Australia: Close Focus, The Colour and Texture of a Continent by Hal Missingham, Ure Smith Sydney 1970.

Hardback book with dustjacket 271 pages,  illustrated throughout in near fine condition.

No inscriptions, small closed tear to jacket edge, a nice copy.

Hal Missingham AO (1906-1994), best known as a gallery director (Art gallery of NSW 1945 - 1971), was also an inrepid world traveller, artist and photographer.

Before World War II he studied in Perth, Paris and London, where he became friendly with a number of leading artists and developed an interest in photography. He returned to Sydney in 1941 and after a stint in the AIF helped to found the Studio of Realist Art.

In 1945 he succeeded Will Ashton as the Director of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, a post he retained until 1971. His memoir of his career as an arts administrator, They Kill You in the End, was published in 1973.

Hal Missingham was a pioneer among Australian photographers having camped and driven over most of the continent, including a 17,000 mile circumnavigation in 1966.

This book is the result of 25 years of photography, with a special, close focus on the detailed textures and colours of his world.