25 Facts About Athol Shmith

Louis Athol Shmith was an Australian studio portrait and fashion photographer and photography educator in his home city of Melbourne, Australia.

Athol Shmith contributed to the promotion of international photography within Australia as much as to the fostering of Australian photography in the world scene.

Athol Shmith played piano and vibraphone and considered music as a possible career.

Athol Shmith's father gave him a camera as a teenager and what was a hobby became a profession in his late teens when Shmith, who had an interest in theatre and played at charity performances, was asked to take the publicity photographs and stills for a show.

Athol Shmith saw there was a career in his former hobby and, supported by his family, established a studio in St Kilda at 75A Fltzroy Street.

Athol Shmith's work expanded to include a range of commercial advertising and illustration and appeared in local society magazines.

Athol Shmith exhibited his works in photographic salons at home and abroad, gaining a Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society in 1933.

At a mere twenty-five years of age, in 1939 he became a fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and Athol Shmith moved his business to a studio in the Rue de la Paix building at 125 Collins Street, run with the assistance of his brother Clive, and sister, Verna, who was his receptionist and who became an expert negative retoucher.

The outbreak of the Second World War interrupted the studio work Athol Shmith had just commenced after his move into the city.

Athol Shmith's studio produced portrait photographs of hundreds of servicewomen and men, including those of many Americans on leave in Melbourne.

Athol Shmith was represented internationally by the Pix agency which brought his work to the cover of LIFE magazine of 3 Aug 1942; his portrait of the son of General MacArthur who was in the country with his family at the time.

Inside were several of his pictures illustrating a story on the general's pretty wife and his son whiling away a Melbourne winter, while for a previous issue, 27 Jul 1942, Shmith had provided a photograph of MacArthur's air commander Lieutenant General George H Brett playing cribbage in a Melbourne restaurant with Brigadier General Ralph Boyce.

Athol Shmith, who prided himself on his skill in lighting, had learned much from the model of European modernism and the quirkiness of surrealism.

Athol Shmith was indebted to the top-lit and back-lit glowing 'Hollywood lighting' style of portraiture popularised by Californian photographer George Hurrell in the 1920s and 1930s.

Athol Shmith was childlike because he always embraced new things - novelty was tremendously important to him.

Athol Shmith used Hollywood spotlights when the generation before him used floodlights.

Athol Shmith was theatrical - an urbane, debonair guy with this enormous magnetism but was enormously insecure underneath.

Athol Shmith moved from the studio into everyday environments, like the street and beach.

Athol Shmith acknowledged as his inspiration during this period the work of Richard Avedon.

Athol Shmith was a member, and later, president, of the Institute of Victorian Photographers.

Athol Shmith taught there with Cato and the film-maker Paul Cox.

Athol Shmith's support assisted the careers of students whom he closely mentored such as Sue Ford, Bill Henson, Carol Jerrems, Rod McNicol, Phil Quirk, Andrew Chapman and Christopher Koller.

Athol Shmith was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia the following year.

Athol Shmith's work was collected by the major art museums commencing in the 1970s and he had a retrospective in 1977 at the Australian Centre for Photography.

Athol Shmith was fascinated with his subjects rather than in awe of them, and in fact married three fashion models.