Sydney Ure Smith (1887-1949), publisher, was co-founder of the leading art journal Art in Australia (1916-1942) and produced the magazines The Home (1920-1942) and Australian National Journal. Through titles such as Bernard Smith's Place, Taste and Tradition (1945) his firm Ure Smith Pty Ltd played a strong part in shaping Australian cultural appreciation. Ure Smith was president of the Society of Artists for more than two decades, a foundation member of the Painters and Etchers Society, a trustee of the Art Gallery of NSW from 1922 to 1947 and a driving force behind the short-lived Australian Academy of Art.
Sydney based Max Dupain was a fine architectural photographer, but his beach photographs, such as The Sunbather and Form at Bondi, have become key images of Australian experience.
Purchased 1999
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
Johanna McMahon revels in history and mystery in pursuit of a suite of unknown portrait subjects.
Gael Newton delves into the life and art of renowned Australian photographer, Max Dupain.
