Jill Crossley: Bio

Now in her late eighties, Crossley has been looking at this world through a lens for over 70 years. She has been described as one of the pioneering female photographers in Australia.

In her career, Crossley has worked with some exceptional artists, most notably Max Dupain. From 1957-58 she was his assistant and she was especially inspired by the high aesthetic standards he observed. Dupain was also very impressed with Crossley’s work. In his review of her exhibition in 1981 at the David Reid Gallery he wrote: “It would be safe to say that this little exhibition of photographs is one of the most consequential of its kind we have witnessed for some time”. Max Dupain

Described as a “tenacious, talented photographer” by Robert McFarlane, Crossley’s work features along with Olive Cotton in Australian Women Photographers 1840-1960 by Barbara Hall and Jenni Mather (1981).

Crossley’s work was included in the exhibition by the The National Gallery of Australia titled In the Cold: Photography 1945-1965, of which the Sydney Morning Herald’s Bruce James wrote: “Australians Max Dupain and Jill Crossley hold their own”.