Dupain AC (22 April 1911 – 27 July 1992) was a renowned Australian modernist photographer.
Dupain received his first camera as a gift in 1924, spurring his interest in photography. He later joined the Photographic Society of NSW, and when he left school, he worked for Cecil Bostock in Sydney.
During the war Dupain served with the Royal Australian Air Force in both Darwin and Papua New Guinea helping to create camouflage.
The war affected Dupain and his photography, by creating in him a greater awareness of truth in documentary. In 1947, these feelings were reinforced when he read a book Grierson on Documentary which defined the need for photography without pretence. The catchcry was “the creative treatment of actuality”. Dupain was keen to restart the studio with this new perspective and abandon what he called the “cosmetic lie of fashion photography or advertising illustration”.
Refusing to return to the “cosmetic lie” of advertising, Dupain said :
“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 live and create.”
His documentary work of this period is exemplified in his photograph “Meat Queue”. He used a more naturalistic style of photography, “capturing a moment of everyday interaction [rather than] attempting any social comment”.
Dupain also worked extensively for The University of New South Wales and CSR Limited and made many trips to the interior and coast of northern Australia.
In the 1950s the advent of the new consumerism meant that there was plenty of promotional photography for advertising and he attracted clients from magazines, advertising agencies and industrial firms. In between this he devoted time to pursue his love of architecture, and began architectural photography which he continued most of his life.
In 1939, after the outbreak of World War II, Dupain married Olive Cotton (also a photographer) but they divorced soon after. A decade later, Dupain married Diana Illingworth and subsequently they had a daughter Danina and a son Rex, who also became a photographer.
Dupain continued working until his death in 1992.
