By arts editor HELEN MUSA

Canberra  writer, scholar  and curator Helen Ennis has won the $25,000 National Biography Award for her acclaimed biography of iconic Australian photographer Max Dupain.

Max Dupain: A Portrait, published by Fourth Estate, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Australia, was announced as the winner by the State Library of NSW on Wednesday, August 12.

Ennis, Emeritus Professor at theANU School of Art & Design and a former  curator of photography at the National Gallery of Australia,  has always, maintained a strong connection with the city’s cultural life, has written an “intricate portrait” of the man behind Sunbaker, arguably Australia’s most recognisable photograph.

The biography explores the complexities and contradictions of Dupain’s life and examines the sources of his creativity, placing his photography within the wider story of 20th-century Australia.

Award judges, chaired by Sylvia Martin with Paul Kennedy and Samah Sabawi, described the book as an exceptional example of the biographer’s craft.

“Elegantly structured and written, it weaves Max Dupain’s life and work into a complex whole,” Martin said.

The judges particularly praised the book’s use of carefully selected images and short interspersed chapters, which illuminate both the range of Dupain’s photography and aspects of his character.

“This biography of a major 20th-century Australian photographer will be read long into the 21st century,” Martin said.

Ennis’s career has encompassed Australian art, photography and cultural history, and her work has included major exhibitions and books exploring some of the country’s most significant artists and photographers.

The award comes as the State Library prepares to open Definitive Dupain, a major retrospective of Dupain’s work, to the public on August 24. Ennis has also contributed an essay to the companion book, Definitive Dupain, published by Thames & Hudson.

The $5000 Michael Crouch Award for a Debut Work went to Micaela Sahhar for her memoir Find Me at the Jaffa Gate: An Encyclopaedia of a Palestinian Family, published by NewSouth Publishing.

The shortlisted authors for the National Biography Award were Lech Blaine for Australian Gospel, Robert Dessaix for Chameleon, Sonia Orchard for Groomed and S. Shakthidharan for Gather Up Your World in One Long Breath. Megan Clement’s Desire Paths was highly commended.

Each shortlisted author receives $2000.

State Librarian Dr Caroline Butler-Bowdon said biography and memoir writers helped deepen understanding of history, human experience and the world around us.

The National Biography Award is supported by the State Library of NSW Foundation.

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