Vintage: the lost works of Max Dupain

@ the University Gallery 14 November - 1 December

Exhibition opening Thursday 22 November at 5.30pm, entry is free

Vintage brings together for the first time two glorious collections of forgotten images of wine grape vintages in the Hunter - heart of Australia's wine world in the mid-20th century - by the legendary photographer Max Dupain. Dupain took the photographs on commission as part of his commercial practice, and his skill in capturing the arcadian beauty of the everyday work of vignerons, grape harvesters and cellar hands represents a sublime encounter between the world of art and the world of wine.

The McWilliam's Mount Pleasant images are held in the National Library of Australia but are little known within Dupain's wider opus. The equally significant but never-before-exhibited Tulloch photographs were gifted by Dupain to the family in an album of original photographs printed by Max himself.  Presented together the Mount Pleasant and Tulloch photographs reveal a little known part of Australia's farming past and the labours of love which produced some of the most memorable wines of the early 1950s.

Several of these Dupain images are part of an older collection of photographs which include photographs, artworks and objects reproduced in a new book by University of Newcastle historian Dr Julie McIntyre, which shows the importance of wine growing in early Australia. The book, First Vintage: wine in colonial New South Wales, will be launched at the exhibition opening. This exhibition is supported by the Faculty of Education and Arts and the Faculty of Business and Law as part of their commitment to interdisciplinary research in Wine Studies.

Gallery hours are Wed-Sat 12-6pm

For further information phone 02 4921 5255 or email gallery@newcastle.edu.au or go to our website