Max Dupain Essay

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Maxwell Spencer Dupain was born on the 4th of April, 1911, in Sydney, to parents Ena and George. While receiving an education at Sydney Grammar School, Max had an interest in both poetry and rowing prior to developing an enthralment with photography at the age of thirteen. This interest was prompted by the gift of his first camera, a ‘Box Brownie’, followed by a ‘Vest Pocket Camera’ two years later. His interest in photography expanded, thus leading Dupain to win the ‘Carter Memorial Prize for Productive Use of Spare Time’ two years later. In 1928 Max joined the New South Wales photography society and it was here that he met Harold Cazneaux, a photography legend. In the society Max began to enter photography competitions and submit entries …show more content…

In 1934, after completing his internship with Cecil, Max started his own studio. He specialised in advertising, fashion, still life and portraits, whilst experimenting with human forms and Australian beach culture. It was at this time that he produced his most famous item, ‘The Sunbaker’, which would become Dupain’s signature piece. In 1939 Dupain married a fellow photographer and childhood friend, Olive Cotton. Their marriage would last only a year. Dupain’s skills in photography attributed to his joining of the ‘Sydney Camouflage Group’ in 1942, to contribute to the war effort. He was a camouflage designer and photographer serving in Darwin and New Guinea. Yet despite his obvious skill with a camera, Dupain was not an official war photographer. This did not prevent him from enlisting as a Royal Australian Air force as a researcher and a photographer as he reported on the camouflage effort being made by the Australian and US forces. In 1945, Dupain applied to the Department of Information to become an official war photographer in spite of the fact that the department had changed its focus to promoting Australia to

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