Frank Hurley

Frank Hurley
Australia
1885–1962
Practice: Photographer
Movement/Styles: Documentary, War

A powerful documentary of the beauty of the Antarctic landscape, wildlife and living conditions, Hurley’s best known Antarctic images are from the 1914-1916 expedition led by Shackleton. Despite the expedition members efforts, The ship Endurance became trapped in the ice. The Endurance eventually being crushed by the ice despite the expedition members efforts to free the ship, leaving the crew stranded camping on the pack ice and Elephant Island for 11 months before being rescued.

Frank Hurley, Endurance in the ice, 1914–17

Hurley pioneered composite imagery, most notably in his photographic documentation of WW1. Hurley found himself having to justify this practice, as many believed that the composites were not actual photographs. In his article 'War photography', published in The Australasian photo-review in 1919, Hurley explains that, "None but those who have endeavoured can realise the insurmountable difficulties of portraying a modern battle by the camera. To include the event on a single negative, I have tried and tried, but the results are hopeless."

Hurley continues, justifying his application of composite imaging where, "[…] if negatives are taken of all the separate incidents in the action and combined, some idea may then be gained of what a modern battle looks like."

Over The Top (Glass plate composite), Frank Hurley 1918

Relevance to practice

There is no direct relevance to practice. Hurley's vision and approach to storytelling are fantastic. His courage and dedication to documenting Antarctica and war, particularly in his use, and defence of his WW1 photo composites is admirable. It is essential to acknowledge that photographers from the modernist period (including documentary photographers such as Hurley) shaped the medium. Their work continues to resonate through photographic practice in the digital age. Hurley's composites are a powerful example, dating back to the early 1900s.

Keywords

Frank Hurley, Glass plate, Composite, WW1, Antarctica, The Endurance, Shackleton, War photography

References

Groom, L 2004, Frank Hurley's Antarctic photographs, National Library of Australia, viewed 6 August 2020, <https://www.nla.gov.au/pictures/frank-hurley-antartic-photographs>

Hurley, F 1914–17, Endurance in the ice, photograph, viewed 6 August 2020, <https://www.artsy.net/artwork/frank-hurley-endurance-in-the-ice>

Hurley, F 1918, Over The Top, photograph, viewed 6 August 2020, <https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/official_photo>

Hurley, F 1919, 'War Photography', Australian photo-review, vol. 26, no. 2, p. 164–5, <https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-427900504/view?sectionId=nla.obj-474303506&partId=nla.obj-462852813#page/n35/mode/1up>

State Library New South Wales n.d., Frank Hurley's World War I photography: Truth and photography, viewed 6 August 2020, <https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/stories/frank-hurleys-world-war-i-photography/truth-and-photography>