Guide to the Papers of David Moore, 1980-1988

Summary

Collection number:

MS 9382

Creator:

David Moore

Extent:

2.66 metres and (13 boxes, 4 folio boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of David Moore, National Library of Australia, MS 9382, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

David Moore was commissioned by William Collins to produce Australia: Image of a Nation 1850-1950 which was published in 1983. The book is a visual record of all aspects of life in Australia - urban and rural life, domestic life, employment, leisure, transport, communications, celebrations, religion and social events, race relationships, calamities and war and peace.

Moore constructed an extremely detailed brief which sought the best available images between the dates 1850 and 1950. Australian and British archives were searched with over 100,000 images viewed. Eight researchers worked on the project. An initial collection of 2,638 images was located and documented for possible publication. This was ultimately refined to 413 published images. The final selection was accompanied by text by Rodney Hall.

The collection consists of correspondence, working prints, caption working sheets, reproduction prints, press prints, overprints, an index to working prints, final typescript of text, printer's layouts, overlays, slides, notes and background information relating to the publication.

Biographical Note:

David Moore was born in Sydney in 1927 and educated at Geelong Grammar School, Victoria. Moore discovered photography at the age of 11 when a relative presented him with a Coronet box camera. Later, during his teenage years, his father, artist and architect, John D. Moore gave him a book of Edward Weston's photographs of California and the American West.

Moore began working as a professional photographer in the studio of Russell Roberts in 1947. The following year, he went to work for Max Dupain for a period of three years. In 1951 he left Australia to work overseas. He worked as a freelance photojournalist in London for seven years for publications including Life, Time and Fortune magazines. He also worked for the Observer before returning to Australia in 1958.

As a photographer, he has made an important contribution to the visual arts in Australia. His photographs are in the collections of major institutions both in Australia and overseas, including the National Gallery of Australia, the New York Museum of Modern Art, and le Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. The Art Gallery of New South Wales mounted a retrospective exhibition of his work in 1988 and in 1993-94 the State Library of New South Wales exhibited Sydney Harbour - 50 years of photography .

His most famous works include photographs such as Sydney Harbour Bridge (1947), Redfern Interior (1949), Newcastle Steelworks (1963), European Migrants Arriving in Sydney (1966) and President Johnson and Prime Minister Holt at Canberra Airport (1966).

Publications by Moore include David Moore, Richmond, Vic, Richmond Hill Press, 1980; Australia: image of a nation, 1850-1950, Sydney, William Collins, 1983; The Australian functional tradition, Fitzroy, Vic, Five Mile Press, 1988; David Moore, Australian photographer, Sydney, Chapter and Verse, 1988; An Australian place: the Upper Hunter Valley, McMahon's Point, NSW, Chapter and Verse, 1991; Image of New England: Armidale, Walcha, Uralla, Dumaresq and Guyra, Armidale, Armidale Development Corporation, 1992; Sydney Harbour, McMahon's Point, NSW, Chapter and Verse in association with the State Library of New South Wales Press, 1993; Railways, relics and romance: the Eveleigh Railway Workshops, Sydney, NSW, Sydney, Caroline Simpson, 1995; To build a bridge: Glebe Island, Sydney, Australia, Neutral Bay, NSW, Chapter and Verse, 1996 and David Moore, theunseen images: an exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Neutral Bay, NSW, Chapter and Verse, 1997.

Provenance:

The papers were donated by David Moore to the National Library under the Taxation Incentives for the Arts Scheme in 1993.

Arrangement:

Caption work sheets contain the name of the researcher, archive numbers, holding institution, caption information, name of photographer where known, date of photograph and copyright restrictions.

The caption sheets were housed in nine ring binders and the working prints in twelve ring binders. They have been removed from the binders for preservation purposes and placed in folders and bags. Similarly, other material in binders has been removed and placed in folders. Within the numbered sequence of working prints a number of prints are missing.

Indexed terms

Names:

David Moore

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1844140).

Conditions Governing Use:

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of David Moore, National Library of Australia, MS 9382, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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