Cazneaux, Harold Pierce

Harold Cazneaux was born in New Zealand in 1878. In 1886, the family returned to Australia where Harold’s father, Pierce Mott, who spelt his name Cazneaux, was a reputable portrait photographer at Freeman’s in Sydney and Hammer & Co., Adelaide. At 17, Harold was an artist-retoucher at Hammer’s.

Harold studied art at evening classes at the School of Design. He moved to Sydney in 1904, working at Freeman’s as an artist re-toucher then chief camera operator. Harold began taking pictures to and from work using his first camera – a Midge Box camera. He began to meet other amateur photographers and in 1907, was introduced to the Photographic Society of NSW. In 1909 Harold mounted a one man show at the Society’s rooms. He met Sydney Ure Smith, who appointed him as the official photographer to The Home magazine in 1920. (Cazneaux had resigned from Freeman’s in 1918 after suffering a nervous breakdown.)

In 1952, Cazneaux was honoured with a national tribute evening and in 1938 had received an Honorary Fellowship of The Royal Photographic Society. Cazneaux’s pictures were published extensively in Sydney Ure Smith’s publications as well as the Australasian Photo-Review, Harringtons Photograpic Journal magazines, and, Photograms of the Year. Harold Cazneaux died in 1953.