“I would like my pictures to reflect a little of the respect I have for great masters of the past, at the same time as celebrating the mystery of ambiguous elements which are often embedded in photographs.”
David Moore 1997

SELECTED PORTFOLIOS

David Moore was Australia’s most renowned and widely travelled photojournalist. His extraordinary archive covers both his homeland and the many countries and subjects he visited over a sixty-year career.

Moore commenced his professional photographic career in Sydney with Russell Roberts’ studio in 1947. Later he worked with Max Dupain before travelling to London in 1951. He was the first Australian photojournalist to work consistently for the international picture magazines during their heyday in the 1950s. For seven years he photographed on assignment in the UK, Europe, Scandinavia, Africa and the USA, and his work was published in such journals as The Observer, Time-Life, Look, The New York Times and Sports Illustrated. He was one of only two Australian photographers included in the Family of Man exhibition in New York in 1955.

From 1958 Moore travelled the world for his New York agency, Black Star, working for Time-Life Books, National Geographic and corporate industrial clients.

From the 1970s onwards Moore was based in Sydney and here his work reflected his views of Australia. His photographs have been published in many books and are in many Australian collections including those of the Australian National Gallery. Collections are also held at the New York Museum of Modern Art, Le Bibliothéque Nationale in Paris, and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC.

1947 Commenced professional photography with Russell Roberts’ studio, Sydney

1948 Joined Max Dupain’s studio, Sydney

1951-58 London, freelance photojournalist for publications including The Observer, Time, Life, Fortune & Look in the USA, UK, Europe and Africa

1958 Returned to Sydney to work for the US magazine & industrial market

1958 Represented by Black Star agency, New York

1958-76 Travelled USA, Canada, Europe, Antarctica, Asia & Pacific on assignments

1976-83 Travelled to Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia & Kenya for US clients

1984 Worked within Australia for Corporate, Architectural, Industrial and Design clients

1990 Speaker/presenter at Image Hong Kong 90 international convention

1993 Speaker/presenter at Image Hong Kong 93 international convention

1994 Awarded Australian Artists Creative Fellowship (two years)

1996 Publication of major volume To Build a Bridge

1997 The Unseen Images, a collection of 87 previously unknown photographs

“Like any creative discipline this one can contain layers of meaning which, at best, impart a greater richness. Photography can pose questions for the viewer as well as attempting to answer them.”
David Moore 1997

• 1953 People in Photographs The Architectural Association, London
• 1958 Seven Years a Stranger, Macquarie Galleries, Sydney
• 1959 Seven Years a Stranger, The Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne
• 1976 David Moore Photographs, The Photographers’ Gallery, London
• 1976 David Moore Retrospective 1940-76, Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney
• 1976 David Moore Retrospective 1940-76, Brummels Gallery, Melbourne
• 1976 David Moore Retrospective 1940-76, Orange, NSW Festival of Arts
• 1978 David Moore Retrospective 1940-1976, touring New Zealand
• 1977 Australia, Australian Embassy, Paris
• 1980 Photographs by Design, Axiom Gallery, Melbourne
• 1980 Exhibition, Macquarie Galleries, Sydney
• 1983 The Landscape of NSW, New South Wales Parliament House, Sydney
• 1985 Sydney at Mid-Century, AGNSW, Sydney
• 1985 Sydney at Mid-Century, Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne
• 1985 Sydney at Mid-Century, Developed Image, SA
• 1985 The CRA Pilbara Project, touring Asia & Japan
• 1986 Australian Artists 1960-85, Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne
• 1986 Australian Artists 1960-85, The Print Room, Sydney
• 1988 Sydney at Mid-Century, New South Wales House, London
• 1988 The Australian Functional Tradition, Christine Abrahams Gallery
• 1988 David Moore: Fifty Years of Photographs, Retrospective, AGNSW
• 1989 David Moore: Fifty Years of Photographs, regional galleries tour
• 1989 David Moore: Australian Photographer, Australian Embassy, Paris, France
• 1990 David Moore: A Survey 1947-89, Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne
• 1991 David Moore (The Kodak Collection) Puerto Rico; Shenyang, China
• 1993 Queenstown Landscapes, Tasmania, Image Hong Kong 93, Hong Kong
• 1993 Sydney Harbour, State Library of New South Wales
• 1993 Railways, Relics and Romance, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
• 1995 Concert Works, The Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Opera House
• 1997 The Unseen Images, AGNSW, Sydney
• 1998 The Unseen Images, Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne
• 2001 The Unseen Images, Gold Treasury Museum, Melbourne
• 2005 Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne
• 2005-06 David Moore: 100 Photographs, State Library of NSW, Sydney
• 2006-08 David Moore: A Vision, 1927 – 2003, Monash Gallery of Art, Melbourne; Bendigo Art Gallery; Shepparton Art Gallery; Albury Regional Art Gallery; Gold Coast City Art Gallery; Wollongong City Gallery; Mildura Arts Centre; Port Pirie Regional Gallery; La Trobe Regional Gallery
• 2013-14 David Moore: Capturing the creation of the Sydney Opera House; Customs House, Sydney
• 2014-15 “A Feat of Daring” – David Moore’s tribute to the ANZAC Bridge; Customs House, Sydney

• 1965 Special Award The World and its People, Exhibition, NY World Fair
• 1967 Five First Prizes Pacific Photographic Fair, Melbourne
• 1971 First Prize Colour Section Nikon International Photographic Competition
• 1979 Commonwealth Award for Service to Professional Photography
• 1985 First Prize, the Denison Award for Architectural Photography
• 1989 Honorary Fellowship, Australian Institute of Professional Photography
• 1994 Awarded Australian Artists Creative Fellowship (two years)
• 2017 Posthumously inducted into the Australian Media Hall of Fame in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Australian Journalism

• • Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
  • Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
  • Australian Embassy, Beijing, China
  • Australian Embassy, Paris
  • Banyule Art Collection, Victoria
  • City of Waverley Collection, Victoria
  • CRA Limited, Melbourne
  • CSR Photography Project Collection, Sydney
  • Hamersley Iron Pty Limited, Perth
  • Health Insurance Commission, Canberra
  • Le Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris
  • Museum of Sydney
  • National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
  • National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
  • National Library of Australia, Canberra
  • New South Wales Parliament House, Sydney
  • Novotel Hotel, Darling Harbour, Sydney
  • Parliament House, Canberra
  • State Library of New South Wales, Sydney
  • The Museum of Modern Art, New York
  • The National Maritime Museum, Sydney
  • The Perron Group, Sydney
  • The Philip Morris Collection

• The Polaroid Collection, Cambridge, USA
• The Polaroid Collection, Sydney
• The Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC

Please click here to email Lisa Moore for enquiries regarding reproduction requests and sales of posthumous limited edition photographic prints. Or call +61 2 9519 4304.

If you are interested in purchasing signed original prints please click here to email Josef Lebovic at Josef Lebovic Gallery. Or call +61 2 9663 4848.