Australian photographer Max Dupain (1911 – 1992) may be best known for his iconic photograph Sunbaker (1937), but he was also a pioneer of modernism in Australian photography. Together with his personal and professional partner Olive Cotton, Dupain memorably embraced the early 20th century artistic movement’s clean lines, geometric compositions, dramatic angles and lighting in his work.
Dupain was also drawn to Surrealism, an interest that was consolidated when he reviewed a monograph by the American born, Paris-based photographer Man Ray (1890 – 1976), Photographs by Man Ray 1920 – 1934. Thereafter he began to utilise Surrealism’s collage techniques and sometimes startling juxtapositions in both his personal and commercial work, including the use of solarisation, double exposure and photomontage.
