Cecil Bostock: Sydney

Overview

While nearly every Australian is surely familiar with the quintessential Aussie portrait of the beachgoer — Max Dupain's 1937 black-and-white icon The Sunbaker — not so many are familiar with Dupain’s mentor, the British/Australian photographer Cecil Bostock. Now's your chance to get to know him with a comprehensive exhibition of Bostock's work currently showing at Manly Art Gallery & Museum.

Having moved to Australia in 1888 at the age of 4, Bostock became enchanted with Sydney's Northern Beaches and was to later document his love for their pristine beauty in his photography. Taking to the art form in 1915, Bostock was a pioneer of art photography in Australia, producing visionary images of nudes, landscapes and urban scenes. He was also a founding member of the Sydney Camera Circle, which would meet and organise photography trips around the city and its suburbs. From documentary to portraiture, Bostock's work encompasses a range of themes and approaches and his skill behind the lens is most evident in those images that appear to be flippant holiday shots. He depicts his children playing by the water and captures both the spontaneity of his family along with the constancy of the landscape. Not only was Bostock making a document of the city and its glorious features, but he was, and still is, allowing the viewer front-row access to intimate moments.

Guided tour Sunday 27 February, 3 pm

Image: Cecil Bostock, Manly Beach opposite Dungowan (Mary, Joyce and Peter), 1927