A Modern Vision: Charles Bayliss, Photographer, 1850-1897

Charles Bayliss was probably one of Australia's greatest nineteenth-century photographers. In his day, Bayliss's work was highly regarded and he received numerous prestigious government commissions. His photography has been praised since but, in contemporary terms, Bayliss has not yet received his due. This beautiful publication, drawing on the National Library of Australia exhibition of the same name, is the first to highlight the various strands of Bayliss's photographic practice. It encompasses his apprenticeship with Beaufoy Merlin from 1870 to 1873, his work for B.O. Holtermann from 1873 to 1875 and his independent career from 1876 until his death in 1897 at the age of 47.A Modern Vision is built around the National Library's considerable holdings of photographs by Bayliss, augmented with a small number of important loans from other institutions. The National Library has also been fortunate to access a collection of previously unknown photographic prints from 1872-75, which includes examples of Bayliss's earliest work. A selection of these photographs is published for the first time, alongside examples of his portraiture, architectural photography, panoramas of Sydney, and landscapes of New South Wales and Victoria. Together, they provide new insights into Bayliss's crucial first years as a photographer.