The Cazneaux daughters in the surf
Photographer
Harold Cazneaux
(Australian, 1878 - 1953)
Date1916-1917
Object number00054954
NamePhotograph
MediumGelatin silver POP print
DimensionsOverall: 55 × 80 mm
Display dimensions: 305 × 410 mm
Display dimensions: 305 × 410 mm
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection gift from Anne Christoffersen
DescriptionA small black and white photograph by Harold Cazneaux depicting his daughters on a crowded Sydney Beach playing in the surf, surrounded by other bathers. Anne Christoffersen donated the image and her mother, Carmen Cazneaux, is shown in the white dress playing with her sisters.
HistoryHere Harold Cazneaux has captured his daughters in a moment of pleasure, playing in the surf. It is a little detail, a vignette of beach and family life. Cazneaux often photographed his family chronicling their lives in his photographic and aesthetic experimentations.
SignificanceThe collection of Harold Cazneaux photographs date from about 1904 to the 1930s and include key images of Australia, of life on the water, the harbour, beach and coast and reveal the breadth of Cazneaux's practice as an artist-photographer. They are significant for their aesthethic value but also because of the landscapes and life they portray, a life focussed around the water at work or rest.