Manly Beach, 1940

Estate stamp verso; signed by Rex Dupain on back

Provenance
Dupain Estate
Rex Dupain, the artist’s son Private collection, Sydney

Image size: 30.8 × 27.9 cm

Framed size: 64 x 53.5 cm

Condition
Old crease upper right

Literature
Max Dupain’s Australia, edited Jill White, Viking, p.156

This photograph was taken from the Manly Shark Tower, which was built in 1938 alongside the award-winning Manly Surf Pavilion. Lifeguards manned the tower with binoculars to spot approaching sharks; when a shark was sighted, a large shark bell was rung to warn swimmers to evacuate the water. The structure became susceptible to concrete cancer and was subsequently demolished in 1981. The image captures the beach from an elevated perspective, demonstrating Dupain’s interest in bold compositions and unusual angles. Several negatives of scenes at Manly Beach from the 1940s are held in the State Library of New South Wales, and other works from this series are held in the Northern Beaches Council collection.