Cecil Westmoreland Bostock (1884–1939) was born in England. He emigrated to
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, with his parents in 1888. His father, George Bostock, was a
bookbinder
Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of codex format from an ordered stack of ''signatures'', sheets of paper folded together into sections that are bound, along one edge, with a thick needle and strong thread. Cheaper, b ...
who died a few years later in 1892.
Bostock had an important influence on the development of photography in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, initiating a response to the strong sunlight. He presided over the transition from
Pictorialism
Pictorialism is an international style and aesthetic movement that dominated photography during the later 19th and early 20th centuries. There is no standard definition of the term, but in general it refers to a style in which the photographer ha ...
to
Modernism
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
and was a mentor to several famous Australian photographers: notably
Harold Cazneaux
Harold Pierce Cazneaux (30 March 1878 – 19 June 1953) was an Australian pictorialist photographer; a pioneer whose style had an indelible impact on the development of Australian photographic history. In 1916, he was a founding member of the ...
and
Max Dupain
Maxwell Spencer Dupain AC OBE (22 April 191127 July 1992) was an Australian modernist photographer.
Early life
Dupain received his first camera as a gift in 1924, spurring his interest in photography. He later joined the Photographic Society ...
Early life
Cecil was first apprenticed as an electrical fitter in the Waverley Tramway Workshop. He left home around 1901 as his mother was not pleased with his decision at that time to become an artist. In 1916 he became secretary of the Photographic Society of N.S.W., and a foundation member of the Sydney Camera Circle. In addition he became a member of the Commercial Artists' Association of New South Wales, implying he worked as a photographer.
World War I
Bostock served in the
Australian Imperial Forces from 1917 to 1920.
His Unit was the Field Artillery Brigade, May 1917 Reinforcements,
which embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A28 ''
Miltiades
Miltiades (; grc-gre, Μιλτιάδης; c. 550 – 489 BC), also known as Miltiades the Younger, was a Greek Athenian citizen known mostly for his role in the Battle of Marathon, as well as for his downfall afterwards. He was the son of Cimon C ...
'' on 2 August 1917.
He served as a gunner where he made his only image of the war ''Day breaks-cold-shrieking-bloody'.
He was discharged from the army in February 1920 in Sydney, and soon after married an English girl he had met in London whilst stationed there for six months in 1919. In London, Bostock joined the
Royal Photographic Society
The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is one of the world's oldest photographic societies. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as the Photographic Society of London with ...
and socialized in photography circles. He also held a one-man show of his watercolours of war scenes at the Adelphi Gallery in 1920.
The Sydney Camera Circle
On 28 November 1916, a group of six photographers met at Bostock's 'Little Studio in Phillip Street' to form the Pictorialist "
Sydney Camera Circle ". This initially included Cecil Bostock, James Stening, W. S. White, Malcolm McKinnon and James Paton, and they were later joined by
Henri Mallard
Henri Marie Joseph Mallard (9 February 1884 – 21 January 1967), was an Australian photographer.
Born in Balmain (Sydney, Australia) of French parents, he came to photography via the industry. Using his French connections, and accent (which w ...
.
A "manifesto" was drawn up by Cecil and signed by all six attendees who pledged "to work and to advance pictorial photography and to show our own Australia in terms of sunlight rather than those of greyness and dismal shadows". This established what was known as the 'sunshine school' of photography. The style of
pictorialism
Pictorialism is an international style and aesthetic movement that dominated photography during the later 19th and early 20th centuries. There is no standard definition of the term, but in general it refers to a style in which the photographer ha ...
practiced by Australians was "concerned with the play of light, sunshine and shadow, and the attention to nature and the landscape, and had an affinity with the
Heidelberg School
The Heidelberg School was an Australian art movement of the late 19th century. It has latterly been described as Australian impressionism.
Melbourne art critic Sidney Dickinson coined the term in an 1891 review of works by Arthur Streeton and ...
of painters."
During the war
Harold Cazneaux
Harold Pierce Cazneaux (30 March 1878 – 19 June 1953) was an Australian pictorialist photographer; a pioneer whose style had an indelible impact on the development of Australian photographic history. In 1916, he was a founding member of the ...
used Bostock's Phillip St. studio in Denman Chambers while Bostock was away. 'The Circle' records show that meetings continued to be held in Bostock's studio until 1921.
