ESSAY: 2004.180 DUPAIN
This important photograph shows the influence of Surrealism on Max Dupain's work. The subject, Jean Lorraine, was a popular nude model in the 1930s and a close friend of Dupain and his then wife, the photographer Olive Cotton.(1) Rather than being a portrait of Jean, this work explores the blurred distinction between the human figure and abstract form. It complements works on a similar theme by Dupain in the Gallery's Collection, such as Impassioned clay 1936 and Torso in sun 1941.
Few prints of Jean with wire mesh were made at the time the photograph was taken, and the work remained largely unknown until the 1970s. It has, however, been recognised in most recent exhibitions of Dupain's work. This print, which came from the collection of the artist's son Rex Dupain, was printed by Max Dupain around 1972. Dupain was reprinting many works at this time in preparation for his first retrospective at the Australian Centre for Photography in Sydney in 1975.(2) Recognition of his oeuvre corresponded with a general surge of interest in Australian photography in the 1970s - galleries such as the then Australian National Gallery and the Art Gallery of New South Wales were establishing fledgling departments devoted to the medium and the Australian Centre for Photography was founded in 1973.
A date of 1936 was assigned to the photograph in 2004 by Deutscher-Menzies, presumably in consultation with the vendor, Rex Dupain. This is consistent with the date of Untitled (Jean with wire mesh) from the Collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, which was signed and dated by the artist. Max Dupain was, however, notoriously unreliable with his dates. Jean with wire mesh was dated 1937 in the 2003 exhibition 'Max Dupain's Australians' at the State Library of New South Wales, which was developed in consultation with Jill White, Dupain's studio assistant in the late 1950s and studio manager from 1970 until 1992.
Essay by Claire Gobé, former Curatorial Assistant, Australian Art to 1970, QAGOMA, Oct. 2004.
Endnote
Few prints of Jean with wire mesh were made at the time the photograph was taken, and the work remained largely unknown until the 1970s. It has, however, been recognised in most recent exhibitions of Dupain's work. This print, which came from the collection of the artist's son Rex Dupain, was printed by Max Dupain around 1972. Dupain was reprinting many works at this time in preparation for his first retrospective at the Australian Centre for Photography in Sydney in 1975.(2) Recognition of his oeuvre corresponded with a general surge of interest in Australian photography in the 1970s - galleries such as the then Australian National Gallery and the Art Gallery of New South Wales were establishing fledgling departments devoted to the medium and the Australian Centre for Photography was founded in 1973.
A date of 1936 was assigned to the photograph in 2004 by Deutscher-Menzies, presumably in consultation with the vendor, Rex Dupain. This is consistent with the date of Untitled (Jean with wire mesh) from the Collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, which was signed and dated by the artist. Max Dupain was, however, notoriously unreliable with his dates. Jean with wire mesh was dated 1937 in the 2003 exhibition 'Max Dupain's Australians' at the State Library of New South Wales, which was developed in consultation with Jill White, Dupain's studio assistant in the late 1950s and studio manager from 1970 until 1992.
Essay by Claire Gobé, former Curatorial Assistant, Australian Art to 1970, QAGOMA, Oct. 2004.
Endnote
- Jean Lorraine recounts her relationship with Dupain and Cotton in: 'Portrait of a lady', The Sydney Morning Herald, 12 July 2003, viewed 27 Oct. 2004, .
- The Gallery's version of Sunbaker 1937 was similarly reprinted in the early 1970s.
Related objects
Impassioned clay 1936
- DUPAIN, Max - Creator
Torso in sun 1941
- DUPAIN, Max - Creator
