# David Murray Moor artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/david-murray-moor/
Profile generated: 2026-05-30T19:04:30.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: Australian
- Movements: Documentary photography, Australian modernist photography
- Common media: Gelatin silver prints, Experimental photographic prints

## About David Murray Moor

David Moore (1927–2003) was an Australian photographer and photojournalist whose career spanned more than five decades. Born in Sydney, he developed a distinctive documentary practice that captured the breadth of Australian life — from the construction of the Sydney Opera House to urban street scenes and vast landscapes. Moore was a foundational figure in Australian photography: he helped establish the Australian Centre for Photography and is recognized as a historian of the medium in the country. His work took him beyond Australia as well, producing significant bodies of work in England, Europe, the United States, and South Africa, including a notable photographic collection of Nelson Mandela. Moore's photographs are held by major public institutions including Tate, London. His legacy is maintained through an official estate site and published monographs.

## Common works and media

Collectors are likely to encounter gelatin silver prints in a range of sizes, from small-format contact prints to large exhibition prints. Common subjects include the Sydney Opera House (especially construction-era views), Sydney Harbour and bridge scenes, Australian urban and outback landscapes, and documentary portraits. Moore also produced experimental prints and worked in series format, including a curated '100 Photographs' selection. Monographs and published books of his work are also collectible. Works may appear under the name 'David Moore' rather than 'David Murray Moor'.

## Market and appraisal context

David Moore's photographs appear regularly in Australian and international photography auctions. Collectors most frequently encounter gelatin silver prints, including vintage prints from the 1950s through the 1970s. Iconic subjects such as the Sydney Opera House under construction and Sydney Harbour views tend to generate the strongest collector interest. Appraisal should account for print vintage, edition size, condition, provenance, and whether the print was made during the artist's lifetime or is an estate-authorized edition. Institutional holdings at Tate and other public collections provide a baseline of market credibility. Comparable auction records should be consulted for current valuation.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine identity research from museum, library-authority, and artist-estate sources with available auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots. For David Moore, identity data is drawn from Getty ULAN, Wikidata, the Library of Congress authority file, Tate's artist record, and the artist's official estate site. Market context is based on published auction-house and institutional information where available; specific realized prices require a live auction-database lookup.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5237682
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Moore_(Australian_photographer)
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500124102
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/david-moore-21540
- David Moore Photography (estate site): http://www.davidmoorephotography.com.au
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n77012552