Helen Ennis writes on Australian photography and photographers. She was formerly Curator of Photography at the National Gallery of Australia and Director of the Centre for Art History and Art Theory and Sir William Dobell Chair of Art History at the ANU School of Art & Design; she is currently Emeritus Professor.
She has curated numerous exhibitions for the National Gallery of Australia, the National Portrait Gallery and the National Library of Australia. Her many books include Margaret Michaelis: Love, loss and photography (2005), winner of the 2006 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction, and Olive Cotton: A life in photography (2019), winner of the 2020 Queensland Literary Award for Non-Fiction, the 2022 Adelaide Festival Award for Non-Fiction, and the 2020 Magarey Medal for Biography.
She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities and was awarded the J. Dudley Johnston Medal by the British Royal Photographic Society in 2021.
Key Publications
Max Dupain: A Portrait
A portrait of the new landmark biography of Australia's most iconic photographer from leading curator and award-winning author of Olive Cotton.
Released October 2024.
Olive Cotton: A life in photography
A landmark biography of a singular and important Australian photographer, Olive Cotton, by an award-winning writer – beautifully written and deeply moving.
Available now in bookstores.
Publication Highlights
News
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Curating the 70s, a discussion with Daniel Palmer
Helen will be joining Professor Daniel Palmer to discuss the topic Curating the 70s, 2pm, 15 March, Museum of Australian Photography, Melbourne.
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NLA talk on Cotton and Sievers
On 8 April 2025 Helen is giving a talk on the work of Olive Cotton and Wolfgang Sievers to the Friends of the National Library. Details here.
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Artists of the National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia has re-issued the books on Olive Cotton and Wolfgang Sievers that Helen published with the Library in 1995 and 2011. They are part of a new series showcasing the Library’s extensive Pictures Collection.
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Max Dupain: A Portrait
Max Dupain: A Portrait will be released by HarperCollins in October 2024. More information available on the HarperCollins website.
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A biography of Max Dupain
Helen is thrilled to be working with Fourth Estate again and her biography of Max Dupain is scheduled for publication in October 2024.
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Martin Kantor Portrait Prize
Helen is one of the judges of the 2023 Ballarat International Foto Biennale Martin Kantor Portrait Prize. Applications close on 9 June.