Vale: Rod McNicol

Rod McNicol 1946-2025

‘For more than four decades, McNicol dedicated his practice to the art of photographic portraiture. His approach was deliberate and deeply human, his sitters often photographed front-on, gazing directly into the camera against neutral backdrops. These portraits invite reflection on the inescapable passage of time, functioning as quiet witnesses to life’s transience.

McNicol studied photography at Prahran College in 1974, part of a now highly influential generation of young photographers taught by Athol Shmith, Paul Cox and John Cato. Immersed in Melbourne’s burgeoning photographic scene, he co-founded The Photographers’ Gallery in South Yarra with John Williams and Ingeborg Tyssen, a space that would help define Australian photographic practice in the 1970s and beyond.’ Museum of Australian Photography

Photograph above: Rod McNicol self portrait 2015.