Biography Harold Cazneaux

sydney city photographic print harold cazeneaux 1920, state library of new south wales, pxd 8061-39 a2057032h

harold pierce cazneaux (1878-1953) born on in wellington, new zealand on 30 march 1878. father pierce mott cazneaux english-born photographer , mother emily florence colourist , miniature painter sydney. in 1890s family moved adelaide , harold started working in father s studio , attended h. p. gill s evening classes @ school of design, painting , technical arts.

in 1904 decided move sydney took position 1 of sydney s oldest photo studios, freeman & co. @ job later appointed firm s manager , chief operator. @ same time honed photographic skills documenting architecture of old sydney , in 1907 exhibited photographic society of new south wales. in 1909 held first one-man exhibition in australia.

cazneaux s prints exhibited in solo shows in windows of kodak salon, sydney, international shows organised london salon of photography (1911 1952), , later included in royal photographic society of great britain s annual salons. in 1914 won kodak s happy moment competition, , £100 prize money went deposit future home.

he founder of sydney camera circle pictorialist manifesto drawn , signed on 28 november 1916 group of 6 photographers: cecil bostock, james stening, w. s. white, malcolm mckinnon , james paton, later joined henri mallard. group pledged work , advance pictorial photography , show our own australia in terms of sunlight rather of greyness , dismal shadows .

harold cazneaux portrait of architect, artist , author, william hardy wilson, @ home.

in 1921 elected member of london salon , in 1937 first australian conferred honorary fellowship royal photographic society. beyond photographic oeuvre, cazneaux prolific writer. correspondent photograms of year (uk) more twenty years, international voice of australian photography. official photographer sydney ure smith’s lifestyle magazine home 1920 1941, , commissioned produce images number of ure smith’s publications, including sydney surfing (1929), bridge book (1930), sydney book (1931) , australian native bear book (1932).

harold cazneaux photograph of frensham school students in school in 1934

the use of light defining characteristic of cazneaux’s later work , in 1916 , others formed sydney camera circle, establishing so-called ‘sunshine school’ of photography. circle created number of important reasons: embraced particularities of australian light , landscape, , move away english-inspired darker imagery dominating photographic practice @ time.

cazneaux s work championed decades editor of home magazine, sydney ure smith.

the national library of australia home of principal archive of cazneaux prints , negatives, generosity of cazneaux family. art gallery of new south wales has fine collection of cazneaux’s work, , first australian museum hold major exhibition of work in 1975.

the exhibition harold cazneaux: artist in photography @ art gallery of new south wales in june , july 2008 included more 100 of iconic images, exploring breadth , depth of work such landscape, portraits, harbour , city.

ambleside, cazneaux s cottage in roseville

an exhibition of photographs, called thoroughly modern sydney: 1920s , 30s glamour , style held @ museum of sydney, in sydney in august–october 2006. assembled largely images took australian magazine home , though included new prints unpublished negatives. subject ranged across fashionable , new @ time, covering architecture, art , interior design, , including many portraits of australians active in fields.

he married winifred, , had 5 daughters, including joan , rainbow, , son, harold, died aged 21 @ tobruk in 1941. entrepreneur , adventurer dick smith grandson.

cazneaux lived of life in sydney suburb of roseville. home, federation cottage called ambleside, located in dudley avenue, sadly neglected of 2012.