Bondi, 1939/ 1990s print

Authenticity stamp with pencil title, additionally signed by the artist’s son, Rex Dupain, verso.

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

Image size: 38 x 38 cm

Framed size: 76 x 71 cm

Max Dupain is one of Australia’s most significant photographers, responsible for some of the countr y’s most iconic images. His long career was dedicated to celebrating Australian culture and identity. As a leading figure in modernist photography, his work is distinguished by its formal exploration of space, shape, and tone.

During the 1930s, Dupain was influenced by the European New Photography movement, which emerged in the late 1920s. This style marked a departure from the soft , atmospheric tones of Pictorialism, a dominant aesthetic in earlier Australian photography, particularly among artists such as Harold Cazneaux . New Photography emphasised bold compositions, unusual angles, and stark tonal contrasts—techniques that became central to Dupain’s work.

Together with Sunbaker (1937), at Bondi reflects a pivotal shif t in Dupain’s practice —from private snapshot to public icon, from modernist experimentation to a deliberate documentation of Australian life. This photograph exemplifies Dupain’s interest in the human form, both as a symbol of national identity and as an exploration of abstract form.

By the late 1940s, Dupain moved away from his earlier experimental approach, favouring a more documentary style. Reflecting on his evolving philosophy, he wrote: “Modern photography must do more than enter tain; it must incite thought , and by its clear statements of actuality, cultivate a sympathetic understanding of men and women and the life they create and live.”

Exhibitions
Max Dupain Retrospective 1930–1980, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 29 August – 28 September 1980 (another example)
On the Beach, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 8 December – 28 December 1982
(another example)

Four Photographers, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2 June – 19 August 1990 (another example)

Fine and Mostly Sunny: Photographs from the Collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 28 September – 1 December 1991 (another example)

Max Dupain – An Appreciation, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 11 August – 30 August 1992 (another example)

On the Beach: With Whiteley and Fellow Australian Ar tists, The Brett Whiteley Studio, Surry Hills, 1 March – 29 June 2003 (another example)

Bondi: A Biography, Museum of Sydney, 17 December 2005 – 19 March 2006