Bondi

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

Together with Sunbaker (1937), at Bondi reflects a pivotal shift 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 entertain; 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