At Newport, 1952/printed c1980

Signed in pencil lower right on image, also titled and signed verso

Provenance:
Dupain Estate
Private collection, Sydney

Image size: 40 x 49 cm

Framed size: 82 x 77.5 cm

At Newport (1952) is one of the three most iconic photographs of Max Dupain’s, alongside Sunbaker (1937) and Bondi (1939).

The photograph is both highly structured and spontaneous—spontaneous in the serendipitous presence of the young man (whom Dupain referred to as the “Adonis”) stepping down from the pool’s wall.

Dupain had been standing for some time on or near a large rock, attempting to capture the activity within the pool—the various figures sitting, swimming, and standing. He aimed to remain unnoticed, ensuring people did not look directly into the camera. The image conveys a sense of invisibility or disregard for the photographer.

As Helen Ennis writes, At Newport is “one of Dupain’s most admired and refined photographs,” noted for its “linear, sculptural form and architectural quality.”

In terms of his photography, this would be one of his last major images depicting people at the beach, as his focus later shifted towards architectural and commercial photography, as well as still life, particularly flowers and shells in his private work.