Sydney

Sydney, a Camera Study by Frank Hurley was published in 1948 by Angus & Robertson, Sydney. Issued late in Hurley’s distinguished career, the volume presents a dramatic photographic portrait of Australia’s harbour city at a moment of post-war confidence and expansion.

The book showcases Sydney Harbour, the Harbour Bridge, coastal headlands, city streets, and maritime activity through Hurley’s characteristic flair for atmosphere and spectacle. Known for his Antarctic and wartime photography, Hurley brought the same sense of scale and visual drama to his home city, often emphasizing sweeping skies, reflective water, and bold architectural lines.

More than a simple pictorial souvenir, Sydney, a Camera Study captures the mood of mid-twentieth-century Sydney, modern yet maritime, bustling yet scenic. The 1948 Angus & Robertson edition remains valued by collectors for its fine plates and as a striking visual record of Sydney in the years immediately following the Second World War.