Definitive Dupain

A landmark monograph on one of Australia's most influential photographers, Definitive Dupain brings together iconic and previously unseen works from the extraordinary archive of Max Dupain.

Drawing on more than 250,000 negatives held at the State Library of New South Wales, this book presents around 150 photographs spanning Dupain's career from the 1920s to the 1990s. It includes his most celebrated images such as Sunbaker (1937-38), a defining vision of Australian identity, alongside studio work, architectural studies, commercial commissions and intimate personal photographs.

Working ceaselessly from the late 1920s until his death in 1992, Dupain established himself as one of the most prolific and skilled photographers of the 20th century. His lens captured Australia's people, first and foremost, but also its flora and fauna, its architecture, its urban and rural landscapes, and even its manufactured products - from aluminium pots to cigarettes and toothpaste. His collected body of work is as much a singular artistic achievement as it is a striking visual memory of Australian culture.

With essays by Avryl Whitnall, Helen Ennis and Trent Parke, Definitive Dupain situates Dupain within both an international photographic context and a distinctly Australian story of light, place and modern life.

About the Author

Avryl Whitnall is Senior Creative Producer in the Exhibitions & Design team at the State Library of New South Wales and curator of the exhibition Definitive Dupain. She has curated more than 15 exhibitions, including The Art of Audubon & Gould (2000), Villas of Darlinghurst (2002), Kahlil Gibran: The Prophet, the Artist, the Man (2011) and Family Fragments: Photographic Etchings by Sally McInerney (2016), and has authored accompanying exhibition catalogues.

Whitnall curated her first Max Dupain exhibition, Max Dupain: Modernist, in 2007. Working closely with Dupain's former colleagues - Eric Sierins, director of Max Dupain and Associates, and Jill White, custodian of the Max Dupain Exhibition Negative Archive - she brought together a compelling exploration of Dupain's extensive architectural photography archive.