The Sydney Camera Circle(1920's - 40's): In 2002 a photography exhibit was held at the
Shoto Museum of Art in Tokyo and the Members listed by Yuri Mitsuda, Curator in the Exhibition Catalogue were: Cecil Westmoreland Bostock, Harold Pierce Cazneaux, Monte Luke(Charles Montague Luke), Henri Marie Joseph Mallard, D'Archy J. Webster, Charles E. Wakeford, William Stewart White, James E. Paton, Arthur William Christopher Ford, and Kiichiro(or Kihei) ISHIDA.
Olive Cotton
Olive Cotton (11 July 191127 September 2003) was a pioneering Australian modernist photographer of the 1930s and 1940s working in Sydney. Cotton became a national "name" with a retrospective and touring exhibition 50 years later in 1985. A book ...
joined the Circle in 1939 as the first female member.
Professional work
From 1920 Bostock worked as a professional photographer. He opened commercial photography studios in various city locations in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
. His studio soon became notable for colourful and decorative work in the new field of
advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
,
illustration
An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vid ...
, and
graphic design
Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...
.
Max Dupain
Maxwell Spencer Dupain AC OBE (22 April 191127 July 1992) was an Australian modernist photographer.
Early life
Dupain received his first camera as a gift in 1924, spurring his interest in photography. He later joined the Photographic Society ...
started his career in Bostock's studio, and worked there from 1930 to 1934. Dupain worked as Bostock's assistant and was given an invaluable grounding in studio lighting, large format camera usage and the usage of black & white film and processing.
Work as a pictorialist
His photographs, on the other hand, used the techniques of
pictorialism
Pictorialism is an international style and aesthetic movement that dominated photography during the later 19th and early 20th centuries. There is no standard definition of the term, but in general it refers to a style in which the photographer ha ...
. However, as time went on, Bostock used the soft-focus, and painterly printing processes, such as
bromoil, so characteristic of the era less than in his earlier years as a photographer. His work became more austere and less manipulated, than the work of other pictorialist colleagues.
In 1917, Bostock produced an album titled: "A Portfolio of Art Photographs" in which were mounted ten small photographs. This was a limited edition of 25 copies. These met with mixed reviews, reflecting the new trends in photography towards modernism.
[ A portfolio of art photographs by Cecil W Bostock :Publisher: Sydney : C.W. Bostock, 1917.](_blank)
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Later life
Just prior to his death from cancer, Bostock was instrumental in forming The Contemporary Camera Groupe, which was designed to unite artists and photographers. 'The Groupe' held a first and only exhibition in December 1938, for which Bostock designed the catalogue. He had previously edited and designed the catalogues for the Australian Salon exhibitions in 1924 and 1926. The logo and 'Declaration' of the Sydney Camera Circle were also his work. Bostock, who was a skilled craftsman and bookbinder, also bound various albums for 'The Circle'.
In his later years, Bostock's work turned toward big prints, glossy surfaces and geometric pattern which were becoming fashionable with young photographers in the late 1930s.
In 1934, he was largely responsible for the illustrations for The Book of the Anzac Memorial N.S.W. (1934).
Bostock's work and studio pieces were scattered after his death, but a few examples are held by Australian National libraries and Museums.
In 2005 an exhibition of his work was held at the Lady Denman Maritime Museum on the south coast of NSW
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
.
Publications by Bostock
*A portfolio of art photographs by Cecil W Bostock :Publisher: Sydney : C.W. Bostock, 1917.
* "Cameragraphs" of the year 1924 : a souvenir of the first exhibition of the Australian Salon of Photography
*"Cameragraphs" of the year 1926 : selections from the second exhibition of the Australian Salon of Photography
* Catalogue of an exhibition of camera pictures held in Farmer's Exhibition Hall 22 April to 3 May, inclusive, 1924 : officially opened by the Hon. Sir William Cullen, K.C.M.G. on Tuesday, 22 April 1924 Catalogue of an exhibition of camera pictures held in Farmer's Exhibition Hall 22 April to 3 May, inclusive, 1924 Sydney : Farmer & Co., 1924.
/ref>
References
External links
Works by Cecil Bostock (1884–1939):Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Sydney Camera Circle selecting prints for the First Australian Salon, 1924 / photograph by Harold Cazneaux
W. Bostock : Australian Art and Artists file : Files contain material such as art exhibition catalogues, invitations, press clippings, media releases and/or other ephemeral items relating to Australian artists and galleries. Art Gallery of N.S.W.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bostock, Cecil, Westmoreland
Australian photographers
1884 births
1939 deaths
British emigrants to Australia