John Williams

1933 - 2016

BiographyJohn Williams (1933-2016, was a self-taught photographer and historian. He became especially interested in the democratising potential of the camera and the practice of photojournalism, inspired by the 'Family of man' exhibition from the Museum of Modern Art, New York which toured internationally for eight years, visiting Australia in 1959. Williams acquired a square format Rolleicord TLR camera and set about capturing life on the streets and the beaches of his home city of Sydney. He became a leading member of the new wave of social street photographers in the 1960s and 70s. His photographic influences were Henri Cartier Bresson and his 'decisive moment' and the photojournalism of W Eugene Smith. Many of his beach photographs are infused with spontaneity, angular composition, seemingly ad hoc framing and his acute social observations of beach going and beach culture in the post-war decades.

Williams studied mechanical engineering at Sydney Technical College and pursued his interest in photography and joined amateur camera clubs. In 1965 he left for Europe for five years. In 1969 Williams returned to a burgeoning arts scene in Australia and soon thrived. He worked variously as a magazine editor, historian, gallery owner and photography lecturer. Between 1973 and 1977 he was the photography critic for The Australian. In 1974 he moved to Melbourne and established The Photographers Gallery with his then wife, photographer Ingeborg Tyssen. Back in Sydney in 1976 Williams was appointed the first head of photography and film at the new Sydney College of the Arts. A keen student of German and history, one of his passions was the cultural impact of the First World War. He published seven books on that subject. six after his retirement in 1988 and also produced a body of photographic work about Anzac Day commemorations from 1964.

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