecil Bostock from 1930 until 1934 when he set up his own studio. By 1935, he was recognised as Australia's leading modern photographer. Dupain was the first Australian photographer to treat figure studies and the nude as a serious genre. By the time of his death at the age of 81, Dupain was established as a household name in Australia.

49 Max Dupain
(Bookplate), 1930s. Silver gelatin print, 7.3 x 5.1cm. Slight silvering. JLG3561
Rare, early photographic bookplate used by Dupain for his library.

 $1,100
50 (Illuminated Nude)
1930s. Blue toned silver gelatin print, signed on image lower right, 49 x 39.4cm. Cracking of emulsion to margins. JLG3563
Unusual, uniquely toned photograph.
 $9,900
51 (Solarised Fire Escape)
1935. Silver gelatin print, authen-tication stamp signed by Rex Dupain verso, 24.6 x 17.9cm. Slight cracking to margins. JLG3565
Taken near his first studio in Bond Street, Sydney.
 $4,400
52 (Shell with Screw)
c1935. Silver gelatin print, signed and dated on image lower right, 35.8 x 31.4cm. JLG3427
 $7,900
53 (Laboratory Bottles)
1935. Silver gelatin print, signed and dated below on backing, 15.5 x 10.6cm. Laid down on original studio mount. JLG3426
 $12,500
54 Wheat Silos, Pyrmont
1935/1980s. Silver gelatin print, signed on image lower right, 24.5 x 18cm. Framed. JLG3424
Illustrated in "Silver and Grey", Gael Newton, A & R, Sydney, 1980, plate 64.
$4,400
55 Man (Discoboles) and Machine
1936. Silver gelatin print, titled below on original backing, signed and dated on image lower right, titled, signed and dated verso on backing, 27.3 x 38.4cm. Laid down on original exhibition backing. JLG3425
 $8,800
56 Nocturne
1936. Silver gelatin print, titled, signed and dated in ink below in margin, 32 x 45.5cm. Minor stains lower margin. JLG3430
 $11,000
57 (Female with Film Strip Pattern)
c1936. Silver gelatin print, signed in ink below in margin, 26.3 x 18.7cm. Minor cracking to surface in margin. JLG3429
 $6,600