The Sunbaker (Culburra Beach, NSW), 1937
Gelatin silver print
Signed and dated on recto
October 9, 2023
Maxwell Spencer Dupain was one of the foremost modernist photographers in Australia, and is best known for his portrayals of Australian beach culture. This photograph, from 1937, came to belated prominence when it was featured on the poster for the opening exhibition of the Australian Centre for Photography in 1975. It was reproduced frequently after that, until the image became inextricably woven into Australia’s national identity. This deep identification with his home country suited Dupain, who rarely left the Australian continent, and once wrote: "I find that my whole life, if it is going to be of any consequence in photography, has to be devoted to that place where I have been born, reared and worked, thought, philosophized and made pictures to the best of my ability.”
While it might seem counterintuitive to feature a beach picture in the midst of the fall months, it’s worth recalling that our Antipodean neighbors are welcoming the approach of warm weather, on their side of the globe.
