<br/>

Athol Shmith

Fashion photography from the 1940s to the 1970s

NGV International

Level 3

21 Oct 89 – 25 Feb 90

Photography Gallery

No discussion of the photographic history of Australia can proceed very far before the name Athol Shmith comes to fore. His career as a studio photographer spanned several decades – from the nineteen-thirties when his first softly-focused portraits were taken in the family sitting-room in St Kilda, Melbourne, through a meteoric- rise to popularity as a fashion and celebrity photographer, to the influential position of Head of Photography in the Prahran College of Advanced Education throughout the seventies.

Sourced from: Isobel Crombie, Athol Shmith: Photographer, National Gallery of Victoria, 1989

Fashion & TextilesPhotography

Installation Images

<br/>

Key works

Athol SHMITH<br/> <em>Backstage, Tivoli</em> (1942) <!-- (recto) --><br /> gelatin silver photograph<br /> 29.3 x 29.8 cm (image)<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Purchased through The Art Foundation of Victoria with the assistance of The Ian Potter Foundation, Governor, 1989<br /> PH71-1989<br /> &copy; Estate of Athol Shmith <!--10952--> Athol SHMITH<br/> <em>Vivien Leigh as Lady Anne</em> (1948); (1980s) {printed} <!-- (recto) --><br /> type C photograph<br /> 40.4 x 32.2 cm (image)<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Presented through The Art Foundation of Victoria by the Shmith Family, Fellow, 1993<br /> PH53-1993<br /> &copy; Estate of Athol Shmith <!--13213--> Athol SHMITH<br/> <em>No title (Advertising illustration for Dew deodorant)</em> (1940s) <!-- (recto) --><br /> gelatin silver photograph<br /> 35.5 x 27.8 cm<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Purchased through The Art Foundation of Victoria with the assistance of The Ian Potter Foundation, Governor, 1989<br /> PH79-1989<br /> &copy; Estate of Athol Shmith <!--10961--> Athol SHMITH<br/> <em>No title (Fashion illustration. Model Jenny Ham)</em> 1963 <!-- (recto) --><br /> gelatin silver photograph<br /> 49.5 x 28.8 cm (image)<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Purchased through The Art Foundation of Victoria with the assistance of The Ian Potter Foundation, Governor, 1989<br /> PH23-1989<br /> &copy; Estate of Athol Shmith <!--10902--> Athol SHMITH<br/> <em>Judy Garland</em> (1964) <!-- (recto) --><br /> gelatin silver photograph<br /> 24.2 x 19.0 cm (image)<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Purchased through The Art Foundation of Victoria with the assistance of The Ian Potter Foundation, Governor, 1989<br /> PH47-1989<br /> &copy; Estate of Athol Shmith <!--10927--> Athol SHMITH<br/> <em>Chico Marx</em> 1952 <!-- (recto) --><br /> gelatin silver photograph<br /> 24.9 x 20.0 cm (image)<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Presented through The Art Foundation of Victoria by the Shmith Family, Governor, 1995<br /> 1995.121<br /> &copy; Estate of Athol Shmith <!--56428-->